Jaxson (River Pack Wolves 1)(38)

“Thanks for running interference on that for me,” Jaxson said, still grimacing. “So what’s up with Jared? I thought he’d already taken off for the mountains for the weekend.”

Jace frowned. “I thought he had—but he must have found reception last night because he eventually returned my call about the mission to rescue Cassie. I told him all about it and the warehouse and everything. He was pissed that he’d missed out.” Jace huffed a small laugh and shook his head.

“I’ll bet.” Of the three of them, Jared was the most intent on direct assaults from the beginning. Only problem being that they didn’t know where to point the assault team. “So is he coming in?” Jaxson asked, glancing around at the darkened offices.

“That’s just it. I thought he was coming to the safehouse. We were all tired, so we crashed pretty much right away. When I woke up, he still hadn’t showed. I’ve been calling, but he hasn’t been picking up. I thought maybe he’d come here…” Jace’s voice drifted off as his eyes went wide.

Jaxson figured it out at the same time. “He went after the warehouse.”

“Shit.” Jace grimaced. “Oh man, I shouldn’t have told him.”

“It’s not your fault, Jace.” Jaxson rubbed his hand across the stubble on his face. “But if he’s not answering his phone…”

“Shit, shit, shit. He’s in there, isn’t he? They got him.” Jace took his frustration out on the door frame, leaving a small dent.

“Hey!” Jaxson gave him a glare. “It’s all right. We’ll get him out.”

“What if they move him? What if he’s not even there?” Jace was running a rough hand through his hair. “If I’d been infiltrated, I’d decamp right away.”

“Right. Which is why Jared went after them, I’m sure. Because he didn’t want them slithering off into the night.” Damn, this was a mess. “All right, did Murphy go to the safehouse last night or did he go home?”

“I just took the Wildings to the safehouse. Everyone else went home.”

“Murphy lives closest to the edge of town where the warehouse is,” Jaxson said. “We need eyes on that immediately. Get that in place, then round up a team. Maybe ten. If we’ve got surveillance, they can’t decamp without us knowing. And if they’re still inside, we might have to wait until dark to move in.”

“Understood.” Jace already had his phone out, dialing Murphy.

“I need to make a stop at Olivia’s,” Jaxson said. “I’ll meet you there.”

Jace held up his hands in a questioning way, but Murphy must have picked up because he turned away and took the call. Jaxson left his unspoken question unanswered and jogged out of the office, heading for his car. He needed to make sure Olivia was all right before he dove into a mission he knew he might not come back from.





He had to pound on Olivia’s door ten times before she finally opened.

“Jaxson, for God’s sake—” she said, but he just brushed past her and stepped into the apartment.

He peered around before saying anything. If asshole boyfriend was here, he would take care of that first. But the place was clear.

“Sure, come on in,” she said with heavy sarcasm. But she closed the door behind her. “Please, barge into my apartment, even though I distinctly told you to stay the hell away.”

He cocked his head. “You did not tell me stay away. You merely said you had an asshole for a boyfriend.”

She folded her arms. “I did not say he was an asshole.”

He shrugged one shoulder. “Details.”

She shook her head, like she couldn’t believe his audacity, but he could tell she’d been crying. A lot. Before he even thought about what he was doing, he had her backed up against the door, hands on either side of her head. He wasn’t actually touching her, but he was ready to kiss those tears away.

Her eyes were wide.

“Any man who doesn’t see how wonderful you are is a complete idiot,” he said softly. He wasn’t going to trot out his strong suspicion that this millionaire boyfriend didn’t even exist… not until he knew the real reason why she was pushing him away.

“Yeah, well, maybe I’m one of those girls who likes unavailable men.” She was saying it defiantly, straight into his face, but she wasn’t trying to push him back or move away. Her words were shoving him away, but her trembling lips and heaving chest were saying something entirely different.

“What’s his name, Olivia?” he said with a little more edge in his voice. “I’d like to have a word with him.”