“Copy that,” Jackson replied. “We’re en route.”
Mick tried to push himself up, panic flashing in his eyes. “You don’t understand. They’ll kill anyone who helps me.”
Jackson pressed a hand to his shoulder and forced him back down. “Then they’ll have to go through us first.”
He met Avery’s gaze in the mirror. Her face was tight, pale, but there was plenty of concern in her eyes. They all knew what was at stake. Getting Mick to that hospital might save his life or blow this war wide open.
Jackson kept his eyes on the road ahead, the rain still spitting against the windshield as Isla drove. He pressed a finger to the comm in his ear. “Noah, I’m sorry we didn’t get Riley and Megan out. We’ll keep pushing until we do.”
There was a short pause before Noah answered. “I know you will. We’re not giving up on them.”
Jackson could hear the strain in his boss’s voice, a tight edge that wasn’t usually there. The sound made his chest tighten. Noah wasn’t just thinking like an ops commander. He was thinking like an uncle.
“Any new communication from the kidnapper?” Jackson asked.
“No,” Noah said. “Nothing since the last contact. We’re monitoring every channel, but so far it’s silent.”
Jackson swore under his breath. “What about Warren, Charlotte, and Darian? Where are they now?”
“They never showed for questioning,” Noah replied. “All three got delays through their lawyers. Some last-minute filing stunt.”
Jackson’s gut clenched. “So they bought themselves time.”
“Yeah,” Noah said grimly. “And I don’t like what they’re doing with it.”
Neither did Jackson. Every minute those three were free was another chance for them to regroup, to set up another trap.
He looked down at Mick, still slumped on the floor between the seats, and then at Avery. She met his eyes, and he could tell she was thinking the same thing he was.
This wasn’t over. Not even close.
Hell. Jackson needed eyes on all three of them—Warren, Charlotte, and Darian—but he knew that Noah would have teams on this. Operatives searching for all three. So would Sheriff Chase. She would no doubt have deputies combing the area.
Maybe it would be enough to find them.
But info could maybe help pin down their locations, too. So, Jackson turned back to Mick.
“Why would Warren take the hostages?” Jackson demanded.
Mick hesitated, eyes flicking toward Avery before he answered. “Because of her.”
Avery stiffened, confusion flashing across her face. “Me?”
Mick nodded weakly. “He was in love with you. You said no, and it broke something in him. He’s not just angry. He feels humiliated. That kind of man doesn’t take rejection well.”
Avery’s expression went tight, and Jackson could see the pulse jumping in her throat. She didn’t deny that possibility, which told him enough. Added to that, Jackson had seen that “unrequited love” shit from Warren himself. From the way Warren had looked at her. There had been a hell of a lot of twisted anger and emotions simmering beneath the surface.
Maybe those emotions had bubbled up enough to spill over.
Mick swallowed hard. “He wanted to control Avery, to prove he still mattered to her. When she wouldn’t give him that, he started blaming her for everything that went wrong in his life.”
Jackson studied him, trying to read if there was any lie in what he was saying. But it fit. A bruised ego, mixed with greed and obsession, could twist a man fast.
Still, Jackson wasn’t sure he bought it. The story made sense on the surface, but too many things didn’t line up. He looked at Avery. “You believe that?”
She shook her head slowly. “I knew Warren was hurt when I turned him down, but I didn’t think he’d go this far.” Her voice was quiet, but there was a tremor in it. “Maybe he did sell me out to the Brotherhood for money or payback, but taking hostages? That doesn’t fit.”
Mick drew a shaky breath, wincing as he shifted against the seat. “It fits if you know who he’s been talking to.”
