Chapter 14

fourteen

As they made their way through the forest, Seth pushed back on his panic. He didn’t know Joseph, but what he did know wasn’t good. Since he had been declared dead for over a decade, who knew what kind of mental state he was in. If he planned on stealing Autumn’s money, then he definitely did have a screw loose. He would have to come forward as her father to get it.

Those thoughts kept swirling in his head, even as he kept moving one foot in front of the other.

He heard Maya bark, and he turned. That was the sound he had been praying for. They followed the dog to an area where the vegetation had been disturbed. Yep, there had been a fight there, at least three individuals. Two larger people—definitely men—then smaller tracks.

Autumn .

His heart leaped up and almost choked him. She had left her car in an area where it would be easily found, then —if he was reading the signs correctly—she had left them all kinds of clues to her trail.

“Here, Captain,” Kap said, pointing to a rock. “There’s some blood.”

Even as every drop of his blood chilled, he nodded. He could not lose his mind because she was counting on them. Thankfully, it didn’t look like a lot of blood, but at least it was a sign.

Maya barked and strained against her lead.

“Let’s go,” he ordered as they started off in the direction Maya was telling them to go.

Hold on, Autumn. We’re coming.

Autumn woke slowly to darkness. For a few moments, her brain didn’t want to work. It was almost like her head had a puzzle with a few pieces missing. Speaking of her head, it was pounding like a freaking hammer. Gingerly, she sat up and sucked in a breath. Fuck, her ribs hurt.

Then…the events came rushing back to her. Freddy being killed, Joseph texting her, and the fight in the woods with Bart and his friend. Then…nothing.

She had left her phone back in the car, knowing that the area she was in had little to no cell service. Instead, she waited until she parked to turn off the phone, hoping she had given Charity enough of a trail to follow. Now, she hoped that Team Bravo was on their way to find her. Maybe she should have waited, but she was worried about what Joseph would do. There had to be some people here who really didn’t understand what Joseph was planning. Many of the True Believers weren’t the most intelligent. They lacked the critical thinking skills to avoid a man like Joseph Watters. He always seemed to walk away without a scratch, and his followers were ruined or dead.

Hopefully, Seth and his team would make it there before Joseph realized her money was out of reach.

She was in some kind of bedroom. It was small, with very little besides the bed and bedside table. There was no lamp, only an overhead light, and it was dark. She didn’t want to turn on the overhead light because it would definitely alert people if they were in the hallway. Of course, she might make noise, even moving in the bed if she were on the second floor.

She debated moving around. She had to know where she was and how much time had passed since she’d fainted. And she needed to know more about her surroundings before checking the house.

As carefully as possible, she stood and hobbled over to the window. The throbbing from her midsection told her she had definitely bruised a rib. It wasn’t the first time, so she knew what the pain was like. Of course, this was a little more intense, but she could take it. She had to until Team Bravo got to her.

Looking out the blinds, she realized she was on at least the house’s second floor. Guards patrolled the area but didn’t appear very good at their jobs. They were spending more time talking to each other than keeping an eye on things.

She heard the footsteps before a key sounded in the door. Well, she might not have made it out the door anyway. This way, she didn’t have to fight the lock.

She expected Joseph. Instead, a man in his mid to late twenties stepped into the room. He was wearing a dark polo shirt tucked into khaki shorts. He was in good shape but more on the small side. Oh, this one was going to be a definite True Believer .

Short dark hair, a sharp, thin nose, and weirdly piercing grey eyes. If he were in a horror movie, he would definitely be the creature created by the madman. There was something off about his gaze as if he wanted her to acknowledge him. Why? Did she know him?

“Summer.”

“Wrong season, jackass.”

His mouth turned down in a frown. God, they were all such morally corrupt assholes, but they frowned on a woman using what they deemed curse words.

“Your father is waiting for you downstairs, but he thought you might want to clean up first.”

“It was then that she noticed the clothes he was holding. It looked like a dress from the nineteenth century.

“Nope.”

“Excuse me?”

Jesus, these True Believers were a pain in the ass.

“I said I was not wearing your weird ass clothes. Just take me to Joseph.”

The frown deepened. “You dishonor your father.”

“My father is okay with my behavior.”

Of course, Sam allowed her to be her own woman. That was Sam. She loved him for everything he was and was not. He supported her and loved her for who she was. He never told her that she owed him anything or that she was meant to bear a man’s babies. He also didn’t try to marry her off to his weird old friend.

He opened his mouth to say something, but she took a different tactic.

“Do I know you?”

The anger seemed to fade. “No. We never met in person, but we are related.”

She blinked. “In what way? If you’re talking about the cult?—”

“Joyous Wave is not a cult!”

His shout was out of left field, which told her this one might be nuttier than the rest. This one took it personally.

“Either way, I’m not related to that particular insanity anymore.”

He took a step forward, his hands clenched by his sides. “The insanity is you.”

