“Th-they’re not there!” I take a huge gulp of air. “I can’t find them anywhere!” My dad is the first to move. He is up off the couch and heading out the backdoor. Cash looks me over before handing me off to my mom, and then he follows my dad.
“It’s going to be okay. They’re kids, honey. I used to lose you all the time,” Mom tells me, trying to lighten the mood. Any other time I would have laughed, but not now. I get up and head towards the bedrooms, checking each one, but they are nowhere to be found. A few minutes later, I hear police sirens and my stomach drops. My worst nightmare is becoming a reality. When I get outside, Cash and my dad are talking to James. A few minutes pass and the whole yard is full of people. My mom holds me next to her as we listen to the guys plan out a search party. No one knows where they are, so they all split up.
*~*~*
Jax
I always wanted a little brother, but got stuck with a little sister. We are playing hide-and-seek, and when I’m getting ready to find her like I always do, I see someone pulling her into a truck. I’m scared, but my dad always says that it’s my job to keep her safe because I’m her big brother. So I climb into the back of it and lay down, hiding under a tarp.
*~*~*
Cash
This cannot be fucking happening. Someone is going to die. I’m not saying that as a threat—I mean it all the way to my soul. As soon as I find out who has done this, I’m going to kill them.#p#分页标题#e#
“All right, man, I want you to hear me out, okay?” Nico says. I lift my chin in response. I’m too angry to answer him right now. We have searched everywhere for the kids, and come up with nothing. They wouldn’t have wondered off. Someone has to have taken them, I just don’t know who.
“Who do you think would do this?” he asks.
“I don’t know.” I rack my brain, trying to come up with someone who would do this. I can’t think over the pain in my chest. My kids are missing; someone has them and I have no idea who it is.
“I want you to think for a second. Who would do this?” I pause, coming up with nothing, then for some reason a name comes out of my mouth without thinking.
“Jules.”
“Jules,” he nods, “you know she has been missing. Kenton is running her cards to see if he can latch onto her.”
“She’s not that crazy,” I say, knowing it’s a lie.
“She is that crazy.” He pauses, looking like he is weighing his words. “Look, I know you feel bad for her, and I understand that she is Jax’s mother, but the bitch is fucking crazy and needs some major help—and not the kind that she can receive from a therapist.”
“You’re right.”
“All right, now I need you to tell me anything you know about her and her family,” he says, and for the next thirty minutes, I tell him everything that I know. When I’m done, I realize how very little there was. “We’re gonna find the kids; don’t worry.” He pats my back, walking away and putting the phone to his ear. My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I answer right away.
“Yo?”
“We’re still looking,” Trevor says; he and Asher took off not long after my dad did. “Any idea of which way we should head?”
“Look for Jules,” I tell him.
“What?”
“I talked to Nico and I think he may be right; we need to be looking for Jules.”
“You’re fucking shitting me.”
“Dude, I don’t know what the fuck to think right now, but something in my gut is saying Nico is right and that Jules is behind this.”
“All right, we will look for her. Keep us up-to-date if you find out anything,” Trevor says, and I can hear the anger in his words.
“Will do,” I say and then hang up. I head back into the house. Lilly and her mom are inside waiting to see if the kids will show back up. As soon as I walk inside, Lilly is in my arms, her eyes red from crying.
“Did they find them?”
“No, baby.” She starts to cry again, and my heart is breaking. “I will find them and bring them home. You stay here with your mom in case they show back up.”
“Okay, but maybe I should be out looking too.”
“No, I want you to stay here in case they come back.”
“But—”
“No buts. Stay here with your mom. Keep your phone on you and I will call you.”
“Okay, just bring them home.” I can hear the strain in her words as she wraps her arms around my waist, burying her face in my chest. I want to comfort her, but I need to be out looking. I pull her away from me, kissing her once before turning and heading out the door. I see Nico still on his phone, so I motion him towards the truck and climb inside. Once he’s in, I take off. I have no destination in mind, but I do know Jules had been sleeping with a guy in town, so that’s my first stop. When we arrive at his place, there is an old truck in the driveway. The yard is littered with garbage. We get out and head up to the front porch; the dogs behind the door go crazy when I knock. I hear rustling, then the door opens and a guy my age is standing there rubbing his face, the smell of alcohol wafting off him.#p#分页标题#e#