Page 290 of Redeemed

“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.”

Colton

AnsweringXander’scallandhearing him say that we lost Haven is like being stabbed in the gut a hundred times. I lose my breath for a second before I remember the tracking app we installed on her phone.

Xander is reminding me of it a moment later, and when my hands are shaking too badly to pull it up, Lucas takes my phone.

Get it together, Colton. She needs you.

“Putting you on speaker,” I say as I watch Lucas press the button before switching over to the tracking app. “Looks like they’re going east on Kingston. Probably headed for the interstate. They’re already a mile out, moving fast.”

“On it.”

Too far. They’re too far ahead.

The timing of it all makes it feel so much worse. We have our entire lives ahead of us, and we were going to take it all ontogether.I can’t imagine doing it without Haven anymore.

Athelia bursts into the hallway where we’ve all congregated, followed by Wesley, Cal, and Kellan. “What the hell is going on?”

“Haven was kidnapped,” Lucas says, not taking his eyes off my phone.

“What? By who?!”

“Isaiah,” I say numbly.

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