Page 69 of All Yours

“Are you the one who handcuffed her?” Thomas homed in on the sheriff.

“Dad, get out,” Sloane yelled. “What are you even doing here?”

“Fixing your mess as usual,” he spat.

“No, you’re not. You’re making it worse.” She stretched her arms out gesturing around the room. “We haven’t spoken in years. I didn’t ask you to come here and don’t need your version of help.”

“My version of help?”

“Yeah. Your help comes with strings attached. Where I’ll have to live how you say, if I accept it. No thanks. I’ll do it myself and live on my terms.”

Thomas stiffened. “Fine. I haven’t seen you in five years and had to find out your whereabouts from the news. So don’t ask me for bail money, and I’m pulling the PR team I’m paying for, you ingrate.” He stomped past the officers in the door, Holden following on his heels.

“Come on, Jonah,” Keith said.

Sloane glared at me. She didn’t appear any happier to see me than her father. That’s not a promising sign.

“Sloane,” I said, hating the plaintiff sound in my voice.

“Get out, Jonah,” she said.

“We’ll talk at home,” I said, hopeful.

“No, I don’t need you protecting me like you did last night. You shouldn’t have come here. You’re overstepping. It’s too much. You don’t think I can handle anything, and that’s not true. It’s time for you to move out.”

The sun dipped below the horizon earlier each evening as December dawned. When I returned to the jobsite, Camden had already closed and locked the gate for the day. I pulled the truck across the street and into Lou’s parking lot. Huddled into my jacket against the chill of the night air, I made double time to the building. The familiarity and warmth enveloped me as I stepped through the door.

Lauren, Camden, and Adrian sat at a corner booth with their heads together in a manic whisper. They all looked up when I entered. I’d told Camden about Sloane’s text when I left the job earlier.

Shaking my head. “I didn’t get to talk to her about it.”

“Why not?” Lauren asked.

“Where’ve you been?” Camden asked at the same time.

“When I got there, Keith was there, and they were taking her to be questioned about Chattanooga.” I slid into the booth beside Adrian. They stared in disbelief as I recounted the events of the afternoon, and how she’d also kicked me out of the room. “I’m not closer to understanding what the hell happened.” Was I not a good enough boyfriend?

“I don’t think it had anything to do with you,” Lauren said.

“Feels pretty personal.”

“Wait, so they found Eden?” Adrian asked. “Well, that explains why she didn’t show up today.”

“I wonder if they already grabbed her,” Camden said.

“I didn’t see her at the police station while I was there.”

Annie appeared beside the table and sat a bottle of my usual beer in front of me. “Here ya go, hon.”

“Appreciate you,” I replied, picking up the bottle and taking a long pull. The bitter hops washed over my tongue.

“Do you know why the police want to talk to Eden?” Lauren asked. And I realized she was addressing Adrian.

Adrian didn’t say a word, but his expression gave him away to Lauren.

“Oh my god. You do,” Lauren exclaimed, leaning over the table. “Why have you never told me?”

“It’s not my place,” Adrian said.

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