Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
“A young man. That could be both Crew and Shay,” I muttered.
“I’ll get back to you—someone’s calling.” The call was dropped.
I started bouncing my knee, and I clenched my jaw. I had to think rationally here. The odds of all three Tenleys being injured or worse were astronomical. Right? And Crew was fine. Yes? Who else was there? We’d gotten to know the Quinns a bit after last year’s clusterfuck. They might be there too. Emerson and his husband, maybe. I knew Kyle wasn’t there, at least. He’d been invited, but he was off somewhere.
When the fuck did so many in my family get mixed up with PMCs?
The Tenleys were fine. River and Reese had been two of those PMCs for a long time.
While I tried to convince myself everything was gravy, I searched for more news articles, but one thing was clear. The news was still breaking, and very few details seemed to have been confirmed properly. That said, when kidnapping was involved, it was vital to reach out to the public quickly. Any potential leads had to be reported to the police.
A young man.
I sent a quick text to Reese.
I need to know that you, River, Shay, and Crew are all right.
I blew out a breath and glanced toward the warehouse. The weight settling on my chest could fuck all the way off. Instead of being surrounded by our delivery trucks, I needed this very moment to be more of what I’d had in the past. Uniforms, structured briefings, and orders. Civilian life came without a chain of command.
Thank fuck, Cullen called back. I answered it before the first ring had stopped sounding.
“Gimme somethin’ good,” I demanded.
“That was Reese.” He rushed out the words. “He still feels a bit responsible for Crew. My boy’s fine. Thank God. Crew is okay. But—” He cleared his throat.
I gnashed my teeth. Reese and I were pretty damn close. He hadn’t become friends with Cullen until last year, so for him to call my brother before he called me…?
Only one reason came to mind. Reese couldn’t handle talking to someone he was close to at the moment. He couldn’t handle follow-up questions.
“Say it,” I gritted out.
Cullen sighed heavily. “Shay’s one of the hostages. I’m sorry, little brother.”
Fucking hell.
My stomach twisted painfully, and a wave of fury washed over me, red-hot and all-consuming.
“They’ll be releasing the names with pictures at the press conference,” he went on grimly. “It was Elliott Jones’s niece—that’s Crew’s boss, Elliott—a coworker’s wife, and Shay. They were taken in the attack.”
I shook my head and scrubbed a hand over my mouth and jaw.
“They will find them, Greer. Everyone who’s battle-ready has already disappeared. They’re not leavin’ this to the authorities.”
No, I’d imagine they weren’t. But that was good. It gave me a sense of direction. I knew what to do.
“If Reese calls back, let him know I’m on standby for anything,” I told him. “I’m gonna send him a message—”
“I already told him. He knows. If they need help, you and I are ready,” he promised. “I would’ve volunteered Kyle too, if he wasn’t balls deep in tryna settle into civilian life. But Crew doesn’t know we’re aware of his role in this yet, and I wanna keep it that way for now. He gets defensive.”
I nodded to myself. “Okay. I’m still gonna text Reese, but all right. We’ll talk later. If you hear anything, let me know.”
“Same to you. Talk soon.” He hung up.
I screwed my eyes shut for one second and saw Shay’s smirks and heard his laughter echo in my skull. I couldn’t fucking believe it. He’d been through enough, that cocky sweetheart.
Opening my eyes again, I went back to my text conversation with Reese, and I left him another message.
I talked to Cullen. Bring your boy home. If you need help with anything, I’m here, whether you need me in combat gear or just to head over to Shay’s aunt and brothers.
Now to face our community…
I called Colt. I needed him by my side—not to mention Lucas. Lucas flew under the radar sometimes, but he was damn organized in a crisis. A few years ago, after the fire at the house, it was Lucas who’d kept track of everyone in the aftermath.
CHAPTER 2
Tate Madden
Icouldn’t believe it.
I just couldn’t believe this was happening.
“People don’t fucking get kidnapped,” I croaked, scrolling through the list of events on our online forum. “That’s shit you hear on that news, but it never happens to you or someone you know.”
Kingsley pressed a kiss to my temple and ushered me to the truck. “Get in, baby. Don’t look back, by the way—Zoe’s in the window.”
Oh shit. She couldn’t see me cry. It would upset her too much.
Kingsley made sure to wave to our girl, and he had enough strength to fake a smile. Then we got in the car, and he wasted no time. He pulled away from the curb and sped up.