39. Jax
jax
An hour passes, and there isn’t one word from Felicity. I pace the room with Law in my arms. He sleeps peacefully, not knowing that my gut is churning with dread and regret for letting her leave without me.
I can’t believe I fucking did.
Thirty more minutes pass, and I have to think they’re done, so I dial her number, waiting on pins and needles for her to answer the phone.
Nothing.
Five more minutes and I give in and call the bakery, which is where I assume they went.
Then, I get the confirmation from Aveline Hart herself.
“Felicity left a little before him, but it was at least forty minutes ago. Maybe an hour?”
An hour ago she left, and she still hasn’t returned home? Not possible.
I’ve got the diaper bag packed with more bottles and breast milk than Lawson should need, and I drive down Main Street, looking for any sign of Felicity and feeling my eyes heat when I don’t see her or that douchebag Zack anywhere.
I head straight to my mom’s place. She owns a small house on the outskirts of town. It is the same one she raised us boys in, and aside from a couple of bits we’ve fixed up, it is the same as always.
I knock on the door, and my niece, Lue, answers, her grin broad and excited to see the baby. Her smile falls a little when she sees me alone. “No Felicity? Is she sick?”
“I need to see Grandma, honey,” I say, walking inside and letting her shut the door behind me.
I stalk toward voices and am not surprised to see Logan and Stetson with their girls sitting around the table, waiting for us for dinner.
“Finally!” Stetson says jokingly. “I’m starving.”
My mom—and it seems the other three—catch on quicker when they see my expression. “What’s wrong?” she asks, standing and coming to take my son from me. I hold him a little tighter, this feeling in my gut tightening with fear.
I don’t want to let them both go. What if I don’t get them back?
“Felicity’s in trouble,” is all I can manage to get out, and suddenly, Thea and Bonnie are there, taking the diaper bag from me gently and encouraging me to give Law to my mom.
I let out a breath as soon as he’s out of my arms, and my tense muscles that have been holding me up relax as reality hits me.
“Where is Felicity, Jax?” This comes from Logan, and I appreciate his blunt, no-nonsense way about him.
“I don’t know,” I choke out, trying to take in a slow breath before I close my eyes and explain what happened.
“Why would her boyfriend take her?” Bonnie asks softly. “It’s not like she’s not a huge celebrity. People would just notice her.”
A feeling slithers around me, and I can’t quite figure out what it is or why I’m allowing it to control me, but there’s something there, on the edge of my mind just out of reach that tells me this was not Zack’s doing.
As pompous as he seems, he also doesn’t seem like the brightest person in the world. Felicity would eat him alive.
Faintly, I hear the sound of a motorcycle before it’s abruptly shut off. The front door to my mom’s house slams open, making us all jump, and a worried voice calls my name. “Jax!”
I stand quickly, walking down the hall and coming up abruptly on Mitch. His eyes settle once he sees me, and his fear dissipates. “Oh, thank God.”
Then, he does something I never would have expected. He reaches out and pulls me into a hug.
I hesitate for a minute, the whispering group behind us ceasing their chatter at what must be a shocking sight, then I wrap my arms around my brother, my fear at Felicity being gone bleeding out into the hug.
“I thought he got to you,” Mitch says when he pulls away, looking from me to the family. “He just snuck in under our radar. I found out not even ten minutes ago.”
“Who is under your radar, Mitchell?” Our mother’s voice questions sharply, drawing our attention. She’s passed Lawson to my sister-in-law and looks concerned, but not yet pissed.
That was definitely going to come.
Then, it hits me what Mitch is saying. “Dad’s here?” I start moving without knowing where I am going or who I am going to talk to. I just need to move, to get to her before something bad happens.
“Your father?” Mom’s voice follows. “Hold on one damn minute.” Her voice is what whips my attention back, and despite the war raging inside of me, I can’t miss the hurt that laces her tone. “You two have been seeing your father?”
“Mom…” I start, unsure how to explain anything right now. Not to her and not to my two other brothers, who looked on with confusion.
“Mom.” Mitch cuts in, turning to her. “Keith is incredibly unstable, dangerous. When we were on the circuit, he buddied up to Jax, telling him all sorts of lies and promises.”
I hang my head, feeling the slither of shame all over again. If I hadn’t been hurt, if I hadn’t been desperate, I could have turned him away.
Now, we are in this situation because of me.
“So, you’ve seen your father? More than once?” Mom looks like she’s hanging on by a thread, and I don’t blame her. Problem is, so am I.
