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King
He sat in the driver’s seat of his now running car and watched his cell phone come back to life. Whoever had filled up the gas tank hadn’t left a bill or seemed to expect to be paid. He certainly wasn’t in the city anymore. That never would have happened where he was from.
When his phone powered up, he saw all the missed calls and messages from Carmen. That was to be expected. He’d gone radio silent and she’d be pissed.
“Hello, Carmen? It’s King. Is now a good time?” He was asking if anyone from her team was around because he knew she wouldn’t want them to hear the latest update.
“I’ve been blowing up your phone. Where the hell have you been?” Carmen’s voice was raised and strained and he got the impression from the volume, no one was around to hear her.
“I’ve been working. Doing exactly what you sent me here to do.” Guilt plucked at his throat, making his voice sound less than convincing. In truth, while he was observing Cinderhill and what might be going on, he was captivated by Bailey. His thoughts wandered to her in every quiet moment, and out in the woods there were lots of those. He continued to explain, trying to sound more confident.
“I’m staying in Cinderhill and they don’t have technology on site. I had to wait for my gas tank to get refilled so I could charge my phone in the car. But trust me, things are going fine here.”
“You’ve seen Bailey?” Her clipped phrases and irritated tone let him know his explanations hadn’t reassured her yet.
“Yes, she’s the one who helped me out when I ran out of gas and took me in to Cinderhill for food and a place to sleep.”
“And things are fine? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, I’ve spent time with Bailey and I have to say, things seem different here. I’ve heard bits and pieces of how bad it used to be, but Bailey seems happy. And there’s no indication she’s being held against her will. This place is her home and the people are her family. No sign that she’s in any kind of danger.”
“King,” Carmen replied flatly, “it’s a cult. At first blush it’s supposed to seem all rosy and peaceful. You have to look deeper. I sent you all the paperwork on cults, right? You do understand how they work?”
He wasn’t taking this personally. He’d been in enough dire situations to understand the first thing that disappeared was the niceties. People lashed out when they were scared and he could take it.
“I don’t think it’s fair to call it a cult anymore. It seems like the people who are here are more like a simple off-grid community. They’re self-sufficient, friendly, and living off nature. It’s not a lifestyle I’d subscribe to, but it seems harmless.”
“You haven’t seen a single indication of a problem?” Carmen asked with deep skepticism. King could appreciate that. That was a language he spoke fluently.
Deciding from the beginning he had no intention of keeping anything from Carmen, King told her everything he knew and even some things he was speculating. “I’ve heard some talk about lingering problems, but nothing that seems too serious. I’m digging into that further. It’s great here. Everyone is kind and welcoming. They do their own thing. No distractions. No drama. The land and how they live on it is beautiful. Like a little piece of heaven.”
Carmen was silent for a moment. King could hear the frustration in her voice when she spoke again.
“King, I appreciate that you’re trying to help, but it sounds like you’ve fallen under the same spell Bailey did. This place is dangerous. It ruined her life. She was nearly killed there. Did she tell you that? You need to try harder to get to the truth. It’s there. Under the façade, it’s there.”
“Carmen, I understand your concern, but I’m telling you that things are different here. This isn’t the same place Bailey left years ago. It’s older men and women. Young kids playing around. It’s not perfect, but it seems like they’re making an effort to move beyond their past. No one is skittering around, being untrusting of me, this guy who just showed up. They’ve slung the doors wide open and welcomed me in. If they had something to hide, do you think I’d be able to walk through there so freely?”
“I don’t want you to get sucked into this. You need to get Bailey out of there before it’s too late.” Her voice shook with emotion. “It’s clear she hasn’t told you the stories of what really happened there. If she had, you’d never look at that place the same.”
“Carmen, there is no indication she wants to leave or needs to be rescued. By your company’s rules—”
“We aren’t playing by those rules. That’s why you’re there instead of someone else. I know how that place destroyed Bailey. She would never choose to stay in Cinderhill. They’ve brainwashed her again.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m just trying to be transparent with you about how I see things at the moment. I’ll keep an eye on Bailey here and let you know if anything changes. But right now, I think we need to trust that Bailey knows what’s best for herself.”
Carmen sighed heavily. “Just don’t screw this up. If you start drinking the Kool-Aid too, we’re finished.”
“No chance of that. I’m rock solid. I’ve got this.”
When he hung up the phone and tossed it onto the passenger seat, he drew in a deep breath. The realization that he may never be able to convince Carmen of Bailey’s safety hit him hard. This could be a mission he could never really complete, and that didn’t sit right. What kind of proof would Carmen accept and how would he get it without tipping Bailey off to his motive for being there?
His gut sank. He felt slimy now, walking around Cinderhill, joking around and doing work as if he’d really run out of gas and ended up there because of serendipity. Hopefully there would be some way to get out of all this without anyone getting hurt. Not that he was in a rush to get out of anything at the moment. The idea of leaving Bailey was enough to make his palms sweat.
CHAPTERNINE
Bailey
The veil of sleep was overtaking her. It had been a long day filled with hard physical labor, all meant to keep King on his toes. But it had worn her out too.
