Minutes later, sympathy crinkling the skin between her sparse, graying eyebrows, Lois arrived. She held Kaylee’s keys in her thin, arthritic hands. “I found this in the lock. Look at you! You’ve had a fright! You could use some hot tea.” She bustled into the kitchen. Kaylee shuffled in behind and dropped into the nearest chair.
“What did that man want?” Lois asked.
She rubbed her forehead. “His sister’s in the cult and he wants me to go back in to talk to her.”
“Oh, my! What did you tell him?”
“I refused. I can’t go back there.” She watched Lois pour the tea, thinking of all those times she’d been monitored by the women in the compound. And ogled by some of the men. Never having a moment to herself.
It had pushed her, a natural introvert, to the point of desperation. Noah had known what would grate at her. She hadn’t fallen under his spell as quickly as Trisha, but the months of poor food, cold nights and raw nerves had lowered her resistance. Then the unthinkable happened.
Noah had begun to make sense.
Lois squeezed her hand. “You’ll get over this. Trust the Lord. He’ll do what’s right. He knows where you are in your life journey and will meet you right there, if you ask Him.”
“He’s not moving fast enough,” she muttered, disliking the words even as she said them.
“The pain of loss never goes away fast enough. You know, I lost a baby and my mother the same month, a long time ago. It took me years to get over the loss.”
With a furtive glance over her mug, Kaylee sipped her tea. Lois always knew the right thing to say. Had her counselor subcontracted her work out to Lois? It sure seemed so.
The old woman smiled sadly. “But I had a wonderful husband, even if I had to share him with the army. He went to Korea, you know?”
“It must have been hard for him to leave.” Harder than me leaving Trisha that day, three weeks ago. A knot of tears choked her as she remembered when Trisha had accidentally left her, and the back door, unattended. A split-second decision later, Kaylee slipped outside and then out through a gap in the chain-link fence. She went straight to the police.
Oblivious to Kaylee’s memories, Lois chuckled. “I had a friend whose husband was going to Korea on the same ship as Walter. We were supposed to say our goodbyes at the train station, but my friend devised this plan to drive down to Halifax where their ship was waiting.”
Looking conspiratorial, Lois leaned over. “Two women traveling all that way alone? There was no highway and her car was held together with rubber bands and a fast prayer.”
Despite herself, Kaylee smiled. “What happened?”
“We broke down as soon as we reached Nova Scotia.”
“So you missed your husband?”
“No! An elderly man stopped to help. He drove us straight to the dockyard! Oh, he was as nervous as we were, not knowing who we were or what would happen.” She finished with a teary laugh. “We wouldn’t have made it to Halifax without that man!”
Kaylee’s lips thinned. “You’d have found a way.”
“No. The Lord sent us that man. God wanted him to help us, even if we did scare him. He was so sweet and a good Christian man to trust the Lord.”
Eli and his desperate situation filtered back to Kaylee. Phoebe could easily end up like Trisha. Her heart clenched. God may have been showing her that she was supposed to help Eli, but it was too late now.
Eli was long gone.
TWO
Kaylee struggled through work that next Monday. Eli’s plea dogged her steps. Since she’d returned to normal society, she’d been fortunate enough to get a job in the town’s recreation center. It paid minimum wage, but she hoped to find a better position soon.
She assisted the rec coordinator with everything from sorting well-worn sports equipment to brushing the autumn leaves off the basketball courts.
But working proved futile. On Mondays, she should be tidying up after the weekend’s activities, but all she could manage was leaning heavily on her broom.
“You’re in another world. What’s wrong?”
She looked up at Jenn, her supervisor. “Bad weekend.”
Jenn strode across the gym floor. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. Stress, maybe?” Together they looked around the small gym. Kaylee hadn’t done too much. “Sorry, I’ll try to get the sweeping done before noon. I’m not lazy, you know.”
“I know you’re not. Don’t worry about me thinking that.”
