THE TRUE LOVE SERIES BOX SET: A Christian Romance

by Duncan, Juliette

  Ben felt his face blanch. He shook his head. “No.” He sunk back into the chair and held his head in his hands. “I don’t believe it.” His voice was barely a whisper.

  Tessa gripped his leg.

  Ben struggled to believe a word Neil had said. But if it was true, some of Jayden’s strange behaviour would make sense. He’d always been on his phone or computer leading them to believe he was studying, when in reality it seemed now he was communicating with Kathryn.

  He sucked in a deep breath and raised his head. “Why didn’t you tell us this before?”

  Neil looked up slowly and shrugged one shoulder defensively. “I didn’t think he’d actually leave. I thought he was joking, but I guess I was wrong.” Tears sprang to his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re not to blame for Jayden’s actions,” Tessa said quietly.

  “What else did he say? Did he give any clue as to where he would have gone with her?” Ben leaned forward, his face almost touching Neil’s.

  “No, but I did think it was strange he was sorting his bag this morning.”

  “Let’s look in your room.” Ben jumped up, his heart pounding. How could Jayden have done this? To go off with Kathryn of all people.

  Tessa grabbed his hand. “Shouldn’t we tell the Police?”

  He paused. As much as he wanted to go racing off and find any clue as to Jayden’s whereabouts, maybe Tessa was right. He inhaled deeply and clenched his fists. “Yes, we should. Come on Neil, let’s go.” Ben placed his hand lightly on Neil’s shoulder and directed him towards the Lodge meeting room where the Police and Emergency Services were co-ordinating their search.

  Shortly after, they accompanied a constable into Neil and Jayden’s room.

  “Take a look and see if anything’s missing first. Then we’ll do a thorough search.” The constable stood in the doorway while Neil rummaged through the small cupboard and the messy floor. Typical teenage boy’s room. Clothes strewn everywhere, wet towels lying on top making everything else damp. Ben sighed. How many times had he told Jayden to clean his room up and not live like this? It didn’t matter now.

  “His small backpack is missing. And I think some of his clothes. And his Mac.” Neil’s voice caught in his throat. “I’m sorry Mr. Williams. I should have told you what I knew earlier.” He lowered his gaze and brushed his eyes with the back of his hand.

  Ben squeezed Neil’s shoulders. “It doesn’t matter. At least you told us now.”

  “Okay, thanks, son. If you can describe his backpack and the clothes that are missing to the lady constable, that will be a help. In the meantime, we’ll search the room for a note or any other clue.” The constable straightened. “But Mr. Williams, seems like he’s gone off on his own volition, so there may not be much we can do.”

  “But he’s just fifteen!” Ben’s voice rose a notch. “Surely that’s kidnapping?”

  “We’ll look at every angle, Sir. I was just letting you know what often happens in cases like these. We’ll do our best to locate your son.”

  Neil was of more help than anyone would have thought. He even knew Jayden’s Facebook password.

  Chapter 27

  “I’m afraid we’ll need to get a Warrant to log into your son’s Facebook account, Mr. Williams, and I’m not sure how long that will take.” The woman constable levelled her gaze at Ben, and then leaned closer, lowering her voice. “But if you want to log in while we’re waiting, that’s up to you.”

  Ben wasted no time. He thanked the Constable and then sat down with Neil and Tessa and logged into Jayden’s Facebook account.

  They found a litany of chat conversations, most of them to and from Kathryn. She’d dropped Williams from her name and resorted to her maiden name of Middleton.

  Ben clicked on her photo and read the latest messages she’d sent to Jayden. They mostly talked of how much she’d missed him and how much she wanted to see him again. No apology or explanation for why she’d left in the first place, but she’d invited him to come and stay with her. She’d sent photos of her Florida mansion and told Jayden that if he stayed with her he’d be able to travel the world and pretty much do whatever he wanted. There was no mention of Luke Emerson, and Ben couldn’t determine if they were still together or not.

