Chapter 49
Chapter Forty-Nine
T he phone buzzed in Alex’s pocket at the same time Liev burst into his office.
“They were attacked at the playground.”
Alex was already moving, pulling out his phone and pressing the button as he strode toward the door.
A choked sob hit his ear. “A-Alex… please… It’s Jax. He’s gone.”
The world ground to a halt.
For a split second, Alex couldn’t breathe. His body went ice cold before his blood turned to fire.
“Madison,” he said, his voice razor-sharp as he slid into the passenger seat of Liev’s car. His cousin floored it before the door even shut. “Take a breath, Angel. Tell me what happened.”
“I—” Her breathing was erratic, each inhale jagged. “An older woman… she had a baby. She gave us cookies. I thought she was being friendly.” She swallowed hard, her voice cracking. “Then Cami collapsed. Fyor went to get the car, and I ran to her?—”
Liev turned his head briefly, his own phone glued to his ear, expression murderous. “Cops are all over the scene. There was a bomb in the car. Fyor’s being transported to the hospital along with Camellia Bloom.”
Alex’s stomach twisted into a violent knot.
A gut-wrenching sob tore from Madison’s throat, her words barely coherent. “By the time I turned around—Jax was gone. She was gone.”
Alex squeezed his eyes shut, his grip on his phone so tight he was surprised it didn’t snap in half. Rage surged through him, a lethal pulse beneath his skin.
“I’m coming, malyshka .” Liev took a hard turn never touching the brake. “I will find him.”
Liev’s phone rang again, and he put it on speaker.
“Tell me you have something.”
A voice came through the line. “Witnesses say the woman had gray hair, possibly in her sixties, wearing a blue shirt and khaki pants. They lost her in the panic.”
Useless.
Alex ground his teeth. “Track every security camera in the area. I want a face and a name, and I want it now.”
His cousin nodded sharply, already dialing another number.
Alex forced himself to breathe, to shove back the tsunami of fear flooding his chest as he pictured Jax’s smile.
The car skidded to a stop. The playground was a mass of flashing lights, uniformed officers, and crying parents gripping their children.
Madison was in the center of it, pale and wild-eyed, surrounded by officers who were asking questions she clearly wasn’t processing.
The moment she spotted him, she shoved past them, running straight into his arms.
Alex locked his arms around her, as her body shook violently against him.
“Alex,” she gasped, her fingers digging into his shirt. “I walked away from him. I wasn’t watching, and she took him.”
Her voice broke completely, and his gut twisted. He gripped her tighter. “This is not your fault.”
“Cami—She collapsed. What if that woman gave her something? What if?—”
“She’s at the hospital.” Liev interrupted over her head. “They’re taking care of her.”
Madison swallowed hard, pressing her face against Alex’s chest. “And Fyor?”
Alex turned his head toward Liev, who gave a sharp shake of his head. Fuck.
“He’ll be fine,” he lied.
A shudder ran through Madison’s body, and then her sobs hit full force.
Alex exhaled sharply and pressed his lips to her hair, inhaling deeply, his own control threatening to snap.
The police officer closest to them cleared his throat, eyeing Alex warily. “Your wife mentioned something about a custody dispute.”
Alex didn’t move. Didn’t even glance at the officer.
The officer hesitated. “You didn’t recognize the woman?”
Madison trembled in his arms, and Alex finally turned his head, the force of his glare making the man take an involuntary step back. “I’m taking my wife home. If you have any questions…” He jerked his head toward Liev.
The officer looked ready to argue, but Liev stepped in, pulling him aside to “answer” whatever questions they had.
Alex focused back on Madison, tilting her chin up. “Listen to me,” he murmured, his tone unwavering. “They took him because they want him alive. That means he’s safe.”
He hoped it was true, but he couldn’t even entertain any other possibility.
“You don’t know that,” she whispered, sounding totally broken as her entire weight sagged against him.
Scooping her into his arms, he strode toward Liev’s car ignoring the stares around them. “I do.”
Placing her gently in the front seat, he buckled the belt around her. Tears streamed down her cheek, but she was quickly developing a waxy color that concerned him.
“He must be so scared. He doesn’t have Dino.”
The thought burned through him, searing straight into his soul. “I’ll find him, Angel. I’ll bring him back to you.”
