We finish eating, but no one moves to get up or clear the table, as if we’re all silently agreeing to prolong the normalcy. While we’re sitting here, no one speaks of Jax, and for now, things feel normal. Almost the way they used to be.
Coffee cups empty, the conversation dies down, and we all settle into the peaceful lull of quiet.
Then Lily’s phone buzzes against the table. She flips it over, and her shoulders tense as she reads. “Harris,” she mutters, typing a quick reply, her brow furrowed.
Just like that, the tension seeps back in. Thoughts of Jax, and the search, are front and center again.
“Any updates?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No, he was just asking if we’d heard anything.”
“He texted me this morning too,” I say. “Asking for news.”
She looks up, the contentment from moments ago now replaced by fear. “What do we do now?”
I give her a reassuring smile. “We’ll clean up while you go take a shower. The four of us can come up with a plan when you’re back.”
Enzo and Dylan stay quiet, letting me take the lead. Lily looks between them, and they each give her a nod.
“You’re sure?” she asks.
“We’re sure,” Enzo says. “Go on.”
She stands, glancing back at us once more before heading to the bathroom.
The second the door clicks shut, Dylan turns to me. “What the hell do we do next? The label has twice as many resources as we do. If even Harris can’t find him...”
I resist the urge to drop my head onto the table. To smash it against the table, really. Instead, I repeat my mantra and emanate a calm I don’t feel. We take care of ourselves and find Jax. I also respond aloud and say, “We keep looking. We do everything we can to get him back.”
“We need to call around,” Enzo adds, his voice low. “People we trust who won’t leak this.”
Dylan nods. “Harris is probably already threatening everyone to keep this quiet.”
“Let’s hope it’s enough,” I say, the weight of our situation settling heavily over us once again.
CHAPTER 3
DESPERATION
LILY
I hearthe quiet murmur of the guys as they talk and move around the kitchen through the thin bathroom door. Part of me wants to go back out there, to demand they tell me whatever it is that they are discussing without me. Instinctually, I know it’s about Jax. But another part isn’t even sure I deserve to know whatever it is they are discussing right now.
My job as a handler for Electric Wounds is hanging by a fraying thread. The one task I was supposed to manage—keeping the band together and safe—is the very thing I’ve failed at. Not even a month in, and I’ve lost the lead singer.
I release a heavy sigh, turning the knob to start the shower, and strip off my clothes as the water heats up. The moment I step under the spray, some of my stress finally begins to melt away, and I exhale again, feeling the warmth loosen the knots in my shoulders.
The sound of the door clicking open has me peeking my head out of the shower, back into the small room. “Enzo!” I exclaim, panic and hope flaring inside me, warring for attention. “Is it Jax? Did you find him?”
Enzo’s eyes flash with irritation. “Maybe he doesn’t want to be found, Lily. Did you ever think of that?”
I freeze, his words cutting deep. “What do you mean by that?”
“You heard me,” he snaps, stepping closer. “You’re so focused on Jax that you’re forgetting about the rest of us. We’re all here, waiting, worrying, and all you care about is him. And he is the only one of us that doesn’t actually want to be here.”
“That’s not true,” I protest, but my voice wavers with uncertainty. “I care about all of you.”
“Do you?” Enzo challenges, his tone sharp as his dark eyes burn into mine. “Because it sure doesn’t feel like it.”
