Page 25 of Storm and Tempest (Brand of Justice #13)

Chapter Seventeen

J ax took his cup of coffee and sat across from Ramon, even though the little dinette in the RV wasn’t really big enough for two grown men. “What happened at the charter plane company?”

Ramon and Zeyla had been out getting intel, trying to find details of a flight that might have taken Kenna out of Arizona.

The word offshore rolled around in his mind. Samuel’s last word.

But what had the guy been trying to tell him?

Maybe with all the information about financial companies, the way to find Kenna was through a bank account, following a money trail.

Jax didn’t know how that could be true, but it was worth a try.

He needed to run the idea past Maizie and see what she thought, but they were waiting for her to tell them what she’d come up with once she’d finished compiling everything.

Ramon glanced at Maizie, still on her computer, then said, “They have a hangar—or they had one—at that municipal airport. Someone took the sign down, probably the same person who cleared everything out and packed up.”

“They’re gone?”

Ramon nodded. “Empty hangar, empty ready room—even the fridge was bare. Cupboards and drawers open. We found a newspaper from a few months ago, just the sports section though, and a flyer for an event happening at the airport.” He sipped his coffee. “Nothing we can use.”

Jax wanted to believe they’d gained leads in the last day or so, but with this—and the fact they might not get anything from pictures of Kenna sent from an untraceable account—he might have to accept they had nothing else.

Ramon continued, “Spoke with the guys in the neighboring hangar, hobby fliers who hang out there when they’re not working and fly for fun.

They said they never spoke to the outfit when they saw them—and it wasn’t often.

Might amount to different schedules, or there might never have been much in that hangar.

Except maybe a plane waiting to take Kenna away. ”

Jax cleared his throat. “What about flight records?”

“You’re assuming they filed accurate flight plans, and they were going farther out than just local jaunts. Which is unlikely. But do you really think they’re being truthful?”

Jax sighed into his coffee, taking a sip. The coffee Kenna made was better than this. “I guess not. It’s just frustrating.”

“More frustrating than Amara communicating with the people holding Kenna and not telling us?”

Jax’s stomach clenched. “No, probably not.” He set his mug down too hard. “They’re using Kenna, using Amara. No care for who they hurt in the process. Just destroying lives. And for what?”

Maizie had faced a similar situation. Ramon as well. Now Kenna?

Jax could argue Bruce had also been a pawn of someone with their own selfish ends. “Should we have brought Bruce?”

Ramon shook his head. “He likes to play both sides. See what he can find out.”

“How do we know he’s on the level?”

“The guy was a spy.” Ramon shrugged. “Are they ever on the level?”

“We need to know if we can trust him.”

“Kenna trusted him. Maybe not as much as us.” Ramon gestured to Maizie and himself. “But she counted on Bruce.”

“So I should’ve told him to come with us?”

“I’d have done what you did,” Ramon said.

“And this way, Bruce can feed us back intel from Amara and Zeyla. Now he knows Amara has been getting communication from the people holding Kenna, and he’s doubling down on that side, finding out what they know.

He’ll dig, and Amara won’t even realize it.

And if we need him, he’ll drop everything and come to us. He’s solid.”

Jax nodded. “Okay, then.”

Maizie came through the divider between the bedroom and the rest of the RV, holding her laptop. “Okay, I have something you need to hear.”

Jax shifted so his back was to the side of the seat and he could face her. She put the laptop on the end of the counter and grabbed a soda from the fridge, popping the top.

“Okay.” She sighed and the guarded expression on her face registered.

He said, “We aren’t going to like this.”

“I’ll backtrack and go over it all from the beginning, but it connects to your family, Jax.” She waited, likely to see his reaction.

Jax kept his voice gentle when he said, “Kenna is my family.”

Maizie nodded, scrunching up her nose a bit.

“While looking through the investigation Elliot was working, I found a picture of a hospital ribbon-cutting ceremony that made the papers. Two years ago. The wing was named after the largest donor, which was your father. The Edward Russell Jaxton Wing of the Aspen Valley Medical Center in Flagstaff. It’s a private hospital Elliot was looking into because their financials connect to other Dominatus investment companies.

