My heart stopped.
“And. . . um,” he held the phone out for me. “You better take this.”
The world fell out from under my feet when I pressed the phone to my ear.
“You picked yourself out a feisty one this time, little brother.”
That haunting image of Naomi’s cold green eyes flashed through my mind.
Not again.
“Don’t worry—she’s still alive. And so is your little toy, Tanner.”
That didn’t make me feel better, but it did allow me to breathe.
“If you lay one hand on her. . .”
My growl caused both Beast and Keenan to stare at me with their brows knit. Louis simply tipped his head in curiosity.
“Calm down, little brother. Your Princess is too mouthy for me.” The motherfucker chuckled at me. “Our cousin’s wife, however. . .”
I locked eyes with Keenan. “I haven’t seen our cousin in years.”
He immediately straightened up and stepped forward with a serious look on his face. I held the phone out so he could listen in as Jax tsked.
“Don’t play dumb with me, little brother. I know Keenan’s there. He should’ve kept his pretty little wife, Mina, out of this.”
Keenan and I shared a silent glance. “You do realize you just signed your own death certificate?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Jax grumbled. “I’ll win either way. Can’t stop a boat, little brother.”
I couldn’t but. . . I looked over at Louis.
“Enjoy your last breaths, Jax, because I’m coming for you.” I ended the call and nodded at Louis, “You want to prove that whole equal thing you were talking about?”
“What do you need?”
* * *
Jax fucked up this time.Not only did he take Naomi, but since we hadn’t heard from Jaz, we assumed he had Beast’s wife as well. No one, and I mean no one, fucked with Jaz.
She wasn’t just a member of the crew—she was family. Ten minutes later, we had twenty guys ready to ride down to Ashen Springs with us. Keenan included. But our secret weapon was Louis Kessler.
My brother had no idea about The Order of Ravens and Wolves. If he did, he never would’ve pulled this shit off in their town.
Within five minutes, Louis had arranged for Mina to be taken to safety and the Aurora to be delayed from leaving the dock. This time it was us that had the upper hand.
Wilder had even agreed to come with us, which was weird. I thought I’d have to convince him, but he came riding over here like he already knew what was going on. I had no idea where he got that old beat-up VW bug, but he insisted it was more than capable. I learned a long time ago not to question him.
The strangest thing happened when we rolled out the compound gates. Down the road, headed our way was a tiny blonde on a pink Scooter.
Was that a Care Bear license plate? What the fuck?
I pulled to a stop and cocked a brow at Ava. Her hair was sticking up, all full of leaves and twigs. There were a few scratches on the left side of her face and a large one down her forearm.
It looked like she just came out the other side of a tornado with nothing left but ripped jeans and a tattered shirt. Maybe she did? Who the fuck knew when it came to her?
When she rode up next to me, I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “What the fuck happened to you?”