Page 139 of Rescued
“I thought it might have been a hoodie or something.”
Clutching the fabric in his hands, Austin turns, making his way back to the truck. I follow, pulling my phone out to text Arlo.
Me
It was nothing, baby boy. I’m sorry. Still looking.
Arlo
Fuck okay
When we get back to the truck, Austin hums. “Alright, let’s think. Has he mentioned any friends? We know everyone in this town. If we’ve got a name, we can find out who their parents are. Maybe he walked to a friend’s or something.”
He hasn’t. Not one single time. Nora talks nonstop about all the friends she’s made, but Salem doesn’t. He hasn’t mentioned a single name. Not a single friend. When Arlo and I have tried getting him to open up about it, he’s said nothing. He doesn’t talk about people. He doesn’t tell us what he does in school. Nothing.
Fuck. We’ve really gotten this all wrong somehow.
“No.” I shake my head. “He hasn’t mentioned any friends.”
“Fuck,” Austin says, echoing my thoughts. “Okay, so what if we—”
My phone rings, cutting him off, and I glance at it.
Hunter.
“Hello?”
“I found him.”
Relief washes over me. It’s so fast and potent that it makes my fingertips tingle and my breath catch. “Where?”
Austin slows down, glancing at me, so I put the phone on speaker.
“He’s here.”
“Where’s here?” Austin asks.
“My house. The farm.” Without a word, Austin stops the truck, then turns around and takes off toward Hunter’s house. “When I got here to drop Theo off, I noticed the horse barn door was cracked. I didn’t think anything of it at first, but after I got Theo inside and in bed, I started thinking about how much the horses always help him when he’s having a bad day. Salem seems to like them too. Thought maybe if he was gonna go anywhere, he might come here.”
My heart slams against my rib cage. “Have you talked to him?”
“No.” Hunter blows out a breath. “He doesn’t even know I know he’s in there. I’ll keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t leave, but… I think he walked here and slept in the barn.”
Jesus Christ. I don’t know why none of us thought to check Hunter’s house. That was short-sighted. Salemlovesthe horses. He wants to be there all the time. Hunter and those fucking horses are just about the only things he talks about.
“We’ll be there in a few minutes. I’ve gotta call Arlo.”
Hunter hums. “Sure thing, man. Like I said, I’ll keep an eye out. Make sure he doesn’t leave.”
“Thank you, Hunter. Truly.”
I hang up the phone, then immediately call Arlo.
“Did you find him?” he asks right away.
“Hunter did. He’s at the farm.”
A broken sob tears from his throat. “I’m on my way.”
