Page 64 of Jackson

He turns.

"Thank you."

He nods, and even though one of his eyes is sealed shut, I can see a glimmer of hope on his face.

He needs this as much as I do.

23 – Jackson

“There’s some beat-up guy here for you,” Muff says, approaching me at the desk where I’m still frantically searching for Serenity.

We can’t find her, but Hound has made it clear he has demands, and we’re not getting her back until we give in. He’s careful, making sure we can’t get close enough to catch him. He wants us to step down, to hand over this territory and leave town.

He’s delusional.

But we’re running out of time.

“What?” I snap, glaring at Muff.

“There’s a guy out front asking for you, he’s all beat-up, said it’s urgent...”

“Damn it.”

I throw my phone down and head out of the clubhouse to the front gates, where a man in his late twenties is standing, his face swollen and bruised, a phone in his hand, and an expression I can’t quite read. He looks almost scared.

“What do you want?” I bark, my mood sour.

“Are you Jackson?”

I nod sharply.

He exhales, slowly turning his phone toward me. “Please don’t kill me.”

I’m about to ask what he’s talking about when I hear her voice coming from the phone. Her sweet voice. My hand lashes out, and I take the phone, staring at the video of her. I canbarely see her in the dim room, maybe a basement, and she looks exhausted.

I focus on her words.

“Hey Jacks, it’s me. I’m okay, I promise. I need you to help Walker. He knows where I am and can help get me out, but you have to promise to help him. Please, Jackson, this is the only way. I love you.”

My eyes snap back to the man in front of me, and I growl, “You better start talking.”

He nods, taking the phone back and begins explaining. “My name is Walker, and don’t kill me, but I’m Hound’s son.”

I reel back, eyes widening, fists clenching.

He talks quickly. “I’m not on his side. I’ve never been on his side, but he promised to get me out of some trouble if I helped him. My job was to watch Serenity. I never hurt her. I fed her, gave her water, and she promised if I help her, you’ll help me...”

It takes everything not to grab this guy and shake him, but if he’s telling the truth, he knows where Serenity is. The message he played seemed legit, not forced.

“How do I know this isn’t a setup to get me where your father wants?”

“I can’t prove anything except that Serenity is okay. I’m begging you to believe me. I have no ties to that man, and I don’t care what happens to him. I just want to be free.”

I grit my teeth and stare at him.

“He did that to your face?”

He nods. “Because I told him not to kill Serenity and that he was making the wrong choice.”

---