Somewhat defeated, we headed back to the house. By now there were several city police and detectives there, along with Jock’s attorney. I doubt we’d have had such a response for a teenager who was with her noncustodial mother, but Jock was a Sockeye.

This was the type of scene that’d make my dad and his biker friends disappear into the woodwork. Too many cops. Even I was antsy about the volume in and around the house, and I had nothing to personally worry about.

Axel was a trooper. Jock was inconsolable and unable to function. Axel took charge. He worked with Jock to compile a possible list of places Bria might go and put him to work checking online at the various mutual credit cards they held to see if she was using any of them. Axel kept all of us from panicking. He was a rock, and we both leaned on him.

Even the investigators turned to Axel when they needed something.

By now the abduction had hit the news. At Jock’s request, Axel stood behind my brother and me when we went on the air to plead for Teagan’s safe return. Jock broke down and was unable to speak, then I couldn’t speak, so Axel stepped forward and spoke for us, pleading with Bria to release Teagan, and for Teagan to contact us.

An AMBER Alert was issued, complete with Bria’s license number and description of her and the car she drove.

Jock found a credit card trail and immediately shared it with the detective in charge. Bria used her card at a gas station in a small Eastern Washington town off of I-90. They’d left the area.

Jock and I would’ve spent the night pacing the floor and fretting, but Axel had this way of directing us toward tasks that kept our minds occupied and made us feel as if we were contributing.

Esme and Eunice got a few hours of sleep and whisked the three of us off to bed, saying we were no use to anyone exhausted. Jock didn’t even blink when Axel followed me to my bedroom.

We lay in bed together. I realized this was the first time we weren’t naked when we’d gotten between the sheets. I wore my jammies, and Axel had his underwear on.

He put his arms around me and pulled me close. “We’ll get through this,” he whispered in my ear. “She won’t do anything to Teagan. This is all a cry for attention.”

“I hope you’re right.” I buried my face in his chest, letting him be the strong one for once.

“There are a lot of resources looking for her right now. They will find her. She’s leaving a credit card trail, and they’ll get her.”

“They seem to be one step behind her.”

“For now, but this has become a national case. Someone will recognize her and call it in,” Axel assured me. He stroked my back and whispered sweet words to me, and despite my worries, I fell asleep.