“We will tell you everything, but right now, with him on the loose, Felicity is not safe. We need to find her.” I don’t think anyone has heard Mitch say so many words in a row since being home.
Thea and Bonnie take Lue and Lawson down into the den, gracefully giving me and my family a moment to talk. Logan looks disappointed, as does Stetson, and I get that being their focal point, but right now, mine is my girl.
“I can’t believe you’ve been seeing Dad. Like, for years?” Stetson asks, sitting on the edge of the sofa’s armrest.
I nod my head. “It’s one of my biggest mistakes, Stets. I fell for all of his bullshit.”
I look to my mom, and she comes to stand in front of me, her hands reaching up to cup my cheeks.
“This is not your fault, honey. Your father is a piece of shit who only cares for himself. He’s manipulative, he’s controlling, and he’s charming.
He can lie through his teeth and tell you what you want to hear without making you think otherwise.
” She pulls me in, hugging me tight even though, anymore, it is hard for her to wrap her arms around me.
But it is still my mother’s hug and something I need right now.
When we pull away, I look over at Logan and want to ask him what he thinks, but he just looks away. I knew he’d be the most pissed, mostly because he took the brunt of our father’s shit when he was around, being the oldest boy.
He also helped keep us boys in line and borderline raised us, so his dismissal stings, but I understood it.
My phone rings in my pocket, and I dig it out, sighing in palpable relief at the sight of Felicity’s name on the screen. “Felicity, are you okay?”
“Oh, she’s just fine.” The gruff voice over the line freezes my heart in place, and I have to force myself to breathe.
“What did you do?”
My entire family looks at me, and Mitch reaches over, taking the phone from me, and putting it on speaker.
“Nothing too bad,” he chuckles, the sound grating. “Yet.”
“You son of a bitch.” I snarl, my anger finally taking over my fear as I picture whatever Felicity must be going through. He will pay.
“Now, now, son. Don’t go getting all huffy.
This is simple. Ransom.” He chuckles again as if he’s the most clever bastard there is.
“This here girl is worth a pretty penny and has the funds to put up what I’m asking.
All I want is my money. Cash. Then I’ll get out of your life.
I already have my plan in place for after I get it. ”
“I’m not giving you shit.” I spit out, trying to control my temper. I won’t give in, not for all she’s worked for.
Fuck. She doesn’t deserve this. Doesn’t deserve to be dragged through the mud with me.
“Oh?” he asks, and then a sound resonates through the phone, the sound of skin slapping skin and a brief moan hits my ears. Mom’s hands raise to cover her mouth in shock, her eyes glittering with tears and anger.
“Don’t you fucking touch her,” I snarl into the phone. “If I find out you touch her again, you’ll be six feet deep before you can even see another penny.”
He chuckles. “Why don’t you work on getting the money? I’d say a good two mil would work, and give me a call back. Huh? Would that work for you? Otherwise, I’ll take it to the press, and I’m sure your pretty little lady here would love to be known for being kidnapped and held for ransom.”
Then, before I can ask to speak to her, to tell her I love her one more time, the line goes dead.
“Fuck!” I yell, unable to control it, and I clutch my phone, desperate to throw it against the wall. “What the fuck do I do?”
“Honey, calm down.” Mom tries and fails when her tears make it impossible to breathe, and she has to sit.
“We need a plan.” Mitch starts, pacing the floor. Logan looks on, his face giving off that he’s miserable with the circumstances, and Stetson just stares in shock.
“Is it us?” he asks, thinking through something. “Why are our women always in trouble?”
No one answers him, and Thea walks into the room, gauging what’s going on. “Everyone okay?”
Logan reaches out, pulling her to him and whispering what had just happened. At least, I assume that’s what he’s doing.
Her eyes meet mine sadly, and I look away. I can’t stand to think about what is going through her head. After hearing what happened to her, I don’t even want to think about what could be happening to the mother of my child.
I blink and then turn to Mitch. “Your brothers.”
Mitch pauses, a frown covering his face when he says, “What?”
“Your club. Could they help?”
He stops completely, looking around the room at his family. No one seems to be surprised. Our brothers know that he’s in a club, and our mother just looks at him hopefully, like maybe he’s got all the answers.
“I thought you hate the club, Jax,” Mitch states, confusion in his tone.
“I don’t have the emotional capacity to explain my feelings on this right now, Mitch.
I need help here. I don’t know how to find her, but they have her phone.
Could someone help trace it so I can go in there and kill those sons of bitches who took my life from me?
” My tone is not only desperate, but frantic as I practically beg my brother for help.
Finally, after a moment of contemplation, he says, “All right. I’ll make a call.”