  The more he read, the more his heart rate increased. He couldn’t believe that Jayden had been so deceptive. The last message read, “See you soon, Mum.” Ben looked at the time it was sent. Twelve o’clock. Three hours ago. Not long before Tessa had her fall.

  “We need to check the airport.” Ben jumped up as adrenalin flooded his veins, pounding its way through his body. “Neil, stay here with Tessa. I need to go.”

  Tessa grabbed his hand. “Slow down. Shouldn’t we speak with the police first?”

  “You can, but I’m going to the airport. There’s not a minute to spare.”

  “I’ll speak with them, and I’ll pray. Ben… stay safe…” Tessa’s voice trailed off as he raced out of the building and sprinted to the car park fifty metres away. The wind knocked him about as he shielded his face from the sleet. As he approached the car, he pressed the beeper. He flung the door open, climbed in and slammed it shut behind him. He inserted the key, and the engine of the rental car roared to life, the wheels spinning on the damp gravel as he sped off. He punched “Airport” into the Navigator and prayed he wouldn’t slide on the icy road.

  The whole way there he prayed. He prayed he’d get there in time, and that Jayden would have a change of heart. He couldn’t believe this was happening. After everything they’d been through together, how could Jayden do this? Jayden knew what Kathryn was like. How could he have been taken in by her empty promises? God, I give this situation to You. I’m sorry for my reaction earlier, but Lord, I just need to find him.

  Fifteen minutes after he left, Ben arrived at the airport. He pulled up in front of Departures, taking no notice of any parking restrictions, and raced into the building. He scanned the Departures board. No direct flight to Florida listed. Only one to New York. Panic set in. He had to think quickly. What airline would Kathryn fly? And which route would she take? Air New Zealand? Via Hawaii? That would be the one.

  He raced to the Air New Zealand help desk about thirty metres away. A woman with neat dark hair looked up as he came to a sliding halt in front of her. Compared to Ben’s frantic state, she appeared cool and calm.

  “I’m looking for my son. I think he might be on the flight to Hawaii which is boarding now. My ex-wife’s kidnapped him.” That wasn’t entirely true, but there was no time to explain.

  The woman’s eyes widened and she met Ben’s gaze. “I’m sorry, Sir. We can’t give out any passenger details, even if it’s your son you’re looking for. We’d need instructions from the Police and Immigration to stop the plane.”

  Ben’s heart fell. Tessa had been right. His phone rang in his pocket. Tessa’s ring tone. “Okay, I’m sorry. Thank you.” He stepped away from the counter and drew his phone out of his pocket and answered it.

  “Ben.” Tessa’s voice was barely a whisper. “Kathryn and Jayden left on her private jet half an hour ago.”

  He went into a tail spin as Tessa’s words sunk in. His heart raced dangerously fast and he couldn’t breathe. He slumped into a corner, and putting his hands over his head, sobbed until he could sob no more.

  * * *

  Tessa kept talking into the phone hoping Ben would respond. The news she’d just given him had been devastating, and she wished she was with him. Tears spilled down her face and she could barely breathe. But however bad her pain was, Ben’s would be a hundred times worse.

  He finally uttered a sound of sorts. His voice was so weak she could barely hear him. She’d never heard him so broken.

  “Ben, are you okay?” Her voice caught in her throat. She swallowed the lump that was sitting there, pushing it down so she could speak.

  “Tess…” Ben’s voice trailed away.

  “Ben. Wait there. Don’t drive. Eversley’s on his way t
o get you.”

  Silence.

  “Ben, did you hear me?”

  Seconds passed before Ben mumbled what Tessa assumed was a yes.

  When Ben returned to the Lodge with Eversley a short while later, all Tessa wanted to do was wrap her arms around him. She stood on her one good foot and hobbled to him. He clung to her and sobbed into her hair, his tears breaking her heart.

  “This isn’t your fault.” Tessa tried to comfort him. “You’ve been nothing but a good father to Jayden.”

  He sucked in a sob. “Then why isn’t he here? All those times I confronted him about such trivial matters—”

  “Even that was done in love.” Tessa kissed his hair. “As long as we have each other and God, we can survive this. There’s nothing more we can do except trust God to look after Jayden and bring him back home to us.”