Alex smoothed a hand over her head and pressed a kiss on her forehead, before glancing over his shoulder. “I need to talk to Liev for a minute.”
Madison nodded listlessly but didn’t answer.
Alex closed the door as Liev hurried toward him. He didn’t want her to hear what his cousin had to say in case it was bad news. “Get everyone on this. Start with every traffic cam in a five-mile radius. I want every known associate of Felix found and questioned. Turn this city upside down and shake it. I don’t want there to be anywhere they can hide.”
Liev’s face was dark with his own concern and worry. “We’ll find him.”
“Call Mikhail let him know what’s happened and reach out to the Blooms. Find out how Cami’s doing.”
Alex ruthlessly shoved his emotions in a box. He couldn’t break in front of Liev. “Keys.”
Climbing back in the car, he took Madison’s frigid hand in his and held it over the console.
“I will bring our son home. And whoever took him will wish they’d never been born.”
The house felt still, lifeless. Madison sat motionless on the couch, her fingers curled tightly around Jax’s green dinosaur. She hadn’t moved since they returned hours earlier. Hadn’t eaten. Hadn’t spoken. She’d stopped crying by the time he helped her out of the car, but her near catatonic state was far worse.
Alex had never felt so useless.
He paced the room, phone in hand, issuing commands in clipped Russian to members of the bratva, raging that there was no sign of Jax. Mikhail had his men sweeping the city. James and Luke Bloom called their friend Brady, and now every available operative of Elite Security Specialists was scouring the city as well.
Every available street camera was being checked, every bar, every club, every godforsaken place information could be bought or beaten out of someone.
And still, there was nothing.
Ending the latest call, he exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down his face. He turned to Madison. “That was Declan,” he said, voice rough. “Cami and the babies are okay. It was just a sedative. A high dose, but nothing permanent.”
Madison’s lips parted slightly. Her gaze remained unfocused, locked on some invisible point beyond him.
“Her favorite cookie.” The whisper was so brittle, Alex’s throat tightened.
His gaze fell to the stuffed animal cradled in her arms.
It’s past his bedtime.
Jax can’t sleep without Dino.
Emotion threatened to choke him, and Alex forced the thought away. He couldn’t afford that weakness. Not when his family needed him.
“We have the car make and model, the license plate, and an image of the woman. It’s only a matter of time,” he continued, keeping his tone steady.
Nothing.
Not even a flicker.
She was shutting down, and he didn’t know how to reach her.
I can’t lose both of them.
Alex sat beside her, his weight shifting the cushion. Her body remained stiff, unyielding next to him, making his chest ache.
“You did nothing wrong, Madison.” He coaxed. “You couldn’t have known.”
Her grip on Dino tightened. “I won’t take a drink from a stranger but we took the cookies.” The monotone in her voice sent a chill through him. “I left my child with a stranger. This is my fault.”
“No.” His arm slid around her shoulders, pulling her in. She didn’t move, didn’t react, but at least she was talking.
“I should have known,” she said, barely above a whisper. “She was too friendly. I should have seen it.”
“Angel, listen to me,” His hand moved to the back of her head, threading through her hair. “This isn’t your fault.”
A single tear slid down her cheek. She didn’t move to wipe it away.
Alex closed his eyes for half a second, his control slipping. “This is on me.” The words were out before he could stop them.
Madison’s head turned slightly.
His neck was tense, and his muscles strained with the urge to lash out. “I know the darkness better than you do. I should have taken more precautions.” His grip tightened fractionally. “I should have protected you both better.”
A shudder ran through her body, but she didn’t fight his hold.
Alex swallowed against the knot in his throat and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He exhaled against her hair and whispered, “I love you.”
Madison’s body jerked.
His fingers twisted deeper into her hair, his other hand gripping her waist as though to anchor himself. “And I love our son,” he choked out. “I will do anything to get him back.”
A sharp tremor passed through her, and then…
The floodgates shattered.
A strangled sob tore from her lips, and she collapsed into him, her arms wrapping around his waist, fingers digging into his back.
Alex held her snug against him, rocking her slightly as the dam inside her broke under the weight of fear and guilt.
Her tears soaked into his shirt, and her shoulders shook as sobs wracked her body. “Alex,” she gasped.
“I’m here,” he murmured. His lips grazed her temple, his grip never loosening. “I’ve got you.”