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His feet thundered on the stairs in time with his heart. No one could’ve breached the packhouse and gotten to them. They had to be around somewhere. He pulled out his phone and dialed just as he hit the landing in the living room.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Where are you?” Max could hear the steady whooshing of traffic in the background, and his heart rate sped up even more.
Sarah had just gotten into the living room, and she watched him with widened eyes.
“I brought Ava into town to show her around a bit. We got some ice cream, and then we were going to walk through some of the shopping areas and stuff.”
Max’s heart was pounding so hard now that it threatened to burst out of his chest. His wolf was on high alert. Something was wrong. Hunter was a good kid, and under normal circumstances, Max wouldn’t have thought twice about the kids going into town. But these circumstances were far from normal. “I don’t like this, Hunter. You two need to get in your truck right now and head back to the packhouse.”
A long sigh of annoyance escaped Hunter’s throat. Max could almost see him rolling his eyes and tossing his head back, knowing he had no choice but to listen. “Fine. We’ll just—hey! What the—” Thuds and scuffles came through the phone, followed by a scream.
“Hunter!” Max was already racing out the door with Sarah hot on his tail. “Hunter! Ava!”
The line disconnected just as he fired up the engine.
10
Sarah pressedher hands to her face. Max had the gas pedal pinned to the floor, and the scenery that flew past the window was nothing more than a blur. Her babies. Her sweet babies. What had happened to them? Max had told her what he’d heard, but that didn’t give her any real information. The only thing she wanted was to hold them in her arms again and know they were safe.
She felt the tension crackling between them, filling the vehicle. They’d been forced to switch gears after the start of a pretty big argument. The subject at hand might be different, but she knew that nothing had really changed.
“They probably went to Vanilla Jill’s.” Max adjusted his hands on the wheel. “That’s one of Hunter’s favorite places, and he’s been excited to show Ava everything he knows. We’ll start there. Try calling his phone to see if you can get him.”
She picked up the device where Max had discarded it on the console. Sarah had seen plenty of people using smartphones. Everyone in the Greystone packhouse had one except for her and Ava. The mobile she’d had before she was captured was nothing more than a flip phone with a camera, and she bit her lip and forced back the tears that threatened once again. Was something as stupid as knowing how to use a smartphone really going to stand in her way?
“There’s a button down on the bottom that looks like a phone.” Max didn’t bother flicking on his turn signal as he jetted out from behind a station wagon and zoomed around it. “Press that. Then you’ll see Hunter’s name. All you have to do is click on it.”
Grateful that she didn’t have to explain, Sarah did as he asked, leaning forward with hope. That hope didn’t last long. “It went straight to his voicemail.”
“It sounded like he dropped it. It probably broke.” He zipped around a curve, ignoring the signs to slow down.
Sarah tipped her head back and closed her eyes as she wrapped her arms around her stomach.
“Are you all right?”
No. Of course she wasn’t. Neither one of them were. “I haven’t been in a car in a very long time other than the short drive to your house. I guess it’s one of those things you just get used to when you do it all the time, but that tolerance goes away after a while.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t slow down, though.” The roar of the engine underlined his statement.
“I know. And I don’t want you to.” The speed and movement of the car were horrendous. She didn’t dare look over and see how fast they were going. The faster, the better, though. They just had to get to the kids. “I’ve tried so hard to raise Ava right. I gave up on getting away a long time ago. I hadn’t been able to do it just for myself, and I knew I couldn’t once I had a child in tow. That meant she’d never have a life of freedom like a normal person. She doesn’t know to stay away from strangers on the street. She probably doesn’t even know how to buy something because she’s never had the chance. I’ve told her, but it’s not the same.”
Max let out a grunt. “It wasn’t fair that you—either of you—had to go through that.”
“No.”
She dared to open her eyes and saw the stiffness in Max’s spine. He’d been angry with her just a few minutes ago, irritated that she hadn’t accepted his pack’s traditional ways, even after all these years. He was livid now, but it felt different. Max had a way of radiating his rage and directing it at the person who was responsible. He was positively seething, but not at her.
“I wanted so much more for her. I still do. Once we got to the packhouse, I thought she’d have a chance to have that. Now, it might all be taken away from her.” Sarah had been trying so hard not to let her fear grip her. She’d been fighting against herself constantly, forcing herself to remember that she had Max and the rest of the Glenwoods to help them. So far, she’d managed to contain it well enough to let Ava start getting comfortable. Perhaps she’d done too good of a job, or Ava wouldn’t have just tagged along with Hunter without bothering to ask.
To her surprise, Max’s hand slid over and rested in the crook of her elbow as he slowed down at the city limits. “It’ll be all right.”
She didn’t want his platitudes right now. He couldn’t know that it would be okay because she sure as hell didn’t.
“It will,” he insisted, even though she hadn’t argued with him out loud. “Ava’s at a disadvantage because of her childhood, but remember that Hunter didn’t grow up that way. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, and the pack’s constant training means he’s ready to protect her.”
Sarah could appreciate the sentiment, but he was talking about a controlled situation. If someone attacked the packhouse and the Glenwoods were all on hand, she could believe they’d be ready. But what if the kids were off in town by themselves? When anyone and everyone could be an enemy? “I’m sure he’s a great fighter, but I should’ve talked to the kids more about the danger out there now that Ava and I have escaped. I should’ve told them they had to stay at the packhouse no matter what.”