  A strength Tessa couldn’t explain coursed through her body. “We will get through this. With God’s help, we’ll get through it.”

  * * *

  Ben, Tessa and Jayden’s story continues in…

  BOOK 3: "TORMENTED LOVE"

  READ THE BONUS CHAPTER OF “TORMENTED LOVE” AT THE END OF THIS BOOK

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  Hi! It’s Juliette here. I hope you’ve enjoyed the second book in “The True Love Series". Ben, Tessa and Jayden's stories continue in Book 3, "Tormented Love" (free to read on Kindle Unlimited).

  Make sure you don’t miss updates on any new releases by joining my mailing list if you haven’t already done so. You’ll also get exclusive sneak previews. It’s easy to join - just Click here to join, and as a thank you for signing up, you’ll also receive a free short story.

  Enjoyed Tested Love? You can make a big difference…

  Help other people find this book by writing a review and telling them why you liked it. Honest reviews of my books help bring them to the attention of other readers just like yourself, and I’d be very grateful if you could spare just five minutes to leave a review (it can be as short as you like) on the book’s Amazon page. You can jump right to the page by clicking here.

  Blessings,

  Juliette

  TORMENTED LOVE

  BOOK THREE

  Chapter 1

  Brisbane, Australia

  Tessa held her breath as Ben, her husband of less than a year, punched redial for the fifth time in less than an hour. She prayed that Jayden, his teenage son, would pick up this time. A muscle in Ben’s jaw twitched as he stared vacantly out the living room window, his chest heaving with measured breaths. When the phone diverted to Jayden’s voicemail, Ben hung up without leaving a message. He’d already left more than they could count.

  She slipped her arms around Ben’s waist from behind and leaned her head on his slumped shoulders. “Still no answer?”

  Ben shook his head slowly and turned around. Since Jayden had run off to be with his mother during their recent ski trip to New Zealand, Ben’s milk chocolate eyes had held a haunted look, and Tessa’s heart ached for him.

  She’d forced herself to remain strong for both their sakes, although she feared Ben might slip back into depression if they couldn’t convince Jayden to come home soon, which was becoming more unlikely with every day that passed.

  Tessa lifted her hand and touched Ben’s face lightly. “He’ll come home. I’m sure he will.”

  “I don’t know how you can be so confident.” His eyes misted over.

  “We have to trust God to work this out.”

  Ben inhaled slowly and nodded. “Yes, I know, but it’s so hard. Especially when he won’t even talk to us.” His voice caught in his throat.

  Tessa forced tears back as she pulled him close. The pain she was feeling was nothing compared to the despair and failure tormenting her husband. If only he’d stop blaming himself. Nobody could have foreseen what had happened. Not even Jayden’s best friend, Neil, had known what Jayden and his mum had been planning.

  For a long moment, Ben clung to her. Tessa didn’t know what more she could say. Never in their wildest dreams had they expected Jayden to disappear.

  “Maybe the lawyer will come up with something.” Her voice was little more than a whisper. She wasn’t convinced anything could be done, but Ben was keen to explore any possible option that might bring Jayden home.

  Ben lifted his head, drawing a deep breath before nodding slowly. “I hope so. I can’t handle this much longer.” His voice choked again.

  Tessa lifted her hand and brushed his dampened cheek with her fingers as she held his gaze. How had their holiday, the one intended to build bridges between Ben and Jayden, gone so horribly wrong? Dear God, please help us. Please bring Jayden home.

  * * *

  When they arrived at Preston Iken’s inner city office later that morning, the receptionist showed them into a small corner office furnished with a cherry wooden desk, dark burgundy leather chairs, and shaded table lamps. She offered coffee while they waited.

  They didn’t have long to wait. A slightly rotund older man wearing bi-focal glasses bustled into the room before their coffee arrived. Preston Iken held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Williams. Sorry I’m late.”

