Page 44 of Forged in Deception

“Karlin, are you okay?” he asked, his expression moving instantly from playful to concerned.

To her horror, she felt her throat choking up with sobs as tears rolled down her cheeks.

What was it with this guy that made her so willing to break down like a delicate flower? It was maddening. But she couldn’t seem to help it.

Axel snatched away her coffee and set it with his own on top of a pile of old magazines. She found herself unable to push away as he wrapped his arms around her, even as the armrest of her chair pressed uncomfortably into her ribcage.

“Hey, hey, hey,” he said, reaching up to wipe a strand of hair away from her snotty nose.

Lovely.

“You told me the doctor said she was okay,” he continued. “Destiny’s calm now and she escaped even a minor concussion from falling on that floor. Everything is going to be fine.”

Karlin swallowed another sob. “Her head will be fine, but what if her mind isn’t?”

Axel seemed to consider his words carefully. “This is partly why I’m not in favor of people taking psychedelic drugs. But she’s already acting completely normal. You told me the doctor described it as a bad trip.”

“You don’t understand.”

Axel leaned down until his eyes met hers.

“So help me understand. You can trust me.”

She felt small and vulnerable as he searched her face, but she knew that he was right. She couldn’t deny the way he was breaking through the walls she’d built around herself, as much as she hated to let it be true.

“Destiny is schizophrenic. She told the doctors readily. Bajwa obviously knows about it. And he let her join this trial anyway.”

Axel’s eyes flashed with anger. “Even I can figure out that mixing psychosis with drug-induced hallucinations is a terrible idea. How could he allow this?”

“I have no idea, but I feel terrible for letting it happen.”

Karlin paused as a fresh wave of sobs threatened to break free. She allowed herself a moment to lean in closer to Axel, even as her snot and tears smeared onto his hoodie. The guilt was too much to handle on her own.

“Bajwa didn’t tell you. It’s not your fault,” Axel said firmly. “And tonight, you did the right thing. You got her help.”

“Barely,” she spat. “So much could have gone wrong.”

“But nothing did.”

“But it could have,” she argued, not caring how childish she sounded. “Let me guess, you’re going to tell me that God was in control the whole time, right?”

Her words came out way more harshly than she’d intended, but she couldn’t bring herself to apologize for saying them.

Axel shifted his weight, and she expected him to pull back from her, but he didn’t. He was quiet for several long seconds, holding her just as he had before. She could feel the thumping of his heart, and after a few seconds, she felt her anger dissipating.

“I’m sorry,” she said at last.

“I’m not,” he said. “I do think God was in control, and I think He’s in control right now. So, ha.”

He pulled away a little, enough for her to see the teasing grin had returned to his face.

“Fair enough,” she said, allowing a smile of her own. It felt good, even though her insides were still tangled up in knots. “I still find it hard to believe in any of that.”

“You’ve gone through hard times in your life,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Let me guess, you investigated me before you agreed to take this job? Dug into my past? Found out all of my dark secrets?”

She tried to match his light tone, but she knew her bitterness had come through. Every time she thought she might be able to trust somebody, they managed to prove to her why she couldn’t.

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