Page 49

CHAPTER

FORTY-FOUR

KARLIN

“ W hoa,” Axel said, stopping short beside her. “Did this place used to be a prison or something?”

Karlin knew exactly what he meant. The sun had finally risen, and despite the lingering clouds, she could finally see in detail what the compound in front of them looked like.

It was made up of several small concrete buildings surrounding a larger one in the center.

There were at least three guard towers that she could see, but there was no indication that anyone was inside of them.

Were it not for the sounds that were now emanating from the central building, as well as the handful of ATVs that she could see parked nearby, she would have assumed that the place was abandoned.

It seriously gave her the creeps.

“Ooh, listen. They have drums now,” Axel said, smiling as he started forward again. “That’s good news.”

“Why? I thought your band already had a drummer. You,” she joked.

“You know full well that the band is part of my cover,” he retorted. “My true passion is listening to music. Actually learning to play it seems way too hard, and trust me, no one wants to hear me sing.”

“You just keep getting better, don’t you? Man of my dreams–”

Without missing a beat, he closed the space between them and quieted her up with a kiss.

Despite the imposing structure before them and the eerie drumbeats coming from inside, the moment felt almost romantic. Axel had a way of making that happen. It was honestly pretty impressive.

“Anyway, as I was saying,” he said, gesturing for her to keep walking. “It’s good that they’re drumming. I don’t think they were drumming before.”

She caught on to where he was going immediately. “It’s a change in the pattern, which probably means they might be actually performing their scary murder ritual now.”

“Exactly!” Axel crowed.

She gave him a look. “There’s something seriously wrong with you. You know that, right?”

“I’m going to scout up ahead a bit. I want you at least a hundred feet behind me.” He drew the gun from its holster and clicked off the safety. “Oh, and be quiet or I’ll have to kiss you again.”

“Ooh, so scary.”

“See you in a second. Be careful.”

In a certain way, despite the teasing smile he gave her that totally melted her into goo, he kind of did scare her a little.

He was the picture of competence now, sneaking along the side of the building, his elbow bent as he raised his gun.

She wouldn’t want to be on his bad side, that was for sure.

She waited as he slowly made his way along the wall in front of them, his eyes alert as he scanned the area.

But just as she was about to start following behind him, she saw him come to a stop. Her heart pounded so loudly that she swore she could hear it in her ears, but when she looked around, she saw nothing.

The desert behind them was so empty it was almost peaceful. Birds had begun their morning songs, and the sky no longer seemed to be threatening anything worse than a few clouds.

There was nothing that should have made him stop. But there he was, pressed against the wall, his hands gripping the gun so tightly that she could see the white of his knuckles even at a distance.

Her stomach sank as realization dawned.

He was having another panic attack, and if he didn’t come out of it soon, they would be in serious trouble.

ASHER

Asher pressed his face against the cool concrete wall.

He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs, but of course, he knew that he couldn’t.

Years of frustration were bubbling over now, mingling with his terror.

“Seriously God? Seriously?” he said quietly, not wanting Karlin to hear his anger at the Lord, but at the same time, not really caring if she did.

It wasn’t like there was any chance she was going to stay where he told her to, so now she was exposed like he was, which just gave him one more panicky thing to panic about.

Just perfect.

“I learned my lesson, okay?” he continued in a whisper, slamming his free hand against the wall.

It made a dull, ineffectual thumping sound.

He hadn’t even managed to make himself feel pain.

“I’ve never even been scared of drums before.

I actually like listening to loud drums. Is this a sign?

Because I hear you loud and clear. I’m sorry I’m out here in the field. I’m sorry I didn’t listen last time.”

He didn’t want to think about the recent fiasco he’d accidentally caused on one of their last cases, a kidnapping that brought him and Ben to South Padre Island.

He should have told Gabe the truth, that he’d been struggling with panic attacks for years, but he hadn’t. He hadn’t wanted to be held back at the office while his brothers had all the fun.

It was clear to him now how prideful and stupid he’d been. And it was way too late to do anything about it. All he could do was hope that God’s mercy would be granted. He didn’t deserve it, but Karlin did.

And so did whoever it was that the cult was trying to murder within these walls.