Finding Mary Jane Read online

Marla’s nervousness is almost tangible. I swallow. “Because he hasn’t been home in a week. And he won’t answer my calls.”

  Max stands up, his gigantic body casting a shadow over me. “Well I say we get Ben to come home, eh?” He holds out his hand and Marla places her cell phone in it. For the last few seconds, my head almost feels normal again. I let go of my knee and reach up to touch my forehead. When I press on the knot, not only has it gotten bigger since I last felt it, it sends an additional surge of pain through my head.

  I hold back tears as Max looks through Marla’s phone, finally stopping on a number. He puts the phone to his ear. “What’s your name?” he asks me.

  I manage to croak a soft, “Lexie.”

  A few moments of silence pass. In the quiet, I can hear the robot voice on Ben’s voicemail instructing Max to leave a message at the tone. The voice makes my stomach flip over; I’ve heard it a thousand times in the last few days.

  “Ben Stark.” Max kneels down again. “This is Max. Lexie, say hi.” He holds out the phone.

  “Hi,” I say. My voice is thin and weak.

  “Tell him where you are,” Max says.

  I look around. “I don’t know, some kind of basement.”

  Max pats the top of my head and stands back up. “It’s over, Ben. Dig your ass out of whatever hole you’ve hidden in and bring me my money. You have two days, eh—maybe less. I’m impatient, you know.”

  My brain gets fuzzy and I realize I’ve been breathing so fast, I’ve made myself lightheaded. I think Marla is smiling, but I’m not looking at her. I’m staring straight at Max’s slight gap tooth as he says, “If you don’t show up, your precious baby sister will die.”

  ###

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  About the Author

  Amy Sparling is the author of The Summer Unplugged Series, The Devin and Tobey Series, Deadbeat & other awesome books for younger teens. She also writes books for older teens under the pen name Cheyanne Young. She lives in Houston, Texas with her family and a super spoiled rotten puppy.

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  Finding Mary Jane

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  About the Author

  Table of Contents

  Finding Mary Jane

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  About the Author