Kaylee returned to her sweeping, holding back a sneeze when a stray draft threw some dust up at her face.
Jenn flicked her head toward the door through which she’d just come. “There’s someone in the office looking for you. Why don’t you take an early lunch? No hurry in here.” With that, she turned.
Cold dread doused Kaylee as she watched the older woman leave. Someone was looking for her? Today?
No. Please not him.
She’d spent yesterday morning at church, having given in to Lois’s gentle but persistent invitations. When she first came to Riverline, Lois had asked her to her Sunday services. She’d declined, even though the counselor she was seeing had thought it a good idea.
She’d had enough religion to last a lifetime.
But Lois had needed help bringing things to church and, feeling that she owed her kindly neighbor, she agreed.
Then Sunday afternoon she and Lois helped one of the seniors make some meals for the coming week. Throughout the day, Kaylee had even managed to keep away the guilt she’d felt whenever she thought of Eli. And she’d almost completely managed to keep thoughts of him far from her.
But now—
The door at the far end swung open. In walked Eli.
He had the same confident swagger as his brother. But where Noah preferred long hair, a thick beard and an air of mystery, Eli kept his hair short, almost a crew cut, and his smooth, square jaw gleamed, a handsome addition to a tanned and fit frame.
There was no mystery about what Eli wanted. He wanted Kaylee to help him. Period.
Their gazes locked. Natural light from the high windows proved complimentary to him. Despite the knocking of her heart, she tried her best to look unmoved.
She was not going to get caught up in a fascination of this man. Even if he was a law-abiding citizen wanting only to find his sister, Eli was still Noah Nash’s brother. And Noah Nash had threatened her and forced her to do and say things that she still struggled with today.
Eli stopped a few feet from her, concern etched in his blue eyes. “I’m sorry.”
She blinked. He was sorry? She hadn’t considered that he might apologize.
A contrite smile formed on his lips. “I was way out of line on Saturday. My mother had told me not to contact you, but I did it anyway.”
Kaylee felt a small surge of victory. She was right—vindicated by this man’s own mother. “Even when she’s so desperate to reach Phoebe?”
Eli straightened. “It does mean a lot to her to find Phoebe,” he answered slowly, “but she didn’t want me just barreling up to you. My mother realizes that you’ve been traumatized. She was worried I would ruin even the slimmest chances of finding Phoebe. But that’s what I did anyway. I’m sorry.”
She returned to her sweeping. “Apology accepted. If you’ll excuse me, I have work to finish before lunch.”
“Your boss said she’d give you an early lunch.”
“She’s feeling bad because of all I went through.”
“You told her?”
She stopped her sweeping. “Like you said, I was on CNN. Must have been a slow week.”
“Hardly. You were tortured for two years!”
“I wouldn’t go that far—”
“I would. My brother kidnapped you.”
“No. I went there willingly. I’d hoped to talk to Trisha, let her know I was worried. I figured she’d come home with me, if only for a short visit. We have mutual friends, an aunt who would have loved to see us…” She he
ard her words die off.
“But Trisha refused. Then Noah refused to let you leave. In that way, he kidnapped you.”
Her grip on the broom tightened. “Noah decided that I could be useful.”
“He threatened and manipulated you for two years. And that’s the same as kidnapping, you know? He wanted someone who could help him with his cult. You fit the bill. You had to lie—”
She dropped the broom. The clatter of wood on wood rang harshly in the stale air around them. “How do you know so much? This is way more than CNN reported.”
“I hired a private investigator who has connections within CNN. He was able to get a copy of the full interview.”
She bit her lip. Yes, there had been an extensive interview and she’d been surprised and yet thankful that the majority of it had never aired. The interviewer had been good at her job, coaxing information from her. “Well, that’s good for your investigator.”
“He’s the best. He also knew what to ask the State Troopers and the Houlton Police, too.”
“He really earned his pay,” she murmured.
