Page 50 of Storm and Tempest

She stepped back, swiping her face, and groaned, “Ramon.”

“I know. It’s good news.”

She gave him a hug as well, briefer than the one she’d given Jax. Then she hugged Bruce. The old man said, “Trouble,” sounding like he had a lump in his throat. When he stepped back, he sniffed.

“She’s alive,” Jax said, just to voice it aloud again. “That means we need to double down on finding her while we have this fresh evidence.”

“With team meetings?” Bruce eyed him.

“All or nothing,” Jax replied. “We do this together.”

Ramon shook his head. “Isn’t it supposed to be ‘all for one and one for all’?”

Maizie said, “What are you guys talking about?”

“There’s work to do.” Jax motioned to the door. “Because the longer we let them have her, the greater the chance—” His voice caught in his throat. That image flashed in his mind again. Kenna in a hospital bed. “That we never get her back.”

Given who these people were, the ones who had her, they could be doing anything. She could be…

He rubbed his chest, his breaths coming hard. “We need to…” He gasped, and the world swam around him.

The others grabbed his arms and walked him inside, making the front door clang. It echoed through the entryway, and he shrugged off their hands to turn and pace.

Jax tried to catch his breath.

Vulnerable was one thing. But he couldn’t completely lose it in front of them or Maizie—get freaked out beyond anything he’d ever felt—over the fact that horrible things were happening to Kenna. Even the best-case scenarios were a kind of torture. And all of it boiled down to the fact that she wasn’t here with him, enjoying their life together. Living a peaceful existence like the one she’d craved before they all barreled into her life.

“We’re going to find her,” Bruce said.

Ramon nodded. “We won’t stop. Because you know she would do the exact same for any of us.”

Maizie touched Jax’s arm. “She wouldn’t quit. Ever. That’s why we aren’t going to either.”

He was making them all waste time standing here dealing with his freak-out. He ran his hands down his face and scrubbed against the stubble on his chin. “I need her back.”

Maizie nodded. “We all do.”

“Can you even imagine if one of us was missing?” Ramon said, a smile tugging at his mouth. “She would be on a rampage. Yelling at all of us. Drinking too much coffee and never sleeping. We’d never hear the end of it until whoever it was got found.”

Maizie giggled. “That’s true.”

Even Bruce smiled.

“Thanks, guys,” Jax managed.

Ramon clapped his back. “You want a team? I guess you got one.”

“You want a meeting? Make it a quick one.” Bruce eyed him. “No wasting time.”

“I know you want to question Samuel, but it might be best if someone else does it,” Jax pointed out. “Just in case he feels like accusing you of being vindictive.”

Ramon said, “I’ll do it,” following Bruce through the doors.

Which left Jax in the entryway with Maizie. He said, “Are you okay?”

Something shifted in her gaze, but he couldn’t pin down what it was. “I’ll be okay when we find her.”

He nodded. “Me, too.”