I leaned forward. “Look at me.”
Her eyes slowly rose. “What’s up?”
“Your debt has been paid.”
Her eye twitched. “Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
I saw her struggling with that, and I wondered what rushed through her head. There was so much I wanted to know about her. So much I wanted to explore. Like, why she had such a hard time accepting my words. Or why she felt she had to pay me back. I wanted to know what happened to her family. To her father, and her mother. I wanted to know about her dreams and how she saw her life ten, twenty, and even thirty years from now. I wanted to know everything there was to know about this woman. What made her tick. What made her smile. What made her sad, and what upset her.
She can’t leave. Not yet.
“Are you sure that’s all I have to do?” she asked.
I leaned back. “I mean you can stay here, and we can keep talking. That’s certainly fine with me. But I’m not going to hold you up if you have somewhere else you need to be. Or would rather be.”
She shook her head. “No, no, no. I’m done for the day. I mean there’s always work to be done when you own your own business.”
“Boy, can I attest to that.”
She smiled. “But it’s not urgent work. It’ll be there tomorrow for me to do.”
“Isn’t it always?”
She laughed. “It’s never-ending, but we wouldn't have it any other way.”
I grinned. “Not at all.”
She crossed her leg over her knee. “What happened to your family?”
“Getting right to the point, huh?”
“I’m an attorney. What can I say?”
I chuckled. “Fair enough. Uh, well, they’re dead.”
She went slack-jawed. “My God. I’m so—I shouldn't have—Link, I’m so sorry.”
I shook my head. “It’s fine. Honestly? In their situations? Death was better than the alternative. My father and I were close before he got strung out on drugs. He lost his job, couldn't find work. Sank into this depression that just ate him alive, you know?”
Her eyes studied me intently, and I felt as if she were truly listening to me.
And I liked that.
“That must’ve been hard for you,” she said.
I drew in a deep breath. “For a while, yeah. We used to do so much together. Working on cars, taking weekend adventures, exploring all of the wooded areas before more homes got built. I’ve got good memories with him before he turned to drugs as a coping mechanism.”
“When did he pass away?”
“Uh… three years ago? No, four. Four years ago. Mom passed away three years ago.”
“Jesus.”
“Honestly? It was the best thing. My father was miserable, and the drugs robbed him of any quality of life he might have had. And it worked out, because Mom was so riddled with Alzheimer’s that she didn’t even know who we were burying that day. So, in a way, Dad was always the strong, laughing, smiling man she knew. When she could remember him, of course.”
She shook her head. “I can’t imagine how that must’ve felt for you.”
“I think, in some ways, you can.”
Her eyes watered before they dropped to her lap.
“Thank you for what you did for me, Link.”
The sincerity in her voice stopped my heart in my chest. “You’re welcome, Joanna. I wasn’t going to leave you stranded out there.”
She raised her watery gaze. “You were very kind to me when I wasn’t so kind to you. I made a judgment about you that was false, and I’m sorry for that.”
“Ah, well, I wouldn’t consider it fully false.”
“Oh?”
I nodded. “Just because I didn’t come at you in a threatening manner doesn’t mean I haven’t done it.”
“Ah.”
“But only when it’s deserved.”
“Just—maybe don’t be like Sly.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, you don’t have to worry about that.”
And as our eyes met, my heart came to life again.
What the hell have you done to me, Joanna?
6
Joanna
I couldn’t get back to my car quickly enough. Even though my talk with Link settled me, I didn’t like walking back through that bar. Sly was there, bellied up to the pig trough, eyeing me the entire way out. By the time I got to my car, I was sprinting. I had to catch myself against the door before I ripped it open. I hopped in and I tried inserting the key, but my hand trembled so badly I couldn't get it in the damn ignition.
Come on, you idiot. Breathe.
I drew in a deep breath through my nose and slowly let it out. And as I let it out, the key slid into place. I locked my doors and cranked the engine, checking all of my mirrors. I didn’t want Sly following me out here. I’d mace the damn man if he so much as looked at me the wrong way. And as I sped out of the parking space, I raced into the main road.
Listening as cars honked while I tried to straighten myself in the lane.
“Hooooly shit,” I breathed.
I didn’t know how I felt. I refused to look over my shoulder at the bar as I tore down the road. Yes, dashing out of his office the way I did probably came off as rude. Running through the main bar like that probably earned me some weird looks. I didn’t care, though. I didn’t feel safe there, despite the fact that I felt safe with Link in his office. And while that massive man told me I had paid him back, but I sure as hell didn’t feel that way.
“What is happening right now?” I whispered.
I gripped my steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. My mind was set to autopilot as I navigated my way through town. The sun had set a while ago and darkness hung heavily over the city. I blinked back tears as my hands grew sweaty. All of the nerves I kept held back while talking to Link were finally surfacing. From the tears in my eyes to the tremor in my knees, I was more unstable than I had in a long time.
But when my car came to a stop, I wasn’t at home.
I was at the office.
Oh well. Guess now’s as good of a time as any.
