[B.S. #2] Bound to Cyn by Dale Cadeau Page A

friends from way back. We were both products of parents with too much money and no time for children. We lived a block away from each other and met when our nannies were in the park with us. We bonded right away.”
    At Angel’s uptight look, Lance clarified, “I mean, we bonded as brother and sister. We both had so much in common, with our parents the way they were. We spent long summers playing in the park. We both went to strict boarding schools but got together a lot when we were kids.”
    “You were just friends?”
    Lance nodded. “Friendship is too small a word. I would say allies fighting on the same side of the same war, but yes, nothing romantic ever happened between us.”
    Angel released a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. He was glad that he didn’t have to be jealous of Cyn and Lance’s relationship. “Please continue.”
    Lance took another sip of his drink. This part of the story was harder to tell. “We kind of lost touch when she went away to collage across the country. The odd letter or call was exchanged for years. Then one day out of the blue, I got a call from Cinnamon. She was in California and in trouble and asked for my help.”
    “Why would she call you after being out of touch for so long?”
    Lance shrugged. “Maybe because she knew I was the only one she could count on? Of course I grabbed the first plane and went to her. I found her in jail with a bunch of losers. She didn’t look that great herself. I found out after she got out of college she joined a cult.”
    “A cult?”
    Lance nodded. “Did you ever hear on the news about a man named Ward Commings?”
    “Cyn was in The Church of Lost Souls?” Angel asked. Now he knew why he recognized Ward Coming’s name. Ward and his cult of followers were on all the news reports a few years ago. Their weapons bust by the Feds was one of the largest in American history.
    “Yes.” Pausing for another drink, Lance continued. “She was one of sixty members arrested when the Feds raided their compound. What the followers didn’t know, but found out later, was that they were more lost after they joined up with Ward then they were before. When the raid happened they were penniless and dirty. Ward Cummings took their money and their dignity. They were living in a commune without running water or hydro. The ‘evils of modern life’ he told them. Anyway, he had used their money to buy arms parts off the black market. He said it was for the protection of the group but then had the members reassembled the parts and then sold the guns at the market along with their homemade jams, jellies and fresh vegetables. This went on for quite some time.”
    “If he had his followers so brainwashed, how did the Feds get wind of the operation?”
    “Someone who purchased a bad gun complained to the authorities.” Lance stopped and looked down at his glass in his hand then at Angel.
    “Continue.” Angel needed to know the whole story if they needed to help Cyn.
    “Well, the Feds stepped in and this Ward, who lived off the commune in a mansion, took the rap.”
    “Why would he do that?”
    “Because he was the top man, and Ward liked that being known. And besides there was no one else that could take the blame. The V.P., Howard, didn’t live the high life so they couldn’t pin it on him either.” Lance frowned. “But for a while, it looked like Cinnamon might be charged with Ward as she had been his favorite lady.”
    “What?” Angel was livid. It was one thing to get caught up in a cult and another to be seen as the “first lady.”
    “Remember, she was a mess. He had played with her mind so much that she wasn’t the Cinnamon I knew before. At the trial it was hard to tell if she really knew what was going on. She just wanted to go back to her hut and look after her garden. We thought at first it was drugs. But tests proved this wrong. The only time she seemed to come alive is when she would look at Ward in court. It took some