Page 104 of Lucky Haven

Meghan opens her mouth. Closes it.

“Say something else, I fucking dare you.”

That shuts her up. I turn to Jasper. “I swear to fucking God, Haven didn’t go willingly with Jeb. If they’re together, it’s by force. An unhinged reaction to a situation spiralling out of control.”

He hands Meghan a card. “Call me if you think of anything else.” Then he pushes me away from them before I can tell them more of what I think about their judgmental bullshit. “Let’s go to the station. I know you want to find her. I’ll get you the help you need.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

Haven

Seatbelts are a really good thing.

It’s a surreal thought, but when you roll around in the back of a moving van for the better part of an hour, you really start to appreciate the idea of civilized passenger safety ideas.

And, if only for a moment, it’s a distraction from the really terrifying fact that Jeb has kidnapped me.

He shoved me in a van, climbed on top of me, ziptied my hands and feet, and calmly got in the driver’s seat and left the fairground.

Nobody knows where I am.

I don’t even know where we are.

I think we went south of town, but I’m not sure. It felt a little like the switchbacks Cash drove up, but who knows, we’re surrounded by hills.

And it’s dark outside, and I’m on the floor of a van.

There’s no coming back from this for Jeb. He’s crossed a line here that can’t be smoothed over. His only chance of staying out of jail, of keeping his job and standing in our community, is making sure I never tell anyone what he’s done.

He’s going to kill me.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Cash

I drive my own truck, because the second Jasper gives me something, I’m taking off on my own.

To his credit, he doesn’t fight me on that.

He’s also pretty efficient once we get there.

He puts out an alert to all law enforcement for the New Harvest van. He sends a deputy to collect Fred Bingham and bring him in to get some information. And he runs a property search for Jeb, which doesn’t bring anything up. He lives in a house owned by the church, but the van isn’t there.

“We’ll get a warrant to check the property.”

“What about any of his relatives?”

“I’ll keep hunting.”

My pocket vibrates.

I yank my phone out. My hands are shaking.

Ridge

Where’d you go? Still no sign of Haven, are you with her?

If tonight were any other night, I’d tell my brothers. Get them to help me right now.