Page 62 of Shared By Her Brother's Best Friends

They glance at each other, an unspoken conversation taking place. “Mason is still being interviewed,” Bess replies.

“And Emma?” I prompt, feeling nervous by their hesitancy.

“She freaked out a bit and went to the hospital to be with J-Bird,” Jax admits.

“And you let her go alone?” I reply incredulously.

“Not exactly…” Jax says.

“Jax, I’m tired and grumpy. I suggest you spit it out before I take it out on you,” I grunt.

“The FBI has arrested Kane. He’s being interrogated as we speak.”

“The problem is, they didn’t find Max,” Bess adds. “But they’re hopeful that they will be able to find out his location from Kane soon, we have some of our best guys working on it.”

“Fuck! No wonder she freaked out. Mason’s gonna flip when he hears this,” I reply, feeling a whole range of emotions and not sure how to process them all at once.

Anger for us following the plan and it not paying off. Rage at those responsible for taking Max. Fear for his safety. Irritation for having agreed to testify against Kane for nothing. Concern for Emma’s wellbeing. Anxiety at the thought of what Max must be going through. Helplessness thinking that Emma might have to suffer and go through the pain of losing a child. And so much more.

“When I hear what?” Mason asks, coming into the room behind me.

“The cops have arrested Kane, but they can’t find Max. Emma supposedly rushed off to the hospital to be with her brother when she heard the news and these two idiots thought it was a good idea to let her go alone,” I explain.

“You did what?” Mason roars.

“It’s not like that. When Emma heard the news, she said she needed some fresh air. I went outside with her, but she wasadamant that she wanted to be left alone. I told her I’d come back out in fifteen minutes. Just as I was coming outside, I got a text from her saying she’d taken the car to be with Jacob and that she didn’t want us to follow. She said she was fine but just needed to be with him alone for a while and to let her know if there was any progress in the investigation and interrogation of Kane,” Jax explains.

“That doesn’t sound like the sort of thing Emma would do. She would want to be as close as she can to the investigation to hear any news…” Mason says, thinking aloud.

“Mason’s right. As worried as she is about J-Bird, her priority is Max. It doesn’t make sense that she’d rush off, no matter how upset she was,” I agree.

“Are the FBI making any progress with their interrogation of Kane?” Mason asks, turning his cool attention to Bess.

She cringes a little under his glare, it’s evident that he blames her for the poor result from the FBI and now Emma’s absence.

“Let me go check,” she says, scuttling off.

Mason and I continue to quiz Jax as he becomes increasingly defensive, a sure sign he regrets taking his eyes off Emma. I know it’s not his fault, but I can’t help but feel a little bit annoyed with him for not keeping a better eye on her. Kane might be in custody, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have men on the outside who could hurt her. My concern for her grows as I try calling her phone and it rings out. The others all do the same.

“Should we call the hospital?” I ask.

“Good thinking,” Mason replies, immediately dialing.

After an agonizingly long time, Mason is finally able to speak to someone at the hospital who agrees to check if Emma is there. “You’re sure?” Mason says before thanking the person and hanging up the phone.

“Fuck,” he hisses under his breath. “Emma never went to the hospital,” he says, grim-faced.

Jax shakes his head, confused. “No, the person you spoke to must be mistaken. She said she was going there.”

“Well, she never made it. They even checked the system to see if the license plate for the car had flagged up on their system for the parking lot. She was never there. She didn’t sign in and the doctors and nurses on Jacob’s ward haven’t seen her,” Mason snaps.

“So where is she?” Jax asks.

“She’s not answering her phone, so I don’t like the options. Either she got into an accident on the way to the hospital, Kane’s men got to her, or something else made her rush off…” I say, my mind already going into overdriving thinking of what might have happened to her.

“Jesus, Jax, what the fuck were you thinking?” Mason growls, rounding on him.

“I’m sorry man, I didn’t… I don’t…” Jax flounders, blaming himself, the concern for Emma etched into his face.

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