Chapter 39
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Jaxon strode through the salon, focused on one thing: finding Adalyn. The fear and sadness in her voice had nearly broken him.
He’d been sitting at the conference table at Vantage when the call came through, and she had uttered those awful words that played on loop the whole way there. “Please come. It’s…”
It’s what?
She hadn’t been able to finish, her sobs filtering through the line, breaking his heart. One of the officers on scene with her had introduced himself and asked him to come to the salon but refused to give him more information over the phone.
His feet carried him through the room, his head still foggy, his heart in his throat. He threw open the door to her office. Adalyn was pacing the small room, her hands tangled in her hair. “We’re wasting time! We need to do something!”
He took in her aggravated posture, the anger in her eyes—underlined by sheer terror. “Adalyn?”
She met his gaze, turbulence swirling in the gray depths. Her eyes filled with tears and her face went slack as her legs gave out and she sank to the floor. “Oh, God… Jaxon.”
He hit his knees in front of her, already pulling her into his arms. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Talk to me.”
“It’s… She’s…” Her voice broke, and sobs racked her body as she let out a keening cry.
He threw a beseeching glance at one of the officers. He had a familiar face, but Jaxon didn’t recognize the name. “Childress?”
His gaze dropped to the Vantage logo embroidered on Jaxon’s sleeve and he let out a beleaguered sigh. “We have reason to believe your daughter was abducted this morning.”
If he wasn’t already sitting on the floor with Adalyn in his arms, those words would’ve knocked him flat on his ass. “What are you talking about? She’s at home with—”
Adalyn’s head shook frantically against his shoulder. “She’s gone.”
Cold seeped into his bones. “Who? And where did they take her? Someone had to have seen something!”
“We’ve issued an Amber Alert,” the second officer, Grimes, piped up. “They’re canvassing the neighborhood right now, looking for her and questioning the neighbors.”
Rage swelled up inside him. “Start from the beginning.”
The officers explained that Wendy had been in the backyard, and it seemed that she was attacked just as she was allegedly taking Jaclyn inside for her nap.
“When we arrived on the scene, Mr. Henderson told us he’d heard a commotion and went to investigate,” Childress stated. “He found Mrs. Henderson, but there was no sign of Jaclyn.”
A cold fury enveloped Jaxon’s body. He hated the detached-sounding words they were throwing around. This was just another case to them, not a person. However, he was relying on professional courtesy since Vantage worked so closely with the local precincts.
“Tell us what we can do. We’ll print off some fliers, hit the streets.”
The younger cop nodded. “Appeal to everyone. As Grimes stated earlier, we’ve issued an Amber Alert and notified all the surrounding counties. We’ve also posted on social media to try to get her name and face out there as much as possible. Someone is bound to see her and call in.”
He felt heartsick, and he watched as Adalyn straightened. “We need to do this now. Isn’t this how it works? The first day is the most important?”
The younger cop hesitated, then nodded. “Yes, ma’am. If we don’t—” He stopped himself abruptly and seemed to change his wording. “It’s imperative we hit the ground running.”
“Then let’s go.” Adalyn peeled herself from his arms and stood.
Gone was the pitiful mess she’d been just moments ago.
In her place was a woman with a backbone of steel, determined to get her daughter back no matter what it took.
A ferocity entered her features, determination to protect her child. Their child.
Jaxon wanted to scream, to yell and throw things—but that wouldn’t bring Jaclyn back.
They needed to start at the beginning and follow the trail.
The cops were already investigating the neighbors.
He was calling in everyone else he knew.
They needed feet on the ground and Aiden’s eagle eye in the sky, checking every possible camera from the surrounding areas.
He stood and squeezed Adalyn’s hand. She flinched at his touch, her face an emotionless mask. “We’ll find her.”
She didn’t meet his eyes. All he got was a slight shake of her head.
Pulling out his cell, he dialed Knox. “Yeah?”
“We’re coming in. Got a situation.”
His voice was cautious. “Does this have anything to do with the Amber Alert that was just issued?”
Jaxon swallowed hard. “Yeah.” Hearing Knox say it aloud hit him hard, made it more real. He was glad news was spreading quickly, though—that was a good sign.
“I’d hoped I was wrong, but when I heard the name…”
His fingers clenched around the phone. “Be there in twenty.”
Adalyn mechanically gathered her things, and he led her from the salon, her eyes focused straight ahead. He met Amy’s curious gaze and gave a slight shake of his head. He’d fill her in later. She seemed to understand, because her eyes widened a fraction and her hand moved over her chest.
Adalyn remained quiet as he hustled her into the truck. Lost in their own thoughts, they remained silent the whole way to Vantage. When they pulled into the parking lot behind the brick building, she finally spoke up. “Where are we?”
“Vantage headquarters. This is where I work.”
She didn’t react; she just climbed out of the truck and strode determinedly toward the front door. He was barely a step behind, and Knox met them as soon as they entered. “This way.”
They filed into the large bullpen-type area, where several faces glanced up at them, varying degrees of hesitation and pity in their expressions.
Knox’s little sister, Vivi, stood beside a commercial copy machine that was spewing out papers.
She picked one up, then held it out to Jaxon, and he slipped it from her fingers.
Jaclyn’s face stared back at him, Vantage’s number listed along the bottom of the flier with all of her personal information.
Adalyn gripped his forearm, her nails digging into his skin as she peered over at the flier.
Her body swayed the tiniest bit, and he looped one arm around her waist to steady her.
Her entire body went rigid, and she held herself away from him, turning to meet Knox’s dark gaze.
“What’s your plan?”
He didn’t dance around the subject, just cut straight to the chase.
“As soon as these are done, I’m putting guys in each district, starting closest to your home and working our way outward.
We’re joining forces with the PD to interview anyone we can in the hopes that someone saw or heard something.
In the middle of the day, there has to be something. ”
Adalyn nodded stiffly, and Knox continued. “You may want to consider a press conference. I spoke with the captain, who said the PD can get that organized for you by tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll do it. Whatever you need, just tell me. I have to…” She clenched her fists, the words dying on her lips.
She inhaled sharply, and Jaxon worried for a moment that she was going to lose it again. Honestly, he hadn’t fully come to terms with it himself. This was something that happened to other people; stories he heard on the news but that never happened in his own hometown. And not to him—never to him.
He’d survived four tours overseas and sustained a multitude of scars, both physical and mental.
But nothing hurt like this. The pain of metal ripping through flesh couldn’t compare to the fact that he’d failed his daughter.
He’d only known her for a couple of weeks, but she was as much a part of him as the blood thrumming through his veins.
He couldn’t lose her now—not when he’d just found her. No matter the cost, they’d bring her home. There was no alternative.