Okay, that made no sense, but these people rarely did.

“How so?” she asked, cocking her head to study him.

“You are destined to help us.”

“That’s what Joseph told you.”

“Yes. That and you will be by his side to guide us.”

Absolutely fucking not. But she was pretty sure saying that might have him losing his temper. Most times, she would push that anger so that he lashed out, but she was feeling a bit beaten up. She needed to draw this out as long as possible.

“Tell me everything,” she said, her voice gentle. She knew from experience these idiots thought all women should be submissive.

He eyed her, suspicion darkening his looney gaze. “Why?”

“How can I know the brilliance unless I know what is about to happen?”

He sighed.

“Did Joseph order you to bring me to him right now?”

He shook his head. “He’s busy.”

Inwardly, she rolled her eyes. Being busy for Joseph meant one of three things: He was having sex, he was sleeping, or he was high.

“Okay, so,” she said, sitting on the bed, “tell me everything.”

Rami came back to the group, his feet barely making any noise. They were all good at these things, but Rami was a ghost. In fact, Seth knew that had been the former SEAL’s nickname while he served.

“Four guards, but they’re useless. They seem to spend more time talking than they do patrolling.”

“That’s odd, right?” Nikki asked.

“No. Actually, I studied this in college,” Kap said. “They did a case study and pointed out that most cults would have regular members patrolling. If there was a lot of organization within the cult, they would have a good team leader. But when they are in disarray, like I assume the Joyous Wave is, they will take whoever they can get. Lots of times, it’s just the biggest guys.”

“Yeah,” Rami said. “They’re huge. Several of them look like Pacific Islanders.”

“Polynesians?” Nikki asked.

Rami nodded.

“I can go in.”

“Why you?” Seth asked.

“I can play lost little Hawaiian girl. If they’re big and stupid, they’ll fall for it.”

He weighed the idea.

“And, if they don’t, they will at least be distracted enough for you all to come in.”

“Okay. Do it.”

She took off some of her gear, handing it over to Kap, standing beside her. Seth glanced at Ryan and Maya, who watched from a few feet away. The German Sheppard was antsy since they weren’t letting her go further. Her mission was to find Autumn, a person she knew by scent.

“What the hell?” Rami said, drawing Seth’s attention back to the group.

Nikki was standing there with just her sports bra on.

“Listen, I don’t have time to make you understand this, so I will say heterosexual men always lose their train of thought around boobs. Works every time.” She grabbed her water bottle off the ground and poured some into her hand before flicking it on her face.

“This is unacceptable,” Rami said, and Nikki laughed.

“Let it go, Rami. She’s right,” Seth said, his temper starting to fray. “We need a distraction. We can’t use Maya because she will lose it if any of those assholes have Autumn’s scent on them.” He turned to Nikki. “Let us all get in position. The rest of TFH is on their way, but since we aren’t sure what’s going on in there, we need to get in there ASAP.”

“Is that what Del said?” Nikki asked.

He didn’t answer because he didn’t ask his boss for permission. He was ready to burn the fucking world down to save Autumn. “Let’s go.”

“So, you are saying you’re my half-brother?” Autumn asked. It was the same shit that Joseph peddled out to everyone. They all believed they had a connection to him, and that’s why they were always ready to die for him.

Peter’s features lit up. “Yes. Although, I do understand that you are above me.”

Good God, these True Believers were definitely lost souls. She understood that most people who ended up at Joyous Wave were, including her mother. But this…Joseph was a sick son of a bitch. He found these people and told them he had fathered them. Autumn was pretty sure Joseph had been shooting blanks for years. She was involved with a few survivor groups, none of whom had familial connections. All had different fathers. Autumn had paid for the DNA tests to give them peace of mind.

“I wouldn’t say I was above you.”

“You are so much older.”

What an asshole.

“Peter? Do you think I could take a shower?”

He sighed. “I don’t have permission for that.”

Dammit. Peter might be a nut job, but he knew how to follow orders. Peter’s phone buzzed, then he read the message. Fear filled his expression.

“Father wants to see you, and you are still wearing those clothes.”

“Tell you what? Get me a washcloth to clean up my face, and I will blame the clothes on myself. Don’t worry.” She patted his hand.

“Are you sure?”

“I know how to handle Joseph. He’ll understand.”

Peter nodded, then hurried out. He forgot to lock the door, but she figured it didn’t matter. Mainly because he made it back in less than two minutes with a wet washcloth. She cleaned off her face, which was difficult without a mirror, but Peter told her it was fine.

His phone buzzed again. “We must go. Father is angry.”

She wanted to roll her eyes, but she smiled. “Lead the way, brother.”

Autumn almost felt guilty when Peter smiled at her, but he might have had something to do with killing Freddy. She followed Peter down a hallway. The thick carpet runner muffled their footsteps as they descended the stairs into a massive living space. There, looking out the window, was the man she had sworn to kill.

“Hello, Joseph.”