Page 119 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

“Yeah,” I said, doing my best to stuff all the dumb shit I was thinking down deep.

“Wow, uh, okay,” Avery said, her shoulders visibly relaxing.

A pang of sadness welled up within me. She’d been worried I’d blow up at her or argue against it. Fuck, the last thing I wanted was for her to be walking on eggshells around me. I needed tokeep myself in check. If I wanted to win Avery back, I’d need to be open to her suggestions and thoughts.

“When does this guy get here?” Trent asked.

“Yeah,” Farrah said. “When does thecavalryarrive?”

Avery ignored the sarcastic tone in Farrah’s voice. “He said the earliest flight he could get out was tomorrow morning. He’s bringing a couple of other guys with him. They’re both good guys.”

My throat was dry, like someone had stuffed cotton down in it, and I swallowed hard.

“We’ll be ready for them then,” I said.

But would I really be ready to meet this guy Avery had so much faith in?

30

AVERY

Iwent back to my empty house, where the oppressive silence made it seem like the walls were closing in on me. Even when Ash had holed up in his room like a normal teenager, there’d always been some sort of sound—the explosions of video games, the dull thud of rock music. Hell, even the sound of him dribbling a basketball in his room. There’d beensomething. Now? Nothing but complete quiet.

I hated it. The lack of life in the house was one big reminder that my son wasn’t here. That he was in danger, and I couldn’t do anything about it.

I was so lonely, part of me wished I’d asked Cole to come over. Pulling out my phone, I called Stormy.

“Avery?” Stormy gasped as she answered. “What’s happened? Have you heard anything else? Tell me what you know.”

My friend sounded distraught and worried. I’d told her what had happened and that I’d update her as soon as I could. Ashton was basically a surrogate child to her. She’d loved him since he’d been born, which was why I’d made her his godmother. A littlestab of guilt twisted in my gut for waiting so long to get in touch with her.

“We don’t know anything more. Can… uh, can you come over? I really don’t want to be alone right now.”

“Sure. Mom’s home, so I’ll leave Shiloh with her and be there in five.”

True to her word, she pulled into my driveway a few minutes later, her tires squealing. She burst through the door and rushed to hug me. To my surprise, I didn’t burst into tears. I’d thought for sure I’d fall apart as soon as I saw Stormy.

“Are you all right?” Stormy asked, breaking the embrace and holding me at arm’s length to study me.

“No. I’m not, but what am I gonna do?”

“Call the fucking police! I told you that earlier.”

Shaking my head, I pulled away a bit and wrapped my arms around myself. “I can’t, Stormy. If Kyle thinks the cops are coming, he might kill Ashton before running. It’s too dangerous.”

Stormy heaved a sigh and shook her head. The set of her jaw and anger clouding her face told me she wanted to argue. “If you can’t call the cops, who the hell is going to get Ashton back?”

“We are,” I said, then collapsed into a chair. “Somehow.”

Stormy sat next to me. “What’s the plan?”

I rolled my eyes. “Cole’s come up with a really dangerous idea that might get him killed. None of us liked it.”

“That sort of sounds like the Cole I remember,” Stormy said. “Rush right in, screw the consequences. Sort of like when he left you.” I didn’t miss the bitterness in her voice.

“He’s panicked. Just like I am,” I said in his defense, even though at the back of my mind, I still partly blamed him for all this trouble. “Nothing about this is easy, and he’s grasping at straws.”

“What about your friend Langston?” Stormy asked. “You said you called him. When’s he getting here?”

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