Page 66

Xander

“Dad! Rachel!” I bound up the bleachers of the football stadium.

They’re in a wheelchair-accessible area for Phil, who’s finally gotten some color back to his face. Dad told me he wouldn’t be able to make the trip for graduation. Last night, he mentioned they were having trouble finding an affordable vehicle that can fit his chair, but they were able to find something that worked last-minute.

I was a little ticked he didn’t tell me the reason sooner. Colton would’ve covered the cost in a heartbeat. But that’s my dad. He’s already uncomfortable with how much money Colton is giving him.

Still, I’m worried that this is going to set back Phil’s recovery. He needs to rest, not travel. Of course, he wouldn’t hear any of that. He’s too proud of me, and even though I’m worried about him, I’m secretly glad he made it.

“Hi,” I say as Rachel throws herself into my arms.

“You did it!” she squeals.

Her words knock into me more than the force of her body. She’s right. I did it—Lucas and I both did it.

“I’m proud of you, son,” Dad says with glassy eyes.

“So am I,” Aunt Josie says before pulling me into a hug. “Bob sends his congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

Unexpected tears prick at my eyes, and I grin at everyone to hold them back. No one expected me to get this far in life. Even my own mother didn’t think I’d make it to college, let alone graduate.

There were only three people who didn’t give up on me back then, and two of them are right here with me.

“We should find Luc,” I say. “Oh, and Haven. She doesn’t have any family here. Colt should be with her by now, but still. I don’t want her to feel alone.”

“Her family couldn’t make it?” Dad asks.

“It’s… complicated. I’ll explain later. Just let me find everyone first, and then maybe we can go to dinner?”

“That sounds lovely,” Aunt Josie says.

I give Rachel a big kiss on the cheek, ignoring her when she screeches about cooties. I scan the crowd, first finding Lucas with his family, and then Colton. He’s searching the area where Haven was sitting during the ceremony, but she’s not there.

That’s odd. She was supposed to wait over there until he found her so he could get to her as quickly as possible. Colton’s grandfather is trailing behind him and trying to get him to stop, so that probably slowed him down a little, but why did she leave?

I take another look at the crowd, trying to find Haven. I accidentally skip over her the first time, thrown off by whoever has an arm around her shoulders. My first thought is that it’s Ben, but upon closer inspection, my blood runs cold.

Sandy blond hair.

Menacing eyes.

Lean build.

Isaiah.

I drop Rachel to her feet and turn. “Dad—Dad, I have to go. Just give me a couple minutes.”

Before he can answer, I’m rushing toward Haven, pushing through family after family. By the time I leap onto the field, I’ve lost sight of Haven, but I don’t stop running.

I pass Lucas on the way, tapping his shoulder without stopping. I don’t have to look back to know he’s sprinting after me. We’ll follow each other to the ends of the earth, and he knows that if I can’t stop, it’s important.

When I get to the spot I saw Haven and Isaiah, she’s gone. I skid to a stop, frantically glancing from side to side, but I can’t find her. She just… disappeared.

“What’s going on?” Lucas demands as he slows beside me.

“Isaiah is here. He has Haven.”

“What?” Colton comes up on my other side. No doubt, he saw us running and took off to follow.

“I saw them from across the field. They were right here.” I’m still glancing around, trying to figure out which way Isaiah would’ve taken her.

“We need to split up,” Colton says. “We can’t let him take her. He’ll…”

He doesn’t say the rest out loud.

Doesn’t have to.

We take off in different directions. Getting lost in the crowd makes it easy to hide, but Haven could cry for help, which would ruin his plans. He probably knew she’d freeze up in panic for a minute and took advantage of that to get her away from everyone. So I head for the closest place to get out of sight.

The tunnel that leads to the locker rooms is empty. I’ve never been back here, so when I reach the end, I glance to my left, then my right. This place is huge—a university like this has more cash than they know what to do with—so I don’t know which way to go.

“Haven?” I holler, and at first, the only thing I hear is my own voice echoing.

But then her voice sounds, small and scared.

“Xan! Hel—mmfgh.”

My feet are moving before I’ve fully processed her words, heading in her direction. “I’m coming,” I yell. “Isaiah, I’m going to fucking gut you.”

The hallway I’m in splits, and I hear a muffled scream to my left. Haven is still out of sight—I’m not sure how far ahead they are—so I push myself to run faster.

“Haven,” I call out again, but this time, I don’t get a response.

It’s not until I sprint past a set of doors leading outside that I realize why.

Shit.

Doubling back, I charge through them, immediately catching sight of Haven. Two men are shoving her into a car—Isaiah and an older man.

“Xander,” Haven screeches when she sees me. She’s trying to fight them off, but she’s helpless against them.

My feet pound across the pavement, but it doesn’t matter.