  Ben stood and shook the older man’s hand. “Thanks for meeting with us, Mr. Iken.”

  “Please, call me Preston.” He gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “Now, take a seat and tell me what I can do for you.” Preston sat on the opposite side of the desk and opened a notepad.

  Ben drew a deep breath. Tessa took his hand and squeezed it. Their eyes briefly met as he glanced at her for support before returning his attention to Preston. “We’re hoping you can help us with a very serious matter.” Ben swallowed hard before proceeding to tell Preston of his divorce from Kathryn and how she’d secretly contacted Jayden and somehow convinced him to go live with her. “She’s taken him out of the country—all the way to the States, in fact, and we want him back as soon as possible.” Ben’s chest heaved as his chin quivered. He still couldn’t believe this had happened. “Jayden belongs here. With us.” Ben’s voice faltered. He fought back tears as Tessa placed her arm around his shoulder.

  Preston steepled his fingers, resting his chin on top. “Mmm. Parental child abduction.” He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, his expression softening as he met Ben’s gaze. “First of all, I want you to know you’re not alone. This kind of thing happens more often than people know. Australia has the highest rate of parental child abduction per capita in the world, not that you’re probably interested in that statistic.”

  Ben pinched his lips and shifted restlessly in his seat. “Not really. I just want my son back.”

  Tessa leaned forward and glanced at Ben before turning back to Preston and giving him a polite smile. “That’s an interesting fact, Mr. Iken, but what do you suggest we do about our situation?”

  “Getting your son back isn’t going to be easy—I’m sorry.” Preston straightened in his chair and peered at Ben over the top of his glasses. “Mr. Williams, when you and your ex-wife divorced, did you get a parenting order that gave you the legal right to keep Jayden?”

  Ben stiffened as he felt the colour drain from his face. “Well, no, but surely that shouldn’t matter.” It shouldn’t matter, but somehow it did. He closed his eyes and wished this was all just a cruel dream and that he’d wake up any second and discover none of it was true. Jayden hadn’t run away with Kathryn. He was alive and well and still at home. But when Ben opened his eyes, Preston’s gaze was fixed on him. It wasn’t a dream. It was a nightmare. Ben held Preston’s gaze, even though he just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. How could he have been so stupid?

  He drew a slow breath and continued in a carefully measured, monotone voice. “Kathryn didn’t want Jayden when she left. She walked out and left him with me, and I’ve been taking care of him ever since.” He blinked back tears. “His school’s here. All his friends are here. Australia’s the only place Jayden’s ever lived.” His voice grew louder as anger o
ver what Kathryn had done welled up within him. “She shouldn’t be able to waltz in and disrupt his life like this.” Ben sat forward. He was getting stirred up, but he didn’t care. What Kathryn had done was wrong. Totally, one hundred percent, wrong.

  Tessa placed her arm around his shoulders. He shrugged it off.

  Preston scratched his chin and adjusted his thinly framed glasses. “That’s what you think. And on the grounds of common sense, I agree with you; but the law says differently, I’m sorry.” He leaned forward, his expression growing serious. “Since you don’t have a parenting order in place for your son, there’s not much preventing your ex-wife from taking him out of the country, even against your will.”

  Ben jolted in his seat. “You’re kidding, right?”

  Preston shook his head and pinched his lips. “Sadly, I’m not.”

  “Doesn’t the fact that Jayden’s a minor make any difference?” Tessa asked.

  “I’m afraid not.” Preston glanced at her as he removed his glasses.

  Ben drew his eyebrows together. “Are you saying there’s nothing we can do to get Jayden back?”

  “That’s not what I meant.” Preston paused, running a hand over his balding head. “The Hague Convention provides a procedure for attempting to have a child returned in cases like this, but it’s never easy, and unfortunately the success rate isn’t great, especially when court orders aren’t in place.” He crossed his arms and rested his elbows on the table, his expression changing to one of reassurance. “We’ll do whatever we can, but it’s a complicated matter we’re dealing with. Give me a few days to look into it, and then we can meet again to decide where we go to from here.”