Page 18 of Subtracting the Heart

“Tell her I have news about Ashton.” That was no lie.

A minute later, he heard the last voice he wanted to hear. “This is Hudson Hayes. Do you know my son’s whereabouts? Is this a ransom call?”

That mother fucker!

“No, Father. It’s Kincade. Ashton ran away from school and ended up at my door. Oh, I guess you know that because you’ve had me followed, haven’t you? Anyway, he doesn’t want to come home but it’s not my call. I’ll give you an address to meet us so I can return him to you.” Cade tried to keep emotion out of it.

“You have the wrong number. This is an awful prank. Go to hell,” Hudson responded before he hung up.

Cade was stunned and wished to fuck he’d have taped the conversation to keep his own ass out of jail. He was certain the cops would show up at any moment. He needed to get the two of them out of there before he got Ford and Jax in trouble.

He heard the front doorbell’sbongfrom his spot in the study. He turned toward the window, relieved there were no flashing lights in front of the house. He slowly walked down the stairs to see Jax open the front door. “Stan? Hey bud, what’s up? Come in and let’s have a drink.”

Cade walked down the stairs to see Stan and Sam standing at the door, both looking horribly upset. “What’s going on?” He hurried forward.

“The cops showed up at the shelter and closed it down. They said it had been reported as a brothel. They took Benny and Jake into custody, and they kicked out the other boys. I was able to ensure they didn’t arrest the older boys for prostitution because there was no evidence of any such activity in the house, but there’s something wrong with this whole thing. It’s not my territory, Jackson, but something’s dirty about it,” Stan said.

“Where’d they take Benny and Jake?” Astonishment was evident in Cade’s voice.

“Best guess? Separate group homes. They haven’t been reported missing, which was why they were likely fine, but this was a vendetta from someone. The house was basically running under the radar since it opened, but someone wanted to make a statement,” Stan told them.

Cade didn’t doubt it, and he had an uneasy feeling about who might be responsible. Unfortunately, he didn’t know what to do about it. He’d lose sleep over it because those sweet young men were out in the cold.

Chapter Eight

Jax

All Jackson Delacroix wanted to do was decorate the new house to make it homier for the holidays. He’d bought a Norfolk pine tree from a Boy Scout’s tree lot not far from the stadium, and he was excited to make things more festive for his partners.

Jax wasn’t expecting it to look like the fancy store windows on Michigan Avenue, but he wanted lights and color, even if it wasn’t designer. He’d plan better next year but was confident they’d get through the holidays with a festive flair.

It was more than he’d had growing up, but his parents concentrated on paying their bills, not on frivolous things like Christmas decorations or even gifts. He didn’t hate them for his childhood. They did the best they could with what they had at the time.

When Stan and Sam showed up to announce the Clark Street Shelter had been shut down by the police, Jax was stunned. From what he’d observed, he thought the building inspector would have shut it down first, but the cops? He had no idea why.

“This has my father written all over it.” Cade paced the family room where the fire was burning brightly in the fireplace and the twinkling lights on the tree offered a festive atmosphere, regardless of how unwelcome it might have been in that moment.

Jax wasn’t about to let their first Christmas be ruined. He had some pull, for God’s sake. “Okay, let’s get in the car and go down to the neighborhood to look for the boys. We’ll bring ‘em here. We have plenty of room. They might not be sleeping in beds, but I can remedy that tomorrow, and look, you can be home for Christmas with us.”

He turned to Stan. “Find a lawyer who specializes in family law and get Benny and Jake out of whatever the fuck group home they were pushed into. They’re cool guys, so let’s not lose them.”

Jax turned to Ash and Cade with a smile. “Well, get your coats. We’ve got things to do.” Neither hesitated and soon they were rolling through the neighborhood, searching for the boys.

“Stop!” Ashton yelled as they slowly drove down the street in front of the shelter. Jax saw five young men standing over a subway grate in front of an empty building with boarded up windows.

“That’s them.” Cade dashed out of the Hummer, running over to the group to see if they were okay.

Jax turned off the vehicle and looked in the rearview at Ashton. “Your dad so hard-hearted he’d have kids turned out on the streets in December just to prove a point?” It was unfair to ask the young boy the question, but Jax needed to gauge the evil coming their way.

Ashton reached up and dried his eyes with his fingers and returned the gaze in the mirror. “He’d do it without any guilt at all. He sent me to boarding school when I was eight, and he was prepared to send me to England to an all-boys boarding school where they would try to beat the queer out of me. As if that would make me straight.” The kid laughed, but tears rolled down his face.

Jax felt bad, so he hopped out. “Okay. Let’s help Cade load ’em up.”

He popped the tailgate on the Hummer and pushed the button to bring up the third-row seating. Once everyone was inside the vehicle, Jax grinned and turned to them. “I hope you’re all Chicago fans because you’re going to the game tomorrow, and you better root your asses off for the home team.”

He could tell the young men didn’t know what to say or do, but it was okay. They were safe. That was the most important thing.

Jax sat on the leather couch in the great room and watched the group of young men decorate the tree. They’d popped popcorn, and Cade’s brother, Ashton, had found the thread and a needle somewhere. Music was playing over the sound system, and Cade was in the kitchen making cocoa.

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