Page 8 of The Storm Within

Within seconds he’d fallen asleep. Ryker tightened his arm around the guy, still astonished he’d found his mate in some creepy motel while riding out a spontaneous snowstorm.

Chapter Three

“Any luck yet?” Quinton was reaching his breaking point, tempted to dial Ryker for the millionth time. He’d already sent multiple texts, but his son hadn’t responded to any of them.

“Nothing. Just like everyone else who’s tried to contact him, my calls keep going straight to voicemail.” Killian set his phone aside, appearing just as concerned as the rest of them.

Quinton chewed on the corner of his lower lip, knowing damn well Ryker wouldn’t go radio silent.

It was never easy seeing your child—no matter their age—struggle with something you couldn’t solve. As a parent, it felt instinctual: fix it or kill it. Yet this time, there was nothing Quinton could do but watch.

The loneliness in his son’s eyes had been unmistakable lately. Being the last of them without a mate had worn on Ryker, no matter how much he tried to hide it. But even with that weight on his shoulders, Quinton couldn’t imagine his son intentionally causing his family to worry.

Over the past month, Ryker had talked about riding his motorcycle on the open road, the way all four of them used to. Honestly, Quinton missed that too, but his eldest wouldn’t leave without a word or miss Christmas, a holiday they’d always spent together as a family.

Besides, when Quinton spoke to him yesterday, Ryker mentioned a special trip he was taking that afternoon and had promised to be back before dark.

It was now nearing dawn.

“What’s his last GPS location?” Quinton asked, his focus darting to his grandson—technically his grandnephew—playing with Wesley and Noah on the rug.

Killian glanced at his phone, his brow furrowing. “About thirty minutes from here.”

Quinton nodded grimly, his concern growing. Hyett stood a few feet away, tapping his phone against his thigh, his jaw set. None of them liked being out of touch with each other.

Whenever any of them traveled far from home, they shared their location. It was not only a safety precaution but provided peace of mind.

But Quinton’s mind wouldn’t find any peace until he knew Ryker was safe and unharmed.

“Dad, what’re you thinking?” Killian gazed curiously at him.

“I’m thinking we should drive to Ryker’s last known location and try to figure things out from there.” Quinton stood, anxious and ready to take action instead of waiting around for Ryker to contact them.

“I’m in.” Killian shoved his phone into his back pocket then headed for his coat.

“Me, too.” Hyett stood then glanced toward the mates and cub playing on the rug, more than likely thinking the same thing as Quinton. “On second thought, I’ll stay here with the mates and cub.”

All three humans had been going through some sort of crisis when they’d met their mates. Although to be fair, Stewart hadn’t had trouble dogging his heels. He and Ethan had moved into a rental house which, unbeknownst to them or the owner, had turned out to be a drug-stash house.

Quinton’s blood still boiled at the memory of that drug dealer pressing a gun to Ethan’s head and demanding his merchandise.

“Dad?” Killian’s deep voice brought Quinton back to the present. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat.

If Ryker was in some kind of trouble, Quinton and his sons wanted Wesley, Noah, Stewart, and Ethan protected just in case the danger blew their way. They didn’t fuck around when it came to the safety of the people they cared about and wouldn’t hesitate to bury the body of anyone who dared to threaten the mates and cub.

Ethan gazed up at Killian with his innocent green eyes. “Where Uncuh Dyke?”

They all knew that Ryker blamed himself for Ethan being held at gunpoint, even though it hadn’t been his fault. But since then, the two had formed a strong bond. The little boy adored Ryker and had even learned how to FaceTime so he could talk to Ryker on the phone.

Quinton secretly suspected Ethan was just excited to learn how to video call someone, because he called all of them at least twice a day. However, he seemed to call Ryker more often, which Quinton’s eldest got a kick out of.

“We’ll find him, cub,” Killian reassured Ethan, ruffling the boy’s blond hair before embracing Stewart and kissing him.

Grabbing his coat, Quinton did the same, kissing Noah and promising to return soon. Then he and Killian set out on a mission to find Ryker and bring him home.

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