“Yes, well, he also owes a few people, now. Look, I know that Noah saw an advantage in you staying there. I know he twisted the reasons around and threatened you to keep quiet and stay or he’d kill both you and Trisha. Then he got you to play the part of a prophetess.”
She hated that part almost as much as losing Trisha. The shame of what she did and how she’d nearly fallen under Noah’s spell still haunted her. “I’d rather not rehash it. Besides, this righteous indignation doesn’t suit you.”
He paused before answering. “It may not and I had no right to approach you with my requests. It was inconsiderate of me.”
With a glare, she added, “So was coming here.”
He stooped to retrieve her broom. If her harsh retort bothered him, he didn’t show it. “You’re right. But where my sister’s concerned, I’m not always thinking straight.” He handed her the broom and the moment stretched before them. A slight frown appeared when he blinked. “Phoebe means a lot to me.”
Her own eyes welled up. Small and blonde, Phoebe projected an air of innocence and, to Kaylee’s constant chagrin, total adoration of her brother, Noah.
“What’s she doing for my brother, Kaylee? Tell me about her.”
She shook her head. She’d built up an armor of resistance to the people in Noah’s cult. No matter how much they loved being there or believed in Noah’s vision of a new world or how much of a victim each might be, she’d layered on a disgust and dislike for all of them except Trisha. It had been a matter of survival for her when she realized how vulnerable she was becoming.
Begrudgingly, she answered, “Phoebe loves being there. Your brother has enthralled her. She believes in his vision of separating themselves from society because the world will soon end.”
“Is that what you were made to predict?”
She folded her arms. “Among other things.”
“Why? Why didn’t you just tell them that you were being held against your will and you weren’t a prophet?”
“He threatened to kill Trisha if I didn’t do exactly as he said. At first, I didn’t believe him. Then one day Noah had me brought down to the basement. There were only candles lit, so I couldn’t see well.” She steeled herself against the onslaught of harsh, ugly emotions. They still lodged hard in her throat, swelling until she felt breathless. “He told me in explicit detail what he’d do to Trisha if I left. From that day on, I had no doubt he would do it, too.”
Eli shut his eyes. The frown deepened and his lips tightened to a tortured, thin line. “Phoebe has always looked up to Noah,” he finally said. “She’s not sharp or quick-witted. She’s a baby, a victim. You know that, too. I can see it in your expression. Phoebe may be an adult, but sometimes adults are children.”
In the counseling sessions she’d attended, she learned they were all victims of Noah’s insanity.
And victims needed help.
But they’d all hurt her. By allowing Noah such horrible free rein, especially with her, they’d moved from victims to perpetrators. Her stomach clenched.
Eli opened his eyes and met her stare. Fighting the unwelcomed guilt still rising in her, she returned to her sweeping, not before dashing away an errant tear. “Go away, Eli. Neither of us can help them.”
She could feel him step closer to her. Too close. “We can help them. Phoebe needs you.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “She’s a victim just like you were.”
Phoebe was too trusting. And too easily beguiled and willing to do anything for Noah, even if it meant hiding to prepare for the end of the world.
Kaylee struggled to fight the sympathy leaking in. And she struggled to fight the way Eli’s words drew out the righteousness in her.
“Kaylee?”
She blinked back tears to focus on him. All she could see was gentle sympathy.
“I know how you feel. And I wish that what I was asking of you was easy.”
He didn’t know how she felt. “What are you asking, exactly? That I just talk Phoebe out of that cult? You sound like you think she’ll listen to me. Considering what I’ve said and done and what Noah did to Trisha, I’d be the last person they’d open their door to, even if I did agree to go.”
“But you know the compound. You know the house and grounds and everyone in there. You’d know how to get into it.”
“So you need someone to tell you the layout of the house and then you’ll just ask Phoebe to come outside?” She shook her head. “You’d have to be as smart as Noah to convince her to give it all up. Or as sly and shrewd.”
