Page 41 of Forged in Deception

“Dr. Bajwa, she might have a concussion,” Axel argued, not bothering to hide the annoyance that mirrored her own. “We need to get her to a hospital. She may need to be restrained by professionals if she keeps hurting herself.”

As if to prove his point, Destiny yanked out several strands of coily black hair and held them in front of her face, staring at them as tears began to roll over her cheeks.

Karlin’s heart ached. The poor woman must have been absolutely beyond afraid, completely losing control of her body and mind.

She may have failed John, and she may have failed Amira, but there was no way she was going to fail Destiny now.

As a medical researcher, she had an immediate responsibility to the patient in front of her, however Bajwa felt about it.

“He’s right,” Karlin said firmly. “She needs more help than we can give her here.”

Bajwa looked pained.

He didn’t give voice to his concerns, but Karlin could read the truth on his face.

On the one hand, he was clearly worried about his patient, but on the other, taking her to the hospital during an active trial would open up several inconvenient avenues of documentation and inquiry.

“I have to stay with the others,” Bajwa protested weakly. “How will you get her down to the main compound? An ambulance will take forever to get up here, if they can make it at all.”

“I don’t know, I don’t know,” Karlin said, pressing her palms against her forehead as Destiny let out another piercing scream and the drumbeats continued to hammer at her ears. She couldn’t think.

Paul, Cora, and Lily were huddled together now, muttering incomprehensibly. Bajwa was right. He needed to help them, too.

“I’ll go. I can help her,” Axel said firmly, stepping between Bajwa and Destiny.

Panic bubbled up in Karlin’s chest. She wanted to argue with him, to do damage control somehow, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. Axel was ruining his cover completely, and the retreat had barely started.

Bajwa narrowed his eyes, but Axel continued before he could say more.

“I don’t know, man,” he said. “My dose must have been too small or something. I feel totally normal.”

“Why didn’t you say anything earlier?” Karlin demanded, quickly adapting to his story.

“Sorry. I kept waiting for it to kick in, but I guess nothing is going to happen at this point.”

Bajwa considered this for only a second before nodding his head and digging into the pocket of his slacks.

“I’ll handle things here,” he said, tossing Karlin a set of keys. “Just go. And call me when you know what’s going on.”

ASHER

Seriously, where was his gym-rat twin Ben when he needed him?

“Careful, don’t bump her head,” Asher instructed as Karlin yanked open the door of Bajwa’s old Jeep. The two of them had only just managed to half-drag, half-carry a frantic Destiny out of the hut and into the cool moonlight. They were both breathing heavily, but the woman had calmed down a little now that she was away from the group and the noise.

“Destiny, you’re safe, okay?” Asher said, making his voice as gentle as he could manage as he climbed into the passenger seat and pulled her in after him. “We’re getting you help. This is all going to stop soon, I promise.”

His heart felt pinched within his chest as she nodded, tears still falling along her umber cheeks. He wanted to help Karlin and stop Senera from hurting people in the future, but at the moment, he couldn’t help but to feel that he had only succeeded in letting Destiny down.

He took hold of her seatbelt and pulled it across her chest, shoving the clip in so hard that his knuckles went white.

How many times would he try to help someone else, only to watch them suffer in the end?

Karlin hopped into the driver’s seat, and Asher watched as she fumbled with the key in the ignition. Now that she was away from Bajwa and the rest of the group, her panic was evident. Destiny screamed again, smacking her open palm against the window several times in a row.

Asher reached over and took Karlin’s hand in his own, gently guiding the key into the ignition and turning it. As the engine sprung to life, Asher watched as she reached up and brushed a few stray tears from her cheeks. “I’m so scared.”

“I know. And it’s understandable,” Asher said. “But we need to focus on getting Destiny’s help. I have faith that God will handle the rest.”

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