Desert Guardian

by Duvall, Karen

  DESERT GUARDIAN

  by

  Karen Duvall

  Electronic Edition

  Copyright @ 2013 by Karen Duvall

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, merchanical, photo-copying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events of locales is entirely coincidental.

  The scanning, uploading, and distributing of this book via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the copyright owner is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyright materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated.

  When Kelly Bancroft receives a suicide letter from her brother, she knows the star-worshipping cult he belongs to is to blame. She travels to the California desert to try talking him into leaving the deadly Star Mother cult, but he's nowhere to be found.

  Cult intervention specialist—and ex-cultist—Sam Reed, aka The Arrow, has his work cut out for him when he teams up with Kelly to rescue her brother. Sam has good reason to avoid the cult that killed his mother, but he's made it his mission to save those who have fallen under Star Mother's spell.

  Deluded by their fantasy beliefs, the cult's followers await a starship that will deliver them to utopia on another planet. The caveat? All passengers must leave their bodies behind.

  Will Sam’s and Kelly’s romantic relationship help or hinder them in their struggle to stop a mass suicide? Or will they themselves fall victim to the cult’s fatal madness?

  Praise for DESERT GUARDIAN:

  Desert Guardian is a fast-paced story that kept me glued from the first page. Wow, what a ride! I loved this book so much. The dialogue is excellent, the banter between Kelly and Sam top-notch, and the roles they play are absolutely outstanding. — 5 Angels, Fallen Angels Reviews

  The suspense is exquisitely developed but the love story between the wonderful hero and heroine absolutely shines… Readers will definitely want to make time to settle in for the duration of Desert Guardian. — 5 stars, Romantic Observer Reviews

  Desert Guardian captivates the reader from the opening chapter, with a mystery/suspense driven plot worthy of reading. Ms. Duvall creates strong, dramatic characters as Sam and Kelly confront their own personal emotional demons… — Romance at Heart Magazine

  “Karen Duvall’s Desert Guardian grabs the reader's interest from the first page and never lets go.” — Jasmine Cresswell, USA TODAY bestselling author

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for reading my romantic suspense novel, Desert Guardian. I'm fascinated and horrified by cults of all kinds, and doing the research for this story opened my eyes to the devestating effects a cult can have on someone's life and the lives of their families. I hope you enjoy Sam and Kelly's journey as they battle the madness that threatens them and the people they love. They learn they're stronger together than they could ever be apart.

  Please visit my website http://www.karenduvallauthor.com, or contact me at Karen@karenduvallauthor.com. You can also follow me on twitter @KarenDuvall or drop by my Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/karen.duvall.author.com

  All my best,

  Karen Duvall

  This book is dedicated to my amazing mother, Ruth Genco.

  I miss you, Mom.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter One

  What a perfect night for a kidnapping.

  The dry desert air was warmer than usual for early spring, even for California, and a moonless sky offered Sam Reed the ideal cover of darkness. He peered through his binoculars at the row of trailers rimming the camp of the Star Mother cult. The camper in the middle, with a dim yellow light glowing from its tiny window, held his soon-to-be kidnapees. He recognized the camper even in the dark. It was the same one he had stayed in with his mother twenty years ago.

  "Well, Cody old boy," he whispered to the scruffy coyote that stood at his side. "You ready to play?"

  The lanky canine, no longer the starving pup Sam had rescued from the side of the road two years ago, appeared to grin, his wide pink tongue lolling from a panting mouth.

  Sam nodded. "Me, too. It's showtime."

  He stepped out from behind a mesquite tree and reached inside the black Jeep Wrangler for his flashlight. He pointed at the uniformed dummy sitting in the front seat. "Stay here and guard our phony sheriff," he told Cody before setting off.

  Crouching low, Sam made his way toward the line of campers, his suede hiking boots kicking up plumes of sand, his black jeans and leather jacket blending with the night.

  He peered into the darkness at a ragged array of army surplus tents and weather-beaten shelters from the cult's carnival days. Utility trailers made of splintered wood and peeling paint dotted the campsite.

  When he spotted the tall black tent that stood majestically at the center of camp, dread gathered like carnivorous locusts to chew through the pit of his stomach. The dark side of his soul longed to grab what was inside and make her pay for all the suffering she'd caused him and countless others. The woman who lived there had tried years ago to mold him into something like herself. It hadn't worked. And in the process, she had taken from him the only family he had.

  But payback would have to wait. He'd never have come here at all if he hadn't been hired to take Kelly Bancroft and her brother away from this circus of sadists.

  Sam stopped in back of the wide metal box with bald wheels, its ancient aluminum sides scarred from years of use. He took a quick look around to make sure none of the cult's sentries had snuck out of their holes to ambush him. But all was quiet in the ramshackle camp, the hive of cult devotees bedded down for the night. He just hoped the two people he'd come to rescue would be as eager to leave as he was to get them the hell out of there.

