Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 38973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Jax nodded and dialed a number, putting it on speaker. “Jax,” a man drawled. “Don’t hear from you much anymore, brother. What’s up?”
“I have you on speaker,” Jax told him, clearly a warning to watch what he said if he didn’t want me hearing in. “We’re on a secure line.”
“Who’s with you?” the man, who I assumed was Rico, demanded. He had a slight accent—maybe Mexican? But it was very faint.
“Gunner, Ace’s… Papa,” he said after a moment. Rico hummed in acknowledgement. “Ace is missing, Rico. He’s not answering his burner, and he hasn’t called back yet. Something is wrong. Can you track him?”
“Yeah.” There was some movement on the other end, and then, there was the sound of keys being pressed in rapid-fire succession. Jax pointed to a road up ahead, and I slowed down just enough to make the turn safely before I pressed my foot down on the accelerator again.
What if we didn’t make it to Ace in time? My heart threatened to shred itself apart at the mere thought. Not finding him in time was not an option. I refused to even consider it.
“Got it,” Rico announced a couple of minutes later. “They’re headed into Canada. I can send men to intercept. I’m thinking Ace got kidnapped.”
My heart dropped to my stomach, and sheer training kept me from freaking the fuck out and vomiting. I tightened my hands around the steering wheel, my knuckles turning white as I tried to quell the shaking in them.
Kidnapped.
I’d failed him. I’d promised to always protect him, and now, he was kidnapped. He was probably scared—though I knew he’d never show it to his captors—and fearful he’d never see me again.
I’m coming, baby boy. Just hang on for me. Hang in there, sweet boy. Papa’s coming.
“Can you send me the tracking info?” Jax asked, his jaw pulsing with anger.
“Yeah, sending it now,” Rico told him. “Be safe. By the time you reach Ace, my men should already be there, ready for your command. Don’t die, Jax.”
Jax snorted. “Noted. Thanks, brother. We owe you one.”
“Nah,” Rico said. Jax blinked, but other than that, there was no surprise in his face. “I like Ace. And I don’t want to see him lost in this trafficking shit. Bring him home, Jax.”
With that, he ended the call. Jax called Shaw, filling him in, keeping the conversation short and abrupt. “Ace has been kidnapped. Headed into Canada. Rico is sending men. We’re on our way.”
“I’ll call Konrad and—”
“No,” Jax snapped. “We don’t have time to wait for everyone to get to the clubhouse and for you to hit the road. Gunner and I will handle this. We’ll be fine.”
Shaw sighed. “Jax, we don’t know Gunner like that—”
“I trust him,” Jax told him, his tone revealing his annoyance. “And Ace trusts him. I need to go. Keep your phone close.”
With that, Jax hung up. Then, he grabbed his personal phone and tapped on his screen a couple of times before he handed it to me. “Ace is the red dot,” he informed me. “Directions are set up to get to him.”
I nodded once, feeling like I could breathe now that I had a tangible location for my boy in front of me. I glanced at Jax. “I have weapons under the backseat. You mind putting them together? We’re going to need them. I’m taking out every son of a bitch I can. No one takes my boy from me and lives to tell the tale.”
Jax nodded and unbuckled his seatbelt, climbing into the backseat. He whistled low when he pulled up the backseat, revealing the duffel bag of assault rifles and ammunition I had there. “Worried about an apocalypse?” he asked as he pulled the duffel out. He flipped the seat back down and rested the bag on the seat, reaching inside and pulling out parts.
“It was the only way I could keep a somewhat peace of mind after I was released from the military,” I told him honestly.
He nodded. “I get that.” He glanced up at me as he pulled gun parts out of the bag. “I’m glad Ace found you. He needs someone like you. You… make him happy. And he’s been miserable for a long time, Gunner.”
I sighed, my heart squeezing in my chest for my boy. “I know. He’s going to be a mess when we get our hands on him, Jax.” But I would take care of him. I would do whatever it took to make my boy feel safe again.
“I know,” he said quietly. “He puts up a front, but unlike the others, I’ve always been able to see right through it. He self-destructs because if he hurts himself before someone else can hurt him, it doesn’t hurt as bad.”
I clenched my jaw. “You’re pretty insightful for such a quiet bastard.”