Chapter 40
Forty
Axel
“It’s been two hours,” I growled, slamming my fist down on the table as we sat in the bar and tried to figure out where Charlie had been taken.
I still felt weak, but not as bad as earlier. Dr. Foster had done her best to stitch me up, and thankfully, nothing vital had been hit when he stabbed me. Some pain medication and a few IVs later, and I felt ready to take on the world to get my girls back.
“We know how shitty cell service is around here,” Jo replied, her voice steady as she stared at the laptop, watching the screen for any sign of Charlie’s phone.
“Are you sure she even has her cell phone on her?” Ashley asked, sitting beside me with a black eye and a minor concussion after the asshole knocked her out earlier when he got into the bar.
Watching the security footage sent chills through me as I saw him approach the bar, but those chills were soon eviscerated when I saw him attack Ashley.
The bile had risen in my throat as I tried to force it down the second I saw him point the gun at Charlie’s back as he forced her outside and into his truck.
“Yes. Axel and I searched the room earlier. Her cell phone was on the bookshelf by the blankets this morning because Axel had used it to take a few pictures of Molly sleeping while Charlie was in the shower. That was the last place he had left it.”
“Don’t you think they would have hit somewhere with good cell service by now?” I demanded. “It’s been two hours, Jo. Nowhere is the only place that has shitty service around here. Any town outside of us should have decent enough service to have picked them up by now.”
“Yes, but we don’t know if her phone is even turned on or if the battery died,” Jo countered. “I want to find her as much as—”
“There—” I shouted at the same time that Jo gasped as we both stared at the screen. “Her phone just showed up on the screen.”
“Fucking, hell,” Jo growled, tipping her head back in frustration.
“What’s wrong?” Dr. Foster asked, leaning around to see the screen.
“It shows they’re in Cobalt Canyon,” Jo answered, her face draining of color. “My uncle used to run some of his operations in an abandoned warehouse in Cobalt Canyon.”
“I don’t fucking care. Let’s go,” I said, shoving the chair back so hard it fell to the floor.
Jo shook her head as the room fell into an eerie silence.
“You can’t just walk in there and demand anything,” Jo replied, her voice so quiet I could barely hear her. “I seriously doubt he’s by himself, which means...”
Tears filled her eyes as she looked away, refusing to look at me.
“Which means what?” I demanded, my foot tapping against the floor as adrenaline surged through me.
“It means that we’re too late, Axel. If he took her there, she’s their property now.”
I clenched my fists, refusing to believe what she was saying.
“No,” I bit out, shaking my head. “OVER MY DEAD FUCKING BODY!”
My voice echoed in the room, making Jo flinch as the tears ran down her face.
I had never seen this side of her, but I knew that Jo didn’t cower to much. Seeing her react this way only intensified my need to get to Charlie and Molly, because there was no way in hell I was going to stand by and let this happen.
“It will be over your dead body, Axel.” Jo’s voice broke as she looked at me. “They will kill to protect what is theirs. We’re too fucking late.”