  Resting his ear against the camper's side, Sam listened for movement. Nothing. They must be asleep. He crawled beneath the trailer, his small flashlight clamped between his teeth as he searched for the trapdoor that would get him inside through the floor. Once he found it, he hesitated with his hand on the lever. He was assaulted by sudden memories of how this portal had been used in years past.

  Star Mother's sentries would sneak up on unsuspecting guests who were promised sanctuary in a peaceful community that guaranteed eternal life beyond the stars. The cult was similar to Heaven's Gate in principle, but not in practice. After a few days of artificial kindness and false compassion, the women were raped, the children were separated from their parents, and the men were beaten...all in the name of Star Mother. The bitch. Heaven's Gate was a nursery rhyme compared to the horror novel epitomized by Star Mother.

  He gritted his teeth against an onslaught of emotion, biting down so hard he heard the crunch of enamel on enamel. Must remain focused. The people inside needed his help, not his rage.

  With a careful twist of the lever, he pushed up on the trapdoor and climbed into the d
arkness within. According to the man who had hired him for this covert intervention, his daughter, Kelly, was only visiting the cult for a couple of days. His son, Jake, had been a full-fledged member for well over a year. Kelly's plan was to cajole her brother into leaving the cult, but her father feared she was in over her head. He was right. Sam hoped he'd arrived in time to prevent any physical or psychological damage to either of them.

  He knew the trailer's layout like the back of his hand and automatically veered toward the two bunks in back. One was empty. The other held the form of a woman who turned in her sleep as if reacting to his presence, though he knew he'd been silent as a cat.

  The woman's eyes were closed, but her eyelids fluttered as if she was dreaming. The room was dimly lit by a nightlight, enabling Sam to see the sensuous curves of her body beneath the blanket. He couldn't help wondering what she wore under the sheets. Maybe a skimpy nightgown. Or perhaps she slept in the buff.

  She jerked and her eyes flew open. He swiftly knelt beside her to place one hand over her mouth before she could scream.

  "Be still, Miss Bancroft." Sam glanced behind him to make sure no sentries had come up through the floor. "Your father sent me. I'm to bring you and your brother home."

  Her startled blue eyes widened.

  "Don't believe me?" He leaned in closer, his voice low. "Your father's name is Frank Bancroft, and he owns a small tourist gift shop in Phoenix, Arizona. You're Kelly Bancroft, twenty-five years old, a physical education teacher at Piedmont High in Phoenix, and you coach girls' track and field for the local community center on the weekends. How am I doing so far?"

  She scowled but nodded. He didn't dare risk taking his hand away. If she screamed, every sentry in camp would come running.

  "Your eighteen-year-old brother dropped out of high school a year ago to join Star Mother. You're here now because you want to talk him into leaving the cult, is that right?"

  Still scowling, she nodded again, but her eyes were more intent. She might believe him now.

  "I know from experience how dangerous these people are, Miss Bancroft, and I'm afraid you won't be talking anyone into anything here. The Star Mother cult plays for keeps, and the only way out is my way." He nodded toward the open trapdoor. "Quietly, in the dark, and without anyone knowing." He narrowed his eyes. "If I take my hand away, can I trust you not to scream?"

  Her eyes softened, no longer frightened, and she slowly closed her lids to show him she'd calmed down. He lifted his hand from her mouth.

  Kelly pushed herself up to a sitting position, tugging the thin blanket up to her chin. The short sleeves of a faded blue T-shirt covered her shoulders. So much for being naked.

  Fear had melted from her expression like ice in an oven, her eyes squinting in defiance. Sam hadn't expected Frank's daughter to be beautiful, especially since her buck-toothed, gray-haired old man was no prize. Her chestnut hair cascaded in thick waves to her shoulders, her tanned face emphasizing the whites of her eyes. The irises were vibrant blue and seemed to glow with annoyance as she continued to stare without blinking.

  She licked her full lips with the tip of her tongue, and in a voice still froggy from sleep, she said, "Thanks for going to all this trouble, Mister..."

  "Reed. Sam Reed. But I'm better known as The Arrow here."

  She snorted. "Thanks, anyway, Mr. Arrow, or whatever your name is, but I don't need your help. I know what I'm doing."

  Sure she did. "Mind if I ask what that is?"

  "Yeah, I mind. It's none of your business." She peered at the empty bunk and sighed. "Besides, Jake's not here. He's away on some kind of recruiting mission, but he'll be back tomorrow. And I'm not going anywhere without my brother."

  "Are you sure he's where they say he is?"

  She looked puzzled. "Why would they lie?"

  "To keep you here. They've probably already started your conditioning." Though she seemed fine, not frightened at all, and not nervous or edgy as he'd expect from someone the cult had gotten their hooks into. And physically, she appeared unmarked. She looked fit and healthy, and not too hard on the eyes, either. "How long have you been waiting for him?"

