Page 89 of Burned in Stone
Emma is ours. Summit’s about to learn what that means.
“Stay at the airport. Check every fucking terminal. I’m calling her now.” He hangs up and immediately dials, pressing the phone hard against his ear.
“Come on, baby girl. Pick up. Please, Emma, pick up.” Stone’s face crumbles as the call goes to voicemail. He tries again. And again. Each time—Emma’s voicemail, her cheerful voice asking him to leave a message.
“Fuck.” He slams his hand against the doorframe hard enough that dust rains down. “She’s not answering.”
Mercy’s grip tightens. The festive atmosphere evaporates as someone cuts the music. Tank steps forward, all business.
“When was the last time anyone heard from her?”
Stone’s fingers fly over his phone. “She texted before she boarded. Said she’d see me in a few hours.” He looks up. I’ve never seen him this scared—not during raids, not when Summit threatened us. Not ever. “She should fucking be here.”
“Maybe her phone died,” Ginger suggests uncertainly. “Or maybe she missed her boarding call?”
“Then she’d call.” Stone’s heading for his office. “I’m checking her location. Everyone else, start making calls. Anyone who might know something.”
I’m up before I realize I’m moving, Mercy right beside me. The clubhouse explodes into action—brothers pulling out phones, Maggie on her laptop pulling up flight information, Duck barking orders.
Stone emerges, face ashen. “Her phone’s off. Location services aren’t showing anything.”
“What about SnapMaps?” Kya asks. “Or that app you made her download for emergencies?”
“Nothing. Everything’s dark.” Stone runs his hand through his hair. For the first time, he looks lost.
I’ve seen Stone face down corrupt cops, rival MCs, Summit’s harassment without breaking a sweat. But right now, he looks like a man standing on the edge of a cliff.
“I’m going to New York.” Stone’s grabbing his cut. “Right fucking now.”
“Stone, wait.” Axel steps forward. “Think for a second.”
“Get out of my way.”
“No.” Axel doesn’t budge. Nobody tells Stone no. Nobody. “You running off half-cocked isn’t going to help Emma. We need a plan.”
Stone’s fists clench. For a second, I think he’s going to swing. Then his shoulders sag. “She’s my baby girl, Axel.”
“I know.” Axel’s voice gentles. “That’s why we’re going to do this right. Let me call my father.”
The room goes still. Axel never talks about his senator dad, never uses those connections.
“He owes me,” Axel continues. “He can get federal resources involved. FBI, marshals, whatever we need.”
Stone nods, some wildness leaving his eyes. “Do it. And someone get Josie on the phone. Tell her.”
“Already texting her,” Kya says, fingers flying.
“We checked with the airline,” Ginger calls out. “She definitely boarded in New York. But somewhere between takeoff and landing, she disappeared.”
“How the fuck does someone disappear from a plane?” Duck demands.
“They don’t,” Stone says quietly. “Someone was waiting when she landed.”
His phone rings. He looks at the screen, face going white.
“Unknown number.”
“Put it on speaker. Record it.”
