Contents

  Inspired by

  Preface

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Every Good Gift

  INSPIRED BY

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Message from the author

  About the Author

  START WITH THE PREQUEL

  Download it free

  A MISSING BOY. A TOWN BURIED IN SECRETS. A DEPUTY WHO WON'T QUIT.

  * * *

  Get it Free now

  books.urcelia.com/little-boy-lost

  TO MY SON,

  NEVER FORGET HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU.

  As you grow older you will face many challenges in life, just do your best and keep your eyes on God.

  He’s got you!

  Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s all about learning how to dance in the rain.

  Every day may not be good, but find something good in every day.

  Laugh, love, live, and listen.

  Follow your dreams, believe in yourself, and live with purpose.

  I’ll always be with you.

  LOVE YOU FOREVER, MOM

  Inspired by

  Jesus answered, "Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?”

  John 14:9

  (NIV)

  Preface

  A mother knows. At least, that’s what everyone told her. That she’d know when something was wrong. Feel it. Deep inside as if there was an invisible cord that had stayed behind the day she brought her son into this life.

  * * *

  Well, they were wrong. Dead wrong.

  * * *

  She didn’t know her son at all. But then, he didn’t know her either.

  Chapter One

  The rhythmic ticking of the clock on Jake Foley’s nightstand slowly picked at his nerves as he waited for his parents to go to bed. He had been lying in his bed for hours, biding his time in the stillness of the night. He stared at the full moon that streamed in through his bedroom window. Waiting had never come easy to him. A trait his mother always said he got from her. But this was one time he had to be patient—he couldn’t risk getting caught. Not tonight. There was too much riding on it.

  The house was quiet and from where he lay on his bed, he stared at the narrow gap beneath his bedroom door, looking for any signs that his parents might still be awake.

  His dad, stepdad, in fact, was one of the church elders, and when on occasion their pastor couldn’t deliver the sermon and the duty fell on his stepdad, he would often stay up late to work. But Jake had checked the family calendar on the refrigerator earlier that day, just to be sure he was not preaching that Sunday. His mom was good at keeping the calendar up to date and that gave him the peace he would be in the clear.

  In the next room, his younger brother would be fast asleep too. Teddy was his stepbrother but he had never thought of him as anything less than the brother he had always wanted. Jake was only seven when their parents married. Teddy was three. There were only four years between them, at least double that since the car accident that claimed the life of Teddy’s birth mother when he was just a few years old. And although Teddy had survived the near-fatal crash, the accident had caused too much damage to his brain. Teddy’s neurons were no longer firing properly and by the age of eight, he’d regressed in age, keeping him from stringing more than a few sensible words together when his thoughts got stuck in a loop. That was happening more often as he’d gotten older but for the most part, Teddy was easy to be around. The part that wasn’t as easy, was the constant care he needed. Care that had over the past ten years left its mark on his parents' marriage and slowly drained most of their savings—and Jake’s college fund.

  As Jake’s thoughts ran away with him, doubt suddenly tugged at his emotions and he shoved it aside before it persuaded him not to go through with his plans. His mind was telling him he had to. He had no choice.

  He turned to see if it was time to go yet, straining to read the old-fashioned clock’s hands in the dark. Quarter past two. Close enough, he thought and gently peeled away the bedcovers. Picking up his worn red Converse sneakers with one hand, he slowly inched toward his bedroom door. There was no need to change; he’d cleverly gone to bed in his black hoodie and dark jeans.

  The floorboard creaked just as he got close to the door and he bit down on his lip and froze in place. He stood there for a short while, listening. When it seemed the coast was clear, he opened his door and carefully popped his head around the corner. The house was quiet. In his parents’ room at the end of the short, dark corridor, his stepdad’s peaceful snores gave him the all-clear and he gently shut his bedroom door behind him.

  Tiptoeing toward the front of the house, he passed Teddy’s room and briefly glanced sideways at his bed. Only to find his thirteen-year-old brother sitting upright, his eyes staring directly at him.

  “Can I come too, Jacob?” These days only his family called him by his birth name.

  Jake’s insides turned as Teddy called out to him and he glanced back over his shoulder to see if his mom had woken up.

  “Shh,” he said placing his forefinger over his mouth. “Go back to bed, Teddy.”

  But Teddy wouldn’t have it and already had one leg swung over the side of his bed.

  Jake’s heart jolted as he took two leaps toward his brother.

  “No, Teddy, go back to sleep.”

  “Why not? Why not?” Teddy’s mind had gone into a loop, precisely what Jake had feared might happen.

  Jake pinched his shoes under one arm and tried pushing Teddy down into his bed but Teddy’s pleas got louder.