  "I arrived day before yesterday. And by the way, no one's conditioned me for anything." She rolled her eyes then cocked her head to one side. "What's up with the arrow bit?"

  Sam gave her only half a smile. "I'm known for arrowing in on my target and getting a bull's-eye every time." Almost every time, he chided himself. He'd failed one time too many. And that one time would haunt him till the day he died.

  "What kind of target do you arrow in on?" she asked, her words coated with sarcasm.

  "I'm a cult intervention specialist. I rescue victims of mind control, people who can no longer think for themselves. After they're rescued, I counsel them back to health."

  "Give me an example."

  "You want my resume?"

  She shrugged. "The Reader's Digest version will do."

  Though pressed for time, he could afford a few minutes to enhance his credibility. She wouldn't cooperate if she didn't trust him. He scratched his jaw, trying to recall an example that might come close to the Star Mother cult's profile. "Okay. One example. Have you ever heard of the Children of God?"

  She shook her head.

  "River Phoenix was a member before he died. It's a cult that's now referred to as The Family of Love, or just The Family. They preach on the dangers of a de-Christianized society. Like Star Mother, their members are required to cut all family ties."

  Kelly tilted her head down and peered up at him through thick, dark lashes. "But Star Mother is happy to have me here."

  "I'm not finished," he said. "The Family's leader encourages female members to practice what he calls 'flirty fishing,' which means attracting men to conversion with the promise of sex. The media call these women 'Hookers for Jesus.'"

  "That's sick."

  "I agree." He crossed his arms and pinned her with a serious stare. "I helped one of their members escape a life of prostitution last year. As for Star Mother being happy you're here, it's because they want something from you."

  "They want me to be a hooker?"

  "Maybe." He remembered back to the time when a pretty teenage girl he knew had been used by Star Mother to help convince a new convert to give a charitable donation. Tax deductible, of course.

  Kelly laughed, revealing deep dimples in both cheeks.

  He failed to see the humor. "There's nothing funny about innocent people getting robbed and lied to."

  She shook her head. "I meant no disrespect. What's funny is that you're here to save me when I don't need saving. I have everything under control, so go back and tell my father..."

  The humor disappeared from her face, and she stared solemnly at the floor.

  "Tell your father what?"

  She looked up, stabbing him with a glare of pure malice, though he doubted it was meant for him. She hadn't known him long enough. "Tell him he's too late."

  "Too late?"

  "He had his chance to fix things with Jake, but he chose not to. He kicked his son out, disowned him. Disowned me, too, whether he meant to or not. I'll never forgive him for giving Jake no choice but to find himself a new family, and because of me..." She broke off and swallowed, her eyes shining in the dim light of the tiny trailer room. "It's my fault he's here. I have to get him out."

  "How is it your fault?" Sam recognized the anguish pulling at the corners of her mouth, the shadows beneath her eyes and worry lines etching her forehead. He knew guilt when he saw it. He stared it in the face every time he looked in a mirror.

  She shrugged. "I don't want to talk about it. Just go away."

  Forcing himself to ignore the sadness in her eyes, he stood and snatched an apple from a bowl of fruit on the counter. "Did you eat any of this?"

  "Not yet."

  "Don't. It's probably laced with acid. Hallucinogens help them turn you to their way of thinking."

  "Paranoid much?" She crossed her arms but didn't mov
e from the narrow bunk, the blanket still covering her from the waist down. "I'm not brainwashed, and I have no intention of joining Star Mother. I'm only here to talk my brother out of killing himself."

  This brought Sam up short. "He wants to kill himself?"

  She nodded. "I'm not surprised my father left out that little detail. Jake sent me a goodbye note that to anyone else would sound like an innocent farewell letter, as if he's going away on a trip. But I know better. All that nonsense about a spaceship was a sure giveaway."

  Sam's blood rushed to his toes. Damn Star Mother, they were really going to do it. His mother used to talk about it all the time, praising the day that Star Mother's followers had waited for all their lives. Anston's comet was closing in on Earth, and the cluster of asteroids would soon become visible as it skimmed the edge of Earth's atmosphere. The cult expected to catch a lift on the starship that rode the comet's tail. Destination: Atria, Star Mother's supposed home planet.

  Sam knew it was crazy, a total fabrication born of a madwoman's hysteria, but his mother had believed it with all her heart. What had always disturbed him was the method the cult would use to hitch their ride. They claimed the human body was too heavy for the ship to carry, meaning they'd have to kill themselves to free their Essence and travel as weightless passengers.

  A familiar rage laced with grief lifted the hairs at the nape of his neck. Thanks to Star Mother's onerous leader, and his own error in judgment, his mother hadn't lived long enough to make the trip.

  Kelly squinted at him. "What's wrong with you? You're pale as the sand outside."

  The explanation was too complicated to go into now. Rather than get bombarded with her questions, he took a second to erase all expression from his face. "Let's get you out of here before they turn you into one of their mindless drones."