Chapter 2
Tate Madden
Icouldn’t believe it.
I just couldn’t believe this was happening.
“People don’t fucking get kidnapped,” I croaked, scrolling through the list of events on our online forum. “That’s shit you hear on that news, but it never happens to you or someone you know.”
Kingsley pressed a kiss to my temple and ushered me to the truck. “Get in, baby. Don’t look back, by the way—Zoe’s in the window.”
Oh shit. She couldn’t see me cry. It would upset her too much.
Kingsley made sure to wave to our girl, and he had enough strength to fake a smile. Then we got in the car, and he wasted no time. He pulled away from the curb and sped up.
Our day by the pool was now something else entirely. My folks would watch the girls, thank God, because in no way could I process this news with them around.
Mr. West’s text would be embedded in my memory forever. And possibly haunt me in my dreams.
This text is going out to everyone in our immediate Mclean circle. Please read the article attached for more details. This happened to the friend whom the Tenleys were flying out to visit, and it seems Shay is unfortunately one of the people who was taken.
Colt, Kit, and I are heading out to Mclean. We don’t know much yet, but if you wish to be around people, feel free to join us. Can someone with full admin rights cancel all events for this weekend, as well as next week?
Whatever you do, refrain from reaching out to the Tenleys. Those of you who are close to Shay, I hope you’ll come out to the house. We need to get in touch with his family to see if there’s anything we can do.
I sniffled and scrolled through the last of the events. Most had been canceled by someone else, and I made sure to cancel the last three.
Oh God, Shay had to be all right. They had to rescue him and bring him home!
“Fuck,” I blurted out as a thought struck. “I have to call Lane.”
Kingsley and I were one of the few couples who happened to know that Ty and Lane had recently established a kink dynamic with the Tenleys. I didn’t know what kinds of feelings were involved, but I did know Shay and Lane were extremely close.
“Remember to process your feelings, pet.”
Pet.
I drew a deep breath. I’d needed that reminder. It centered me.
“Come here.” He lifted an arm.
I was quick to scoot closer, and he draped his arm around me.
“They’re gonna find Shay,” he said. “River and Reese—they will bring him home.”
I swallowed hard. It was insane how swiftly the pain in my chest came back. And it proved that I couldn’t talk about him. I needed to be useful. I wanted to help and…
“I know you, Tate,” he murmured. “You’re gonna try to stay busy.”
“Lee, I…” I deflated and felt my eyes well up. Fuck, I just couldn’t deal. “He can’t be gone, Master.”
“He’s not gone. He’s…temporarily unavailable.”
I sniffled as tears spilled over, and I shook my head.
This was bigger than Shay. It was about…
River and Reese. They needed Shay like they needed air.
It was about the evils in the world and how they were now on our doorstep.
It was about the society in which we raised our two daughters.
And it was about vibrant relationships. Memories.
Heart. Shay once tried to teach Noa and Kit self-defense.
Christ, that had been a fun Saturday. Or the time Shay and Nora pushed both River and Reese into the pool on the first day of spring? I’d laughed so hard I’d almost cried.
With Shay kidnapped, every memory went dark.
Hundreds and hundreds of memories just…cloaked in darkness.
Replaced by cries for help and despair.
I clutched my stomach.
Oh my God, they had to find him.
Lucas Carter
“Mr. West? Can you please give me something to do?”
I stopped and glanced over my shoulder, spotting Cameron coming out into the lobby from the kitchen hallway. He looked just as helpless as the others who’d arrived.
“Master keeps telling me to sit down and just be, and I…I can’t,” he finished.
I swallowed and nodded with a dip of my chin, and I brought out my phone to check my list. I’d sorted it already, after the fourth sub had asked me for something to do. Most recently, Kit and Gael, both of whom were now bringing down blankets and pillows from the guest rooms.
In other words, I had a list of things for those we tended to coddle because of our lifestyles.
“Of course, sweetheart,” I replied. “If you’re up to it, you could take down the picture frames that show anything revealing.” I pointed to the wall behind the front desk. “Just put them in the office.”
He glanced back at the wall, then at me again. “Sir?”
“We don’t know how long this hell is going to last,” I explained. “It’s highly possible members will need to bring their children at some point, so we’re concealing anything kink-related.”
Our plan was clear. The club area was going to be our crisis center. Members could come here and share their worries, talk, follow the news, and simply…not be alone.
“Okay.” Cam nodded. “I’ll get started right away.”
