Page 125 of Storm and Tempest

A whole lot of forethought had gone into protecting each other. So they could find a missing team member if need be. Still, even with the safeguards they had in place, Kenna had been simplygonefor months. And he prayed they would find the two young women quickly, so the same thing didn’t happen again.

Already being pregnant when she was taken might have saved Kenna from some horrifying experiences, or it could have opened up new avenues for them to conduct procedures on her. But neither Maizie nor Zeyla was pregnant, and the latter already knew the horrible thingsDominatuswould do to her. She had missing organs and scar tissue as evidence.

As for Maizie…

We need to get them back. That means You have to move.

He’d never prayed as hard as this in his entire life. Such a simple sentence, and yet it meant the world to him that God came through on their behalf.

Bear said, “When y’all showed up in Seattle, and we put the mission together, she gave it to me just in case.”

“Good.” Jax nodded.

Bear merged onto the freeway and hit the gas. “Hers is transmitting from the house. Zeyla as well.”

“Why would they go there?” Ramon shifted in his seat. “Makes no sense that Jonas wouldn’t think we’d look for him at his house.”

“Or that’s exactly where we wouldn’t look, so it’s where he went. Familiar territory, and he can pack a bag,” Bear said. “There’s a flight plan filed. The MSI plane is going to Argentina tonight, leaving Sea-Tac airport in five hours.”

Jax’s stomach clenched. “He’s taking them out of the country.”

“That’s what we think.” Bear held the wheel with both hands, driving like someone who had graduated from every advanced driving course there was.

Jax held on to Kenna’s hand. “Jonas has been working withDominatusthis whole time, and he’s handing those women over to them? It must be because everything that happened here all went wrong. He didn’t expect us to survive the island. Then we were taken to the platform, and I guess he didn’t know what the plan was.”

“Hollace kept it under wraps because we didn’t trust those guys,” Bear said. “So Jonas never knew, and we monitored communication from the platform to the office, with Maizie’s help of course. All so we could figure out who was with him and who is still loyal to us. The last thing we expected was for him to retaliate and take the women. Preston and your father were left behind, but they managed to sneak into hiding spots. No one looked too hard for them. They just grabbed Maizie and Zeyla and left.”

Jax was glad to hear that it hadn’t been bloody, at least. “Something else to be thankful for, considering how easily they all could’ve been killed.”

Ramon glanced over. “We need to keep them protected even after we get Maizie and Zeyla back.Dominatuswill send an asset to take out both Preston and your father.”

Bear took the off-ramp, and a street over he pulled into the parking lot of a pharmacy, closed for the night. He rolled his window down and spoke to Hollace.

Jax spotted Preston in the front seat, and his father rolled down a window in the back to listen.

A minute or so later, they pulled out. Driving in a convoy over to Earl Jonas’ house. Through the streets, where headlightsfrom oncoming traffic glared far too bright and the stars weren’t visible. Ramon’s knee bounced up and down, and he turned his phone over and over on his leg. Bear got a phone call, muttered a few one-word statements, then hung up. Ramon and Bear spoke quietly, and Jax didn’t catch the exchange.

Jax felt Kenna shift to lean her head against his shoulder. “Losing steam?”

“Aren’t you?”

“I’ll rest when we get them back.”

Kenna ran her hand along the top of his forearm, the resilience in her touch shoring up some of his weak places. Which he didn’t mind. God had put her on this earth to be his partner. But Jax had to trust Him above anything else, so he could be the strength Kenna needed. He was the one here to keep her safe, to protect her from all the evil in the world—because that was his role.

Kind of like the role of father, and brother-in-law.

The women in his life might not have an army to keep them safe, but he was going to ensure they had what they needed.

People who cared about them enough that they put it all on the line to save them.

Kenna shifted, lifting her chin so he could see her face. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He tugged her close, planning not to let her go ever again.

Chapter Thirty-Four

“Ican stick with Kenna.” Ramon walked behind them along the side of the road where they’d left the car, though it was only the three of them right now. “I can watch her back while you find Maizie.”