Page 74 of Unveiled

For a moment, all was silent. Adalyn stiffened, and her furious gaze cut through him. “You think I did this, that this was my fault?”

The hurt in her eyes nearly broke him. He opened his mouth to speak, but the steely depths turned hard, fire rearing up in the wake of the sadness. “What about all this stupid secret spy stuff?”

“What are you talking about?”

Her fists slammed into his chest, momentarily taking his breath away. “My baby was just fine until you showed up!”

Ignoring her earlier statement, he latched on to the one word he heard. “Your baby? She’s ours, Adalyn! And you know that I’d do anything for her!”

“Really? Then where were you for the past two years?”

Red blurred his vision, and he snapped. Grabbing her wrists, he shoved her back a step. “Maybe I would’ve been here if you’d told me I had a kid!”

“I tried!” She screamed the words as she fought his hold, anger making her movements erratic and wild. “You never should have come back. We were all better off before.”

Anger and hurt mingled in his chest and exploded outward as he lashed out. “Then how am I responsible for someone kidnapping our baby from your house?” He took a step forward, forcing her to retreat. “Explain that one!”

Tears welled in her eyes. “I don’t know!”

A piercing howl left her throat, the brokenness of the sound slicing through him like a knife. Aiden was at her back in the blink of an eye. He caught her around the waist as her legs gave out and she crumpled to the ground. Her body shook under the force of her sobs, and Aiden scooped her into his arms. Shooting Jaxon an indecipherable look, he strode away.

Already reaching for her, Jaxon’s feet moved of their own volition to breach the gap, but he was stopped cold by a strong hand on his shoulder. Knox shook his head as Jaxon met his gaze over his shoulder. Up until now, the guys had been watching the drama unfold.

Now everyone turned back to their screens, uncomfortable at witnessing their breakdown. Jaxon couldn’t look at them—couldn’t bear to see the accusation and pity in their eyes. He felt impotent. What kind of man couldn’t protect his own wife and kid?

Guilt and hurt slammed into him, along with a thought he didn’t want to acknowledge—maybe Adalyn was right. Maybe they were better without him after all.

He shrugged off Knox’s hand, then turned and pinned his gaze to the screen. “What’s the plan?”

Knox hesitated for a long moment, then pulled out a chair and sat. He kicked out a second chair, inviting Jaxon to do the same, but Jaxon ignored the gesture. He couldn’t sit. His body was too restless, ready to fly apart in a thousand different directions. Lacing his fingers together, he placed them on top of his head, willing his ire to cool and breathing to slow.

Across the room, he heard Aiden speaking softly with Adalyn, and he couldn’t help but glance in their direction. Adalyn perched on the edge of the couch in the common area, bent at the waist, head cradled in her hands. Her body still shook as she cried, and Aiden’s hand moved over her back in soothing circles. Jaxon’s hands dropped to his sides and clenched into tight fists at the sight. He wanted to stomp over there and break every one of Aiden’s fingers, one by one, for touching his wife.

Knox’s soft voice doused Jaxon’s ire. “Don’t kill him, he’s just trying to help.”

Jaxon threw him an irritated glance. The knowledge didn’t temper his anger. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Aiden guide Adalyn to her feet. One hand on her elbow, the other on the small of her back, he led her from the room. Where were they going? Jaxon’s gaze narrowed as he took a step forward.

Luke moved in front of him just as he started to storm in their direction. “Don’t take it personally. She’s a mess right now.”

Jaxon couldn’t deny that, but what about him? Jaclyn was his little girl, too, and though he hadn’t known her for more than a couple weeks, she was his flesh and blood. It was as if someone had ripped his heart out. His jaw ticked, but he refused to voice his fears. His baby was out there somewhere, alone and scared. He needed to find her—he would find her.

He had to be strong for both of them. Especially Adalyn. She’d already been through so much by herself. He refused to heap more stress on her already full plate. He’d overreacted earlier, and he needed to apologize. But now wasn’t the time. Luke was right.

Luke held up one hand. “He’s taking her to my office to rest. The couch is a pullout, so she’ll be able to relax close by.”

Jaxon’s shoulders relaxed at the news, and he dug the heels of his palms into his eyes. “Damn it.”

Luke continued. “She refused to take any meds but at least agreed to lie down for a bit.”

It had to kill her to agree to that. She’d probably been awake longer than he had. Since getting the news of Jaclyn’s disappearance, she hadn’t slept a wink. The circles beneath her eyes were dark, her face lined with worry and fear. He couldn’t believe she’d lasted as long as she had. He was trained for situations like this; Adalyn was running on pure adrenaline and maternal instinct. She wouldn’t relax until their little girl was back in her arms. It was his job to make that happen.

CHAPTER

FORTY-TWO

Adalyn's body felt heavy, her mind tired as she blinked her eyes open. Almost immediately, they slid closed again, exhaustion pulling at her. Slowly, her mind came alive, and the events of the past few days rose to the surface. Her eyes snapped open once again, landing on the plain white wall in front of her.

Her brows drew together as she realized she was lying down, and she pushed herself to a sitting position, looking around. The dark green couch had been folded flat into a bed, and a light blanket was draped over her. Light from a lamp on the corner of the desk spilled a soft glow over the room.