Page 105 of Surrender

“Brother,” I say, my voice hard.

Jude moves forward.

“I need you to take her to Mom’s. Stay with her. Round up the girls and keep an eye on her. Nobody leaves until I get there.”

He closes his eyes and inhales. His lips move silently for a count of eight before he opens his eyes again. “Got it.”

“Whitney, go on with Jude.”

“No, I want to stay with you.”

I slip my hand beneath her chin and tilt her head. Wide, horrified eyes look wrong on her pale face. The expression is one I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

“I need to know you’re safe so I can get them back. Go with Jude, baby.”

“Bennett’s probably so cold,” she whimpers. “He doesn’t wear a coat because it’s not safe in the car seat straps, so I only put a blanket over his carrier. But it’s not meant to stay outside for very long.”

“Don’t think about that. He’s warm, and he’s safe. We just have to go get him.”

I press a tender kiss to her forehead and unwrap her arms from my middle. I squeeze her cold hands. “Go with Jude.”

My brother wraps my woman in his arms and holds her close.

Silas and Sutton return from the back. “Stay back, Jack,” Sutton says.

A phone ringing from behind me cuts off my rebuttal.

The ringer ends as static takes its place. I turn to find Whitney holding her cell in her palm, the call on speakerphone.

“I know you’re there, Whitney.” Devon’s voice expands in the quiet room. A poison sucking away the clean air.

I lock eyes with her over the phone.

“Did you find your ring?” he asks.

She presses her fingertips against her lips. A look of horror in her stare.

“I’ve been keeping my eye on you. You should really learn to change your passwords. All I had to do was log into your cell phone account, you know, the one we used to share, and use the lost phone locator to track you.”

Crackling comes across the line as he continues.

“Pretty cozy place you’ve been staying at. My kids and my wife all lying in some bed together with that bastard you just met. The one who thinks it’s okay to brag to my face about fucking my wife.”

“Devon, please bring my children back.”

He continues as if she didn’t even speak. “But he doesn’t know, does he, Whitney?”

Tension snaps my spine straight, and red coats my vision. I don’t want her to listen to a thing he has to say, but this might be our only chance for him to slip.

“He doesn’t know how fucking frigid you are when you decide you’re too good to spread your legs anymore.” He laughs. “But he’ll learn. You’ll take that away too just like you took everything away from me. I think it’s time I take something important away from you.”

Her inhale wheezes with a god-awful sound that settles into my bones. I won’t ever forget the agonized rasp.

“You forced me to do this.”

“Please don’t hurt them,” she begs, moving the phone up to her lips.

“I don’t want to hurt them. I just want my money.”

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