Page 137 of Rescued
Arlo shakes his head, choking on a sob as he doubles over.
“I don’t know,” I say, answering for him. “Arlo said he didn’t sleep in here last night.”
Austin nods. “Okay. That’s good to know. We’ll operate under the assumption he’s been gone all night. We need to call the sheriff. Get people looking for him. Luca already called Theo, and he and Hunter are about to go look too.”
That’s good. Hunter used to be a deputy, so hopefully he’ll be able to help. I’m usually so much better under pressure. I don’t know why I can’t seem to form a coherent thought.
“Arlo,” Austin says, trying to get his attention. “I’m gonna call the sheriff’s office, and Jasper and I are gonna go out and look. They’ll send someone out here to talk to you.”
“No.” He wipes at his face. “Fuck that. I’m going too.”
Austin frowns. “You need to stay here in case he comes home.” Something flashes across his face. “Wait, can you track his phone?”
“No, he left it. I don’t want to stay here.” He inhales sharply, his breath coming in harsh pants.
“Baby boy.” He glances at me. “Austin’s right. You stay here. We’ll go look. If he comes back home, someone needs to be here, okay?”
“Fuck!” Arlo shouts. “Fuck, okay. Fine. But if you find him, call me right away. Please. Don’t make me wait.”
I cup his face, forcing his gaze to mine. “I’d never make you wait.”
Arlo glances around in a panic, his eyes widening before he nearly rips himself away from me. “Where’s Nora?”
“In the living room with Luca. She’s fine. He’s got her,” Austin says immediately. “He’s gonna stay here with you and help you with her.”
Nodding, Arlo blows out a breath. “Okay. Fuck. Okay.”
Austin clears his throat. “Alright, we need to go. I’ll have Luc call the sheriff. The longer we wait…” His words trail off, the implications unnecessary to say.
“I’ll be right there,” I say, not taking my eyes off my baby boy.
Austin takes the hint for what it is, leaving us alone in the room.
As soon as he’s gone, Arlo presses his face into my chest, sobs racking his frame. I hold him, rubbing my hands up and down his back. “It’s okay, baby boy. We’ll find him, I promise.”
“What if we don’t?” he cries, his tears soaking my shirt.
I don’t have an answer for that. I don’t know what will happen. It will change our lives. It will destroy Arlo. Fuck, it’ll destroyme.“We’ll find him, baby boy,” I say, my voice far more confident than I feel.
“Okay,” he whispers. “I believe you.”
Squeezing him to me, I press my lips to the top of his head. “I’ve gotta go, Arlo. Go into the living room with Luca, okay?”
It takes him a second, but he finally releases me, stepping back and wiping at his face. “You’ll call me when you find him?” he asks again.
“The second I do.”
Chapter 34
Jasper
It’sbeenoverthreehours since we found Salem missing. Austin and I have driven all over town, stopping in all the places we know of where kids like to hang out. The only problem is that Salem doesn’t know any of these places.
Or at least, I’m assuming he doesn’t.
“Where the fuck could he be?” I say, glancing out the window at the fields going past.
“I don’t know, man,” Austin says back.
