Ryder growled. It was his job to keep his family safe. His and no one else.
Ronin stood in front of him and squeezed his shoulder. ”We will get your family back, but let us do what we do best, okay?”
Everything in Ryder wanted to say no. His wolf was fighting to come out and follow the direction he was being pulled toward.
“You know I’m right.” Ronin’s voice was calm, but he saw the emotion in his brother’s eyes.
Ronin was pack; he was family. He would get Jax and Tabby home. So would Finn and Dax.
Ryder closed his eyes and managed a small nod. “You have to bring them home to me.” He didn't even try to hide the tears.
“I swear to you, brother.” Ronin squeezed his shoulder, then took a step back and reached for his phone. So did Ryder.
“I’ll call Maddox,” Ryder said.
He started to dial up Maddox’s number, but his hand shook too much. He finally looked at Ronin and handed him the phone. “Please,” Ryder whispered.
His brother nodded and took the phone from him. Ryder closed his eyes and tried to measure his breathing, but he couldn’t seem to.
“Hey, it’s Ro.” At the sound of that, he opened his eyes. “I know it’s early, but I need you to gather a couple of the guys. We’ve got a job. Emergency and Priority,” Ronin added.
His brother was quiet for a moment then said, “We think Jax and Tabby were abducted late last night, early this morning.”
“We don’t think, we know,” Ryder corrected.
Ro nodded. “We know that Jax and Tabby were abducted. Ryder has an idea of the direction they were taken, but I’ve already told him that he can’t be the one to go after them.”
Ronin was quiet for a second, then nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I said. This is new territory for him, but we both know rushing in with no plan gets you killed.”
“Mmm.” Ronin nodded. “So, we need your help.”
“Okay. See you then!” Ronin said, then hung up. “He’s calling Zander and Dax, and then they’ll be over. They’ll find them.” Ronin’s voice was confident.
But Ryder knew nothing would chase the fear away. Not until he had his family back in his arms.
He did trust his brother and his team, but Ryder still said a prayer to the Goddess.Please let them be alive. Keep them safe for me.
Because Ryder knew if he lost his mate and daughter, he would follow them wherever they went.
Two hours later, Maddox, Zander, and Dax appeared at his door. “We’re ready to do this. Tell us what you have,” Maddox said.
Ryder saw his cousin’s fierce face, and he knew that Dax would stop at nothing to bring his family back.
Hold on, baby. I’m coming for you. We’re coming.
He knew they were too far away for Jax to actually hear him, but he hoped his mate would feel his strength. Not that he’d been a pillar of strength so far.
Still, even though he couldn’t hear Jax, Ryder could tell what direction they’d gone.
Maddox and the gang were the best in the business, as far as Ryder was concerned. He’d seen the result of their work. Hell, they’d brought him his mate. He had to trust they’d bring Jax back to him a second time.
Chapter Nine
Jax
Jax had lost track of time since he and Tabby had been kidnapped and taken to Goddess knows where. His best guess was that it had been three days. Either way, it felt like time was both crawling and speeding by. He missed Tabby, and he missed Ryder.
They'd separated him from Tabby immediately after they’d been taken. The last couple of days had felt like the worst of his life.
