A strangled sob tore from her lips, and she collapsed into him, her arms wrapping around his waist, fingers digging into his back.
Alex held her snug against him, rocking her slightly as the dam inside her broke under the weight of fear and guilt.
Her tears soaked into his shirt, and her shoulders shook as sobs wracked her body. “Alex,” she gasped.
“I’m here,” he murmured. His lips grazed her temple, his grip never loosening. “I’ve got you.”
Chapter Fifty
Madison woke abruptly, her bleary eyes blinking against the dim glow of the living room lamps. For a brief, disorienting second, she wondered why she was curled up on the couch, why her muscles felt stiff and her throat raw.
Then it hit her.
Jax is gone.
The crushing weight of reality slammed into her chest, knocking the breath from her lungs.
How could I sleep when he’s out there?
Shoving the blanket off, Madison bolted upright and scanned the room, panic clawing at her ribs.
Where is Alex?
Her ears picked up low murmuring in the hall—deep voices, speaking quietly, in Russian. Following the sound, she rounded the corner to see Alex standing in the foyer with men she didn’t recognize. But by the serious amounts of tattoos on display, she knew they were bratva.
Alex had changed into a close-fitting black T-shirt that stretched over his strong frame, dark pants, and boots. A gun rested on his hip, and he was holding another. Around him,Liev and several other men were similarly dressed in black, their expressions serious.
A chill ran down her spine.
“What’s going on?” she asked, her voice scratchy.
The men exchanged looks.
“I said, what’s going on?” Her voice pitched higher this time, edged with rising fear.
Alex reached for her arm and pulled her down the hall out of earshot.
“We found the woman you met in the park.”
Madison’s heart jumped into her throat. “Jax?”
Alex shook his head. “He wasn’t with her.”
Ice slid through her veins. “But?—”
“We accessed the GPS on her car,” Alex continued. “We know where she went.”
Hope flared, mixed with confusion. “Why did she take him?”
“Mary hired her. Apparently she gave her a sob story about the dangerous home environment Jax was in.”
Madison staggered back a step. “What?”
For a second, the words didn’t make sense. But then—a tiny spark of relief. Mary. That meant Jax wasn’t with a stranger who would hurt him.
“She won’t hurt him,” Madison said, grasping onto the only reassurance she had. “Mary cares about him. I want to talk to her. The woman from the playground.”
Alex’s face was blank.
