Ryder
“Jax!” Ryder woke up with a start and sat up in bed. He looked to the spot next to him, and his heart sank. “Jax? Jax?” He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. Where was Jax?
Ryder jumped up from the bed and hurried downstairs. “Jax?” he called out. “Can you hear me? Where are you?”
He reached the kitchen, but it was empty. His heart did a pitter-patter, and his breathing sped up. Something was wrong. Ryder was sure of it.
He ran back upstairs to grab his phone from the floor, where it had fallen out of his pocket, and dialed Ronin’s and Ollie’s number. It was late, but maybe Jax had woken up and decided to go and get Tabby. Even as he thought it, it didn’t feel right. Still, Ryder was holding out hope that the churning in his gut was just his overactive mind. And he needed to hear that Tabby was alright, at least. The phone rang three times, then went to voicemail. He tried Ollie’s cell next. After the second ring, Ollie answered.
“Hello? Ryder?”
“Hey … How’s Tabby?”
There was a moment of hesitation. “Um … She’s fine. She’s sound asleep, just like you should be. It’s after two in the morning. What’s up? Why are you calling? Is Jax alright?”
Ryder heard movement and then his brother’s voice speaking to Ollie in the background, but he didn’t care about any of that. “Are you sure she’s sleeping?”
“Yes, I have the monitor on in the twin’s room. She’s in there with them. She’s sound asleep. Again, just like you should be.” Ollie yawned and Ryder felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach.
He drew in a breath. “Ollie, please check. Jax is gone. I have a horrible feeling, and I need to know for certain that Tabby is okay. Please … just go look.” Ryder’s heart raced as he waited for Ollie’s reply. His brother-in-law finally relented.
“Okay, give me a second.” Ollie sighed dramatically before chiding him. “I think you’re being kind of ridiculous here, though, but I get it. First time baby is out of the house.” He yawned again. “But I swear if the babies wake up, you’re coming over and rocking all of them back to sleep."
Ryder would happily do that. “Better ridiculous than sorry.”Goddess, please let her be there. Let Jax be overwhelmed and visiting Devon or River. Please.
“If you say so,” Ollie mumbled.
Ryder waited. His heart rate hadn’t decreased at all. If anything, it’d sped up. His wolf paced and growled. “Ollie? You there?”
“Yes … Going into the room now.” Several seconds passed, then Ryder heard the words that would haunt him. “Oh no! Ronin … Ronin, get in here!”
“Ollie … Please …” Ryder tried to get words out, but they got stuck in his throat.
“Ry … Ryder … She’s gone. I have no idea what happened.” Ollie’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“What’s going on?” Ronin sounded pissed. Not that he blamed his brother, he would have reacted the same on hearing Jax that panicked.
Jax. Tabby.Ryder couldn’t breathe. He fell to the bed and just sat there. “Ryder? We’re on our way,” Ronin said. “Hold on, brother. We’re coming.”
He must have taken the phone from Ollie, but Ryder didn’t care. His family was gone. To the depths of his soul, he knew Jax hadn’t left him. Ryder knew it. He let his phone fall to the floor.
“Drink this.” Ollie attempted to hand Ryder a glass of warm milk, but Ryder didn’t want it. He just wanted to know where Jax and Tabby were.
How the fuck had they gotten off pack lands without anyone knowing?
Ryder shook his head. “I have to go out there and look for them.” He jumped to his feet. “I can’t just sit around and do nothing.”
It was a little after five o’clock. They hadn’t heard anything from Jax, and Ryder was trying so hard to keep it together. He knew one thing, and that was that Jax and Tabby had been kidnapped. Jax would never have left him after what they’d shared the night before. He felt the truth of that through their connection.
Ryder had a general idea of where they were, thanks to their mating bond and he was desperate to go out and look for his mate and child, but Ollie and Ronin kept holding him back.
“Perhaps Jax just needed a moment and decided to take Tabby and go. It’s his prerogative. He has every right,” Ronin insisted.
He wasn’t surprised at the suggestion, but he knew deep down that something was wrong.
Ryder shook his head. “That’s not what happened. We mated last night. I know that Jax didn’t up and leave. I can point someone to where they are, but I need to be the one to go and get them. They need me. They’re in danger.” Ryder pushed his hand through his hair. “They're in danger, Ro. I know this without a doubt.” Ryder began to shake as fear engulfed him.
He saw his brother share a look with his mate before speaking again. “Okay, brother, I believe you, but you’re a doctor, Ry. This is not your specialty. If you want to get them back and suspect foul play, then we need Maddox. He’ll get a few of the guys to go and track them down. It’ll be safer for you and definitely safer for Tabby and Jax. What if you went and none of you come back?” His brother shook his head. “No. We’ll get your family back, Ry, but you gotta let the people that know what they’re doing take the lead. You can’t do anything stupid.”
