Page 88 of Forged in Deception

After all, she’d been on the retreat with Amira, and she knew what happened to her afterwards. Then again, Lily also knew that Bajwa hadn’t been at Senera when the trial took place, so why hadn’t she just called the cops on Karlin, instead?

Was she conspiring with Senera somehow, or was she on some other side of this thing all on her own, desperate to get rid of anyone, including Bajwa, who might put a stop to whatever ritual she was planning?

The stuff they’d heard about cults didn’t seem so ridiculous anymore.

She got to her feet with a sigh. There was no way she was going to be able to rest, let alone sleep, with such a fascinating puzzle in front of her. Instead, she grabbed a couple of logs from the little woodpile and tossed them onto the burning kindling. Within a few minutes, the cabin began to warm.

With nothing else to do, she bowed her head and tried her best to stumble through a prayer that Axel, Paul, and Cora were safe, and then help would arrive soon.

She wasn’t sure God was listening, but if he was?

Now would be a really, really great time for him to work a miracle.

ASHER

Asher stared up at the ceiling of the hut, forcing himself to count slowly to thirty.

It wasn’t easy.

Everything in him was desperate to rush out there after her, guns blazing, but that wasn’t the plan. If he threatened her, she might just refuse to speak, but she could also lead him away from Karlin on purpose. He didn’t think it was worth the risk.

“Twenty-six Mississippi, twenty-seven Mississippi, twenty-eight Mississippi…”

He could almost imagine Karlin wrinkling her adorable nose at him and announcing that he counted like an eight year old. The thought made him smile in spite of his worry.

The second that he hit thirty Mississippis, he sprang up from his mat and slowly snuck out into the darkness.

Just as he’d hoped, Cora was still well within sight, peering into the window of Bajwa’s Jeep and fiddling with the door handle. As he’d suspected, it was locked, and the woman moved past it quickly.

He followed at a safe distance, wrapping his arms around his chest tightly as the harsh wind turned the otherwise harmless raindrops into freezing barbs against his face and neck. Cora, on the other hand, hardly seemed bothered by the cold at all, even though she was wearing a cropped hoodie that revealed a couple inches of midriff.

He shuddered, imagining how the cold water would feel touching his belly button.

Totally yuck.

What was wrong with this girl?

Well, with any luck, he would find out soon enough. Despite his discomfort, he was thankful for the horrendous weather. Between the constant battering of the wind and rain, he could keep up with his quarry. There was no way she would be able to hear his hurried footsteps.

At first, she had seemed to be headed toward the main area of the retreat site, but it wasn’t long before she veered off onto another, narrower path.

The trail grew more winding and hazardous as they went, and soon, Asher had completely lost not only his bearings but any sense of how much time had passed.

All speculation as to where they were going fell away as they went. All of Asher’s focus went to putting one foot in front of the other, trusting that somehow, Cora would lead him to Karlin. If she didn’t, he had no idea of plan B. If he didn’t keep walking, he could become dangerously cold very quickly.

Aside from that, he had to stay close, for the simple reason that it was dark and he had no clue where he was going. It would be way too easy to walk off an unseen ledge and fall to his death.

Even Cora, who had looked invincible when they started their hike, was beginning to look miserable. Her wavy hair hung in dark strings over her shoulders, her jeans were plastered to her legs, and her face looked almost blue.

Still, she pressed on, until at last they came to a small clearing ringed by bushes and tall cacti. She paused for a moment and he did the same. Without movement, he found himself shaking so hard that he could feel his teeth clicking together.

Fortunately, she started walking again quickly, seemingly spotting something in the thick flora that he couldn’t see from his current position.

Though he had paused just long enough to let her get a little ways ahead, he realized immediately that he’d made a grave mistake.

Up ahead, just around a tall clump of spiny cacti, was a red ATV.

Asher swallowed a bad word.

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