I’m too late.

Isaiah shoves Haven into the backseat before crawling in next to her, and the older man gets into the driver’s seat. Before I’m even halfway to her, they’re already speeding out of the parking lot, almost hitting a few families on the way out.

Through the back window, I watch Haven try to open the door to throw herself out, but Isaiah grabs her and slaps her across the face. My stomach drops as her head snaps to one side.

Bike. I need my bike.

I make a sharp turn to my right. I parked on the other side of the lot. Even running as fast as I can, it’ll take me a minute or so to get there. This place is too damn big.

Panic spikes through me at the realization that I’ve lost sight of Haven. I grab my phone and fumble with it until I manage to hit the button to call Colton.

“You found her?” he demands.

“They took her. Drove off. I’m following.”

“Fuck. Fuck!”

“Tracking app,” I pant, regretting all those times I avoided going on runs with Lucas. “Need you to pull it up.”

We probably should’ve told Haven we put tracking software on her phone, but we were too worried she’d take it off. It felt like crossing a line to me, but now, I’m glad we installed it.

“Already on it,” Colton says, although his voice seems off. “You have to get to her, Xander. You have to.”

“I know.”

We’re all well aware of what could happen to her if Isaiah manages to get her back to that goddamn cult.

By the time I’ve made it to my bike, sweat is pouring down my back, and my heart is beating out of my chest. I’ve already torn off my graduation robes and thrown them to the ground. With the tap of a button, my phone connects to the headset in my helmet, and Colton’s voice sounds in my ear a moment later.

“Putting you on speaker,” Colton says. “Looks like they’re going east on Kingston. Probably headed for the interstate. They’re already a mile out, moving fast.”

“On it.”

The parking lot and campus roads are already clogging up with everyone leaving the graduation ceremony. Isaiah managed to get out just before the bad traffic hit, but I’m stuck in the middle of it.

Luckily, I can slip around the cars to get ahead. I ignore the people honking their horns, too focused on getting onto Kingston. If they get on the interstate, I’ll be able to pick up speed to catch up. But considering how fast they’re going, it looks like Isaiah and that other man know we’ll chase after them.

Once I’m off campus, I turn left onto Kingston. Traffic is slowed to a stop, but I move in between lanes to get to the front. People who get pissed can eat a bag of dicks.

I can’t let her get away.

A rush of voices come through the headset. I can make out Lucas, and I think Athelia. Maybe Wesley as well? Colton says a few things I can’t make out before asking me, “What type of car?”

“White Toyota Camry. Didn’t catch the license plate.”

“Okay. Okay, that should be enough. Wes and Kellan are heading out, too, just in case you need backup.”

Thank fuck. I have no idea how to even get the car to stop, let alone pull Haven away from Isaiah and who I’m now realizing is probably her father.

Oh, shit.

I completely abandoned my family again.

“Luc—Luc, my Dad and Rachel.”

“They’re here with us,” Lucas says. “I ran into them while I was looking for Haven, and I caught them up to speed.”

Over the years, I’ve caused my dad a lot of pain. This feels exactly the same as blowing him off to skateboard with my friends or go to some party. Or, in more recent years, heading off to Birchwood when I was still in high school, or coming back here when he needed help recovering from the accident.

“Dad. Dad, I… I’m sorry.”

“Do what you need to do,” he says firmly. “Just be safe.”

My chest clenches. “Thank you for understanding.”

“Definitely looks like they’re headed for the interstate,” Colton says. “They just passed Sally’s Diner. There’s no other reason for them to take Kingston that far.”

Just passed Sally’s. I still have a mile and a half to go, then.

Speeding up, I weave in between lanes, dodging cars and earning myself a few middle fingers. I couldn’t care less about any of that. I have to get to Haven.

I blow past a cop who doesn’t even bother chasing after me. There’s no way he could keep up, and he has the good sense to know his limits.

“Shit,” Colton mutters.

“What?” I demand, anxiety flooding my veins and turning my skin prickly.

“We lost signal. They must’ve taken her phone and turned it off.”

No. No, no, no.

I push my bike to go faster. I’m still a mile behind, but if I can catch up…

“I’ll go north,” I say. “Have Wes and Kellan go south. And stay on the line in case you get the signal back. Maybe she just hit a dead patch.”

Unlikely, but I can cling to the hope.

“Got it.” Colton yells for Cal before repeating what I just said.

I tune out the specifics, giving all my focus to the road. At this speed, I can’t afford any distractions—for the sake of myself, Haven, and everyone else around me.

Lucas’s voice cuts through my concentration. “We’ll find her, Xan. Just stay safe.”

I swallow down the panic threatening to bubble to the surface, swerving around a car going too slow in the passing lane. Once I straighten out, I nod, even though Lucas can’t see me.

“I will.”