Page 87 of Forged in Deception

Actually, that was a lie.

What she really wished for was Axel.

He’d know what to do.

And best of all, he’d hold her in his arms, warming her straight through until she never wanted him to let her go.

She had to believe that he was out there somewhere, looking for her. She refused to let herself consider any other possibility. And in the meantime, she had to focus on taking care of her basic needs.

“Here goes nothing,” she said aloud, striking another match and lighting a few balled-up old newspapers she was using astinder. They caught easily, filling the cabin with a pleasant warm glow.

But this was the easy part.

“Come on, come on,” she coaxed the fire, blowing slightly as the flames licked against the kindling. To her relief, they caught, and this time, the flame only continued to grow instead of going out.

Karlin plunked herself gracelessly onto the floor, figuring she should wait for a few moments before trying to add any actual logs. She took a sip of water from a bottle she’d set nearby. Now that the fire was starting to actually produce heat, she might be able to open a can and eat something for breakfast in a few hours.

Satisfied with her physical well-being for the moment, she reached into her pocket to take out the photo of John that she always carried.

Even though they had different biological fathers, she’d always thought they’d looked alike. John was blonde and she was a redhead, but they both shared the same bright blue eyes. And being born only eleven months apart seemed to have given them the same closeness as actual twins.

She held the photo to her chest, wishing desperately that he was here, too.

Aside from Axel, he was the one person who she knew truly cared about her. Unfortunately, it would be a while before he realized she was gone.

She pulled herself to her feet and eyed the old futon sitting against the back wall. Thoughts of bedbugs, spiders, and other nasties made her shudder at the thought of actually sleeping on it, but she knew that getting some rest might be the smartest course of action.

She wanted Axel to burst through the door and rescue her immediately, but she knew it was unlikely.

Even if he was still safe with Cora and Paul, the storm outside was fierce, and the cabin was surrounded by steep, rocky hills.

An even worse realization struck her at once.

Bajwa was in police custody, but he also thought Karlin was still with their patients, so she doubted he’d think to try and send in any backup. Even assuming the police allowed him to try.

Until Ned arrived at work on Monday, the patients would be on their own.

It was highly likely that Bajwa’s Jeep keys were still in his pocket along with his sat phone, which meant the others would have to get back to the main retreat site on foot. At least she’d left the maintenance truck parked behind the staff cabins. They could take that back down to the main Senera offices, but the road would be a nightmare in this weather.

Of course, this was all assuming that crazy, gun-wielding Lily didn’t get to them first. Then again, she, too, was on foot and would be hindered by the storm.

She took several deep breaths, walking over to the table and laying John’s picture next to the old scented candle. It had gotten totally soaked in her pocket.

She had to stay positive, or she was going to drive herself crazy.

At least the effects of DX8 had to have mostly worn off for her patients by now, and the hut was definitely warmer than this cabin. Like her, they were in no immediate physical danger–at least, not any danger posed by natural causes.

She leaned against the back of her chair, trying to get comfortable in some way that wouldn’t require her to lay on the old futon. Her head hurt, and her racing thoughts certainly weren’t helping.

Something else was still bothering her about the entire night, aside from the obvious.

Who had called the cops on Bajwa?

She had assumed immediately that it had to have been Axel, or maybe someone from Forge Brothers Security, but now she wasn’t so sure.

Could it have actually been Lily?

It seemed possible.

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