“I’m not here for lectures, MiMi. I’m here for you. Is there anything you need? I don’t know how long they’re keeping you here yet…” she smiled at me and I just let my words trail off there.
“They’re only going to keep me for 24 hours to make my head is okay. I had a little swelling when I came in. I have everything I need.” She nodded towards Paul, her brother, over in the corner. “He made sure I was taken care of when I got here.”
I glanced at Paul then. “We have security locked down for while she’s here? Obviously, they’ve targeted her.”
“We do now. I’ll be staying, and a couple of the other security staff from Redemption are cycling through on a schedule.”
“Okay, Dane and I are going to work on making sure the girls are all aware that they’re using lures, just in case this wasn’t an isolated incident to target MiMi.” Paul appeared to be having a difficult time holding back an anger-fueled response to that so he just nodded his head at me. I understood his frustration. He almost lost his sister to those assholes once before, and she should have known better than to go it alone on a tip. I turned my attention back to MiMi as I walked over and perched my ass on the end of her bed.
“How did last night go with the party?” MiMi finally asked. I filled her in on all the drama that went down and had her laughing about mine and Quickshot’s air hockey antics, as well as the jealous bitch that had come down from Cedar Falls and gotten herself kicked the hell back out. “Wow, more reasons I was in the wrong place last night,” she joked.
“MiMi, I love you. Please, don’t ever do that again. You have a club backing you for a reason.” When she looked like she was going to get defensive I held up my hand to stave her off. “Not a lecture,” I informed. “This is me saying I wouldn’t have been okay if things had gone down differently. None of us would have. I get the drive you have. I just want you to do it as safely as possible.”
“I know,” she tucked her head down closer to her chest. Shame was clear on her face. “I knew better. I don’t know what I was thinking. I had a bad day and made a dumb decision.”
“You wanna talk about that bad day?”
She glanced over to her brother who was sitting in the corner trying to pretend he wasn’t paying any attention to us. “Maybe when I get back home we’ll catch up.”
“Okay, I will make time to come hang out and catch up, because we definitely haven’t done it in a while, and I feel bad about that.”
“Not like you haven’t had a lot going on with your family coming back into your life or anything,” she teased.
“Yeah,” I sighed.
“How’s it going with your dad?”
“You know…” I started. “It’s a struggle trying to forgive and mean it. There are a lot of hurt feelings that are hard to put aside even though I want to.”
“I understand that, sweetie. You’ll be fine. Time heals.”
I laughed. “I’ve had seven years away from them. You’d think that would be enough time.”
“Yeah, but you weren’t healing during that time, you were hiding. Now, you know what went down, why, and how some of it wasn’t what you thought. Now, you can heal. Before, you couldn’t because there was no closure or understanding.”
“How did you get so smart?” I asked.
“It’s a gift,” she joked. “We always have a clearer head when we’re on the outside looking in. When it involves us, things get murky.”
“No doubt.” I smiled at her and then patted her leg. “Is there anything you can remember about the attack that might help us find them?”
“I thought you guys had the two who did this already?”
“We do. I meant do you remember anything about your encounter that might lead us elsewhere? I’d rather hear from you first, and then be able to compare what you saw to what they say when we question them.”
“There was red mud all over the car they were trying to shove me into, but the house I went to investigate had a paved drive. They’ve been somewhere off the beaten path recently. Your regulation Georgia red mud though, so I don’t know how much that would help.”
“It’s something at least. It hasn’t rained lately, so maybe they’re somewhere near a creek or something.”
She smiled then, flinching as the movement obviously hurt. “Dane said the same thing,” she glanced over my shoulder then and I realized the man had entered the room behind me. Something in the look MiMi was giving him made me think there was more than met the eye with Dane and MiMi. A quick glance at Paul’s narrow-eyed glare towards his buddy definitely confirmed I wasn’t the only one to notice.
“Okay, well, I’m going to go brief the girls on what we’ve found out, and check in with our newly acquired guests to see if they have any useful information.” I patted her hand then. “If you need anything, remember, anything else, whatever it is… you call. Don’t hesitate.” I glanced in Paul’s direction again then to get his confirmation on the matter as well.
“We’ll call if there’s anything new,” he confirmed.
“Angel,” MiMi started. I turned my attention back to her. “He was there.”
“Who was there, sweetie?”
“Curtis the Snake. I heard him. I didn’t see him, but I’d know that voice anywhere. He took off after telling them to get my ass in the car. They were supposed to follow him somewhere, but…”
“But I got there first. I didn’t see anyone else,” Dane stated solemnly. “Though, I’ll admit I was thrown at seeing someone trying to stuff MiMi in a trunk. It’s possible I had a bit of tunnel vision and missed something.”
“It’s okay. Shit happens in the moment,” I consoled him while Paul scoffed.
“Shouldn’t have been blinded by the immediate concern. What if he’d been lying in wait and got you both?” Paul asked. Thankfully, it wasn’t in an accusatory manner. He was worried, and it showed.
