Page 33 of Storm and Tempest (Brand of Justice #13)

Chapter Twenty-Three

J ax held the wheel with both hands, a vest on just in case they fired through the windows. Everyone else hunkered down in the back. He hit the gas and let the RPMs build before he put the rig in gear and released the emergency brake.

The RV lurched forward and splintered the garage door as it burst onto the driveway and slammed into Ramon’s car.

Jax held the gas pedal down, moving the compact off the drive until he had enough clearance to pull between it and the pizza delivery vehicle at the curb.

The side window shattered.

Jax ducked down, holding on as he turned the wheel in an arc, and they almost toppled over. The giant RV roared down the street, and he blew the stop sign at the corner. With no other traffic around, he sailed through the intersection and away from his house.

In the rear of the RV, Jolene screeched.

Bullets slammed into the back of the RV, and he prayed they didn’t hit the gas tank.

Then he felt like a hypocrite for praying at all considering how things were between him and the Lord right now.

He should’ve been going to Bible study the past few weeks and reading his Bible in the morning.

But the minute he had even an inkling of a lead on the search for Kenna, all that went out the window, it seemed.

Why was it far easier to nudge Ramon toward faith than it was to work on his own journey?

He turned west out of the neighborhood, unsure of where he was going. At some point, they’d need to stop for supplies. They only had the go bags Kenna had insisted he pack and leave in the RV. Just in case. First, they needed to get far enough from the team behind them to lose their pursuers.

Jax kept his speed at a level where he was pushing it, watching for them tailing him. With the limited view from the side mirrors, it was hard to see. “Ramon!”

The guy crouch-walked up the aisle to the front. “She’s gonna be mad we got bullet holes in her rig.”

“I’ll take that any day if we can have her back.”

“Good point.” Ramon nodded. “What do you need?” He eased into the passenger seat and checked the mirror on his side.

Jax couldn’t even begin to articulate what he needed. Focusing on the rest of them was a far better anchor. Distraction. Whichever it was it didn’t matter. “Everyone good back there?”

“Yeah, we’re all hanging on.”

A phone rang in the rear of the RV.

Ramon said, “That’s Zeyla’s cell.”

“You think Dominatus can track us?” Jax said. “We might not be able to escape this team if we’re giving away our location.”

Ramon shot him a look.

Jax turned his focus back on the road in front of them. They were coming up on the freeway entrance, and they were going to take it. He wanted as many miles between them and their pursuers as they could get before they had to stop for gas and cat food.

“You think they can’t locate us?” Ramon scoffed. “They’re one step ahead, and they have been this whole time. Every lead we get is a trap, and there’s nothing we can do about any of it now. We’ve got a team in pursuit, you just wrecked your house, and now we’re babysitting your father.”

“Excuse me, Son.”

Ramon glanced back, but didn’t apologize for saying babysitting , even though Dad objected to it.

While Ramon seemed completely unfazed, Jax focused on the road, listening to Zeyla on the phone. Trying to save their lives was a higher priority than whether Ramon got along with his father. Having the old man here was weird enough without this being about relationships.

Zeyla said, “Okay, I’ll tell him.” Louder, she said, “Jax! My mother got another video. She’s sending it over.”

Ramon twisted in his chair while Jax hurtled around the on ramp that circled in a giant bend and dumped them out on the freeway where he was already going top speed. “I don’t see anyone behind us.” He looked out the front.

Jax spotted someone on the bridge above, looking down at them. “We’re not exactly inconspicuous in this thing.”

Focusing on the road helped keep him from thinking about whatever Amara had received. Or why he wasn’t the one who was receiving these videos and photos. They were using them to get Amara to do what they wanted.

“But if we need somewhere to sleep,” he continued, “it’ll do better than being cramped in a car. And I’m pretty sure she’s got coffee tucked away somewhere.”

Maizie said, “And microwave popcorn.”

Ramon said something to her in Spanish, and she chuckled.

Zeyla said, “You speak Spanish?”

