Chapter 35 – Jaxon
The first thing I noticed when I got back to the apartment was the silence. Too quiet. No music playing, no faint hum of Maddie typing on her laptop, no light laughter coming from the kitchen. Just… nothing.
“Scout?” I called, tossing my keys onto the counter. My voice echoed in the empty space, the sound sharp against the stillness.
Nothing.
I scanned the room, my eyes catching on small details that didn’t add up. Her bag wasn’t on the chair by the door. The blanket she usually left tossed across the couch was folded neatly, untouched.
The knot in my stomach tightened as I crossed the room, checking her guest room just in case. The bed was made, her things still neatly stacked on the dresser, but the room felt cold.
“Damn it, Maddie,” I muttered under my breath, running a hand through my hair as I reached for my phone and attempted to call her.
No answer.
My mind raced with possibilities, none of them good. She wouldn’t just leave without telling me. Not after the everything. Not after us.
Sure, we had argued. Yes, she was mad as all hell. But my girl wasn’t the type to up and leave when things got tough.
That wasn’t Madeline. She didn’t run. She fought, stubborn to the core, even when it didn’t make sense.
So where the hell was she?
The tension between us earlier had been real, but it wasn’t enough to make her bolt. She would’ve waited, or at least sent me some kind of message.
Unless she couldn’t.
The thought struck like a hammer, the air rushing from my lungs as my mind raced. The pieces started falling into place: her unease lately, the way she’d been on edge. The threats. Sean.
She had told me. She had argued with me until she was blue in the face, and I was too in denial to listen to her.
My girl was right. About all of it.
I’d brushed her off. I’d told myself she was overreacting, that Sean wasn’t capable of what she’d accused him of. That he was just angry, reckless, running his mouth like he always did.
Deep down, I’d known.
I’d known there was something off about him lately. The shady attitude, the tension every time Calloway was around, the way Sean’s temper had gotten worse and worse. Still, I’d defended him.
I clenched my fists, the regret boiling into anger. At Sean. At myself. At everything that had led to this moment.
I couldn’t undo the mistakes I’d made, couldn’t go back and change the way I’d failed her. But I could fix this.
I will fix this.
Grabbing my keys, I headed for the door, my jaw clenched so tightly it ached.
“Fuck,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair as I grabbed my phone and dialled.
Declan picked up on the second ring.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his tone sharp and no-nonsense.
“It’s Maddie,” I said, pacing the room like a caged animal. “She’s gone.”
“Gone?”
“She didn’t come back to the apartment. I think Sean’s got something to do with it.”
There was a long pause, the silence heavy with unspoken tension.
“I’ll track him down,” Declan said finally, his voice cold. “You check the club. Start asking questions.”
“On it,” I said, already heading for the door.
I didn’t know where Sean had taken her, but I knew one thing for certain: Maddie wasn’t the type to give up. Neither was I.
I drove to the club like a bat out of hell, the engine growling as I weaved through traffic, my thoughts racing just as fast. By the time I pulled up to the valet, I barely remembered how I’d gotten there. My hands gripped the wheel so tightly my knuckles ached, but the moment the car came to a stop, I was out, heading for the entrance without waiting for the valet to say a word.
The noise of the club hit me as soon as I stepped inside — the bass thumping, voices carrying over the music, the kind of chaos that usually felt like a second home. But tonight, it was nothing but static in my ears, every sound muffled by the pounding of my pulse.
I scanned the room, my gaze darting from face to face, searching for Madeline. Her laugh, her smile, the way she perched on a barstool with her drink in hand — anything. But she wasn’t here. My chest tightened, and I forced myself to keep moving.
Quinn’s voice cut through the din like a knife, light and bubbly, as I spotted her leaning against the bar. She was chatting with one of the bartenders, her laughter tinkling like it always did when she was charming someone into bigger tips.
“Quinn!” I called out, my voice sharper than I intended as I closed the distance between us.
She turned, a wide smile already forming on her lips. “Jackie baby!” she teased, waving a manicured hand at me. “You look like you’ve got a stick up—”
“Have you seen Madeline?” I interrupted, my words spilling out in a rush.
Her smile faltered, her head tilting as she studied me. “What? No. Not since she left earlier. Why?”
I stared at her, trying to piece together the right words, but the frantic energy coursing through me made it impossible.
My silence must’ve been enough, though, because her expression shifted, the playfulness draining from her face as she stepped closer.
“Jax, what’s wrong?” she asked, her voice quieter now. She reached out, her fingers brushing my arm. “You’re scaring me.”
I opened my mouth, but the words caught in my throat. I wasn’t used to this — this kind of panic, this helplessness clawing at my chest. The more I stood there, the more Quinn’s worry grew.
Her gaze dropped to my hands, still clenched into fists at my sides, and then back up to my face. Tears sprang to her eyes, her hand flying to her mouth as realization hit her. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “Jax… what happened?”
