Ready or Not (The Ready Series Book 4)(75)

I’d tried to be the better person. And now, it had cost me everything.

“Well, I guess that was your ultimate mistake.”

“What. Do. You. Want?” I asked again, punctuating every word.

“Two things actually. First, you’re going to call off that pesky AMBER Alert. It makes getting out of the country a little difficult. Second, I want money—lots of it. Around a million should do it.”

“Didn’t get enough the first time around?” I seethed.

“Always room for improvement. Plus, with your new love interest, I figured it shouldn’t be too hard for you now.”

That was what this was really about.

She’d seen Liv and me with her father, the wealthy Senator, and immediately thought of money. The press was still under the impression that all was well with the Prescott family. His camp had managed to keep everything under wraps, and to the outside world, Liv and her father were riding unicorns and skating on rainbows together. So, naturally, Liv would have access to mounds of cash.

God, what a clusterf*ck.

“I don’t have that kind of cash,” Liv said.

“I’m sure you’ll figure something out, Miss Prescott. I’ll call back in the morning, Jackson. Get rid of the AMBER alert. Otherwise, Noah and I might be going on an extended vacation. It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. A son really should know his mother, don’t you think? Perhaps a little trip is exactly what we need.”

“You f*cking bitch!” I yelled.

The phone went dead.

I screamed out in frustration, every molecule in my body crying out in anger for my son. Falling to my knees, my cries turned into heaving sobs that tore through my entire body. I struggled to breathe from the sheer force of my internal torture.

Liv wrapped her arms around me and held me as we wept together, mourning the sudden loss of innocence we’d felt.

The world was not a safe place to us anymore.

It had taken the one thing that was pure and good.

And all that remained was despair.

Liv

Every time the phone rang, my heart leapt and firmly lodged in my throat.

I knew our friends and family meant well. I knew each and every one of them was calling because they cared, but I needed them to stop.

I needed it all to stop.

Nothing in my years of training and professional experience had ever prepared me for this. I didn’t know how to mentally process this sort of loss.

In my mind, we’d already lost.

How could we get Noah back when I couldn’t give Natalie the one thing she wanted?

I looked over at the phone, willing it to stop, begging it to end its constant reminder of my failure.

I didn’t deserve anyone’s empathy or love. Jackson’s tight hold around me only furthered my belief that I should have stayed away. I should have kept them safe.

“You’re spiraling.” Jackson’s quiet voice cut through the silence. “I can feel the guilt seeping through your pores.” He pulled back, and our tired, wet eyes met. “I can see it wrapped up in your soul, Liv. You can’t blame this on yourself,” he said, grasping my hand in his.

“She would have stayed away if it weren’t for me,” I cried out.

“No.” He shook his head. “She would have come back eventually. She was just waiting for an opportunity. If this were just about money, I’m sure she could have found a hundred ways to rip off some other lonely bastard far easier than hurting us. This was about revenge.”

“I just don’t understand why someone would do this,” I whispered.

“And you never will. Don’t try. Focus on getting him back. That’s what we need to do.”

A lone tear trickled down my cheek as I took a moment to study his features. He looked worn and haggard, nothing like the man I’d woken up beside a few days earlier, yet there was a fierce determination I recognized. I’d seen it the night of the dinner party when I told him we would never work and again the day I’d heard my father basically say that I was nothing more than a way to the White House.

Jackson’s family had been threatened, and he was struggling to find a way to piece it back together again. He always said that I was a part of that sacred circle, but until now, I hadn’t really believed it.

“How do we get our boy back?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but we’re not going to let her win.”

“I was hoping I might be able to help with that,” a deep voice said behind us.

We both turned around to find my father standing by the back door, dressed in jeans and a dark jacket with a baseball cap.

“Senator, how—”

“The back door was unlocked. A few police officers and media personnel are still outside, but I figured I’d try to slip in unnoticed.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“What I should have done a long time ago,” he said. “The right thing. Let’s get to work.”





Jackson

Natalie texted me the address an hour after we’d hung up.

It was an older hotel just outside the city.

I was to deliver the money in exchange for my son—alone.

I still couldn’t believe this was happening.

I said good-bye to Liv. I kissed her softly, letting my thumb slowly rub across her cheek one last time. Then, I walked to the car and tried not to think about how f*cked-up my life had become in the last twenty-four hours.