Page 27 of Festive

My skin prickles, my breath catching, and I swipe the screen so fast it nearly slips from my hands.

“Whothe fuckis this?” I bark, my voice rough with anxiety, gripping the phone like it’s the lifeline I’ve been waiting for.

A male voice comes through, calm, oblivious to the storm raging in my chest. “Hey, Six. It’s Dom. I work for Scout at theSlavers. I thought youmightbe interested in what we found in the shipping containers when they arrived at the dock in New Orleans.”

My mind stutters, struggling to focus.What the fuck is this guy talking about?I don’t care about some shipment right now. I’m about to snap at him to get to the point when something in his tone makes me hesitate. Gritting my teeth, I continue, “Okay, what?”

There’s a pause like he’s about to drop a bomb. “Two little kids. I believe they’re yours… Kenna and Kinzley?”

The world tilts.

Everything inside me goes numb for a split second, then slams into overdrive as if my heart is trying to beat its way out of my chest. “What?What the fuck are my kids doing in New Orleans?”

My voice is raw, filled with disbelief and sheer panic. My vision blurs for a second as Rebel’s head snaps up. She grabs my arm, her nails digging into my skin as she demands to know what’s going on. I fumble to put the phone on speaker, my hands trembling, but I can’t even look at her.

I’m afraid of what I’ll see in her eyes.

Dom continues, unfazed by the chaos unraveling inside me. “Looks like they were stowaways in the shipping containers on the cargo train. They’re at the shipping dock. Six, what do you want us to do with them? We’ve got to travel with the product, but we obviously can’t leave your kids at the shipping dock by themselves.”

Rebel’s reaction is immediate and violent. She gasps, her whole body going rigid before she starts to hyperventilate, clutching at her stomach, her face twisted in horror. Tears spill from her wide eyes, and she’s shaking her head like she can’t believe what she’s hearing. Her breathing turns erratic, ragged, as if she’s suffocating, and the panic in her voice sends a blade offear slicing through me.

“Koda,” she chokes out, barely able to breathe. “Our babies... our girls... what the hell were they doing in a shipping container?” Her voice cracks, rising with panic as she looks at me, wild-eyed as if I have the damn answers. “Howcould this happen?Whywere they there?”her voice raises an octave.

Her words stab me, each one fueling the guilt and helplessness already raging inside. I grip her hand tightly, pulling her close, trying to steady her, trying to steady myself. But my own heart is racing so fast I feel dizzy, my mind screaming with a thousand worst-case scenarios.

“Hey, listen to me. I’ll fix this.” My voice comes out rough and shaking, and I can even hear doubt in my own words as I say them. “It’s gonna be okay, Rebel. I swear. I’m gonna get them back.”

But the truth is, I don’t know how the hell I’m going to fix this.

My mind is spinning, and every plan I try to form is falling apart before it even begins.

How the fuck do I get my kids back from New Orleans in one piece?

Rebel grips my hand tighter, her nails digging in as fresh tears flood her eyes. Her breathing is still fast and shallow, her chest heaving as she tries to pull herself out of the panic, but it’s not working. “They’re so far away,” she whispers, her voice trembling. “What if… what if something happens before we get there?”

I squeeze her hand, forcing her to look at me, even though the fear in her eyes nearly shatters me. “Nothing’s gonna happen to them. We’ll get them back. I promise you, baby.”

I don’t know how I’m going to make that happen, but I do know one thing—nothing will stop me from getting our daughters back.

I raise the phone up to my ear, forcing my voice to steady.“Dom, you stay with them. Keep them safe until we get there. I don’t care what you have to do. Just don’t let them out of your sight. You understand me?”

“We’ll keep an eye on them, Six. But you better hurry. This dock isn’t exactly a playground,” Dom urges, the weight of his words hitting me hard.

The clock is already ticking.

Ending the call, I turn to Rebel, who’s clinging to me as if her life depends on it. “We’re going to get them, baby. Right now.”

She nods, though her face is pale, her body trembling, the fear still gripping her, but there’s no time for any more words. I jump to my feet, pulling her with me, my heart thundering in my chest.

“Jesus, Six, they’re so young to be involved with shit like this. They’re all alone. Oh my God…” She bursts into tears as she starts pacing, and an idea comes to mind.

It’s not a good one, but it’s the only one I got.

We have an option that is in New Orleans by now, even though it is making my stomach churn. I turn to Rebel. “Amber will be in New Orleans by now. The kids know and trust her. They’ll go with her.”

Rebel scoffs, slumping her shoulders. “Yeah… but dowetrust her?”

Shaking my head, I curl up my lip. “Not completely. I’ll call Hurricane and get him to lend us a prospect to tag along and make sure that the girls get back to us. Then we’ll fly the prospect back to New Orleans on our dime.”

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