He didn’t know it was them, but he made the connection. ”

She turned her laptop so he could see the screen, a ribbon-cutting ceremony that seemed to have been broadcast on local news given the lettering around the screen and across the bottom. “As you can see, Doctor Marcus Buzard was present at the event, and standing beside him is your dad.”

“We knew he had connections.” Ramon kept a measured tone to his voice. “After Colorado we theorized there was some kind of deal, but if he was all-in with Dominatus , you would know.”

Jax glanced at the guy. “Like Elliot knew his sister worked for them? They were closer than I am to my dad.” He looked at Maizie. “Any reason we should go there and look around?”

“Yeah, I need physical access to get into their system and download their files.”

“Looks like we’re going on a road trip.” Ramon sucked down the last of his coffee and set the mug in the sink.

Jax wasn’t so quick to get up, so Maizie brought her laptop over and sat in the seat where Ramon had been. “I’m sorry,” she said. “If your dad is connected to this…I’m just sorry. About a lot of things, it turns out.”

He touched her hand for a second. “Thanks, Maze.” On her screen now was a series of open documents. “I think I’m going to call and ask about the agreement he made with them. Maybe for once in my life my father will give me a straight answer.”

“You’ve asked him before?” Ramon rested the side of his hip against the counter with his arms crossed. “About Dominatus ?”

Jax nodded. “When he showed up in Colorado, I tried to get him to tell me what agreement he had that made my mother and my sister off-limits, but then they were kidnapped anyway. I figured there was something he didn’t want to do, and they were taken as leverage.”

Maizie frowned. “I thought they were kidnapped because of Kenna’s thing?”

“I wondered about that as well. But it seemed like there was far too much he wasn’t saying.” Jax ran his hands through his hair. “I’ll call him, then we can go.”

She nodded. “I’ll keep working until you’re ready.”

Part of him needed to rush to that hospital and find out if Kenna had ever been there. She might even be there now. The whole airport lead might have simply been a smokescreen—or a plane had taken her to Flagstaff. Jax needed information, and the closest place he could get it was from his father.

He had to show his father the photo. Marcus Buzard standing beside his father, both cutting a wide red ribbon with a pair of ridiculously oversize scissors.

Jax left the laptop and went into the garage, calling his father’s number while he paced the concrete floor. Too much of the house reminded him of Kenna. Enjoying it alone, or even thinking of her there, would seem like too much of a betrayal.

The phone rang, giving him something to focus on. A way to get answers about his family connection to their enemy.

He didn’t want to believe his dad had something to do with Dominatus , but there was far too much evidence not to ask.

“Oliver?”

“Mom?” He quit pacing. “Why are you answering Dad’s phone? Is everything okay?”

His mother’s voice had been shaking when she answered the phone. Now a dog barked in the background.

“Mom?”

A shuffle came over the line, and then a woman said, “Jax? It’s Elizabeth Stairns.”

That meant the dog barking had been Cabot, since Kenna’s dog had gone with Craig and Elizabeth when they dropped Maizie in Phoenix and went to California to watch out for his family.

“What’s going on, Elizabeth?”

A pause. “Your mother called me a little while ago to come over.”

In the background he heard his mom’s raised voice. “He’s never done this before!” She sounded distressed.

Jax’s breath quickened.

Elizabeth said, “Your father left in a hurry. He packed a few things, but didn’t take his phone. It was on the sideboard in the front hallway.”

“He took his wallet?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

“And we’re sure he packed his things and left?” Jax put the phone on speaker. “Is there any way he could’ve been taken?”

He sent a text on the group thread between him, his sister Laney, and Elizabeth’s husband, Craig Stairns, to give them the rundown.

He figured Stairns could investigate where Jax’s father had gone while Laney supported their mother.

Even if Elizabeth was a trained counselor, he wanted his mom to have someone with her.

“I’m still asking those questions,” Elizabeth said. “As soon as I know, I’ll fill you in.”

“Thank you.”

Before he could ask, she said, “Adrielle, would you like to speak to your son again?”

Jax heard his mom answer, then she spoke into the phone. “Why would he do this?”

“I don’t know, Mom.” Jax tried to be reassuring. “What did he say the last time you spoke to him? How did he seem?”