  “Everything is fine, Teddy. Just go back to bed, okay? Heroes need their sleep, remember?” Jake forced a smile, hoping it would console his brother enough for him to go back to bed.

  “I want ice cream,” Teddy said, still louder than Jake would have preferred but at least Teddy had somehow found another distraction.

  “Fine but keep it down. You’re going to wake mom up and then you can forget about getting any ice cream.”

  Teddy mimicked the gesture to be quiet.

  “Stay here. I’ll go get you some ice cream,” Jake whispered. “And if you keep this all secret, I’ll add some of those nice chocolate buttons on top.”

  Visible in the soft glow of the moonlight, Teddy’s big eyes stretched even wider as he nodded. Guilt and shame set into Jake’s conscience. It was a big secret to keep for a thirteen-year-old, much less when he had the mind of an eight or nine-year-old. But he had no other choice given the circumstances and, if he didn’t hurry, he was going to be late.

  Dropping his shoes on the foot of the bed, Jake quietly hastened to the kitchen. He snatched the tub of Ben & Jerry’s from the freezer, tucking it under one arm as he reached for the chocolate buttons and a spoon. He couldn’t be bothered scooping it into a bowl; there wasn’t time. So, he dashed back to Teddy’s room. Jake dropped the tub into Teddy’s lap where he was now quietly rocking back and forth in his bed, his small head light now in place above his brows.

  “Here, but don’t eat it all, okay? We don’t want you waking up with a tummy ache. Hide the tub under your bed when you’re done. I’ll put it back in the freezer later.”

  It seemed to satisfy Teddy’s untimely craving and with a near crisis now safely averted, Jake picked up his shoes and snuck off down the passage.

  By the time, Jake had managed to successfully sneak out of the house and leaped off their front porch, his heart was pounding inside his chest. He was late. That could cost him everything.

  With no time to spare, he pulled his shoes on mid stride as he headed across the front lawn toward the small woodland footpath a little farther down the street. The front of their house bordered a narrow patch of dense, leafy trees that were hedged in by thick shrubs on all sides and the path would take him through to where his ride would be waiting for him at the other end. At least, he hoped Aaron would still be there.

  The cold winter air cut across his cheeks and he pulled his hoodie over his head. Fresh, salty ocean air mingled with the scent of the surrounding earthy foliage filled his nostrils as the wind pushed at him from the front. "Please be there," he murmured, sending a hazy cloud into the cold air. He ran the path in half the usual time, shooting out between the tall bushes on the other end of the residential woodland.

  As agreed, Aaron’s slick white BMW was parked up just ahead.

  “You’re late!” Aaron yelled as Jake dropped into the
front seat next to him.

  “Yeah, I know. I had trouble getting out of the house.”

  Aaron’s foot flattened the accelerator, leaving his car’s wheels to screech as he pulled away.

  “It’s not just your life on the line here, Jake, it’s mine too. Do you have any idea what it took me to pull this off? I vouched for you, you know.”

  “Yeah, I know, sorry.”

  With Aaron’s annoyance now at bay, he snuck a quick sideward glance at Jake from behind the wheel.

  “Where’s your skims?”

  “My what?”

  “You’re gonna need a ski mask, dude. Trust me, you don’t want these guys to see your face.”

  Aaron’s words left Jake cold. He hadn’t thought of that. Why didn’t he think of that? What if someone recognized him? Weyport was too small for him to go unrecognized.

  “Chill out, dude. I have a spare.” Aaron popped his chin out toward the glovebox and turned the car’s nose toward the old highway that ran along the coast.

  Chapter Two

  Roughly two miles outside of town, Aaron turned his car off the highway onto a narrow road that wound between the sand dunes toward the beach. The car slid sideways as the wheels hit a thick, sandy patch in the road, adding to the tension that already sat heavy in Jake’s stomach. Where he watched the headlights beam across the grassy dunes, Aaron suddenly slowed the car down.

  “Put it on. The skims,” he clarified when Jake stared at him with a blank face, then, slipped his own mask over his head with one practiced hand.

  Lacking Aaron’s finesse, Jake did as Aaron said and pulled the black ski mask with the small red dragon embroidered on one side over his head. The fabric was thin and felt just as ridiculous as the stretchy fabric of his school wrestling suit. His mother thought joining the wrestling club would add bulk to his stringy body. She was wrong. It made him look like a dork instead. Uncomfortable with the mask over his face he tugged at it, eventually giving up after it made no difference at all.

  “You’ll get used to it, dude. The first time is always weird,” Aaron said, leaning across to reach into the glovebox from where he took out a large silver kitchen knife Jake had somehow missed seeing earlier.

