Page 159 of The Wild Charge

Two of Ian’s guys stood in the lobby, guns trained on the guards who were trying to regroup. The receptionist was huddled under her desk, crying, arms clasped over her head.

“Don’t let anyone leave,” Fox ordered as he passed. “Rip out the phone.”

“Where are you going?” one of Ian’s men asked.

Fox didn’t answer. He pelted out the door and around the corner, back to the alley.

But it was empty.

A glimmer of sunlight drew his attention to a few fresh blood drops beside the dumpster.

Reese.

Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit –

He whirled at the scrape of a shoe, gun up, and Abe greeted him with open palms outstretched.

“Easy.”

Fox ducked around him and jogged to the end of the alley, searching for a car, a conveniently-open window, another blood drop – anything.

But there was nothing.

He looked up and down the intersecting street, heart still hammering, sweat prickling across his skin. He was gone. He wasgone.

He gripped his hair tight with his free hand when he realized it was shaking. He turned around, and Abe was catching up with him. His calm, familiar face should have been a reassurance, but wasn’t in this instance.

“Charlie. You need to breathe.”

Oh. Was he not doing that? He dragged in a deep breath that left him lightheaded. “They took him.Fuck. They fuckingtook him.”

“I know. Hey.” He gripped Fox’s forearms and slowly lowered both his arms to his sides. “You can’t do this.”

“Yeah, well, it’s fucking happening, isn’t it?” Fox wheezed. A wave of dizziness crashed over him and he bent forward to put his head between his knees. “What am I gonna tell Tenny?” A fresh wash of panic turned his stomach.

“Tenny’s like us,” Abe said, still damnably calm. “He knows that–”

Fox pushed upright with a snarl. “Tenny cares about –loves– exactly one person on this planet, and I just let him get shot and kidnapped, so no, Tenny isn’t gonnaknowanything except murder.Jesus Christ.”

“How is you having a fit about it helping anything?” Abe shot back. He gripped Fox’s shoulder and gave him a hard shake. “It’s time to compartmentalize. We have to go back inside, get things sorted, and get the hell out of here.”

He was right. Abe was always right, damn him.

“Can you do that? Or do I have to knock you out?”

Fox closed his eyes a second and worked to get his breathing under control. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this way. He didn’tdo this.

He also didn’t let people get kidnapped, either.

He opened his eyes and nodded. “No. Let’s go.”

His heartrate was almost normal by the time they pushed back through the front door. Ian’s men seemed to have things well in-hand: the goons all lined up and secured with zip ties, even the unconscious ones; the small handful of employees sitting behind the desk, shaking and terrified.

“We confiscated their phones,” one of Ian’s men said.

Fox nodded. “Good. Lock the door. Civilians?”

“Hank got them into a back room.”

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