“We had breakfast like always. He was on his iPad, and I was reading a nice devotional Laney gave to me.” She took a breathy pause. “Are you going to come here?”

“It will take me a day to get there, but if I need to, I will.”

He was hoping his father had simply gone on a work trip and neglected to inform his mom. Was that possible? Or some other meeting. He could have decided to clean out part of his closet and donate the clothes.

“You also may want to think about calling in local police or FBI if something has happened to him,” Jax added. “Did he take his car?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Does it have any kind of GPS in it? Like the breakdown service where it calls the dispatcher if you get in a crash?”

Adrielle said, “I don’t think so.”

He couldn’t think of another way to figure out where his father had gone. “Did he get a call, a visitor, or some other kind of communication that he might’ve reacted to by leaving? Maybe something that upset him.”

“I was in the garden pruning my rosebushes. I didn’t even hear him leave. I tried to call him, and his phone was in the front hall. Elizabeth was already here.” She paused. “I think her husband just arrived.”

“That’s good.” Jax noticed Maizie had come out of the RV. “Mom, I need to ask you some questions.”

“About your father?”

“Sort of.” He squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Do you know anything about a hospital wing in Flagstaff that’s named after him? I found a photo of the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and he was there.” With the doctor who had altered Kenna’s physiology months ago.

“I suppose. We give to a lot of organizations. Hospitals and nonprofits. There might be one in Flagstaff. Why are you asking?”

“It might be connected to Kenna’s disappearance.”

“Do you think that’s what happened to your father?” she asked. “Maybe they took him like they took Kenna, and tried to make it look like he ran off.”

“I don’t know, Mom, but we’ll find out. Okay?”

She sighed. “Okay.”

“I have another question.” He asked her about the airline that Ramon and Zeyla had checked out and if she knew the name. “Maybe you and Dad fly with them?”

“Of course. We have the platinum membership card, but I’m not sure your father has been happy with the service lately. We’re going to Key West in October, and I don’t think he’s going to book us with them.”

“Thanks, Mom. Let me know if you need anything. And have Stairns call me with an update.”

“Okay, darling.” The call ended.

Jax lowered the phone. Maizie stepped out of the RV with her backpack on her shoulders, Ramon behind her. Something she didn’t allow with anyone outside the people in this garage.

He explained to them what was happening in California, at his parents’ house. “I’ll go if there’s any indication me being there will help.”

Ramon nodded. “It’s no use going there if you’ll just end up sitting around having to be supportive.”

Jax wouldn’t have put it like that, but it was the same thing.

Maizie said, “We need to check out the hospital. The wing is under renovation, so no one’s in there.”

Ramon stepped down out of the RV and headed for the passenger door before Maizie got there. “Apparently they had a problem with the HVAC, and no one can be in there.”

Jax frowned. “So they cleared out a whole wing of the hospital to fix it?”

Ramon slid into the passenger seat, and Jax drove the three of them to the Aspen Valley Medical Center in Flagstaff. The drive took a couple of hours, so he called Stairns after a while for an update.

It looked like his father had packed an overnight bag and left in a hurry, leaving his phone behind. Stairns’s next stop was to check with Jax’s father’s personal assistant to find out if she knew what might be happening.

Jax said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome to come and help, but I’ve got this if you’re working.”

A lot went unsaid in that comment, and Jax appreciated the nonchalant way Stairns worded that—without making him feel guilty about staying in Arizona trying to find Kenna.

After they’d gone over all of it, Jax realized it was time to exit the freeway. “We’re a couple of minutes from the hospital.”

“I’ll let you go, then,” Stairns said. “Update after.”

“Sounds good.” Jax tapped the dash screen.

He didn’t want to wonder how Stairns had kept him talking for the purpose of distracting him. Allowing Jax something to focus on so that he didn’t continue in the thought spiral that had him spinning down into…he didn’t want to think about where that ended up.

Not when his arm stung from the knife injury and he could use a little of that oblivion right now.

Jax pulled the car into the parking lot and found a space. Ramon looked up from his phone, and Maizie closed her laptop.

He glanced at both of them, more than grateful he didn’t have to do this on his own. “Let’s go.”