Page 53 of Shared By Her Brother's Best Friends

I hang up the phone before she can waste any more time asking questions.

The guys are already on their feet, standing to attention having gleaned what must be happening from my side of the conversation.

“We need to go to Jessica’s now. Kane knows that the Iron Serpents messed up their deal this morning. If he knows that Jacob is Max’s uncle, he might choose to make his move soon as retaliation. Either way, they know where Max is, they could strike at any time. He’s not safe there anymore. We have to go get him,” I explain as I grab my purse.

The guys nod in agreement. “Ty and I will go on the bikes. We take on Kane’s men if they’re still there while you and Jax get Max. J-Bird will be fine here, they’ve got officers posted outside,” Mason says, and we all nod our agreement.

“Let’s go,” I reply determinedly.

There’s no way I’m letting Kane get anywhere near my son without a fight. We just have to pray we get there in time.

Chapter 29

Emma

When we pull onto Jessica’s road, there’s no sign of the car she described. Mason and Ty ride ahead in search of it, while Jax and I pull up to check the house. Worryingly though, her house is in complete darkness despite the fact it’s nighttime and her car is still in the driveway. The house stands eerily abandoned next to its brightly lit neighbors and before we even approach, I know that the house is empty. Max isn’t here.

We’re too late.

Which surely means only one thing, Kane’s men must have taken Jessica and her children too.

Despite my sickening certainty of what I will find, I race out of the car, barely waiting for Jax to come to a complete standstill, and head for the front door. The door’s the kind that self-locks when you close it. I ring the doorbell, knowing that no one will answer, so I don’t wait before I pull out my spare key and open it with shaking hands.

“Max!” I frantically call, my voice echoing down the empty hallway. “Jess!” I add, running around the house, checking every room.

“I’ll search upstairs,” I hear Jax call out behind me.

I don’t respond, I’m too eager to find some evidence that this is all some terrible mistake. Hoping that I’ll find them shutin the seldom-used dining room at the back, pretending for the watcher’s benefit that they’ve left.

When I reach the kitchen and my eyes land on the dirty dishes left on the table, I know for sure that something went terribly wrong. Jess is a fastidious housekeeper and would never leave the tidying up before going out. She can’t have left of her own accord.

I sink down onto the cold tiled floor, my legs buckling from under me as a strange, guttural moan escapes my lips.

“There’s no one up here,” I hear Jax call out, confirming that the worst has indeed happened.

That we’ve stepped right into a nightmare.

“Emma?” Jax calls out, searching for me now, but I don’t have the strength to reply.

I wrap my arms tightly around my knees, curling up into a ball as I slowly rock.

“I’m never going to see my baby again…” I mutter in disbelief.

“Emma!” Jax calls again, his voice closer this time, his footsteps quickening. “There you are,” I hear him sigh with relief a few moments later.

“They’re gone,” I say numbly.

“I know,” he replies softly, sitting down beside me and pulling me into his warm, tender arms. “But we’ll find them,” he adds with a conviction I don’t share.

“How?”

“Have you tried calling Jessica? Maybe she took the kids somewhere else because they didn’t feel safe with the car outside?” he reasonably suggests.

I shake my head, “Jess wouldn’t have left this mess,” I say, pointing at the dishes. “Besides, her car is here.”

Jax looks at me disbelievingly. “I hardly think that’s evidence enough to say that Kane took them. There’s no sign of a struggle or forced entry, the front door was locked, and you told her not to let anyone in. Maybe a friend came to get them? If anything, it’s more likely that Jessica took them someplace else. Call her. It’s worth a shot,” he urges.

Reluctantly, I pull out my phone and call Jess. There’s the sound of a phone ringing inside the house and Jax gets up and follows the noise in search of it. When he comes back into the room he’s holding Jessica’s cell phone in his hand with a grim expression.

---