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She rolled her eyes. Since her father was staying at the house she’d purchased, she had told them she would pick them up. Driving into Honolulu and then back to the Lee house made no sense.
Autumn: On my way. Do you have the directions to the house?
Ian: Of course.
She slipped her phone into her pocket and shut the door just as Freddy’s door opened.
“Hey, pretty Autumn. You look amazing.”
She smiled at him. “Thank you. Bossman is having a party for his engagement.”
He nodded. “You know...” His voice trailed off, and he shook his head.
“What?”
He drew in a deep breath and looked up at her. “You look like your mother.”
Alarm hit her first, winding its way through her entire body before she could stop it. It was her first reaction any time she ran into one of the former cult members. They were sometimes angry at her, thinking it was her fault that Joseph had a standoff with the feds. The truth was, they had been investigating him for months if not years.
Anger surged. She worried about this man and took care of him. Yes, he was definitely an informant, but he would have been dead if it hadn’t been for her.
Freddy’s creased face showed his regret as he held up his hands.
“No, don’t worry. I’m not still aTrue Believer. I was at Joyous Wave until about a month before everything went to shit. I overdosed, and once the hospital got hold of me, my family found out and came to get me.”
She was still on edge. Many of the survivors who claimed to be the true believers of Joseph Watters looked to her to be the next great leader. They thought that she would call them for the next great gathering. That was going to happen right after JFK Jr was elected president.
Worse, if they knew she’d hunted Joseph and plotted to send him straight to hell as soon as she could get hold of him, they would probably burn her alive.
He sighed. “I don’t blame you for not believing me. I didn’t pick up on it at first. I was having issues when you moved in.”
Oh, yeah, he’d had several overdoses the first year she lived in the apartment next to his. He was still a drug addict, but he seemed to be functioning at the moment.
“Yes. I remember.”
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, but she ignored it.
“She was always kind to a stupid boy like me.”
“You aren’t stupid.”
“I’m not that boy anymore.”
And more than likely, his drug addiction started at Joyous Wave.
“I felt bad for not telling you.”
She nodded. “Well, thanks.”
“I also wanted to tell you that I’m hot on the trail of the person moving the new synthetic. They’re calling it The Rapture.”
Her heartbeat almost tripled in just a few seconds. “The Rapture?”
He nodded. That was definitely Joseph. He was such a nut job. He probably really loved that name because he knew there would be true believers he could sell to. And now, if Joseph remembered Freddy, he was in more danger. Joseph wouldn’t hesitate killing Freddy to prove a point, especially if he was worried Freddy would tell people he was still alive.
“Don’t worry about finding the person in charge.”
He frowned. “That’s what I do for you.”
