Page 34 of Axel

‘I have to get out of here,’ Arlo mumbled, grabbing his backpack and checking that Sass was safely tucked inside. ‘They can’t know where I am. Not now. Not ever.’

With that, Arlo slipped out of the booth and sneaked out of the diner’s side door.

It was time to move and move fast.

Before he knew what was happening, Arlo had stolen an unlocked bicycle and was pedaling as fast as he could – and the truth was that he didn’t know whether he might have been cycling out of Eagle Ridge and Axel’s life for good…

Chapter 14

Axel

Axel walked out of Max’s office hoping to see Arlo sitting at his booth, the plan being that the pair of them would briefly go over the morning’s job together ahead of driving across to the other side of Eagle Ridge to get started.

However as Axel got closer to the booth, he sensed that something was amiss.

Not only was Arlo nowhere to be seen, but his stuff was scattered across the table in a way that just didn’t seem like him…

‘Arlo?’ Axel asked. ‘What the…’

Axel craned his neck to double check that his boy wasn’t hiding in one of the other booths to play a prank on him. And when Axel returned with no results, he cast his eyes back onto the table with Arlo’s journal, coloring pens, and even his cell phone all there.

This wasn’t like Arlo.

And the fact that his backpack was missing only added to the sense that something was up.

‘Max, Arlo’s gone,’ Axel said, turning just in time to see Max walk out of his office. ‘I don’t get it. Something’s not right here.’

‘I could look back at the security footage,’ Max answered. ‘But he’s probably just run out to see one of his friends. Don’t worry, my guy.’

‘Please do check the footage,’ Axel said, his protective Daddy instincts telling him that this was all wrong.

Arlo could be impulsive and reckless. But there was no way he would cut and run and leave his journal and cell phone out in the open for anyone to take.

Axel found himself standing in the diner and looking around helplessly. All of a sudden, Axel felt vulnerable and stressed out. His baby boy was missing and each and every fiber of his body was screaming out that there was more to this situation than met the eye.

‘Your young man left,’ came the voice from behind Axel.

Axel turned around and saw Mr. Willows sitting with his coffee and morning paper.

‘Thank you, Mr. Willows,’ Axel said, puzzled but grateful for any kind of lead. ‘Did you see anything else?’

‘Can’t say I did,’ Mr. Willows replied. ‘I guess maybe you could say he seemed a little…spooked?’

Axel nodded in appreciation at the extra detail. While he couldn’t say for certain, it felt like Axel’s suspicions wereadding up. And rather than waste a single further second in the diner, Axel stepped outside to see if Arlo was in the vicinity.

‘Arlo!’ Axel called, the morning hubbub in Eagle Ridge starting to kick in and the streets rapidly filling with people on their way to work and in town to do their early morning shopping. ‘Arlo!’

Axel scanned his eyes from left to right but saw nothing of significance.

With each passing moment, Axel’s stomach tied itself up in knots and Axel felt an urge to start bellowing Arlo’s name over and over. But he also knew that rather than lose his cool, it was probably far more productive to come up with some kind of a plan.

However just as Axel was about to head back inside the diner to collect his stuff and hopefully receive some information from Max about the diner’s security footage, he saw the two surly, disruptive men from The Tap House over on the other side of the street…

Wait. Wait. Wait.

Those two guys… both military.

Suddenly they’re in town and Arlo’s nowhere to be seen…

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