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“We thought he was talking about Bailey. His sick, twisted fascination is with her. It never dawned on us that he would go after someone else,” Jaxon finishes.
A knock on the door interrupts us. Jaxon walks over to let Mac inside. He has his gun and badge on again. After a brief glance at Mia, who’s standing in the corner, he walks over to us. Jaxon explains to him what happened and our belief that Steven has Anna. After he’s done, I stand from my seated position and surprise them all by telling them what happened with the creepy guy.
“Why are you just now telling me this?” Jaxon asks me angrily.
Mia comes to my defense. “She hasn’t had the opportunity yet, Jaxon. Leave the attitude out of it.”
After looking at Mia for a minute, he brings his eyes back to me. He pulls me to him and says against my hair, “Sorry, angel.”
I pull back and cup his jaw. “It’s okay. I didn’t tell you because we need to focus on Anna right now. She’s more important at the moment. We need to get her away from him.”
“And keep you safe in the process,” Jaxon adds.
I nod, but know it may not be that easy. Their sole focus needs to be on Anna. She’s the one in immediate danger. My heart squeezes at what she may be going through right at this moment.
After going through possible places Steven may have taken Anna, Mac calls in reinforcements. Several uniformed officers show up a few minutes later. Jaxon is torn between staying behind and protecting me himself, or going out with the search party to look for Anna.
I pull him to the side and make him look at me. “You need to go with them and look for her. Mac said he would have an officer drive me to your place and stay with me, and I know Andrew will be more than willing to look after me as well.” I add Andrew in there because I know that will make Jaxon feel better, knowing someone who cares for me will be there to help protect me.
He still looks tortured, but realizes I’m right. Anna is his sister and he needs to help in the hunt to find her. If he didn’t, it would drive him crazy just sitting at home doing nothing.
I give him an encouraging smile. “I’ll be okay, Jaxon. You go out and bring Anna home, alright?”
He dips his head and slants his mouth over mine in a scorching kiss. His tongue plunders my mouth, like this is his last chance to do so. The kiss is heated and swoon-worthy, but goes no further.
When we break apart, he grabs my hand and we all walk out of Jaxon’s office and make our way back up front. Jaxon tells Mia to go ahead and shut down the bar, even though it’s still half full. Too much is going on at the moment to keep it open. Andrew has to come with me and Mia can’t be expected to work the bar in light of her sister being abducted.
Jaxon gestures for Andrew to come over so he can explain what’s happening. He’s already caught up on everything except for what’s gone down tonight. Jaxon finishes by asking him to go with me back home to help protect me.
“Of course, man, you know I’ll do anything for her.” His words touch my heart and I reach over to give his hand a squeeze to show my affection and gratitude.
Jaxon turns to give me one last kiss.
After pulling away, he rests his forehead against mine. “Stay safe. I’ll be home as soon as I can. I love you.”
“I love you, too. And please be careful. Steven is extremely tricky and will use whatever tool he can find, literally and figuratively, to beat you.”
He nods and faces Andrew.
“Keep her safe,” he says to him.
“Done,” is his one-word reply.
When Jaxon starts walking off, Andrew calls his name. Jaxon stops and turns his head. “You stay safe as well.”
Jaxon just gives him a chin lift, turns back around, and moves to stand beside Mac and Nick. A few minutes later they all walk out the door, leaving Andrew, Mia, an officer, and me alone.
* * *
THE ATMOSPHERE WHEN we reach Jaxon’s house is quiet and tense. The usual playfulness that radiates off Andrew is no longer present. Mia is more quiet than usual. Instead of going home, she opted to come back to Jaxon’s with us. I think that’s a great idea. We all need to stick together. The officer is currently standing by the front door, being ever so vigilant. He wouldn’t let us enter the house until he did a sweep and deemed it safe. I am grateful for the caution.
Mia spoke with their mom on the way over and let her know what was going on. The usual strong woman that I am getting to know broke down over the phone. I could hear her sobs as Mia talked to her.
The guilt I feel is crushing me. This is my fault. If I hadn’t come to town, then Anna would be safe and sound, with no cares in the world. I feel helpless.
Knowing that none of us will be getting any sleep tonight, I put on a pot of coffee and ask if anyone would like something to eat. Everyone says no to the food, but yes to the coffee.
We all sit around in silence for a couple of hours. No word has come in yet from Jaxon, Nick, or Mac. We all fidget and can’t stay still for long. The TV has been on for just as long, but no one watches it. Another thirty minutes pass before I can’t take it anymore.