“Only a little,” Maizie replied. “I’m pretty sure Ramon dumbs it down for me. And speaks really slowly.”

Jax wanted to be glad they were all getting to know each other, but the threat here was real.

He watched the mirrors for that team and drove for an hour before he was willing to pull over.

They’d switched back and forth along highways and wound up at a gas station in the middle of nowhere with two pumps and metal bars on the windows.

As soon as he pulled over and put the RV in Park, he turned to Zeyla. “Can I see the video?”

Ramon moved his hand toward Jax’s shoulder, but didn’t touch him. Which was good, considering how tightly he was wound right now. Like a rubber band pulled so tight that the slightest thing might make him snap.

Beyond Zeyla, his father touched Maizie’s arm. Probably to help her up. She made a noise in her throat.

Ramon nearly knocked Zeyla over getting by her to Maizie and Jax’s father. He spoke to her in Spanish and helped her slide onto the dinette seat. The young woman had paled.

Meanwhile, his father backed up to stand by the door. “What did I do?”

Jax shook his head. “We’re all tense and on edge right now. Don’t worry about it.”

“Sorry,” Maizie said. “I’m fine.”

Ramon flinched. “You don’t apologize. Ever.”

Jax wasn’t sure that worked in every situation, but right now he’d have to say he agreed with the sentiment in general. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second.

“I have it.” Zeyla held out the phone. She’d taken Ramon’s seat in the front and now looked at the Hispanic man with a curious expression on her face.

Jax looked out the windows. “Ramon, check out the back. Make sure no one is behind us.”

“Got it.” Ramon shot Jax’s father a look, then went to the bedroom in the rear.

Maizie said, “I can turn the cameras on. We’ll know if someone approaches on foot, but it won’t help us see a vehicle. You have to be within a couple of feet of the rig for the sensor to turn on.”

Jax nodded. “Get it activated, Maze.”

“You’re stalling.”

He looked at Zeyla. “Because I don’t want to see her like this. Whatever it is.”

“It’s proof of life, right?” Zeyla said. “So, no matter what, you know she’s there for you to rescue. She’s alive. ”

Jax looked down at the screen. The dark image looked gray and grainy like surveillance video. He didn’t think this was some kind of plea from Kenna, like a hostage video or the kind where someone confessed to crimes they were forced to take credit for.

He tapped Play.

A door opened on one side of the view, and he realized rain streamed from the sky. Someone in a dark jacket, bare legs and bare feet under it, darted out of the door onto the walkway. Barely an aisle, before there was a railing.

His whole world tunneled, and it was just him and Kenna, making a run for it along the railing.

Someone in dark clothing and carrying a rifle followed her, and another person with a weapon approached from the other side. She climbed up onto the railing as if intending to jump. Beyond it was only black, like the night sky.

His breath caught in his throat.

Jax’s father came over. He put his hand on Jax’s shoulder, but he shrugged off the old man and kept watching.

The two men dragged Kenna down off the rail, and she fell to her back. The coat fell open, and he strained his gaze, trying to see a bump on her abdomen.

“It might be too early to see,” Zeyla said quietly. “But she’s alive.”

The video stopped and text showed on the screen.

You’ll never find her.

Jax watched it two more times. He wanted to lock himself in the back room and cry for an hour. Just break down and lose it, seeing his wife in that situation. Knowing she wanted to escape, but in the end had no way to get free.

His father stayed where he was, by Jax’s side.

Maizie sniffed. Ramon came back in from the bedroom where he’d been looking out the back window, and they spoke low to each other. Jax figured if there was a reason to tear out of here in a hurry, then his friend would tell him to put the phone down and do that.

Jax pulled in a choppy breath and pushed it out slowly.

Staring at the screen.

Dad gasped. “I recognize that place, Son. I know where it is.”

Jax looked up at his father, wanting to find words, but there was nothing.

Zeyla said, “My mother didn’t recognize it. How would you?”

“Because I visited that shipyard twice a month for years.” His dad lifted his chin. “I owned it.”

“Where is it?” Maizie asked.

