Page 62 of Every Broken Piece

Chapter fifty-eight

Gabe

T he door to the restaurant opens and my gaze immediately goes to it, my heart beating a little harder than normal at seeing Tess again. I missed her so damn much while I was gone.

Making love to her the night before I left was everything I’d dreamed it could be.

Walking out that door the next morning was worse than I thought it’d be.

I’m used to traveling, accustomed to being away for stretches of time, but no more.

After this trip I’m done traveling for a while and if I have to, I’ll bring Tess with me.

But it’s not Tess and Pax who walk through the door. It’s a lone man who goes straight to the counter for a take-out order.

I check my watch, then my phone. There are no texts from either my girl or my son.

Jack sits across from me, sipping his beer and scrolling through his phone. “She tell you about her new business?” he asks.

“Yeah.” I was thrilled when Tess told me she wanted to start her own company, and relieved that she was planning a future for herself.

Hopefully SmartDesk Solutions will help her move on from her toxic mother and finally start living the life she wants.

Building something permanent is a huge step in that direction and I’m so damn proud of her.

I spoke to Hardwick just last night and she said Carter was still in Chicago. No one has seen Sandra for days. While I’ll always remain vigilant, I have hope that this is behind us.

Jack puts his phone down and cups his hands around his beer mug. “She’s been secretive about her website, says she wants to reveal all of it to us at once.” He takes a sip. “She seems happier than when she first arrived.”

I take a sip of my own beer and try to relax but until Tess is at my side I won’t fully loosen up.

It’s been seven miserable days without her, and my foot is restlessly tapping a staccato in anticipation of seeing her walk through that door.

“I like that she has a plan and a goal. Takes her mind off everything else.”

Jack settles back in his booth, pulling his beer with him. “This it for you?”

I nod as I keep my eye on the door. The wind has picked up and more snow is falling. Not enough to stick, but enough to blow around. “I never thought I’d feel this way again.”

A police cruiser rushes by with its lights and sirens on, the wail sharpening, then fading as it passes.

“I’m happy for you, brother.”

My gaze cuts to him. “Are you? You weren’t on board two weeks ago.”

He shrugs. “I didn’t want you to be with her for the wrong reasons.”

“I just want her to be happy, and I hope I’m the one who can make her happy.”

]He rotates his beer mug. “You’re different too, you know. Happier, like Tess.”

“I wasn’t unhappy before Tess. I was content. But it wasn’t until I met her that I realized something was missing from my life. She completes me.”

“Am I an asshole if I admit I’m jealous?”

Another cruiser speeds by followed by an ambulance. I check my phone again even though it’s on the table in front of me and I would’ve seen a text or call come through.

“You? Jealous? Of a serious relationship?” In a lot of ways Pax and Jack are alike.

They prefer to play the field, never getting too close to a woman.

The minute they think she’s becoming serious they end it.

With Jack there’s a reason. Pax is a different story, and I sometimes worry it’s because he never had a stable mother figure in his life.

Jack shrugs. “Brain fart moment. Forget I said anything.”

I grin. “That sounds more like the Jack I know.”

Something cold slides down my back when more sirens wail in the distance. That’s a lot of sirens for a cold Denver evening when most people are staying in. Jack and I share a look, my worry reflected in his eyes.

Tess and Pax should have been here a half an hour ago. Without a word we both stand and grab our coats. I dig my wallet out and throw some bills on the table.

“They walked, right?” Jack asks.

I can only nod because my throat's too tight.

“We’ll go back the way they would’ve come,” Jack says. “I’m sure Tess got caught up in something and they left late.”

I try to let his words comfort me, but my gut tells me that’s not why they’re late. She would have texted that she was running late. And if she didn’t, Pax would have.

The wind takes the restaurant door from my grasp when I open it. I have to lunge to grab it before it slams into the plate glass window.

I button my coat as we turn toward our apartment building. After half a block, we start jogging. It scares me that Jack is just as worried because of the two of us he’s not the worrier.

