Page 85

AVERY

W e congregated around the kitchen table, and I sat on Cole’s lap.

Sitting beside him wasn’t close enough. After the phone call, the fear, I didn’t want to be away from him.

Our fight seemed millions of miles and hundreds of years in the past. Now, all I wanted was to be near him.

In the chaos, Cole was all I had, the only thread that connected me to my missing son.

He placed a hand on my thigh and rubbed my back as the others got comfortable.

“What exactly happened while we were gone?” Langston said. “Zayde said Kyle made contact?”

“He did,” I said. “We tried to track his call, but it didn’t work.”

“That little blond tech junkie blocked my attempts,” Zayde said. “They must have been anticipating that we’d try something like that.”

“What exactly did he say?” Cole asked.

I rubbed my forehead and sighed in frustration. “Nothing. Not really. He gloated, talked about building something. Bragged about creating some kingdom.”

“That’s basically what Dallas said, too,” Langston said. “Apparently, North Crest isn’t the only town this has happened to, and Harbor Mills is next.”

“And we’ll be blind from now on,” Zayde said. “That Sydney chick totally locked out the CCTV around North Crest. The only thing they’re broadcasting is old footage.”

“Who the hell is this woman?” Farrah asked. She looked about ready to claw someone’s eyes out.

“I think Kyle knew his guys fucked up,” Zayde said.

“The fact that those videos I found hadn’t been completely deleted was a huge mistake.

If she’s this good, that never would have happened by accident.

Maybe someone else was in charge, and when they fucked up, he brought her in on that side.

Not sure, but either way, she’s gonna be a problem. ”

“Dallas mentioned her, too,” Cole said. “She’s the one who tipped Kyle off that we’d infiltrated the town.”

“She wasn’t in any of the videos, though,” Trent said. “Where’s he been hiding her?”

“We didn’t see half those shifters out there,” Cole said. “If he’s doing this in multiple towns, then he has more people than we first thought.”

“Don’t worry,” Zayde said, and something in his tone piqued all our interest because every head turned his way.

“You got a plan?” Langston asked him.

“Girl video-called us,” Zayde said with a grim smile. “Bragging about what she’d done, basically being an asshole. I took a screenshot of her face. I’m gonna run it through facial-recognition software. I’ll figure out her story and find out her connection to Kyle. Give me some time.”

“ Nice .” Trent smiled appreciatively. “Next question. What do we do with our little friend outside?”

“That’s what I was about to say,” Cole added. “We may not need Zayde to go to all that trouble. Our prisoner may be able to give us all the intel we need.”

“Where are we going to put this guy?” Trent gave a low chuckle. “We can’t really keep him in my truck forever.”

“The basement,” Cole said. “No windows down there, and only one door in and out.”

Trent worked that over in his mind, then nodded. “Best place I can think of.”

“Head out and help Porter get that guy down there,” Cole said.

Trent rose, and Langston joined him. “I’ll go, too. I don’t want this shithead slipping away.”

The two men left, leaving me to dwell on the worries that continued to whirl through my mind.

No matter what Cole said, I was still terrified that Kyle would hurt Ashton because of what we’d tried.

This wasn’t going the way I’d wanted. In a perfect world, everything went according to plan, and nothing bad happened.

Instead, I was sitting here, at the mercy of a madman who might or might not start mailing me pieces of my baby.

The thought alone sent a wave of nausea and terror through me.

“Are you all right?” Cole asked, patting my leg gently.

I nodded, swallowing back my fears. “Yeah. I’m sure you know what I’m thinking.”

He looked at me with compassionate understanding. “Don’t do that to yourself. Stay in the moment and try to keep your mind off it.”

I scoffed. “Easier said than done.”

A moment later, the front door opened. Langston and Trent had the prisoner’s arms, and Porter had his feet. The guy was struggling, but I could see it was a half-assed attempt. Langston was an alpha, and Trent and Porter knew how to handle themselves. He knew he had no chance of escape.

As I watched them carry the guy down to the basement, anxiety welled up inside me, like bugs crawling or electricity surging beneath my skin.

I’d wanted to look into Dallas’s eyes and ask him why he did it.

I needed that sort of closure. Now, all I had was this stranger who may or may not know anything.

It was maddening, and growing worse with every second my son was gone.

It wasn’t until Cole reached over and wiped a tear off my cheek that I realized I was crying.

“Shit, sorry. Can’t seem to stop doing that,” I muttered, swiping a hand over my face.