His dad looked at her. “Canon Marine Shipyard. It’s on the northwest coast of Washington State.”

Maizie’s fingers flew over the keyboard. “Found it. Give me the video, Jax. I’ll match it to the location if I can.”

Jax handed the phone back to Zeyla. “Send it to Maizie, please.”

She dipped her head to the phone and tapped away. “Just as long as we realize that there’s no way they’d send us video if there was any chance we’d be able to use it to find her.”

“And if we do,” Ramon said, “then it’s for sure a trap.”

Jax didn’t want to admit they were likely right. He wanted to find his wife. After all this time, he needed her back in his arms so he could protect both her and the baby.

His dad said, “The timing is a little coincidental.”

“Considering your arrival, I’d say so.” Ramon folded his arms.

“What is that supposed to mean, Son?”

“I’m not your son.” Ramon lifted his chin, motioning toward Jax. “He is. I’m the one watching his back while he does everything he can to find his wife. And what are you doing? Seems more like trying to save your own skin.”

“I’ve done what I’ve done to protect my family.”

“And save yourself,” Ramon shot back.

“Why wouldn’t I ensure we all survive? I don’t have to surrender myself to keep the people I love safe. This isn’t some contest of nobility where the one who is determined to die heroically is the winner.”

Jax turned around and started the RV engine, then pulled out of the gas station whether everyone was ready or not. They still had three quarters of a tank worth of gas remaining. “Buckle up. Washington is a long way.”

Zeyla clicked in her seatbelt. “What if my mother and Bruce want to come?”

“They can meet us.” Jax dug out his phone and called a number he hadn’t used in a long time. When it went to voicemail, he said, “I have updates. I’ve been expecting a callback for weeks, but no one has contacted me. So I’m making alternate arrangements.”

It wasn’t going to go down well, but he had priorities, and those of the group didn’t align right now.

He might apologize later, but he wasn’t going to mean it. The taskforce the president had set up wasn’t working. They weren’t achieving anything, or they’d cut out Jax. Instead, he needed good-quality, professional help. The kind that didn’t come cheap.

Jax hung up and called another number.

“Lightwood.”

“Preston, it’s Jax.”

“Wow.” The guy paused. “Didn’t think I’d hear from you.”

“I figured you might be in a position to help me out.”

Preston had spent time in prison for a murder he didn’t commit and found Jesus through a ministry that served inmates. He’d known Kenna’s father as a friend and considered Kenna the same. They’d helped each other out, and Jax had been involved for some of it.

But when Preston aligned himself with Miami Security International in keeping secrets about Kenna’s history from her, it had driven a wedge between them.

Not that it stopped her from rescuing him and two MSI operatives from Dominatus captivity in France.

Something that was only months ago but felt like years now.

Preston said, “Whatever you need, I’m there. No question.”

Jax fought the lump in his throat.

“Did you find her?”

“We have an idea where she might be,” Jax said. “I know you have a house in Washington State.”

“Just outside of Seattle.”

“And I know you’re in contact with MSI.”

“You need a tactical team, just say the word.”

Jax flexed his fingers on the steering wheel. “I’ll have Maizie send you the information.”

“I’d love to hear from her. It’s been too long.”

Jax gave him some details about how long they were going to be, driving up to Washington. Preston didn’t seem to think it presented a problem getting the MSI team there, probably before Jax and his family arrived.

Jax hung up the phone, clearing his throat.

He busied himself settling it in the phone holder clip.

Ignoring the way Zeyla glanced at him and how he could see the others in the rearview.

All of them were here to support him, making sure he didn’t lose it.

They would step in if he did, and probably wouldn’t care if he broke down, but Jax didn’t want that.

He needed to hold it together and be their support.

Ramon and Maizie cared about Kenna as much as he did. She was a hugely important part of their lives. Zeyla had pitched in, wanting the chance to get to know her sister. His father had some amends to make.

“If we go up against them”—he glanced at Zeyla—“will you be okay? Will you stick with us?”

“I’m in this until we get Kenna back,” Zeyla said. “We all are.”