Cult members were incredible liars because they believed everything they said. Even when they knew they were lying, they were certain they were doing it for a greater good, so the lie, in a way, became the truth.

But their world, and everything they believed in, was dictated by their leader. Typically, cult leaders discouraged curiosity and offered abstract answers for questions that might arise. That was how they handled any doubts about their leadership, any complaint, and especially criticism from outside.

So when you went completely off script, saying something the cult leader didn’t anticipate, it was easy to tell. Because at that moment, the cult members had to think. They had to search for the right answer. For a fraction of a second, they regained their individuality. At that moment, the cult members weren’t good liars. They were the worst liars.

Abby saw the surprise in David’s eyes, the long stare toward Otis, as if searching for guidance, and at that moment she became certain that David Huff didn’t know that Nathan had been kidnapped.

“But that’s . . . ,” David finally blurted. Then he regained his composure and paused. “How?” he finally asked, his voice cracking.

“We’re still looking into it, sir,” Carver said. “We would appreciate your cooperation.”

“Of—of course. Whatever you need.”

“You didn’t know?” Abby asked. “It was reported on all the local news.”

“We don’t have televisions here, and most of us don’t own cell phones. We try to avoid the media. It’s a distraction.”

“Who does have a cell phone here?”

“Well, Otis, of course, he needs it to run the place. And—” David paused, and his head rose as he gazed farther out on the horizon.

The sound of an engine made Abby turn around. A pickup truck drove down the road by the side of the house and stopped by the field, raising a cloud of dust. Two men stepped out and approached Otis. One of them glanced over.

Abby peered back at the man. Making sure that she wasn’t wrong.

There was no doubt about it. The man who had arrived was the same one Eden had described. The one who’d hung around their block. And he was the one who maintained the Instagram profile Karlad345, which had been created to cyber stalk Gabrielle.

CHAPTER 32

“Carver,” Abby said, her eyes still locked on the man in the field.

“I saw,” Carver said. “We need to bring him in.”

Abby’s eyes went to the people around them. Four men and three women working in the field. One still in the pickup truck. The three men who had been watching them had followed from a distance.

Abby had spent countless hours studying cases of major hostage situations. She’d shown up to dozens of crises and untangled the knot, figuring out how they’d gotten to this dangerous point. She’d learned to recognize the causes that could spark a crisis.

These people’s vision of the world was warped, a cultivated mentality of us against them, and she had no doubt that she, Wong, and Carver were them. She had good reason to believe there were guns on the premises, some just out of sight. Tensions were already high.

To make things worse, she had no idea what Tillman’s agenda was here. Was his cult really involved in Nathan’s kidnapping? If it was, Nathan could be on the premises right now, and Tillman and his men might do anything to keep the police from searching the grounds. Or from interrogating one of their own members.

Carver took two steps toward their suspect. She watched him as time slowed down around her. Saw the change in Otis Tillman’s stance as he registered Carver’s approach. One of the men tensed, his hand shifting to his back. Behind her, she could sense Wong reacting, preparing for whatever was about to happen.

She took a few hurried steps to Carver and lay a hand on his shoulder. “Wait,” she said in a low voice. “Stay back. Let me handle this.”

She felt the knotted muscles underneath her palms. Carver’s jaw was clenched tight, and she could guess he was flooded with adrenaline. Like her, he knew instinctively this might go sideways. But unlike her, he didn’t know how to avoid it. They couldn’t walk away and risk this man disappearing. They had to take him in.

“Trust me,” she muttered. “Please.”

Carver stood in place, his brow furrowed. Finally he said, “Okay. Wong and I are just behind you.”

Abby nodded and swept her hair behind her ears, plastering the most casual, nonthreatening smile on her face. She had practice, knew it seemed authentic. Some people had fake smiles that never reached their eyes. Abby’s fake smiles spread to her eyes, her brow, her body language. In fact, Abby’s fake smiles seemed more authentic and infectious than her real ones. The fact that she was a small woman with silly-looking ears also helped to alleviate the tension. Her own casual smile was reflected in the stance of the men she approached. They still glanced at Carver and Wong suspiciously but deemed her as safe.

“Mr. Tillman, can I have a word with one of your men?” she called out.

She made sure to keep her pace steady as she met Tillman’s eyes. At the moment, he was the only one she cared about. The rest of the cult members, she knew, were single minded and hostile. In the cults’ everyday business, compromise was normally unheard of. People were indoctrinated by the leader to believe they were working for a higher purpose, that the law was the enemy, that the world was against them. In such a tense and extreme atmosphere, the moment she tried to make an arrest, there would be pushback—and violence.