“We’ll figure it out and stay far more vigilant, guys. Let’s get through this, get MiMi better, and find out what we all know collectively. We’ll go from there. These bastards are going down, we’re getting our girls back, and we’re burying these fuckers once and for all. The system failed us last time. I’m not fucking around with the courts this go round. This time, we become judge, jury, and executioner.” My words were met with silent understanding. Each person in the room glanced at the other, possibly weighing how they felt about my declaration. Each nodded in turn, agreeing to my vigilante declaration.
“Listen, Sug, you may be cute as a button, but you’re in my damn way.” Keys sultry, southern sweet voice was the first thing I heard when I entered the space Keys lovingly named as command central. Sweet had dropped me off here a few minutes ago, and drove on out to check on his guys, so I was surprised to find his right hand man here taunting my girl.
“I’m telling you I could have already been past that firewall already,” Quickshot argued. I should have known he’d try to get his hands on Keys’ set up. It was apparently “the shit” amongst the computer savvy. I just saw a bunch of monitors and bullshit I had no business screwing around with.
“Hey guys,” I called out since neither of them noticed me entering their geeky domain.
“Hey, Jamie! Can you tell your help that I can get through this shit if she’d just move out of the way.”
“Well, Wallace, I don’t have help. That girl right there is one of my best friends. She’s more like a sister really, and I’m pretty sure insulting her in her house isn’t going to get you what you want.”
“No, it certainly isn’t, Mr. Man. You need to back off and go play with your own business.”
“Sweetheart, you know you’d love to see me play with my business, but right now I’m trying to help find these bastards who are fucking with my girls.” Quick’s deadpan response had Keys flustered.
“Oh for the love of…” Keys stood straight and turned to face Quickshot while I watched on, amused as all hell. “You would be happier than a dead pig in the sunshine if I let
you touch my toys, but that is just not going to happen. Now, move away so I can find out where MY girls have gotten off to.”
At that, I grabbed hold of Quickshot’s shoulder and tugged him backwards, closer to me and further from Keys. “It’s best not to pester her when she’s working.”
“Obviously,” he harrumphed. “Did she just call me a dead pig?” His eyes were bulging at the implications.
I laughed at him. “She meant you’re happy being unaware of how things are.” At his blank look I further explained. “You know, blissfully ignorant.”
His jaw dropped then just before it turned steely and he appeared ready for a fight. “Come on, you fill me in on what you guys have found while she does her thing. Besides I’m going to need a little bit of help persuading the assholes we’re holding over at Redemption to give us some useful information.”
“Sure. I suddenly have some anger issues to burn off.” I heard Keys snicker at his comment, but Quickshot wisely followed me out of her office and down the hall.
“Do you really think you could have gotten past the firewall that’s blocking her?”
Quickshot grinned at me. “No, she was doing everything I would have tried. I mean, either one of us can crack through, it’ll just take time.”
“You just wanted an excuse to touch her stuff, huh?”
“I’d like an excuse to touch all of her stuff, but she’s a tough nut to crack.”
“She’s had a rough go of things. Be patient.”
“Speaking of rough times, how is your girl MiMi doing?”
“She’s banged up, but she should be released from the hospital tomorrow if everything looks good.
“That’s great, but did you ask her what in the fuck she was thinking walking into a trap all alone with no backup?”
“Nope,” I stated with a pop of the P. “I didn’t have to. Her brother Paul works for me with Redemption Inc. His best friend, Dane, does too. Trust me when I say she has already heard it from them and feels bad enough. She knows she almost gave them exactly what they wanted and got nothing in return.”
“I can’t imagine it’s a great day to be her. Let’s go see if we can’t get these little fuckers who did that to her to squeal though. I really feel like fucking something up all of a sudden.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
Chapter 13
Runner? That your name?” I asked as I held up his kutte we had taken off of him. The man was actually quite good looking, if a bit scrawny for my tastes. I could see that he might have a woman out there waiting on him if he weren’t such a deplorable fucking human being that trafficked in women. Wisely, he said nothing. “Guess you weren’t living up to your name when our guy caught you, huh?” I snickered causing him to glare in my general direction. That was good. It meant I was starting to get under his skin. Quickshot had wanted to start right in with the physical torture of the two assholes that we were holding in separate rooms. I had other plans though. I wanted them to know women were holding them. Women were in charge, and it would be women who decided their fate. That was incredibly important considering the shit he and his men put women through on a constant basis.
“Kinda sucks being on the short end of the leash, doesn’t it? It’s a bit different when you're not the one in charge of someone else’s fate and now it’s your life in my hands. A woman’s hands,” I taunted further and watched as his body jerked with the need to wrap his bony fingers around my neck, no doubt.
“You almost got a hold of my friend,” I admitted.
He grinned up at me. “Wasn’t the first time, sweet cheeks. Enjoyed her once before, and she loved the fuck out of it.”
My stomach turned, but I didn’t let it show on my face I just nodded my head. “That’s real good to know,” I answered back in an even tone. “You want to know why that’s really good to know?”
He just glared at me once more, but his eyes cut to Quickshot who was squeezing the handle of a Bowie knife as if he were practicing how to take Runner’s life with his bare hands rather than the knife. “Don’t fuckin’ care.”
