Page 21 of Forged in Deception

Axel, on the other hand, was the picture of calm and serenity.

He’d sauntered along near the middle of the pack, asking just the right amount of questions and offering the occasional witty comment. She had to admit, she was impressed, though the cross she’d seen hanging around his neck earlier nagged at her.

Did his confidence come from practice and being good at his job? Or did he experience the same sort of deeper peace that her brother, John, always claimed to have?

She wasn’t going to ask, though that didn’t stop her from feeling nervous about talking to him alone tonight.

On the drive up to the retreat site, they’d agreed to meet up and debrief each day, at least when they were able to without arousing suspicion. It made sense, and as they dug deeper into investigating Senera, it would be essential.

But it was still terrifying. Something about him seemed to pull at her, and the fact that she couldn’t put her finger on it was driving her crazy.

“Karlin? Hello, earth to Karlin?”

Bajwa’s singsong voice jolted into her brain.

She snapped to attention, blinking away the glow of the flame that had imprinted upon the backs of her eyelids. “Sorry, Dr. Bajwa, yes? What?”

He chuckled. “Relax, Karlin. Destiny here was just wondering if you enjoyed your time at college up in Michigan. Her sister is considering studying classical literature at Hillsdale.”

“Oh,” Karlin said, forcing a smile as she shook off her scattered thoughts. “I’ve heard Hillsdale is really nice, though I confess that my knowledge of the classics pretty much ended with reading Hamlet in high school.”

“I read that one!” Axel chimed in. “Well, okay, I forget most of it, but the witches were pretty cool. Bad, obviously. But cool.”

Karlin stared at him as Destiny started to laugh.

“The one with the witches is definitely Macbeth,” Destiny said, plucking away a piece of floating ash that had landed on her tight black curls. “Anyway, Karlin, I was more thinking about the Michigan weather than anything. My sister and I were born and raised in Dallas. But going to a college that will support her faith means a lot to her.”

“That’s wise, young lady,” Paul chimed in from his place across the fire, giving an approving nod from beneath his ten-gallon hat. “Puttin’ the Lord first will always pay off.”

“If Hillsdale aligns with her values, it might be worth braving the cold,” Karlin said politely. Was everyone here aside from her and Bajwa some kind of Jesus freak? “But I would definitely warn her that it’s going to suck until she gets used to it.”

Cora gave a dramatic shudder as she tossed her sleek brown waves over her shoulder. “Sounds terrible. Give me the beach back home in Los Angeles any day of the week. If I go my entire life without ever having to shovel snow, I’ll be happy.”

“West coast men are too soft,” Axel scoffed. “Destiny’s sister will find a good guy in Michigan, andhe’llshovel the snow.”

Cora crossed her arms over her oversized t-shirt and stuck out her tongue at him. “I don’t need a guy anyway. Not right now. I’ll enjoy my tanning time in peace, by myself, thank you very much.”

“I’m with you, sister,” Lily said with a chuckle. “I’m from Vegas, though. I wish I’d had a beach to miss.”

Karlin smiled. It was good to see the group beginning to open up a little, and so far, everyone seemed to be getting along.

She watched as Lily leaned back in her camping chair, holding her water bottle out in one hand. “If I close my eyes, I can almost imagine this is a cute little cocktail with an umbrella and everything. Don’t worry, I would spare you all having to see my bikini.”

Even Bajwa chuckled at that. “Well, Ms. Moonchild, it would be pretty cold for that tonight.”

Karlin watched as the others chatted with the older woman, who had begun to jokingly beckon for a towel boy to bring her a robe. Something about Lily looked slightly familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

In any case, she wasn’t in the mood for investigating anything or anyone at the moment.

She leaned back in her own foldable camp chair and stretched her toes out toward the warm fire, closing her eyes as the others continued their conversations. Soon enough, everyone but her and Axel would go to bed, and there would be plenty of time to talk, whether she was ready for it or not.

ASHER

A rock slipped under Asher’s sneaker as he approached the final stretch of the steep path, and he found himself flailing through the air for what seemed like a comically long amount of time. When he finally landed, his hand was burning, and even worse, Karlin was smirking at him from the door of the small cabin where he was supposed to meet her.

Awesome.

“I’m fine!” he called out across the remaining distance. “This cactus broke my fall.”

---