Page 164 of Paranoid

Her heart ached, her stomach cramped, and her hands were sweaty on the wheel. She had to do something. Anything. Even if it was futile. The memory of her dream and the fears that were forever a part of her propelled her to keep going. Traffic was beyond light, only the occasional car or truck driving through the night-darkened town. She swung past St. Augustine’s and Charles Ryder’s offices, thinking they might have returned to familiar territory, but no vehicle was in the lot or parked on the nearby streets. Charles had kicked Xander out of the apartment and presumably taken his key back or changed the locks, and she hoped they wouldn’t try to break in.

But the apartment windows were completely dark; the building looked deserted.

She drove on slowly along the empty streets, peering down alleys, scouring this little town for signs of Xander’s Jeep. They wouldn’t go far if he intended to get her home by morning, in time for school.

But there were the hills, she thought, glancing to the south, where above the old Victorian houses such as Lila’s there were thick evergreen forests, county roads and lanes winding through the hills. Would they go that far? Or into Astoria? What about Lila’s home? Would Lucas have sneaked them in?

She didn’t think so. Not after the blowup where Charles had in essence fired and kicked him out. Rachel doubted the kid would risk it; despite his fascination with Harper, Xander Vale had seemed like a decent enough person, and too smart to make that kind of mistake.

Except he was a horny teenaged boy. They tended to not think with their brains. “Where are you?” she asked, cruising the streets and feeling more hopeless with each passing second but bolstering herself with the thought that her daughter was safe with the college boy. She rolled into the parking lot at Abe’s, where three vehicles, an SUV and two sedans, were parked. Through the large windows she saw tables and booths sparsely occupied.

No Harper.

Of course.

Idling in the lot, she took the time to text Cade: Harper’s still missing. She’s not picking up. I’m worried. I’ve searched Edgewater, but didn’t see them or his Jeep. I’m at Abe’s now and I’ll look some more. Call me.

She slid the phone back in her purse and looked up to see the headlights of a vehicle driving along the seldom-used lane to the cannery.

Odd.

Who would be going there in the middle of the night?

Two kids who wanted to be alone?

What better place to stop and make out?

The lane was private and that’s what Harper and Xander would be looking for.

Headlights cut through the darkness, and then the vehicle suddenly stopped, probably by the old gate.

The headlamps died.

Rachel rammed the car into gear, then, fingers surrounding the steering wheel in a death grip, drove out of Abe’s parking lot and headed straight for the old cannery lane.

* * *

“I just don’t get it,” Harper said, frowning and feeling as if she’d been duped. “Why didn’t Xander come himself?” She’d risked life, limb, and, worse, her mother’s wrath by sneaking out of the house through the window again to meet Xander after he’d texted, but when she’d reached his car, he wasn’t inside. Instead she’d found Lucas behind the wheel of Xander’s Jeep.

“He’s getting the place ready.”

“What place?” she asked and felt a little nervous. Why the hell was Lucas here? She and Xander were supposed to be alone. That was the whole point, wasn’t it? And why was Lucas driving Xander’s car and not his own?

“You’ll see,” Lucas said with a smile that bothered her; it was as if he knew more than she did or was holding something over on her. He put the Jeep into gear and pulled away from the curb, hitting the gas, making the tires chirp.

Suddenly this seemed like a bad idea.

Hadn’t her mother said, “If you want it bad enough, you’ll make it happen” when she was talking about her relationship with Xander? So when Xander had finally texted, she’d jumped at the chance to meet him like before.

And then Lucas had showed up.

She probably shouldn’t have gotten into the Jeep with him, she thought as he sped through town.

It just felt off.

She decided to text Xander, so she pulled her phone from her pocket and typed a quick: Where are you? I’m with Lucas in your car. Is something up?

And then she saw it. Right on the console. Xander’s phone, glowing with her latest text. What? He was never without his phone.