Page 52 of Summer Ride

The next article was more recent, less than a month ago. It highlighted how Axel Johnson had finally been approved for parole after serving ten years of his twenty-year sentence. It went on to say that he had been charged with kidnapping and child endangerment. It described how he had spent the first year in the hospital, recovering from what they described as a serious injury that he’d suffered just prior to his arrest. He’d had several surgeries within that time but had been expected to make a full recovery.

A full recovery.

That statement stuck in Kara’s mind.

The last time she had seen Axel, she’d used his very sharp hunting knife to cut off the part of him that he’d demanded she worship. It hadn’t taken much, just one quick swipe with all of her strength behind her and the element of surprise. Honestly, she hadn’t even been aiming for it. She’d just wanted to hurt him enough that he’d go down and not get back up.

She’d never imagined back then that they would be able to sew it back on.

Shivering and putting those thoughts behind her, she opened the last link. It was a podcast from two weeks ago by a man named David Samuel.

She had a difficult time listening to the first few moments as the self-appointed spiritual man ranted about how her and all young girls were put on earth for men’s pleasure. She felt so much anger growing, she almost slammed shut her laptop. But then his tone shifted. His voice grew… different. Every ounce of fear that she’d pushed aside for years surfaced as he mentioned her name.

Suddenly, she knew without a doubt that it was Axel speaking. He confirmed it was him when he mentioned one detail that only Axel would know, about how he had forced her to watch the vulgar acts she hadn’t understood at the time.

“It wasn’t the first time Mary Ester had been disciplined. According to a secret source, the young girl was always looking at porn. You tell me listeners, does an innocent girl dive deep into the world of Satan.” He spewed a few well-chosen bible verses that were perfect for his cause before continuing. “Young Mary Ester was chosen for Axel Johnson. The Lord willed the girl into his path and we all know that men are called upon to obey God’s will.”

Something deep inside her clicked. A memory she’d buried so deep that when it was finally set free, she felt her entire world spin.

“You were chosen for me.” Axel had told her that as he’d tied her to the headboard that first night. “The Lord willed you into my path. All men are called upon to obey God’s will,” he’d said before he’d covered her mouth with his.

Jolting out of the memory, she stopped the podcast and did a quick search on David Samuel. When too many results came back, she added the name of the podcast, Israel the Third.

As far as she could tell, only this one podcast existed under that title and that name. What really scared her was how many followers he had; how many other men had commented on that podcast. Sick, vulgar things. They all claimed to be prophets from God.

Glancing around the dark room, she felt a shiver race down her body.

Where there really that many sick people out there?

Feeling overwhelmed, she shut her laptop and tiptoed back into the bedroom.

When she crawled in next to Carter, his arms automatically went around her and he pulled her close.

“You okay?” he mumbled.

“Yes, go back to sleep,” she said softly. She heard his breathing slow once again.

It took her a while to fall asleep and when she did, the dreams were a never-ending circle of her youth, from her first memories to the day she’d been found.

She woke to a soft banging noise and the sound of Carter cursing under his breath.

She jolted awake and glanced over at him. He was hopping up and down on one leg while holding his other foot.

“Are you okay?” she asked, watching him hop around butt naked.

“I forgot where I was.” He glanced at her. “Go back to sleep. I just needed a bathroom break.” He disappeared into the bathroom.

She sat up and stretched, then climbed out of bed and looked at the beautiful scenery outside.

“It’s beautiful here,” Carter said when he returned and wrapped his arms around her.

“A week just isn’t long enough.” She turned into his arms.

“How’s the head?” he asked, searching her eyes.

“Like nothing ever happened.”

“Good, then if you feel up to it, I was thinking we might go kayaking today.”