Another half a block and I can see the red lights of the emergency vehicles bouncing off the surrounding buildings. The snows falling a little heavier, softening the harshness of the emergency lights.

We turn the corner and my heart drops. There are four police cruises, an ambulance, and medics working on someone lying on the pavement. A small crowd presses against the yellow crime scene tape that’s meant to keep them back.

Jack and I shoulder our way through the crowd. The first thing I see is a person lying on the pavement and the bright orange sneakers I bought Pax for Christmas.

“Fuck.” Jack lurches forward as a cop grabs his arm.

“Whoa there. No passing the yellow tape.”

“That’s his son,” Jack says, an edge of panic to his voice.

I rush past the cop, drop to my knees beside Pax. Blood coats the pavement and his jeans. His eyes are closed. I reach for him, but pause, not knowing where I can touch him when all I want to do is snatch him up.

“Pax.” My voice breaks.

An EMT is starting an IV while another works on stemming the flow of blood coming out of Pax’s body.

His eyes pop open when he hears me and I sag in relief.

Not dead.

He’s not dead.

“Dad.” Pax struggles to sit up, making it to his elbows. He’s pale, his mouth tight with pain, eyes wide in fear. “They took her. They took Tess.”

My heart fucking falls to my knees.

“Who? Who took Tess?”

“I don’t know. They pulled her into a white van. They shot her—”

I rear back, stumble to my feet and look around wildly like she’ll be there, standing there, watching me. Not taken. Not shot. My head swivels as the blood rushes through me so fast it makes me lightheaded.

“With a taser.” Pax grips my pant leg with a bloody hand.

“They shot her...with a taser. Pulled her...into a...van.” He falls back and hurriedly wipes tears from his eyes, smearing blood onto his cheek.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry... Couldn’t save her.

Tried but he...shot me. Held a gun to my head and she.

..” He gasps, struggling for breath and all I can do is stare down at him, trying to make sense of what he’s saying.

Someone held a gun to Pax’s head?

My hands ball into fists.

Someone.

Held a gun.

To my son’s head.

Someone fucking shot my son.

I drop to my knees again and grab his hand, squeezing it hard. “Where are you shot?”

His head lolls. “Leg.” He starts crying. “Sorry. So...sorry. I...tried.”

“We need to get him to the hospital,” the medic next to me says. “Looks like it went straight through, but we won’t know until he can be examined.”

“I’ll go.” Jack appears next to me, on his knees too, his face rigid with anger and worry. “I’ll go with Pax. You talk to the police. Find Tess.”

“Dad.” Pax grasps my sleeve, leaving a smear of bright red blood that I can’t stop looking at. “She went...with them. They...threatened me. She s-saved m-me.”

Tears spill from his eyes and all I want to do is gather him in my arms and rock him like I did when he was little and had a bad dream. I want to make all of this go away for him, but I can’t because my son has a fucking bullet in his leg and my girl is missing because she saved him.

I choke on a sob and press Pax’s hand to my face. It’s warm. His hand. It’s warm and full of life and he’s full of life.

“Find her, Dad.”

I can’t leave him, but I can’t leave Tess to whoever took her. She sacrificed herself to save Pax and now I have to save her.

“Go,” Pax says. “Find Tess. Please. Please. Find her. Okay?” His voice is fading and I’ve never been more terrified.

The medic puts a stethoscope to his chest and listens, then pulls back. “We gotta go.”

I do the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I let go of my little boy and watch them lift him onto a gurney. A strangled sound escapes me.

Jack squeezes my shoulder. “I’ll be right there with him. I’ll text you everything I know as I know it.”

I grab Jack’s coat sleeve. “You watch out for him. You protect him, Jack. He’s...everything.” My voice breaks.

“I know, brother. He’s everything to me too.”

The doors shut Pax and Jack into the ambulance and with the wail of the siren, they take my boy away.