Page 39 of The Truth

Cam acted like a clown constantly, but deep down Gunn knew the man took what he did very seriously. There were few men he respected as much as he did Cam Lake—he knew how what Cam did weighed on his soul at times. They had discussed that privately a few times before. “James David Rei destroyed lives. If I can do my part to fix that, I will. My family has livedthat hurt. We were just lucky enough to get Celia back twenty years later.”

Gunn patted Cam on the shoulder.

There was just far too much pain.

29

“Eighty-four young women.”That was all Emerson said as Gunn pulled out onto Boethe Street. “I can’t imagine the fear and pain that eighty-four families went through. I have been the minister in Evalyn for ten years. I didn’t know. For seven years. How many young women sittingin my own churchwere victims? I still can’t get over that. How many did I not help that I could have?”

“I know.” Gunn didn’tthinkanyone he had served in his own congregation had been involved with James David Rei but it was possible. He just didn’t know. “I’m going to go back over my records. See if anyone… stands out.”

Because four more women were missing and Cam had made it clear that there could be up to twenty more. They were still searching out a list ora collection of journals.Rei’s manifesto.Thirteen witnesses interviewed by Cam’s FBI branch had reported that James David Rei and his team of elders had kept everything they had ever done written in a set of journals. Blue journals that contained the truth of everything that man had done.

Rei had been said to live by those words, those instructions he had claimed came to him directly from God.

The very idea of someone using the God that Gunn served as a weapon against the weak and defenseless sickened him completely.

To have claimed to have beenanointed by Godwas an insult to the very Scriptures Gunn studied. Hebrews 5:4 said it:Andno one takes the honor for himself, but receives it when he is called by God, just as Aaron also was.No man can just call himself God’s Chosen One. Nor bare false prophecies, to speak a word in God’s name God had not commanded.

There was a lot Gunn would say to a man like James David Rei. That man had had no spiritual right to ever call himselfReverendorFather.

“I’ll help. Then… I’ll do the same. I have to do something. Knowingeighty-four.Maybe more. Just… taken. Vulnerable, defenseless, and just… taken. I keep seeing your Ayla in my head, Gunn. And your sisters and Hala. AndLeina,and… I pulled her nieces out of that fire. I carried those two little girls out of a burning building, terrified for their baby brother. He was three months old then. I still wake in the middle of the night, searching for that baby. Sure he is burning in that hell. Rei had him and that baby was nearly shot and killed. How can I forget that?”

Gunn couldn’t do anything more than listen.

How could he possibly help Emerson get throughthispain?

30

Life was goingto get back to normal now. Ayla had seen her sister that morning. Right there in the living room at the Hiller Ranch. Guthrie had driven Aubrey home and had carried her big sister into the house so carefully. Then Guthrie had arranged her on the couch gently—and waited on Aubrey hand and foot.

It had been so sweet to see how much he loved her sister.

Aubrey was going to be okay. She was sore, and hurting, and definitely beaten up and bruised, but she was going to beokay.Aubrey had ordered Grady to drive Ayla to the library for her regular time to read to the kids. Grady had not argued.

Grady had walked her inside, turned her over to Jake, and told her to stay put at the library until someone from the ranch came and got her. And then he had kissed her on the forehead, very sweetly, before telling her to have fun at story time. He was a big teddy bear inside—she was convinced of it completely, now.

Hala should just go ahead and keep him. He would be perfect for her. Ayla was going to tell Hala that, too. It was bound to set Hala off if she did…

Ayla was organizing the books in the return bin for restocking when the door opened. Jake had left early, askingherto stay while he ran errands and picked his little boy up from the elementary school. Ayla was just a volunteer, mostly she did story time, but she was helping Jake out more when she could. And they were brainstorming more library programs for the littlest patrons. Ayla thought a homeschool art class for elementary would be a good way to up engagement for the library during the day. But… it was a matter of funding.

She was going to talk to Aubrey. Her sister was really good at finding funding for things. Maybe even the hospital could make a donation. Her sister said Dr. Carrington was a real softie for any donations involving children’s programs. And he did have grandkids that lived in Value.

She was going to ask Jake if he had any ideas. She and Aubrey had grown up in Houston. She knew there were lots of different things for kids to do at libraries. She’d had one foster mother who had taken her to the library every week. Ayla had liked that woman, Miss Carly, her name had been. Ayla had been four or five when they’d lived there. Aubrey had been twelve or thirteen. They had both been really comfortable with her and she had been fun. But then the judge had said they had to go home to their mom after she’d gotten out of rehab and they’d had to leave Miss Carly’s forever. Sometimes, Ayla wondered what had happened to Miss Carly.

She had been one of the good ones. Not all of them were.

If Ayla was ever a foster parent, she’d make sure she was one of the good ones. Gunn had told her his parents had been foster parents sometimes. Until… what had happened to Greer, when a former foster son had turned on them several years later, and abducted Greer out of their driveway. Greer had ended up in a coma for three days and on crutches for almost a year.

Gunn. That man… he was kind of all she could think about right now. Considering. Maybe she should check the stacks, see if there were any self-helps on how to understand men and relationships and romance, that kind of thing. She kind of needed a playbook here, or something.

Gunn Hiller wanted to spend forever with Ayla Fisher. He’d said so himself. So technically, maybe she was dating Gunn Hiller now?

What was a girl supposed to think about that?

She was contemplating that very thing when the door opened. A woman a few years or so older than Ayla came in. Ayla thought she’d seen her before in town. Around the grocery store or something. The diner, maybe? Though she and Aubrey mostly ate out when they went to Finley Creek. “Hello, welcome to the library. Can I help you?”

This was only the second time Jake had left her alone. It was hard not to be nervous and everything. Still, he should be back any minute if she had any problems.

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