Flame stared at the door like he could see through it and said, “Not that I know of.”

Spinning, I pounded on the door. “Maddie! It’s Ky. Open up.”

Flame moved behind me until he was practically flush against my back.

“Flame, back the fuck off. I ain’t got time for your crazy right now.”

“I ain’t moving nowhere, fucker. Making sure you don’t scare the bitch.” Flame spun his blade in his hands past my face. “She screams, I make you scream.”

Gritting my teeth, I moved to tackle Flame, but footsteps on the stairs pulled my attention.

“Flame! Please move!” Mae shouted, running up the stairs dressed in her usual tank and black jeans, Styx following behind.

“Maddie won’t open up, and I’m about to kill this cunt if he doesn’t back the fuck off!” I hissed, never breaking Flame’s glare.

“Flame! I need to get in there for Maddie and Lilah. Please let me past!” Mae shouted.

The psycho grunted in response and stepped back, his back hitting the wall.

Mae turned the knob and pushed through. Maddie was in the middle of the room, staring timidly toward the doorway. “Maddie! Is Lilah in here with you?” Mae asked. Maddie shook her head, her green eyes huge as she stared at the group gathered in the hallway.

Mae looked back at us and she’d turned white. “Styx?” she whispered, a fuckin’ desolate expression on her face.

“Sister?” Maddie whispered from her place behind Mae, dressed like Lilah in her gray long dress.

Mae looked to Maddie. “Yes?”

Mae swallowed and tears built in her eyes. “Where is Lilah? Has something happened to her?” Maddie’s breathing hitched and she stumbled backward. “Are they back for us? Has Prophet David returned and come to take us back to be saved?” Her voice built in volume and she cried. “Have they taken Lilah? Have they recaptured Lilah?”

Mae jumped forward and held a shaking Maddie in her arms. “No! They have not returned. They are gone, sister.”

Maddie pulled back and shook her head. “No! Prophet David said he would return if he were to ever be killed. He was to be resurrected to seek retribution on those that wronged him! He has returned, Mae! I know it, and he has taken Lilah! Mae, they will kill her. They will make an example of her desertion!”

Maddie was almost screaming now, and Flame was losing his shit behind us, pacing, a constant fuckin’ growl under his breath. I wasn’t far behind, hearing the shit spewing from Maddie’s mouth. That cult had completely head-fucked those bitches.

Mae whipped her head around to look at us as she tried to calm Maddie in her arms. “The river. The only other place she could be is the river.”

I was running down the stairs before Mae even finished the sentence, Styx following. I smashed through the exit and sprinted across the yard. AK, Vike, Cowboy, and Hush pulled out their Uzis.

“Fuck! We almost shot you!” AK shouted, but Styx and me didn’t stop. “Where you going?” he shouted, but I was too busy breaking through the line of trees, my heart fuckin’ racing faster with every step.

Why the hell would she come to the river when we’d just been attacked? What if something had happened? I almost stumbled when I panicked that it could be because we made love.

Shit!

I could hear several sets of feet following me now as I ran through the woods, ignoring the low branches whipping and scratching at my face. I kept to the dirt path leading to the river, pushing my legs to move faster, when I heard the rush of water in the distance.

“Lilah!” I shouted as I broke through the line of trees to the riverbank. But there was nothing. I ran to the edge, looking down into the water, the current rough and strong.

“Fuck!” I bellowed, my hands on my head. Styx gripped my arm and pulled me around. I met his questioning eyes. “She fuckin’ comes down here to pray, then goes in to cleanse herself or some shit.”

Styx’s expression hardened and he released me to begin searching the water. I ran about twenty-five yards and recognized the slope where Lilah would lay her clothes. Eyes to the ground, I searched every inch… and my heart fuckin’ fell when I saw a white piece of material tucked under a rock.

Bending down, I pulled on the material, freeing it from the rock, and picked it up—Lilah’s headdress.

“No!” I yelled, head tipped back in fury, and clenched the material in my hands.

AK, Vike, Cowboy, and Hush approached, Uzis high as they scoured the area. My knees felt weak, and before I knew it, I was on the ground, fuckin’ head between my knees.

Styx kneeled down before me and put his hand on my shoulder. I glanced up and held out her headdress, rasping, “She was fuckin’ here, prez. She was here.” I felt the material in my hand and looked to the river. “What if she’s fuckin’ drowned?”

All I could feel was a huge gaping hole in my chest where my heart should be. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Lilah, my Lilah, my fuckin’ pilgrim blonde… my old lady, fuckin’ gone.

“Ky!” someone shouted, and I saw Styx shoot his head in that direction. But all I could do was stare at that motherfuckin’ river and think about my bitch.

Lilah… baby…

A familiar whistle caught my attention. I looked to my left to see AK crouched down on another dirt path, one that led to the backcountry road. Styx signaled for me to come over.

Jumping up, I ran to where they were all gathered. AK looked up and pointed to the dirt. “Footprints. A lotta them.”

Inhaling a ragged breath, AK stood, his eyes narrowed. “People were down here, Ky. Looks to be about five or six men, judging by the size of the boot prints.”

“How you know all’a this?” Hush asked.

“Special forces, six tours,” AK replied. “Whoever they are ain’t smart enough to cover their tracks.” He knelt down again and tilted his head. “Fuck!”

“What?” I snapped.

AK glanced back at me. “Two sets of footprints are deeper.” He stood and, sticking to the edges of the path, walked up about ten yards into the trees. He nodded to himself, then said, “They were carrying something to give them more weight.” AK met my eyes and exhaled. “Something weighing about a hundred and ten pounds I’d say.”

“Lilah,” I whispered. “The fuckers took her.”