“I don’t know,” I said finally, my voice rough, strained. “She’s gone, Quinn. She’s gone , and I think Sean—” I stopped myself, shaking my head as the words stuck in my throat.
Her tears spilled over, and she grabbed my arm, her grip tighter than I expected. “We have to find her. She can’t just be… Jax, you have to find her .”
“I will,” I said, my voice steel even though my heart felt like it was breaking in two. “I just need to know — did she say anything to you before she left? Anything at all?”
Quinn shook her head quickly, the tears streaking down her cheeks. “No, nothing. She was upset, but she didn’t say why. I thought she just needed some air, some time… Oh, God. This is my fault, isn’t it? I should’ve stopped her. I should’ve—”
“Hey,” I said sharply, grabbing her shoulders to steady her. “This isn’t your fault. You hear me? It’s not your fault. I’ll find her, Quinn. I promise.”
She nodded, her tear-filled eyes locking with mine. “Jax… she’s like my sister,” she said, her voice trembling but firm.
I didn’t wait for Quinn to say anything else. My legs were already moving, carrying me toward the security office, my mind racing with every possibility, every scenario, the clock ticking louder in my head with every step.
The door clicked open as I swiped my clearance card, and the familiar hum of the security monitors filled the room. I dropped into the chair, my fingers flying over the keyboard as I pulled up the CCTV feeds.
My gut churned as I rewound to the approximate time she would have left the bar.
There she was.
The footage showed her talking with Quinn, her face calm, but there was a tension in the way she moved.
A few moments later, Maddie grabbed her bag and started walking toward the hallway near the staff-only exit.
I leaned in, my pulse pounding as I switched to the hallway feed.
Why had she gone there? She wasn’t staff. That door wasn’t meant for patrons.
The next camera showed her moving briskly toward the exit. She opened the door, stepped into the night, and disappeared into the alley. My jaw clenched as I flipped to the exterior camera, but the feed was grainy, barely catching the edge of her silhouette as she stepped out. After that, nothing.
No cars. No people. Just shadows.
I slammed my hand against the desk, the frustration bubbling over.
Damn it.
I sat back, forcing myself to think. She wouldn’t have just left. Something had happened — something I couldn’t see on these feeds. There had to be more.
Pushing out of the chair, I headed for the back exit at a near run. The cold night air hit me as I stepped outside, the alley silent except for the faint hum of traffic in the distance. My eyes scanned the ground, taking in every detail.
And then I saw them.
The tags.
They lay in the dirt, the chain snapped, half-buried near the edge of the doorway. My chest tightened as I crouched down, my hand shaking as I picked them up. The metal felt cold against my palm, but it burned like a brand.
My pulse thundered in my ears as I stared at the broken chain. Maddie had been here. And she hadn’t left on her own.
Sean’s words came rushing back, his smug tone echoing in my head: “She’s been warned. I’ve made sure of that.”
The weight of those words hit harder now because I’d finally seen the truth. The truth I’d been too blind — or too stubborn — to accept earlier.
After Maddie had stormed out, I couldn’t shake the look in her eyes, the desperation when she told me Sean wasn’t the man I thought he was. It stuck with me, twisting in my gut even as I tried to convince myself she was wrong.
I’d told myself that her emotions were clouding her judgment.
Deep down, I’d known better. My girl wasn’t like that. If she was adamant about something, she had a damn good reason.
That’s why, after she’d left, I’d done the one thing I swore I wouldn’t. I’d watched the footage she gave me.
Anger had driven me to it. Not just at her, but at myself. At Sean. At the world. I needed to see what she saw, needed to understand why she was so convinced I’d been blind.
And the footage… it was damning.
Sean and Calloway, sitting in the VIP lounge, their voices low but the tension between them palpable. The words exchanged had chilled me to my core.
“What about the girl?” Calloway had asked, his tone casual but laced with threat.
Sean’s response was a knife to the gut: “She’s been warned. I’ve made sure of that.”
It wasn’t just what he said — it was how he said it. The smugness. The indifference . Like Madeline’s safety was just another problem for him to manage, a nuisance to brush aside.
I’d replayed the clip over and over, the reality settling like a stone in my chest. Maddie had been right. About everything. Sean wasn’t just reckless or angry — he was dangerous.
I’d defended him.
Worse, I’d dismissed her warnings when she’d tried to tell me.
Now she was gone.
I looked down at the broken chain in my hand, the metal glinting faintly in the dim alley light. Maddie’s last stand, her quiet way of telling me she was in trouble. She hadn’t given up, not even when things got bad.
I turned back toward the club, my jaw tight and my mind laser-focused. Sean had crossed the line.
He’d hurt Maddie, taken her. I was sure of it. He had threatened everything I cared about. And I was going to make him pay.
What this fucker didn’t know was that I had an ace up my sleeve.
I gripped the tags tighter, their weight grounding me as I turned on my heel and headed back into the club.
My next stop was Declan. If anyone could help track Sean down, it was him.
Hold on, Scout.