Page 158 of Peaks and Promises

“That’s all right. We’ll figure it out.”

I heard Gunnar answer, and Reese put him on speaker.

“We have a problem,” Reese said.

“What’s going on?”

“Axel took Nate this afternoon.”

“Oh, shit.”

I gave him the rundown—everything from Nate disappearing from the park in Tilikum to finding the shoes in the back of the silver car to our decision to head to Montana.

“Big Timber makes sense,” he said. “I think that’s the right call.”

“I need to find the uncle.”

“I don’t suppose you know his name.”

“No. Axel’s legal name is Aaron Gunderson. Figured you could start there.”

“I can work with that. Is he from Montana originally?”

“I don’t think so,” I answered. “As far as I know, he grew up in Nevada. But maybe one of his parents is from here. I’m not sure.”

“I’ll see what I can find.”

“Thanks, man,” Reese said. “Appreciate it.”

“Of course. I’ll let you know as soon as I come up with anything useful.”

I didn’t give voice to the big question: What if we were wrong? It weighed heavily, but Reese was right. Big Timber was our best option. Law enforcement would do what they could, and if Axel had another destination in mind, I’d hope they could track them down.

But for now, we had to act. Mayhem was on their way. I didn’t think they’d hurt Nate on purpose, but I had no reason to believe they’d try not to hurt him, either. If things turned violent, he could be caught in the crossfire. Their only goal would be serving their brand of fatal justice.

And the club wouldn’t care about collateral damage.

CHAPTER 38

Reese

My eyes were dry and gritty after driving all night. The sun had risen around six, and if I hadn’t been in the middle of chasing down the piece of shit who’d stolen my kid—yes, he was mine, damn it—I might have thought it beautiful.

As it was, it was just a reminder that Nate had been gone since the previous afternoon, and we couldn’t even be sure we were on the right track.

My gut told me we were. It made sense. Axel probably didn’t plan to stay in one place for long, but it was reasonable he’d stop to regroup, get supplies, and maybe steal a different vehicle.

No word from Gunnar yet. Garrett had texted late the previous night with an update. Surveillance footage at the gas station the bald guy had stopped at showed Axel opening the trunk on the silver sedan and slipping Nate’s shoes inside. They had the license plate of the car he’d been driving. It had been reported stolen a few days ago. An Amber Alert had been issued, so if that car was spotted, law enforcement would stop them.

But I wasn’t about to drive back to Tilikum and wait for someone else to find Nate. If they did, all the better. But I had a feeling it was still up to me and Summer.

She shifted in her seat and sighed. Exhaustion had finally overwhelmed her, and she’d been sleeping for a couple hours, but only fitfully. I’d declined her repeated offers to drive so I could get some rest. There was no way I was sleeping. Too much rage flowing through my system.

With the exit into Big Timber just ahead, I gently nudged her.

“We’re here,” I said quietly as I took the ramp off the freeway.

Blinking, she sat up and looked out the window. “Any more word from Garrett?”