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After taking a few photographs, she checked her phone. Still no service. She stuffed it into her pocket and picked her way over the rough terrain until she was back on the trail. She’d hiked for about ten minutes when she tripped over a rock. She leaned against a tree to steady herself. Smoke rose in the distance. Forest fire or camper? March wasn’t popular for camping, but maybe a hiker lit a fire to make lunch. She veered off the trail, climbed atop a large rock and pulled out her binoculars. Tents and a couple of campers scattered along the edges of what appeared to be an old logging road. A fire blazed in the center of camp. As far as she could tell from the forest map, this wasn’t anywhere near any authorized camping areas.
It wasn’t a forest fire. That was a blessing. The bears and other woodland creatures should be safe enough.
She marked the waypoint on her phone, intent on reporting the visitors. Then hopped down off the rock and swiped her hands across her jeans. A metallic click behind her made her blood run cold. She’d know that sound anywhere.
Lifting up a prayer for protection, she forced her breath to steady.
“Move. Nice and slow.” The voice was male. Appalachian accent, but heavier than what one usually heard in these parts. If she had to guess, she’d say West Virginia. She closed her eyes as the obvious explanation hit her. This was the cult Malachi was trying to find. They hadn’t gone far from Worlds End at all. Just down the street while they’d been searching in West Virginia.
If they were the same people who’d shot at them, she couldn’t go with them or she might not make it out of these woods alive.
“I said move.” He pressed the barrel against the base of her skull and she complied, taking a step forward. Going against the man now might cost her life, but if she did as he asked, God might provide a means of escape. If not, she knew the verse. Absent from the body. Present with the Lord. One way or another, she’d be all right.
Malachi came through the doors, looking a little scruffier than the last time she saw him. But after spending the night in an outhouse, she didn’t look her best either. She chewed on her bottom lip and rubbed her hands along her skirt. “I didn’t know where else to go.”
“What happened?”
“I overheard a phone call. I’m pretty sure Reece means to kill me.” She picked at a loose thread on her coat.
He raised an eyebrow. “Kill you? Why would your boyfriend kill you?”
“I’m not in a relationship with him. He’s the head of our community now, but he shouldn’t be. It’s not his place.”
“Let’s go into the back and talk.” He held the door for her and she preceded him to his desk and sank into a chair. The same one she’d occupied on her last visit.
“I need to go to West Virginia. I can’t stay here.”
“Whoa there. Let’s take this one step at a time, okay?” He sighed. “Where did you go when you left the cabin here?”
“The state forest.”
“Which one?”
“Loyalsock.”
“Would you be able to show us where you were, exactly?”
Becky shook her head. “I don’t think so, no.” She could find her way back there, but she wasn’t going back. West Virginia was where she belonged. Ezekiel was there. He’d make everything all right. His words replayed in her mind. ‘I’m not the man I once was, Rebecca. Don’t come.’ Maybe his phones were being tapped. The FBI was crafty. And he would’ve learned from his mistakes. Now that he was out, he’d want to lead again. With her beside him. If not, what was the point in any of it? Her life was worthless without him.
Unless, she could convince Malachi. That idea no longer seemed to fit. Her son didn’t belong in the community. He may have been born there, but he didn’t fit the mold. And Zeke called it a cult. Were they a cult? They didn’t follow a man; they followed the gods. But the gods communicated through the jade to a man. Could it all be one big hoax? No. Not a chance. This had been her life since she was twelve years old and nobody was going to take it from her. She wouldn’t accept that her entire life had been based on a lie.
“You can stay at my place tonight. I have a spare room.”
The other park ranger moved into her field of vision. “You can’t do that, Malachi. It goes against regulations. We need to find a shelter somewhere who can take her.”
Malachi locked eyes with the other man. “I’m not placing my mother in a shelter.”
The man took two steps back. “I knew there was something you weren’t telling me that day we checked out the cabin. Your mother, huh?” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “In that case, you should offer her a room.” He sighed. “When you decide to trust me with the whole story, call me. I’m clocking out.”
A look of anguish flickered across Malachi’s features, and Becky’s chest tightened painfully. He’d known who she was but chose not to acknowledge their relationship until now. Why? Maybe he thought she wouldn’t want him to know who she was.
“I’m getting off my shift, too. Why don’t you wait outside for me?” He frowned.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Malachi unlocked the front door. “Wait here a minute. I need to put Titan in his crate so he doesn’t jump on you.”
“Titan?”
