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“Your brother stole our son and delivered him into the hands of a maniac. Whether he did it willingly or at gunpoint, it doesn’t change what happened,” I said, brushing my fingers over his cheek.

“Because of that, I can’t look at him as anything other than an enemy.

Maybe if we see some other proof, I’ll change my mind.

But as of now, Dallas is just as guilty as Kyle.

Do you understand where I’m coming from? ”

He nodded vaguely. “Yeah,” he whispered, still looking like a man trying to make a terrible decision. “Yeah, I get it. I understand.”

“The two of you keep acting like he’s family or something, but does Dallas feel the same way?

Your piece-of-shit father pretty much made sure he was never part of the family, so why should he feel any loyalty toward you?

” I shook my head. “I get that Dallas was being threatened, but couldn’t he at least have tried to warn one of you that Kyle was going to move sooner than he’d said? ”

Farrah was staring daggers at me for talking about Dallas the way I had, and for a moment, I really wished she’d say or do something.

I desperately wanted to hit something—or someone.

We’d been on our way to making peace, but if she wanted to mouth off about this, I’d be happy to drag her ass outside and get some frustration out.

Trent raised his palms, gesturing for calm. “How about we take a step back and think about how to get Ashton back? Worry about—” he threw a glance in my direction “—how upset we are later. Anger leads to mistakes. Mistakes lead to death. That’s a little something I learned in the military.”

His words struck home. Even though I’d been trying to keep my anger in check, it was billowing up inside me like a balloon.

Farrah hadn’t helped matters, but she was only looking out for her brother.

There was no way to compartmentalize this.

Everyone had a stake in this game. My anger wouldn’t help get my son back.

Trent was right. We needed to work together.

Instead of agreeing with him out loud, I simply nodded at him.

He gave me a nod in return and said, “Anyone have any ideas?”

“We already have someone on the inside,” Cole said. “Why don’t we try to figure out a way to make contact with Dallas? If we can talk to him, then maybe we can get him to see that we can protect him. Get him to change sides and help get Ashton back.”

I couldn’t help rolling my eyes, but did my best to stay calm.

Cole couldn’t be serious. “Didn’t you hear anything I said?

He’s on Kyle’s side. Whether willingly or not, he made his choice.

A choice to kidnap his own nephew. Even if he’s only doing it because he’s scared, do you have any idea how scared someone has to be to do something like that?

If he’s that terrified of Kyle, there’s no way he’d help us, even if he wanted to.

” I shook my head sadly. “Christ, Cole, you don’t even know your brother.

You two didn’t really grow up with him. Some random kid who shows up every few months at your house isn’t a sibling.

” I gestured to Farrah and then to Cole.

“You two keep thinking he has some sort of loyalty to you, but he doesn’t.

Not that I’ve seen. You have no clue what kind of man he grew up to be.

When was the last time either of you spoke to him before you came back home? ”

Farrah and Cole both lowered their eyes, shame written on their faces. I took that as an answer and pointed at them.

“Exactly what I thought,” I said, letting my arm fall to my side in exhaustion. “The only thing the three of you share is a worthless prick of a father.”

“That’s not fair, Avery,” Cole said.

“You didn’t know Dallas the way we did,” Farrah added, though her voice was much less forceful than usual. I’d clearly struck a nerve.

“Enough,” Trent barked. “We need to think about this. A good night’s sleep might make things look clearer in the morning.”

As if I could sleep when I didn’t know what was happening with Ashton.

I doubted he’d be sleeping well tonight.

I was his mother, and the only thing that mattered to me was making sure he was okay.

I didn’t know how I’d ever sleep again, knowing he was in danger.

How were the four of us ever going to get him back? We needed help.

An idea occurred to me, then, one that made everything seem a little less terrible. Backup.

“Trent’s right,” Cole said. “Let’s all get some rest and think about it. There’s literally nothing we can do right now. Maybe tomorrow morning, one of us will have thought of something.”

“Fine,” Farrah said with a huff. “I’m going home. Text me in the morning. Let me know what time to meet up.”

Trent looked relieved that things weren’t going to devolve into a fistfight. “Great. I’m heading out, too.”

“Thank you, Trent,” Cole said.

“No problem,” Trent said as he followed Farrah out the door.

A plan had begun to formulate in my mind. Cole wouldn’t like it, but I didn’t know what else to do.

Cole put his arm around me. “I’m sorry about all that.”

Sinking into him, I let the bitterness and irritation fade. Touching him like that, his arm around me, filled me with more guilt about what I was thinking of doing.

“It’s all right,” I mumbled and patted his chest. “Our emotions are pretty high right now. We’re bound to say things we’ll regret. Go on home. You need rest.”

Cole frowned. “You don’t want me to stay? I thought I’d hang out. Keep you company while you?—”

“I’ll be fine. Seriously, Cole. I’m not mad at you or anything, I just want some time alone to process.”

That wasn’t entirely true. The real reason I wanted time alone was to make a call. A very important call that might help us get out of this mess. If Cole was around, he’d argue against it. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Cole eyed me suspiciously, but nodded. “Are you sure? I mean, if you get scared or need someone nearby, then?—”

“I’ll call you,” I said with a smile. “I swear.”

“All right.” He returned the smile, but the smile never reached his eyes. Shame washed over me, but I didn’t know how else to do this.

He bent to kiss me, and I met his lips with mine. Those few moments of closeness gave me the strength to do what I needed to do next.

“I love you,” he said just before he went out the door.

“Love you, too,” I said.

I watched as he pulled out of the driveway. Once he was out of sight, leaving only the pack members watching over my house in their truck across the street, I dialed the number I’d pulled up. Pacing around the living room, I listened to the ringing. After the fourth ring, a man’s voice answered.

“Avery, is this you? What’s up?”

I let out a little sigh of relief at the familiar voice.

“Langston, I’m in trouble. Ashton’s in danger. How soon can you get to Georgia?”