Again, that hint of strife within him flitted across his face. Only for the briefest of seconds, she noticed. Then it was gone. “I’ve been trying to talk to her for years. You’re my best shot right now. I don’t know what else to do. I’ve prayed about it constantly.”
“Yes, well, prayer may be okay for finding a bit of temporary peace, but you have to be proactive or nothing works.”
He frowned. “Why do you say that?”
“You better come up with a plan. Even if we get into the compound and then into the house, you still need to deal with those people. God only helps those who help themselves.”
Eli frowned. “Is that what Noah taught you? God isn’t some passive overseer. He’s powerful, strong, willing to do anything to bring back His lost sheep.”
“His lost sheep? He abandoned Trisha and let her be murdered!” she lashed out. “A drug overdose in a motel, the coroner reported. And everyone in that cult, Phoebe included, told the police Trisha was depressed because I left. They lied and said I was disillusioned because Noah had spurned me. I couldn’t convince the police otherwise.”
Her next breath caught in her throat and her head suddenly pounded. It was all so fresh, so hard to bear. “But it wasn’t going to bring back Trisha and I wasn’t strong enough to fight it all. I had to let it go, but believe me, it was the hardest thing I ever had to do.”
When he didn’t answer, when his lips tightened and she saw his throat bob, she glared at him. “Do you really think Phoebe’s going to follow either of us out? You have to come up with something more drastic than that, I’m afraid.”
He looked as if he wanted to say something, but held it back. His face had become so easy to read. “You don’t have a plan, do you?”
It was an accusation. She was angry.
He shook his head, barely. Allowing the surge of shock and anger to overtake her discretion, she burst out, “You’re expecting God to step in with some divine intervention? That’s admirable, but frankly, it’s insane!”
“This is important to me, Kaylee. I can’t explain it any more than that.”
On her heel, she spun away from him to grab the dustpan. There was nothing left to say.
“Kaylee, I need to save my sister.”
She pursed her lips to fight the compassion. She’d tried to save Trisha, even going to the police after she escaped, secretly hopi
ng that their investigation would somehow free her sister. But they didn’t take her claims seriously. “I tried to do the same.” Her whisper rose as she continued speaking. “But the police believed everyone except me. Because I’d willingly stayed in that cult for two years, they didn’t think I was held captive. And there was no evidence to back up my claim. All that I did to save my sister’s life ended up condemning her to death!”
He didn’t react to her outburst. “Do you go to the church in town? Is that where you were yesterday?”
Caught off guard by his question, she nodded. “I went because Lois, my neighbor, asked me to. She’s been inviting me to go since I came. I didn’t want to, believe me.”
“Why?”
She gaped with shock at him. “Because, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve had more than my share of religion lately.”
“No. You’ve had your share of a dangerous and evil man and his warped views.” He wet his lips and with a look of concern, he tilted his head. She could see the faint scar he’d shown her on Saturday.
“Kaylee, you have to replace a negative behavior with positive behavior, right away. You have to be proactive when changing those thought patterns that lead only to the wrong attitudes and crippling fear.”
“Like getting back on the horse when it throws you? No, thank you.”
“No, not like that. It’s important to replace negative thought patterns with positive thought patterns immediately, or else you risk being overwhelmed by your own fear and hatred. You can’t ignore that part of you that hates everything that reminds you of Noah’s cult. It’s unhealthy.”
When she said nothing, he asked, “What does your pastor say about suffering?”
“He’s not my pastor. I just went to the church to please Lois.” She bit her lip. “She said that we’ve all sinned. Yeah, except I didn’t deserve what I got and I know Trisha didn’t, either.”
“If you disagree with the church, then why did you go?”
She shrugged. “Lois kept asking me to go and caught me at a weak moment. And she’s been good to me since I came here to Riverline. But I think I should take a break from church for a while. Give myself time to heal.”
Desperate Rescue Page 2