Page 30 of Forged in Deception

She said nothing, instead getting herself ready as he set up for another fall. She glanced over her shoulder and felt instantly sick. He was much further back now, easily several feet.

This time, she was certain she’d feel the fall. She’d have a split second in mid-air to imagine herself crashing backward onto the hard ground.

Too late. She was already imagining it.

Her legs felt shaky, and suddenly she felt desperate to sit down and have a drink of water. Maybe she could tell Bajwa as much and get out of participating any further. She certainly didn’t care about winning some stupid–

“Karlin, come on!” Axel was calling out to her. He had to speak more loudly than before, as everyone else was shouting encouragement to their own partners. Her throat felt thick.

“I don’t feel good,” she said.

“Okay, so let’s finish, and then you can take a break,” he said without skipping a beat. “Come on.”

“I–I can’t,” she stammered, turning around. The distance was just as terrifying as it had been a second before. Some part of her logical mind knew that it was just the ground, but it may as well have been a gaping chasm. She absolutely did not want to play this stupid game anymore. “This is stupid. I can’t. I can’t, Axel. I don’t want to. Just stop. Why are we even doing this!”

She was sure Bajwa heard her, but she didn’t care. He was insane if he thought this was actually doing anything to build trust. If anything, it had made her trust her boss even less than before.

“Karlin?” Asher asked, his voice gentle. “Can you look at me?”

She didn’t want to do that any more than she wanted to fall into his way-too-far-away waiting arms.

But something within her led her to meet his eyes.

Even though there was a gap between them, she could see the kindness resting within the pools of blue. As much as he made fun of her, joked around constantly, and totally did act like he was twelve, she had hired him for a reason. He was a good man, and she knew it.

“You can trust me,” he said. His voice didn’t hold any of its usual light tone. He sounded dead serious. “I promise. I promise I won’t let you fall. Now turn around.”

Something about his command made her obey. She stood there, squinting in the desert sun, trying to force fresh air into and out of her lungs.

Karlin didn’t trust anybody.

She didn’t trust her parents. She had trusted John for most of her life, but now, after what he’d put her through, she struggled to trust even him completely. And if the God that both John andAxel believed in was even real, she was absolutely certain she didn’t trust Him, either.

So why did this total stranger make her feel so safe?

“Karlin,” Axel called out again from behind her. “Close your eyes. Let go.”

She pressed her eyes shut, blocking out the harsh light. She focused on the sound of the breeze and the call of distant birds. She pushed everything away.

The fear.

The dark memories.

The uncertainty about her future.

And before she could second-guess herself, she fell.

She didn’t open her eyes, even as she felt that moment of weightless terror, and before she knew it, it was over.

He’d caught her.

She could hear everyone cheering as Axel pulled her into his chest. She didn’t push him away as he hugged her, instead allowing herself a couple of seconds to relax in his warmth.

“You did it!” he said, finally pulling back enough that she could look up at him. “Awesome job. I knew you had it in you.”

She caught his eyes for several long seconds, unable to hide the smile that had bubbled out of her.

It was only when she looked around her that she realized how far apart everyone was standing. They had lost horribly. They had come in dead last, even losing to Paul and Ned, who barely seemed willing to participate at all. And she suspected that Axel had known that was going to be the case right away.

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