Page 73 of Carver’s Crusade

Caitlin glances toward her before focusing back on her call.

“I understand procedure,” she says into the phone. “I’m asking you to help me cut through it.”

Evie suddenly stops pacing. “Really?” Relief floods her face. “Thank you.”

She ends the call and grins.

“My father said he’ll sign off on whatever CPS needs,” she announces. “Emergency placement, temporary custody, all of it.”

Caitlin exhales hard, like she’s been holding her breath for the last ten minutes. She quickly relays the information to Denise.

I watch her nod several times before finally ending the call.

“Well?” Min asks immediately.

A slow smile spreads across Caitlin’s face.

“CPS is onboard.”

The clubhouse door slams open hard enough to rattle the walls.

I jerk upright from the couch just as Jackson stumbles inside with Marcus close behind him. One look at Jackson’s face sends a ball of dread into my gut. His skin is pale beneath the scruff on his jaw, and panic burns in his eyes so fiercely it steals the air from the room.

“Mia’s gone.”

The words hit like a gunshot.

“What?” Caitlin breathes.

Jackson drags both hands through his hair, pacing in tight circles like he’s seconds away from losing his mind completely. “Nancy took her. We were getting ice cream. One second she was standing next to Marcus, and then Nancy grabbed her and shoved her into a car.”

Marcus looks wrecked. His eyes are red and wide with terror. “She came outta nowhere.”

Athena stands immediately. “Did you call the police?”

Jackson shakes his head hard. “Not yet. I came here first.” His voice cracks. “I thought the guys would help me get her back.”

The silence that follows is brutal.

Because the men aren’t here.

They’re gone. They’re out handling Tony Martin.

Jackson looks around the room like he’s only now realizing it. Despair crashes across his face so fast it physically hurts to watch.

“Oh God,” he whispers.

“No.” Min stands so abruptly her chair scrapes across the floor. “Absolutely not.”

Every woman in the room turns toward her.

“We’re getting Mia back,” she says.

Ashlyn steps forward immediately. “Damn right we are.”

Tanya nods once, sharp and deadly. “Where do you think she took her? Back to the house?”

Jackson stares at them in disbelief. “I’m not asking you to do this.”