But he had a gun. I knew he did. He’d even mentioned it to Jax. Considering Rafe would want quick access in the event of an emergency, I figured he kept it close by when he was most vulnerable—while he was sleeping. I rifled through the built-in nightstand next to the bed, but unless I wanted to beat someone to death with a sci-fi novel, I was out of luck.

Shit. I slammed the drawer shut in frustration then went still, on hyper-alert for the thump of footsteps coming my way. Surely Jax heard this racket? Each second I stood in this room, essentially trapped, seemed to take a minute off my life.

The open space beneath the drawer in the nightstand drew my attention. Acting on a hunch, I ran my hand underneath, palm side up, and my fingers smoothed over the cool handle of a pistol.

Jackpot.

I grabbed my purse and the cuffs, tiptoed toward the door and turned the knob, then stepped in full view of Jax. He looked up, halting mid-bite into a sandwich, and arched a brow at the gun I pointed at him. The sandwich flopped onto his plate.

“If I’d known you were gonna hold me at gunpoint, I wouldn’t have made you lunch,” he said, gesturing toward the untouched plate sitting across from him.

Food was the last thing on my mind. “You’re gonna tell me where he went.” I raised the gun a little higher.

He blinked, and his face relaxed into his normal, non-worried expression. But he should be worried. I might not shoot him in the head, but I was at the end of my rope. Jax was going to give me answers, or he might need a sling for his arm in the near future.

“Start talking.”

He let out a sigh that ruffled his shaggy hair. “You’re not gonna shoot me.”

“You sure about that? Maybe I’ve snapped.” I cocked the gun. “Maybe I’m done being a fucking doormat, Jax. A victim. Now tell me where he went!”

“He went to the barn,” he said, running his hands through his hair. “Nothing for you to worry about.”

I scoffed. “Funny, that’s what he said.”

He rose from the bench slowly, keeping his eyes on the gun the whole time. “Hand it over. You’re being irrational.”

Oh hell no. If there was one thing a man needed to learn, it was that he never accuse a woman of being irrational. I stuck the barrel to my head and finally got the reaction I was hoping for.

Jax lurched forward with genuine fear in his eyes. “Alex—”

“How’s this for irrational?”

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. I didn’t sign up for this shit.” He gestured toward the weapon. “Put the damn gun down.”

“I’m going after him, whether you like it or not.”

“Why the fuck are you doing this?” he shouted.