“Oh, but you will. See, we enjoy our retribution. I’m sure my friend will be happy to know she can come get some. Whatever you did to her, I’m sure she’ll make it just as special for you.”
His eyes left Quick and darted to my own. “W-what? You guys don’t do that. That’s bullshit.”
“No, we didn’t used to do shit like that, but you’re going to be our special exception.”
He shifted in his restraints again. This time it wasn’t a menacing gesture. He was squirming now. “We can make a deal,” he finally said on a deep exhalation of breath.
“A deal, you say?”
“Yeah, bitch, a fuckin’ deal.”
I scrunched my face up when he called me a bitch. “You’re not too bright, are you?”
“Fuck you,” he spat out and then turned his attention to Quickshot. “I’ll talk to you. I’m not telling this cunt a thing, but I’ll talk to you.” Just then Quickshot picked up his cell and listened to it. Then he grinned huge at the man in the chair.
“I’m thinking that won’t be necessary, and since you just called my sister both a bitch and a cunt, I’m thinking you won’t be making a deal with me either.” Quick turned to leave the room and tipped his chin at me, signaling that I should join him. Before he left the room he glanced back over his shoulder and laughed. “Good luck with MiMi. She’s out for more than blood and justice, so you should have lots of fun before she decides to let one of us put you out of your misery, fucker.”
I picked up the crowbar off the table before I left. I turned and hefted the weight of it in my hands for a moment before I smiled at the dick that was shackled to the chair, floor, and ceiling in such a way that he was never leaving that spot until we chose to free him or send him to his meet his maker. Then I pulled my arms back like I was about to swing a bat at a ball and my aim was true when it cracked his kneecap and the little bitch screamed for me. “That was for calling me a cunt,” I offered up with a saccharine sweet smile. “Imagine what MiMi will have in store for you considering your offense to her was a whole lot worse than a filthy word.” With that, I replaced the crowbar on the table of instruments we had set out for the man to eyeball as he sat and contemplated where it all went wrong for him.
Once I had the door closed I took a look at the crowd that was gathered in the hallway. Quick was there beside Keys, Tash, and JoJo. Tash tipped her head in the direction of the basement lounge area. We all followed along behind her. I noted that JoJo was wiping what appeared to be blood off of her hands with a towel. It seemed that their interrogation had been a bit bloodier than the one we had just conducted. Then again, I was sure they were the ones who called Quickshot out of our little interrogation anyway, which meant that they already got some important Intel from Scratch - the other member of Winter’s Renegades that Dane had captured.
“What’s going on,” I asked as soon we got to the lounge. JoJo leaned into the little refrigerator we had there and started pulling out bottled water for everyone.
“I have news,” Keys stated. “Not the news I set out to find, but I still think it will be helpful.”
“We have a location,” Tash stated at the same time Keys delivered her spiel. I glanced back and forth between the both of them trying to decide which bit of news seemed more important.
“Location first,” I called out.
She told us the location they were given. “He said it was a small outfit, but it was the only one he knew of. That doesn’t really surprise me. I think they keep these goons isolated to specific spots, because he didn’t seem to have known about the place in Knoxville either.” The disturbing thing was that it sounded like MiMi was right in her assessment that they weren’t at the location she’d been lured to. I was also probably right about the mud, because those bastards had been hiding out in our goddamn backyard if the Intel was accurate.
“We’ll get someone on the place and see if it
checks out,” I suggested. “Anything else from him?”
“Not just yet. Anything from the other asshole?”
“A whole lot of mouth. He was ready to make a deal when you called Quick’s phone.”
She nodded and then we all turned to Keys. “Okay, let’s hear what you found.”
“I didn’t find a trace of the WRs, but I did find some interesting things in Trix’s account.” She handed over a sheaf of papers and I glanced at them without really seeing what I was looking at before it started to dawn on me slowly.
“That’s a whole lot of money coming in considering what we paid her.”
“Yeah, and it came from a couple specific places I’m running traces on. Most of it was cash though, so we won’t be able to find much, if anything, as I dig. I think we found the source of our missing funds at Paramour though and possibly our leak.”
“I had wondered about that. Brady will not be happy when he finds out,” I muttered.
“You sure he wasn’t in on it?” Quickshot’s question startled me out of my thoughts and I glanced over at him.
“I’m fairly certain. I’d put money on the fact that he had nothing to do with it. His cousin was one of the women we found before. He originally wanted in on Redemption Inc., but he didn’t have skills to back the request. He’s working on those skills while handling the bar for us at Paramour though. No way he’d put that chance in jeopardy. He’s probably going to be sick when he finds out.”
The girls were nodding their heads in agreement. Brady would be beside himself once he learned he’d been sleeping with the woman who was possibly helping out the WRs especially considering his connection to one of their victims. Sadie hadn’t stuck around after her ordeal. She’d been one of the girls found at the larger site the FBI raided. According to Brady she was in Utah with distant relatives who were taking care of her now. She had only been 15 when she was taken and it had been her mom’s piece of shit boyfriend who had sold her for drug money and told her drugged out of her mind mom that she ran away.
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