Page 47 of Burning Hearts

She bit her lip, still walking. “You’re gonna stay up here after the season ends?”

“I don’t know yet.”

Jamie stopped at the edge and waited for the light to change.

“We’re pulling into town now.”

“I’m at the corner of…” Jamie looked around for a street sign. “Smokey Mountain Street? By the Presbyterian church.”

Logan relayed that to someone else. “Couple minutes.”

Finally, the crosswalk turned green. Jamie was almost across when a van screeched to a stop behind her—some idiot who hadn’t seen the red light until it was too late.

She glanced over her shoulder.

The van door slid open, and three men jumped out. They rushed at her and grabbed her arms. She tried to scramble back but didn’t get far. Her phone fell to the ground, and she heard it shatter.

“Logan!”

One of the men lifted her off her feet. She kicked her legs out, scratched at his arm, and tried as hard as she could to get free of his punishing grasp.

She screamed, “Logan!”

They tossed her in the van. Her hip hit the metal floor, and she bent her wrist before her elbow smashed under her. She cried out.

The door slid shut.

The driver hit the gas and set off.

ELEVEN

As soon asthe doors to the school bus opened, Logan jumped out. His foot caught on the curb, and he stumbled but caught himself before he went down. With every breath, he had to force himself to drag air in and out of his lungs, and his heart pounded in his ears.

He raced down the sidewalk to the corner where she’d been.

Too late.

He was too late.

An older couple stood on the corner, visibly flustered. Cars passed on the street. No one came down the side road.

He stopped in the middle of the road and looked around. Where was she? Logan spotted a cell phone on the ground—Jamie’s.

He went over and swiped it up. The screen had shattered, but it still worked, and it was unlocked. He didn’t…he couldn’t…

“Give me that.” Skye took the phone from him. “First thing cops do? Turn off the PIN.”

Okay. Logan didn’t know why that was relevant right now. Jamie was gone, and he didn’t know…

“Spread out.” Vince headed the group making their way over from the bus. “Ask everyone what they saw.”

Jade squeezed Logan’s arm. “I’m gonna run down to the sheriff’s office and get help.”

Logan nodded.

Skye turned around, standing not too far away. Listening on her phone but not talking.

They needed to find Jamie. Now.

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