Chapter Nineteen
Ice
S LOWLY WAKING UP, the first thing I feel is a slight weight on my chest. It’s not something I typically feel when I wake up in the morning.
I know I’m at Keaton’s house, but I’m not sharing a bed with her.
We had the best sex of my life last night and then I tucked her in and left her alone.
I’ve always been huge on getting consent with the woman I’m with.
I asked Keaton more than once last night if she was sure I was who she wanted because she’s so much more important to me than the other women I’ve been with in the past. Once we were done and I cleaned her up, Keaton was practically passed out and I wouldn’t accept anything she said as consent.
So, I moved to the couch and made sure she could actually sleep instead of getting up with Bridger.
It’s my first time waking up with a baby, but the two of us managed to make it through the night without anything happening.
He didn’t even pee on me when I changed his diaper twice.
I think it was a successful night if I’m being honest.
Bridger is still sleeping on my chest as I look down at him and listen for any sign of where Keaton is.
Maybe she’s still sleeping. As I continue listening for a minute, I realize the house is too silent and my eyes start to move around the areas of the house I can see.
The first thing I notice is the bottle I had on the table from the second time Bridger woke up is missing.
There’s also a diaper, the wipes, and a small stack of folded baby clothes now on the table.
I can faintly hear the dishwasher running and I know Keaton’s already been awake.
As quickly as I can, I get off the couch with Bridger against my chest. He doesn’t wake up or move a muscle as I make my way through the house and back toward Keaton’s bedroom. It’s empty and her bed has been made.
“Keaton!” I call out as loudly as I dare to without startling Bridger. That’s the last thing he needs when he’s been sleeping so soundly. “Keaton, where are you?”
I make my way downstairs to the basement I’ve heard her mention but don’t really take a look at anything as I continue calling out her name and searching for any signs of her.
When I don’t notice her downstairs, I make my way back up to the main floor of the house and head for the door leading to the garage.
Opening it, I notice her car is missing.
Turning around after shutting and locking the door, I go to the living room and place Bridger in the bassinet by the end of the couch.
He still doesn’t wake up as I watch him for a minute to ensure he remains asleep.
When I’m confident he’ll sleep for a little bit longer, I move to grab my jeans and pull them up my legs while sliding my phone out of my pocket.
Pulling up Keaton’s name, I try calling her repeatedly and the calls go to her voicemail.
I know she typically shuts the volume of her phone off in the evening so she can focus on Bridger and what she has to do around the house instead of dealing with all sorts of work calls and emails.
I’m still not sure what she does, but I’ll find out eventually.
“Fuck!” I growl when Keaton’s phone continues to go to voicemail instead of her answering.
I start to pace the living room as I yank my tee-shirt back on and realize my cut, boots, and socks are still in Keaton’s room.
I don’t give a fuck at this point, it’s just something to think about as I try to figure out what the hell happened while I was sleeping. “Where the hell are you, Keaton?”
I try calling her again as Bridger starts to stir in the bassinet.
Moving to the kitchen, I make him a bottle and warm it up before grabbing the diaper and wipes.
I change his diaper in the bassinet instead of lifting him out while waiting for the bottle to finish warming up.
It doesn’t take me long to get him out of the dirty diaper and into a clean one.
Right now, I’m not worried about changing Bridger’s clothes because Keaton is more important since she’s the one who isn’t in the house with us.
With the bottle in hand, I go to call Keaton again as my phone rings before I can unlock it.
Looking at the screen, I see the picture I saved as her contact from our first date.
I’m holding her in my arms on the blanket as she looks over her shoulder at me with nothing but nature surrounding us.
It came out better than I thought it would and I didn’t have a choice but to use it for her contact so I can see it when we message or call one another.
“Keaton? Are you there, Baby?” I answer the phone, not bothering to hide the panic in my voice as I listen intently for any sign of where she is.
“Shut the fuck up!” a man yells and my heart stops beating in my chest and I gasp because I have a feeling I know exactly who that voice belongs to—Dillon.
“Keaton!” I shout into the phone, not bothering to lower my voice. She needs to hear me no matter what’s going on with her.
Before I can call her name out again, I hear Keaton scream so damn loud.
Still, I don’t pull the phone from my ear as I listen for any sign of where she might be.
I know she wasn’t thinking rationally when I first got here yesterday, but if Keaton knew she had stuff to do today, she would have told me so I could go with her.
This is something spur of the moment she chose to do.
“Keaton! Say somethin’, Baby. Tell me where you are!
” I rush out my words before I hear commotion on her end of the call.
There’s a shattering sound before the call drops.
Pulling my phone from my ear, I see her name disappear and go back to my home screen.
I don’t pause as I frantically try to call her number back and get that stupid recording telling me the number isn’t available at the moment or whatever the hell it says. “Fuck!”
I call Judge before I can think of anyone else to call because I’m not sure what to do now.
“Ice, where ya at?” he answers his phone as I hear music in the background and know it’s from one of the many cartoons he has playing at his house for the twins.
“I’m at Keaton’s, Judge. Somethin’ happened to her.
She got the call yesterday that Dillon was released from jail until the trial.
Called me barely able to talk because she was so scared.
When I woke up a little while ago, she wasn’t in the house and her car is gone.
I’m thinkin’ she left on her own for some reason.
Just got a call from her. I heard some asshole tell her to shut the fuck up before she screamed and then the call got dropped.
Tried callin’ her and now I’m gettin’ that automated bullshit about the number not bein’ available,” I tell Judge as my heart beats rapidly in my chest and I can’t seem to catch my breath.
I’m not just scared to death for Keaton, I’m pissed as hell that someone had the nerve to hurt her and take her from me.
“You still have the baby with you?” Judge asks me as I try to focus on his words.
“Yeah. We were both sleepin’. He just woke up and I changed him before givin’ him his bottle. He’s drinkin’ it now,” I answer my President.
“Okay. I’m gonna let Wren know you’re on your way over here. The rest of us will be in church. We’ll bring Keaton home, Ice. You can count on all of us to find her,” Judge says before I realize I don’t have a way to take Bridger anywhere.
“Judge, I don’t have a vehicle here to get the baby to the clubhouse.
I rode my bike here and I’m fine leavin’ it because Keaton has a garage I park in when I’m here.
I can’t just take one of her vehicles without askin’ permission because that would be a violation of her trust in me.
Plus, I’m not sure if there’s a car seat in one of her vehicles for him,” I state, looking around the living room for any sign of where Keaton could be.
I don’t have to wonder who has her because I know deep in my soul it’s Dillon.
He’s found her and taken her from wherever she was.
“I’ll send Tristan and Zach over in Wren’s SUV.
We’ve got car seats in there for Bridger.
I’ll also send a few guys out to see if they spot Keaton’s car anywhere.
You get here and get on your computer. I’ll call Zeus in to see if he can start lookin’ for her,” Judge says before hanging up the phone.
I check on Bridger again and find him almost back asleep with his bottle laying next to him.
Picking him up, I burp him as I bounce gently on my feet because I need something to do.
I’m going out of my mind with worry and I have no clue where to even begin looking.
Dillon could have taken her anywhere and I don’t know enough about him or Nora to even know where the search should start.
Maybe it’s because I’m too damn close to this situation to even start looking for information.
Keaton is already so important to me. I haven’t dreamed, or thought, about Ruby in the last two weeks.
Every thought and dream is consumed by Keaton.