“I’m getting your mama soon,” I vowed as I strode out to my bike. “You’re gonna ride in front of me, it’s just a short drive,” I told her, gesturing to the bike. “I’ll hold on to you the whole time.”
I didn’t want her to be scared, but I needn’t have worried. Riley let me put her on that bike as though we’d done it a hundred times. Her trust in me, especially in that moment, nearly slayed me.
I pulled up to our house after driving as slowly as I could, despite every part of me wanting to tear up the roads in my haste to get more information about what had happened to Layla. “Are we having a party?” she asked warily, looking at the cars and bikes lining our driveway and street as I lifted her to the ground. Riley was shockingly perceptive, and I had no doubt I’d need to tell her at least some version of the truth soon. Knowing my brothers were inside ready to do whatever was needed to bring Layla home gave me some measure of comfort.
“No, baby. We’re having a meeting,” I replied, taking her hand as we walked up the drive and into the house.
When we walked in, Grace and Wren immediately moved toward us, twin looks of concern on their faces. Grace gave what I knew to be a forced smile as she looked down at Riley. “Hey, honey, what do you say we go upstairs, and I’ll do your nails?”
Riley looked around the room, no doubt picking up on the solemn atmosphere, and then her eyes found mine. “Where’s Mommy?” Her lip quivered as she looked at me with a mixture of hope and fear that cracked my chest wide open.
I knelt down to meet her worried expression. “Your mama’s not here right now, baby. But I’m doing everything I can to get her home really soon. I need you to go with your aunties, and I’ll be up to check on you soon, okay?”
She bit her lip but nodded as Grace reached over and took her hand. “Come on, honey,” she coaxed gently.
Riley looked at me one last time, seeking answers I didn’t fucking have, and reluctantly followed Grace and Wren out of the room.
I dropped my head, still crouched on the ground, and for a split second the weight of the nightmare I’d found myself in threatened to keep me there. Until I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. “Come on, son. Let’s find your girl,” Thorn commanded.
I stood up, eyeing the men surrounding me, ready to take my back, ready to stop at nothing, and I vowed that would be my only moment of weakness. Layla needed me. And I’d never let her down.
“What do we know?” I demanded, eyes on Gunner.
He ripped his hand through his closely shorn hair in agitation. “Nothing. Already checked in with the neighbors. No one saw a goddamn thing.”
“I wasn’t fucking here,” I muttered through numb lips. “I could have stopped it.”
Cole grasped my shoulder, squeezing briefly. “You don’t know what would have happened had you been here. It’s not your fault. We’re gonna get them back.”
I swallowed hard, meeting his blue-eyed gaze, and nodded once. “Where are we starting?”
“I’m starting with the ADA. Palmer’s the most likely culprit,” Gunner put in.
“He hasn’t been seen in days.” I grunted in frustration.
“What about Marty?” Cole demanded. “Do we have eyes on him?”
“I’ll get on it.” Max spoke up, already pulling out his phone.
“Let’s double check the brother too,” I growled. “If he had anything to do with this, family or not, I’ll kill him.”
“Do we have men canvassing? It’s a long shot, but this happened recently,” Cole added. “It’s possible they haven’t gotten far.”
“My men can cover the area further south,” Thorn replied. “I’d send some of your guys north and to all the exits in town.”
“Done,” Cole agreed, looking to Axel, who was pulling out his phone.
“I’ll ride out with Mad,” Max said, referring to Maddox. “We’ll canvas a few more houses, see if anyone saw anything, and then split the roads with Tatum and whoever else can get on their bike. We’ll cover as much ground as we can.”
I paced the room. “I can’t just fucking stand here doing nothing while she’s out there somewhere,” I lamented. “But I don’t want to leave the house in case somehow she makes it back here.” That she’d suddenly walk back through the door as though nothing had happened was a distant hope I wasn’t going to let go of.
“You can help me by digging into anything you can find on Marty. Last known addresses, relationships, anything you can find that might pinpoint where Layla would be taken,” Gunner supplied. “I’ll focus on Palmer,” he added, already moving into action.
“We need to get the rest of the women on lockdown,” I heard Cole say as I turned my focus to doing whatever I could to bring my girl home.
****
“There’s a reason Palmer’s off the grid.” Gunner spoke up from his position across from me at the desk in the office where we’d posted up a makeshift war room. It had already been hours since Layla had been taken; my eyes burned from staring at the laptop screen in search of answers. “Fucker’s dead.”