In my jeans and my off-shouldered shirt, I parked my car in front of my office. I didn’t care that it was late. Or that it was the weekend. I didn’t care that it was dark and nothing else was open around me. I opened my glove box and reached for my gun. I dug my mace out of the center console before I looked behind me. I didn’t have my files, but I did have my spare laptop. That held enough work to keep me occupied at least for a few hours.
“Work it is,” I sighed.
I made my way into my office with my spare laptop bag tossed over my shoulder. I locked all of the doors behind me and made sure to only turn on my desk lamp lest someone mistake me for actually being in my office. I set my gun on the desk to my right and the mace to my left. I wanted anyone who might barge in on me to see that I was more than capable of getting myself out of any scenario they threw at me. Then, I checked my emails. Replying to messages. Putting in late-night requests for information from the police department on behalf of my clients. Hell, I even made a few phone calls!
The night ended up being very productive.
Until a text message from my little sister vibrated my phone.
Hope: Are you free right now?
I furrowed my brow at the message. I checked the time and saw it was well past midnight. What in the world was my little sister doing contacting me this late at night?
My fingers flew across the screen as I messaged her back.
Me: Just at my office for a bit. You okay?
Mere seconds after sending off that message, there was a quick rapping at my door. Not my office door, mind you. But the main one. The outside one.
Someone was at my office.
“Hope?” I called out.
I stood up from my chair and reached for my mace as the knocking grew furious. Almost like someone was banging their fist on my door.
Nope. Better take my gun.
“Hope! Is that you!?” I yelled.
I quickly scooped up my gun as the banging grew relentless.
“I’m coming! I’m coming!”
I cocked my gun and readied it at my side as I slipped out of my office. The knocking pounded against my ears as I made my way for the front door. I drew in a deep breath and settled myself. My knees grew strong and the trembling in my hands ceased. I feathered the trigger on my gun, ready to strike as I threw the lock on the door.
But nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when the door flew open.
“Joanna! You have to help me. Please.”
My sister’s voice was full of sorrow and tears as her arms flew around me. I held my gun out, quickly uncocking it before wrapping my arms around her. I reached out with my foot and kicked the door closed. But I didn’t have a chance to lock it as Hope held tightly to me.
I was beyond confused right now.
Especially since I didn’t know my little sister was in town.
“Hope. What in the world are y—”
She sobbed against my shoulder. “You have to help me. Please. I don’t know what to do. They won’t let me out. He’s insane, and he won't let me out.”
I shook my head as I locked my office front door. “Who won’t let you out of what? Hope, talk to me.”
Her cries only mounted, and it grew impossible to understand her. I helped her into my office and closed the door behind me, throwing that lock for good measure as well. I walked her over to the chair in front of my desk and sat her down. I placed my gun on top of my desk, then knelt in front of her. She buried her tear-streaked face in her hands. I rubbed my palms up and down her legs. The last thing I heard about my sister was the fact that she was in California living it up in some R.V. park with a guy she’d met.
So, how in the world did she end up in upstate New York?
“Hope, I really need you to calm down long enough to talk with me,” I said softly.
She sniffled hard before she raised her face. And when I saw the bruises beneath her eyes, I froze.
“Please tell me that’s your makeup,” I whispered.
She shivered. “He won’t let me out, Joanna. I need help.”
I blinked. “Okay. Start from the beginning. Who are you talking about?”
“Skeleton. He won’t let me out.”
I paused. “Skeleton.”
“Yes. That’s his name. And he won’t let me out of my contract.”
“What contract?”
Her eyes watered over. “You’re going to hate me.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You’re going to say, ‘I told you so’ and then leave.”
I shook my head. “Never, Hope. I’d never leave you. But I need specifics if I’m going to figure out how to help you. So, talk to me.”
Her eyes raised and saw my gun. “Are you okay?”
I peeked over my shoulder. “Yes, yes. I’m fine. I’ve had that for years now. Goes with me everywhere, just in case. Single girls like us nowadays can’t be too careful, you know?”
She fell back against the chair. “Travis broke up with me while we were in California.”
“I’m sorry, Hope.”
“No, you're not. You couldn't stand him.”
“Doesn’t mean I want to see you hurt. Stop accusing me of things and talk to me. What is going on?”
She sighed. “I did some things I shouldn’t have and ended up at a bar.”
“What things shouldn't you have done?”
She swallowed hard. “I stole money from Travis’ wallet and pawned some of his things.”
“Oh, Hope.”
“What!? The bastard wouldn't let me have a job. Wouldn’t let me have my own money. I didn’t have another choice.”
I held up my hand. “Okay, okay. I believe you. So, you went to the bar to grieve, I’m assuming?”
She nodded. “That’s where I met Skeleton.”
“The guy you’re with now.”
“I was never ‘with’ him, Joanna. I… had a rebound night. And it was nice.”
“Okay. What happened after this rebound night?”
She sniffled. “He promised he’d get me out of California if I didn’t want to stay. He talked about how New York was better anyway. So, that’s how I got here. I accepted a ride from him, so we took a nice motorcycle trip.”
