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Mason

I ’ve never felt more helpless than I do right now. Watching Emma completely crumble on the floor in Jessica’s empty house broke my heart. With few other options or leads, we decided to go to see Bess and seek her help. She’s home when we arrive, tinkering on a classic car this time.

“Hey Mace, what’s up?” she calls with an innocent smile as she puts down her tools and waves.

“Bess, we need your help,” I say urgently as I walk over to meet her.

“Of course,” she replies instinctively, her eyes then turning to the others. As she notices Jax carrying an unconscious Emma out of the car she gasps. “What happened? Is Emma okay?”

“She’ll be fine. She became hysterical and we had to give her a sleeping tablet,” I reply.

She took it without complaint, eager for the embrace of sleep to take her away from the nightmare we are currently living. Until we can find where Jessica went, there’s no need for her to suffer unnecessarily.

“Max is gone,” I add by way of explanation.

“Let’s go inside,” Bess replies, moving ahead of me to open the door for Jax to carry Emma inside. “Take her up to the spare room, she can sleep there,” she says. When Jax returns she turns to us all and says, “Tell me everything.”

We tell her as quickly as we can about the call with Jess and how by the time we arrived at the house, both the strange car and Jess and the kids were gone.

“You think Kane took her? Couldn’t she have simply gone out?” Bess asks.

“Her phone was left behind, and there were dirty dishes on the table, something Emma says Jessica would never leave the house without doing,” Jax interjects, his jaw tense with worry.

“It has to be Kane. He had men right outside the house,” Ty adds.

“We need you to tell us how to find Kane,” I insist frustratedly.

Bess looks at me sternly, folding her arms. “So you can go kill him?”

“So we can rescue Max, who knows what they might do to him.”

“And kill Kane in the process, ruining an entire FBI operation and spending the rest of your life in jail for that fucker,” Bess replies bluntly.

“It will be worth it to get Max back safely,” I replied stubbornly.

“Or you could assist the FBI in taking Kane down. We’d get Max back safely and with yours and Ty’s testimony, plus everything else we have on him, he’d never get out. Emma and Max would be safe, and you’d be free.”

I hate the idea of relinquishing control to the slow, bureaucratic process of the law. If we’re too late or they don’t do what’s necessary to stop Kane and protect Max, I’d never forgive myself.

As if she can read my mind, Bess adds, “Mace. I want to help get Max back safely, truly I do. But we have to do this the right way. The FBI probably already knows where Kane is and how to find him, but they won’t tell me, not when they know I’m likely to tell you and you’d go screw up their case by turning vigilante. This is the only way I can help. You have to cooperate. Both of you,” she says, turning her attention to Ty.

“If that’s what it takes, I’ll do it,” Ty responds determinedly. “I’m not letting anything happen to another kid on my watch.”

“Kane hasn’t issued a ransom yet. Surely if he took Max for the money, he’ll do that?” Jax chimes in.

“That’s a good point, he’d give a pick-up location, and we could go intercept the exchange,” I reply, wanting to get to Kane myself.

“There are so many ways that could go wrong. The Feds are still better equipped to help even if he does send a ransom,” Bess reasons.

“Doesn’t every kidnapper ever say the one thing you shouldn’t do is involve the cops?” Jax says dubiously.

“Exactly,” I agree.

“How long does it take kidnappers to usually issue a ransom?” Ty asks Bess, his brow furrowed.

“It varies. They’d want to get the victim to a secure location first.”

“So Emma could get a call any minute now, we should wait,” I reply.

I desperately need to feel in control of the situation, to be able to be the one to get Max rather than entrusting his life into the hands of strangers.

“We shouldn’t waste any more time than necessary,” Bess huffs.

“We should see what Emma wants,” Ty says.

“Emma just wants her son back,” Jax says glumly.

“Look, how about I at least put some feelers out, make some calls, and see what I can find out before we agree to anything more concrete?” Bess concedes.

“Fine,” I agree realizing that some help is better than nothing, at least until we hear the ransom demands, perhaps we can find Kane first.

I never wanted a family, not after the childhood that I had. But since meeting Emma and Max I know now that my past doesn’t define me. That I could be everything a father and partner should be for Max and Emma. I will do anything to protect them.