  The blade glistened past Jake’s nose before Aaron buried it inside one of his sleeves. When Jake stared at it a bit too long, Aaron was quick to notice.

  “Chill, dude. It’s just in case. I told you. These guys mean business. One can never be too relaxed around them. I never come here unprepared.” He paused when he saw that Jake was still tense and unsettled next to him, then added, “It’s too late to back out now, dude. Time to put your big boy pants on. Trust me. I’ve been where you are. If you want to make a lot of bucks fast, this is the easiest way. Just let me do all the talking and everything will be cool.”

  Jake nodded even though he suddenly wasn’t so sure about it ever being cool. Nothing made sense to him anymore. How did he even get caught up in this? He and Aaron were scarcely friends. Had it not been for Aaron sitting behind him on the school bus every day, he would have never so much as spoken a single word to him. Aaron was a second-time-around senior with a bad reputation. And he, a junior with good grades who had never so much as gotten a speaking to since he first set foot in kindergarten. He had never done anything like this. Never needed to. But his stepdad was right. He was seventeen now. He needed to grow up and stand on his own two feet. If he wanted to help his family and go to college, this was the only way.

  * * *

  Their car pulled up to a small clearing conveniently tucked behind a large sand dune where about a dozen other cars were parked. Some of them were even more expensive than Aaron’s and Jake couldn’t help but stare at them as they parked up.

  “One of those could be yours soon, dude.” Aaron elbowed Jake. “Didn’t I tell you there’s big money to be made?”

  “Is that why you’re able to afford this car?” Jake asked with caution.

  “Yep, except I can’t be telling the world about it so keep it to yourself. I pretend it’s my dad’s to avoid any suspicion on me.” Aaron changed the subject and pushed his chin out to show him a luxurious black sedan.

  “That’s the boss’s car, Moses. He bought that with cold, hard cash, and that’s just one of them.”

  “Impressive.” Jake paused. “Is the guy’s name really Moses?”

  Aaron made a snorting sound, the mask tracing the outlines of a wide grin.

  “No way, dude. No one goes by his actual name. He picked the name for himself. Said he was leading us to the Promised Land or something. I guess you'll know more about these religious things than me. Your old man runs the church, doesn’t he?”

  Jake didn’t correct him.

  “And for the record, don’t call me Aaron in front of them. Around here my name is Dragon.” He lifted his sweatshirt to reveal a large dragon tattoo across his chest. “I had it done from my first cut, as a reward, you know.”

  He didn’t know, Jake thought. Getting a tattoo had never been on his list of rewards.

  “I don’t have a name,” Jake responded instead, to which Aaron quickly replied, “That’s easy, man. At school, we all call you Sasquatch, after that time you came to the school costume dance trying to look like Chewbacca. You looked hilarious, dude. Talk about a costume gone wrong. That’s part of the reason why I picked you. You’re a total geek. No one will ever suspect you. Now let’s go. We’re already late.”

  Mortified by Aaron’s insulting confession, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment, Jake watched as Aaron jumped out of the car. He would have liked to tell him how much he hated his comment but there was no time. Instead, he got out of the car and hustled after Aaron where he had already started down a sandy footpath. The path wound between the grassy dunes to where it eventually stopped at the beach. After another minute’s jog along the shore toward the river mouth, they pushed their way through dense water-lined foliage to where a houseboat quietly bobbed in the calm water.

  As they drew closer to the boat, Jake could barely feel his legs beneath his scrawny body. He looked nothing like Aaron, all ripped and beefy like an All-Star quarterback. If these guys wanted to they could snap him in half like a toothpick. He wanted to pray, ask God to protect him but how could he? God wouldn’t approve of this. Why would He protect him?

  With shaky knees, Jake soon found himself inside the boat next to Aaron, tightly flanked by about two dozen more people. All, except one guy with some seriously crazy hair who stood in the middle of the room and about five others directly behind him, wore ski masks or other types of face coverings, some of them color-coded, some of them wearing custom logo jackets. Gangs.

  The guy with the crazy combed-out Afro-looking hair wasn’t from there. He’d know if he saw someone like that in Weyport. He looked Mexican, or perhaps Cuban. He couldn’t be sure. His frizzy hair was a brownish-blond like it had been bleached by the sun and his clothes were casual as if he had just come back from a surf. Although his eyes were hidden behind red-tinted Aviators, Jake knew he was definitely older. His stepfather’s age. He could tell by the gray stubble on his face. And judging by the way everyone stood like diligent minions listening to the guy go on about loyalty and teamwork, it was evident he had to be this Moses guy Aaron had mentioned.

  They hid at the back of the small crowd, hoping not to draw any attention to themselves.