Motorcycle. Huh. “Okay. Then, what happened?”
She closed her eyes. “We got here and he introduced me to some of his friends. They all rode bikes, too. So, it kind of became our thing. He said he found a job for me that even had a contractual foundation, so I was guaranteed to get paid. So, I signed it.”
“Without even looking at it?”
“What was I supposed to do, Joanna!?”
“Read the contract, for starters.”
She rolled her eyes. “I knew you wouldn’t understand.”
I stood up and went to sit behind my desk. “What was the work the contract bound you to?”
Her entire body trembled again before she had the strength to answer me. Then, the one word I feared her saying fell from her lips.
“Escorting,” she said breathlessly.
Then, her eyes came to meet mine.
“But now he won’t let me out of the contract. It’s been a year, and that’s how contracts work, right? One year, then you have to re-sign them? But I can’t even look at the contract, Joanna! He won’t even let me see it! He says my signature is all he needed, and now I’m bound to him and this job. I don’t know what to do, Joanna. I don’t know how to get out of this. Please, you have to help me. I have money. I’ll willingly pay you.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want your money.”
As I stared at my sister, I didn’t see the fully-grown woman with bruises on her face in front of me. I saw her with raven black pigtails and white bows tied around their braided bottoms. I saw that rainbow dress she always wore with her Batman cape, running around the backyard and proclaiming that princesses could save people, too. My lower lip quivered and I rolled it over my teeth. I looked away and blinked back my own tears, trying to stomach the sorrow that worked its way to quickly up the back of my throat.
My little sister.
A contracted escort.
“I was wondering why I hadn’t heard from you in a while,” I murmured.
Hope sniffled. “Look, I know I’m not the best at this whole life thing. I know I’m not you. I’m not as put together, or as smart, or as pretty—”
My eyes snapped back to hers. “Don’t you dare say that about yourself. You’ve always been beautiful. You’ve always been smart. You just choose the un-smart path.”
“So, this is my fault, then. That’s what you’re saying?”
“All I’m saying is that of course I’m going to help you. But I’m going to need all of the details you can give me. About everything. Including the names and faces of what these men look like that you’ve been around.”
“Clients or Skeleton and his guys?”
The fact that she had to differentiate pushed bile up my throat. Bile I had to quickly swallow down before I vomited in my own lap.
“All of them,” I said hotly.
I pulled out a recording device I kept in my desk for times like this when I was much too emotional about something to take notes myself. And after I pressed “record,” I let Hope’s mouth fly off in every which direction her mind could conjure. I took in as much as I could, but I couldn't stop focusing on her injuries. The more I studied her, the more I found. Like, the red marks around her throat. And the fact that she was missing one of her back molars.
It made me sick to my fucking stomach.
“—but their names are the Golden Jags, I think. Something like that.”
I blinked. “Their name?”
Hope nodded. “Yeah. Skeleton and those idiots ride in some motorcycle get together or something. They have leather jackets and everything. They call themselves the Golden Jags. Or J
ets. But I think it’s Jags. Golden Jags.”
“Is there anything else you can tell me? Anything at all? Maybe where I can find them, to speak with them on your behalf?”
“You don’t want to do that, Joanna. These men are mean. They’re ruthless. For all you know, they’ll—”
I leaned forward. “I’m going to fight for you, Hope. Just like I always have. But that means you have to give me the tools I need to fight. Do you know where to find them?”
She shook her head slowly. “I mean, I can give you the location of where I think their clubhouse or get together place or whatever is now. But it’s changed so much over the years that it might be different come tomorrow.”
“Anything you can give me helps. Even past get together spots, if you remember them.”
While Hope rattled off at the mouth, I took mental notes of a few things. Especially regarding how I’d approach this. I wanted to open a legal case against these guys. Because if they were running an escort service, then that meant there were more women like my sister who had been duped into this. I wanted to help them, too. It was too late to place calls of this magnitude to the police department, but it wasn’t too late to search a few things on the internet.
“What are you doing?” Hope asked.
My fingers typed away. “Keep talking. I’m just looking up a few things you’re saying. That’s all.”
“What, you don’t believe me?”
I rolled my eyes. “Will you just do as I’m asking you, please?”
She sighed. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m just—”
My fingers stopped. “I know. It’s hard, pulling away from what happened with Mom and Dad.”
“You, too?”
My fingers started typing again. “Yeah. Me, too.”
I was still typing long after Hope finished talking. I laid her down on the couch in my office and pulled out a blanket I had used many times to help me sleep in this place during late nights. I tucked her in and kissed her bruised cheek, trying not to get my own tears on her already-drenched skin.
Then, I went back to work.
A lot of digging on the internet and one very early morning phone call to the police pointed me in the direction I needed to be looking. And how convenient, that the place Hope described was a motel on the other side of town. Owned by none other than Jonathan “Skeleton” Branson.
Link (Dragon Riders MC Book 1) Page 5