The guys and I sit in tense silence, unsure what to do or say. I don’t like feeling powerless. My legs twitch with restless energy and pent-up frustration. If I could find Kane and kill him right this second, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

After what felt like forever but can’t have been long, Bess comes back.

“So, I spoke with some friends and pulled some strings. No luck getting any info on Kane, they know about my connection with you and unless you’re willing to play ball and testify against him at trial, they won’t budge.”

“Fuck!” I snarl, pacing the room.

“Hold on, I’m not done,” Bess chastises.

“What? Without Kane we’re fucked how else can we find Max?” I snarl.

“Through Jess,” Ty says thoughtfully.

“Exactly,” Bess says gesturing to Ty while looking at me. “My guys searched for info about Jess and found some very interesting information.”

“What did they find?” Jax asks.

“Three months ago, Jess used a card to book flights to Mexico. Shortly after doing this, she closed the bank account that the card belonged to. That in itself isn’t too suspicious, she could be booking a vacation and people change banks all the time. But what is odd is that she didn’t book the flights for herself. She booked them for a Mr. and Mrs. Jones, and three children all with the same last name.”

“Friends of hers?” I ask.

“Well, we’ve no way to be sure since the surname is so common. But the flight is for next week. Given the timing and the fact that she only has two kids, there are some red flags,” Bess says slowly.

“So, what? Do you think Jessica is in on the kidnapping? That Kane paid her off to get Max out of the country?” Ty asks, stroking his chin.

“It’s possible.”

“Why the man though? Couldn’t she just fly with the kids alone? Why would she and her kids have to go with them at all? Hell, why would she be involved at all?” Jax asks, confused.

“To make sure she follows orders,” I reply darkly. “With someone there to keep an eye on her and her kids and keep her in line, she won’t be able to have any last-minute second thoughts. And I imagine her reason is simple and the same reason anyone does anything terrible, for money.”

“Exactly. Plus, a family traveling will arouse far less suspicion if Max is reported missing,” Bess explains.

“Shit. Okay, so why did they go today if the flight isn’t until tomorrow?” I say.

“Maybe they’re worried we’re getting too close, that Emma might get Max back before they can go?” Ty reasons.

“This is going to kill, Emma,” Jax says glumly, “She’s already been through so much, to learn that her friend might be in on it could tip her over the edge.”

“Then we don’t tell her. At least not yet,” I insist. “I know Emma won’t like us hiding things from her, but we need to keep her calm. We can’t worry about her acting irrationally.”

“Okay. But that still doesn’t solve our problem, we don’t know where they went. How do we find Jessica before they leave?” Jax asks before adding, “We might need to tell Emma, she’ll know better than any of us where her friend might go.”

“No need. I think we might be able to find her,” Bess says smugly, “I’ve asked my guys to run checks on Jessica’s cards, if she uses it, we’ll know, and it will lead us right to her.”

“If she’s smart, she won’t use it at all,” Ty mutters.

“Fuck! So we’re still no closer to finding Max,” I groan, punching the wall in anger before resuming my pacing.

We resume the same debate we’ve had going around in circles over the pros and cons of waiting for a ransom or for Jessica to use her card, or come up on the FBI’s radar in some other way, versus agreeing to work with the FBI and hoping they have the intel to bring Kane down and rescue Max in time.

When Bess’ phone rings we all jump up as if electrocuted, certain that this must mean there’s news. She answers it, her face impassive and neutral as she listens to the person on the other line.

“And that was how long ago?” she says. My irritation flares as I wait, unable to know what’s being said.

“How far?”

Again, I try to control my frustration at the lack of transparency in the conversation.

“Alright, thanks, Chuck, I owe you one,” she finishes before hanging up.

“Well?” we ask in unison, looking to Bess.

“We may have a lead. We picked up her card usage. My guys are going to send some cops to search the area and see if there’s any sign of them. There’s a chance she may have moved on straight away, but it’s worth a shot.”

“Come on, let’s go. Bess, you ride with Jax and direct him. Ty and I will follow you. Jax, grab Emma, she’ll want to be there if we find him,” I say, grabbing my jacket.

For once, no one disagrees with me. They nod in silent agreement and Jax rushes upstairs to get Emma.

I just hope that when she wakes, we’ll be able to safely reunite her with her son.

I can’t let myself consider the alternatives.