Chapter 129 A hero desperate enough

Chapter 129 A hero desperate enough
JAXON’S POV

There were mistakes that couldn’t be undone, and there were situations I’d encountered in life that turned out to be too late to fix or even attempt to.

This was one of them.

Watching Diana cry in front of me wasn’t a sight I was used to, but I was even less used to standing still without doing a thing about it.

The last time I’d seen her cry wasn’t even when her mother died. It was months later, on a windy, pouring night, when thunder had crashed through the sky.

I was in my room, making arrangements for a pickup my men were to make the next day, when she had come running into my room, voice quaking with intense fear.

“Daddy? I’m scared.”

She burst out crying the moment she saw me, and threw herself into my embrace, seeking comfort. Without hesitation, I left all that I was working on to pacify her, because nothing else took priority, and nothing mattered more than wiping her tears at that moment.

For the longest, I thought those words would continue to be my reality.

Fuck, I thought they were words I would carry with me forever, and I never thought anything else would matter as much, but tonight, everything I thought I knew collapsed.

She was crying right in front of me, yet I hadn’t taken a move to comfort her. I had no idea which was worse- Seeing her crying without doing anything about it, or not actually having the urge to do so.

Nathan stood in front of her, berating her through her tears while crying himself. I hadn’t moved to stop him either.

Honestly, I felt numb to the scene before me.

“Why would you do that, Diana? Why?” Nathan asked for the umpteenth time, as if Diana hadn’t already explained her reason for her actions.

He was just refusing to hear it, which I also understood.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Do you realise what could be happening to Nancy right now?”

Diana blinked at him through her tears.

Nathan didn't give her a chance to answer the question before he choked out.

“It ain’t no damn negotiation, Diana. Hudson isn’t a patient man, and he’s not a man who holds out on getting what he wants.”

“You know that, you knew that, so why?”

He swore under his breath then backed up from her, beginning to pace again.

“Stop…” Diana whispered, as if that would make Nathan take back the questions he had already asked.

Frankly, I thought that was just a way for her to avoid the guilt that I could see flickering in her eyes.

She shook her head in rebuttal, confirming what I thought, then cried out.

“You think I was happy to do it? You think I wanted to go this far?”

“I was hurt!”

Nathan paused abruptly, then began to walk over to her briskly.

He was right in front of her in seconds, glaring at her.

“Well, you got what you wanted. Nancy’s the one who might get hurt now.”

I thought he would yell at her again, but his voice was colder now.

It seemed to affect Diana more because her tears fell harder.

Just as their argument threatened to reach a point of escalation, I tuned them out.

As satisfying as it was to see Diana get the earful I was incapable of giving her right now, I wasn’t invested.

Nothing mattered right now.

Not the blame, not the excuses, not the regrets, none of that did.

My mind was stuck in a prolonged loop, chanting, reminding me that every second I wasted here pushed Nancy further into danger.

I didn’t want to make a mistake that I would never be able to undo.

With that thought in mind, I turned around and walked quickly to the table, grabbing my phone.

Nathan’s head spun to me as soon as I did, even though he was in the middle of saying something to Diana.

He cut that short to ask me. “Who are you calling?”

“Hudson.”

My response came quickly and unexpectedly. Diana’s head snapped up.

“Dad…what are you…?”

I ignored her, focusing on the ringing dial

Hudson picked up on the fourth ring.

“Howdy, Jaxon. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?” He asked, voice laced with a hint of amusement.

I skipped through everything else I could ask him, posing the most important question.

“Where is she?”

“Where is…What are you…”

“Don’t act smart with me.” I cut him off with a snap.

“Where is Nancy?”

There was a minute of silence before he responded, “She’s here with me. Why? Missing her so soon?”

My grip tightened around the phone, but I didn't let myself lose sight of the reason I called.

“Is she safe?” I ground out a moment later.

There was another pause that made my heart tense, a moment that helped me imagine the worst possible scenarios.

“Let’s see,” he drawled out, almost as if he was catching his breath.

“I wouldn’t say she's safe, but I also wouldn’t say she’s in danger. It’s hard to explain, really.”

“I think it all depends on how well she does. Say, if she pleases me well enough, I just might ensure her safety,” he chuckled with an underlying sexual intent to his words.

My jaw clenched as hard as I could, and the veins on my neck throbbed. I forcefully reined my anger in, taking deep breaths as an outlet for my frustration.

Exhaling quickly one last time, I asked.

“What would it take for you to let her go?”

So many times, I had considered amassing every manpower I had to save her, but if there was one thing my experiences had taught me, it was that acting rashly in cases like this would only make them worse.

For this reason, even though I was ready to storm my way to New Jersey and even though I was ready to spill blood to get her back, I didn’t let those feelings overtake me.

Silence stretched for a while before Hudson finally responded.

“It’s simple.”

“I want you here, in New Jersey. Let’s see if you’re really a hero desperate enough to save a beauty.”