"Fuck." Clint clenched his fist, stopping just short of crushing his phone. Goddammit! Panic squeezed his chest, and he fought it off.
"Dad...?" Luke entered the kitchen uncertainly. "What's wrong?"
Clint turned away from the boy and pinched the bridge of his nose, breathing deeply. Don't lose it—don't fucking lose it. He cleared his throat and faced his son. "Go over to Kane's," he told Luke with an air of urgency. "Stay there until I get back. You and Axel, tell him I said to stay there."
"Where are you going?" Luke whispered.
"I have to go to town." He ushered the boy toward the backdoor. "Now, go."
Luke nodded with concern and did as he was told.
As soon as he exited the backdoor, Clint sent a text to Cochise. 'Meet me out front.' The cowboy didn't wait for a reply. He strode through the living room, grabbed his jacket and cowboy hat from the rack by the door, and left the house.
The Egyptian was coming down his porch steps when Clint reached the sidewalk in front of his house. "What's going on?" Cochise asked, on alert.
"I'll tell you on the way." Clint walked around the rear of his car and unlocked the driver's door. The Egyptian nodded without argument and approached the vehicle.
"Clint."
The cowboy paused as he started to open the car door. Axel had emerged from Cochise's house and was headed his way.
"What's happening?" The younger man passed by the hood of the car and walked up to Clint. His fiancé was sixteen years younger than Clint yet matched the cowboy in maturity and common sense. He could also read Clint like an open book and lying to him was a futile effort. "Where are you going? Luke looked worried when he came in."
"I don't have time to explain," Clint said, anxious to get going. "Gabe may be in trouble, and we need to get into town now."
The Egyptian tensed at the cowboy's words but didn't interrupt.
"In trouble? What do you mean?" Fear crept into Axel's eyes.
"I'm... I'm not sure," Clint admitted. "I'll call you when I know more. But for now, you and the kids stay with Kane. I'll feel better if you're all together."
"Okay..." Axel wanted to ask more, but his assessment of Clint's state of mind prevented him from delaying the cowboy any further. "Be careful." He glanced at Cochise. "Both of you."
"We will." Clint kissed him. "As soon as we know something, I'll let you know."
Axel nodded, clearly wanting to go with him, but Clint didn't extend the invite. Whoever was on the other end of that phone call to Gabriel gave him the chills like he hadn't felt in a fucking long time. He had no idea what fucked up situation he was walking into, and he didn't want Axel anywhere in the vicinity of the psychopath who had threatened to take his brother apart piece by piece.
___________________________________
"Angel?" Max stepped into Maddy's bedroom doorway. The younger boy sat on his brother's bed, his head in his hands. Tension clenched Angel's body as his chest hitched. Max shared his fear and anxiety. "Son?" Max walked over and sat beside Angel and wrapped his arm around the young man. He kissed his head. "Maddy will be okay," he whispered with a light rasp. "He'll come home." Max needed reassurance as much as Angel.
"Where is he?" Angel whispered with a sob. "What is happening?"
"Have you talked to Dane?"
YOU ARE READING
COLE: THE MADMAN: Book 3 (A Phoenix Club Serial Thriller)
Mystery / Thriller"The Madman would get revenge... by taking away everything he loved." With Gabe in the hospital and three others missing, Cole must unravel the dark secrets hidden within the shadows. As the only one privy to the kidnappers' identities and their chi...