“Don’t be sorry,” he said. “It’s normal.” We stood, and he put an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close. “We are going to get Ashton back. Don’t let those dark thoughts in.”

“Can I go upstairs?” I said, my voice barely a whisper. If I spoke any louder, I was afraid I’d start sobbing.

“Come here.” He picked me up, lifting me in his arms like a groom carrying his bride.

Any other time, I’d have felt ridiculous, but at that moment, I was grateful to him. Resting my cheek on his shoulder, I allowed him to carry me upstairs. As we ascended, the noise of the others faded away.

“You need to relax,” Cole said as he entered the bedroom. “How about a hot shower?”

I didn’t risk speaking—tears still threatened to shatter me—so I nodded instead.

Swallowing hard to keep the sobs at bay, I sat on the bed while he turned the shower on.

When he came back, he undressed me, quickly yet gently.

In a blink, he was naked, too, leading me to the shower.

When I stepped under the near-scalding water, I released a shuddering moan.

Cole wrapped his arms around me, and we stood there for several minutes, letting the water cascade over us.

Safe in his arms, I finally let the floodgates open. I cried like a child—hiccupping, groaning, and sobbing. Had he not been holding me, I would have collapsed. Cole comforted me, murmuring in my ear, stroking my back, and allowing me these moments of despair.

After what seemed like years, I managed to get myself under control.

“Sorry. I guess I needed that,” I said. “Between Ashton being gone and worrying about you, I was sort of falling apart.”

He gave me a sad smile. “It’s normal. I’m not happy about that psycho having our son, either, but we’re going to figure it out. We still have a plan, it’s just changed a bit. That’s what matters. We’ll get that guy to talk.”

“Oh, shit,” I hissed, blinking in surprise. “Shouldn’t you be down with them interrogating that guy? Instead of being here… ugh, babying me?” Shame flashed through me. I was being selfish. Cole had more important responsibilities than to sit in a shower and listen to his mate cry like a child.

“We’ve got time. You said Kyle would be in contact, so there’s no hurry just yet.

Plus, I want that guy to sit alone for a bit.

Make him sweat and allow his imagination to take over.

That way, when we start, he’ll already be on the verge of panic.

He won’t be able to think about lying. And even if he does, I’ve got some ideas on how to make him talk. ”

I could imagine what Cole had planned, especially with Trent and Langston’s help. As much as I wanted revenge for my son being taken, I didn’t think I had the stomach to watch whatever violence the three men would have to exact on the poor bastard in the basement.

“Let’s get out of here,” Cole said, turning the water off.

Once we’d both dried off, we got into bed. Sunlight still streamed in through the windows, but every muscle in my body ached with exhaustion.

“How bad is it going to be?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“With the guy,” I explained. “Are you going to hurt him?”

Cole blew out a long breath. “I don’t want violence. Never have, but when it comes to my child, I’ll do anything and everything I need to ensure he gets home safe. If that means hurting a guilty party? So be it. Anything to ease the guilt.”

“Guilt?” I sat up. “You feel guilty?”

“Seeing you like this, all torn up? It’s hard to not feel like it’s all my fault. Without me, you and Ashton would probably be living happy lives.”

That very thought had wormed its way into my mind in the aftermath of Ashton’s kidnapping. It was partly why I’d had a hard time letting Cole back into my heart. In hindsight, it was as childish as his jealousy of Langston. We’d both done and thought things that made no sense.

“You had nothing to do with this,” I said. “The only person to blame is Kyle. We both need to understand that.”

Before he could say anything in response, I planted a kiss on his lips. It wasn’t a lustful, urgent kiss but sweet and consoling. When I pulled away, my eyelids were heavy. It had been a long day.

“I’m going to take a nap, if that’s okay?”

“You sleep,” Cole said. “I’ll watch over you.”

Sliding under the covers, I sighed contentedly as Cole wrapped his arm around me. Within seconds, I’d slipped into a blissfully dreamless sleep.

M y eyes fluttered open. The late afternoon sunlight had morphed into the bright, angled light of early morning.

The sky outside the window was a pale blue.

Apparently, I’d slept through the night.

The empty bed beside me told me Cole was no longer with me.

Rolling over, I ran a hand over the sheets. Cool. He’d been gone a while.

My phone was on the bedside table, plugged into a charger. Frowning, I sat up. I was sure I’d left it downstairs. On a plug-in mug warmer beside the phone sat a steaming cup of tea. I smiled and unplugged my phone.