With Abandon: With or Without, Book 4

“Keaton’s ex was from the Chattanooga
    pack.”
    No. Aubrey froze. Bile inched up his throat again. “You think this has something to do with the
    psycho who tried to kill my brother?” Could it? His dad had smoothed things over with the other pack.
    They’d agreed that Jonathon had overstepped himself, and the Alpha had even offered a formal apology to Dad.
    “Could this Jordan be an alias for this other wolf?” Gadget wanted to know.
    “No, sir.” Aubrey shook his head. “I killed the man after he shot Chay. There was no conflict with the
    other pack over it because Jonathon had broken pack laws.” Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he dialed

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    181
    J.L. Langley
    Reynolds Hall. The knot in the pit of his stomach tightened. Gawd, please let Matt be okay. This is all my fault.
    Keaton picked up on the second ring. “Did you find him?”
    “Not yet. Get on Dad’s laptop and find me the number for the Chattanooga pack Alpha.”
    Bambi stepped into view just inside the open sliding glass door. “I found a car and a cabin rental
    under the name Jordan Ackart. I know where the son of a bitch has Matt.”

    It was odd how clear things became when a person’s life was in danger. Aubrey’s neglect in telling
    Keaton about their mating didn’t seem so bad now. Neither did his assurance to his mother—which he’d
    made no move to uphold—that he’d get married. Matt crossed his arms over his chest and rubbed his arms
    with his trembling hands. Maybe Howard had been right all along. Aubrey would come around eventually.
    All Matt needed was patience. Unfortunately, it appeared that he’d run out of time.
    “Are you cold?” Jordan asked quietly while fidgeting in his chair. The smell of his unease had
    increased steadily since they’d arrived at the rented log cabin. He hadn’t been overly hostile, but the gun he held in his lap was hard to ignore.
    “Do you care?” He wore a T-shirt and pajama bottoms, but the chill wasn’t entirely due to his attire,
    or lack thereof. His pleas for freedom had been met with silence thus far.
    Jordan nodded. “If I didn’t, I’d have killed you already.”
    A shiver zinged up Matt’s spine and the hair on his arms stood up. He suppressed the fear as well as
    he could, though he knew a little of it leaked out in his scent. Since they’d arrived, Jordan had paced and mumbled to himself, ignoring Matt except for pointing a gun at him when he’d tried to leave. So far all Matt had learned was that this had to do with some sort of beef with Aubrey. Oh God, will I ever see Aubrey again? If Matt could understand what precipitated the current hostage situation, he was certain he could reason with Jordan. “Why are we here? Why are you doing this?”
    As per his habit since arriving here, Jordan ignored the questions. He stood, crossed the tiny one-room cabin, went over to the bed and ripped the bedspread off it. “Here.” He tossed it at Matt. “Wrap that around you. It will keep you warm.” Sitting back in the chair opposite Matt’s, with the little dinner table between them, Jordan sighed.
    “Jordan, I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on.” Matt draped the bedspread across his
    shoulders. If he got out of this, he was going to return Aubrey’s calls. And he was going back to Georgia.
    Squeezing his eyes closed, Jordan turned his head away. He rested his elbows on his knees, holding
    the gun between his legs.
    The pinched face combined with the smell of fear gave Matt hope. Unless Jordan was acting, that
    wasn’t the expression of a heartless man. Whatever this was about had Jordan torn up inside. Perhaps he’d been telling the truth when he said he cared. At any rate it was better to die trying than to just give up, so 182
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    With Abandon
    Matt seized the opportunity. “Jordan, my family is going to know you took me. I have to know why if I’m going to help you stay out of trouble. I don’t want you to get hurt, but you’ve got to talk to me.”
    For several moments, Jordan did nothing. Then he started shaking his head and tears streaked down
    his face.
    Matt’s stomach clenched tight and his lungs refused to work. Had he made a breakthrough or pushed
    an already insane man over the edge? He wasn’t sure where the courage came from, but he stood and
    touched Jordan’s shoulder. When Jordan didn’t move, Matt squeezed. Surprisingly, his voice didn’t even
    crack when he