“Where is Lucian, by the way?” I wondered.
“He and Master Greer are picking up a big TV at our place,” he answered.
“Ah—good. But you make sure to let your Owners know what you’re doing,” I told him. “I’m happy to hand out chores, but nobody’s suppressing their emotions on my watch. Are we clear?”
“Yes, Sir. I’ll let Daddy know right now—he’s outside with Noa.”
“Good boy. Let me know if you need anything.” With that, I continued into the club area and checked my watch. Half an hour till the press conference. We had two smaller flat-screens ready; Colt was on top of that.
Nathan had set up shop on the patio as our resident trauma counselor, Ash was searching for news with James and Kingsley, Tate and Macklin had claimed the kitchen—and Archie would join them when he and Sloan arrived—and Max, Reid, and Walker were moving kink furniture into storage.
I hoped with every fiber of my being that this would be over soon. In fact, I wanted every measure we took to be completely unnecessary—because the police or the Tenleys were going to find Shay unharmed bright and early tomorrow. Right?
Except, Greer, Colt, and Santiago said that all evidence pointed to something else. Santiago, especially, having worked in homicide… Fuck, I couldn’t shake the memory of the grim look on his face when he’d arrived earlier with his partners.
I swallowed the worries that constantly threatened to surface, and I pushed forward.
But everywhere I looked, friends wore sober expressions.
Worry lines were out in full force. No brats were running around, because…
there were no brats to be found. Playtime was forgotten.
Happy-go-lucky boys had ceased to exist. Kit and Gael came downstairs with their arms filled with blankets—and not a smile in sight.
Kit glanced my way and bit down on his lip when it quivered.
My sweet boy.
I gestured for him to come to me, and he dropped everything and ran over.
Then I had him in my arms, and I squeezed him tightly.
“He has to be okay,” he cried.
I screwed my eyes shut and tightened my hold. “I hope so, little one. I hope so too.”
I exchanged a brief glance with Colt across the room.
What could we do?
It was tough to navigate with our lifestyles too, because where some submissives had sunk lower into those mind-sets because they offered at least a sliver of comfort, others had shot right out of kink altogether and approached things strictly vanilla.
Kit hadn’t decided yet, it felt like. He bounced back and forth.
It was still all so new. We didn’t have enough to go on.
“Founder meeting on the porch of the Tenley cabin in two minutes!” Penelope had arrived.
Colt straightened as she came through with a visibly upset Nora. “Lucian and Greer are on their way.”
Pen shook her head. “They’re here. They pulled in when we did.”
Okay, then.
I gave Kit another squeeze. “We’ll be back in a little bit, okay? I think you and Gael should get comfy on one of the couches—or maybe see if Macklin’s prepared any snacks.”
He sniffled and wiped at his cheeks. “I’m not hungry. I’ll get a soda.”
“All right.” I brushed my thumb under his eye, hating that I couldn’t take away his pain. “Daddy and I will hurry.”
Fuck, it hurt to let go of him even for a few minutes. But Colt and I joined the other founding members outside, and we went over to the Tenleys’ cabin.
They should be here.
Macklin was the last to trail over, looking lost and tired.
“Before I let someone else take over,” Penelope started by saying, “I just want to make sure we’re all aware that the comments are flooding the groups in the app. It’s been nonstop what’s-going-ons since we canceled all the events.”
I lifted an arm as Macklin reached us, and I brought him into the fold and rubbed his back.
“So, we’ll post a message on the front page,” Colt stated. “It’ll be each group admin’s job to make sure their members see the post.”
“I can have something up in the next hour or so,” I answered.
“It’s natural for people to have questions,” Lucian said, “but we might want to minimize the influx by creating a temporary group where members can speculate and dump articles.”
I nodded with a dip of my chin, side-eyeing him, Colt, Macklin, Greer, and Penelope.
Two people were missing from this conversation. The balance was off. Even River, who spoke through Reese or not at all, was part of the structure that gave us balance.
“I will happily run that group and make sure the theories don’t cross over to tinfoil-hat territory,” Penelope offered. “I’ll talk to August too. We’ll need heavy monitoring of what’s being said.”
I tilted my head and studied her. Like the rest of us, she looked like she was holding it together best by staying busy.
“Agreed.” Colt inclined his head. “For starters, I don’t want any bullshit musings about River and Reese—or their backgrounds. Remind members it’s an ongoin’ investigation, and it’s better they shut the fuck up if they don’t have anythin’ concrete to contribute.”