“Maybe because I am, too?” Ginger snapped, drawing his attention. Her tone backed up my earlier observation that she didn’t like the man. “By the way, I took care of your girlfriend while she was sick. Where the hell were you?”
“Shut the fuck up, bitch‒”
I snapped, grabbing him by the collar of his tee and slamming him up against the door. He grunted at the impact, and Della gasped loudly, but I ignored them both.
“Rebel‒”
I ignored Ginger too.
“You show respect, asshole.” I grated the words into his face. “You got me?” I waited for his nod of understanding and released him.
He straightened his shirt and looked at Ginger sheepishly. “Sorry, Gin, I, ah, guess I got carried away.” His lackluster apology was weak but I let it slide.
Ginger didn’t acknowledge him in any way. Finally, Daryl appealed to Della, who’d been standing by, shocked, as if she’d never seen someone stand up to her boyfriend like that before. “Can I talk to you?” It was obvious that he was making an attempt to control himself. He glanced back at me before continuing, “Privately?”
I crossed my arms and planted my feet to show Della that I wasn’t going anywhere. Whether or not she liked the show of support I had no idea, but there was no way that I was going to leave her or Ginger there alone with the asshole. My gut told me that he was unstable, and that there was an underlining violence beneath the surface of his shaky veneer. The slightest softening of Della’s expression told me a lot.
“Sure,” she said after a moment. She took Daryl by the hand. “Let’s go to my bedroom.”
I waited until I heard the click of her door before pinning my gaze on Ginger. “He’s using.”
Her eyes widened slightly, as if she were surprised that I’d guessed that all ready. “We’re not sure what or for how long, but he’s changed the last couple of months. I’ve tried to talk some sense into Della, I’ve told her to get rid of him, but they’ve been together a long time.”
“Old habits are hard to break.” She nodded. “Is he abusive?”
“Not to my knowledge. I mean, Della’s never had any bruises or anything, and she would tell me if he was knocking her around.”
“You sure about that?”
The look on her face said that it hadn’t occurred to her before then. “We’re best friends, Rebel, we tell each other everything.”
I smirked at that. “Did you tell her about us?”
“There is no us!” she hissed.
My brows shot up at that. “Who was that sexy little number I just got done fucking in the shower?”
She pressed her lips, and I could see that she was struggling with what to say. It only made me grin wider.
“I hate you!” she hissed.
I laughed. “Want me to prove you wrong?” She looked positively frightened at that prospect.
Before she could respond, the voices in the bedroom grew louder, loud enough that it became obvious that the conversation between Della and Daryl was about money, and that it was increasing in intensity. I could see the worry in Ginger’s eyes as we both glanced in the direction of the door. My instinct was to intervene, but I reminded myself that it wasn’t my business, as long as Daryl kept his hands off Della. If he put his hands on her in a violent way, then all bets were off.
I’d seen enough violence towards women during my time with the Red Devils. It had taken everything in me not to get involved. That’s why when Ginger had been thrown at me, I’d done everything that I could to protect her from the others, even if I hadn’t been able to protect her from myself. There was no way that I could make up to her what she’d gone through at my hands, and that was like acid eating away in my gut.
The pizza delivery guy showed up, reminding us that Della’s entrance door was still open. He began knocking at Ginger’s closed door. “Pizza delivery!”
“We’ll be over as soon as Daryl is gone,” Ginger said to me, noticing him.
I hesitated, listening to the sound of arguing that was still going on in the bedroom. It was obvious that whatever was happening in there was escalating. “Baby, there’s no way I’m leaving you here with that asshole in there.” I pulled some cash out of my pocket and stepped out to deal with the delivery guy. He took the cash and I took the pizzas, taking them into Della’s apartment and setting them on the kitchen counter.
The door flew opened to Della’s bedroom and Daryl came rushing out, red-faced and swearing beneath his breath. He avoided making eye contact with anyone and booked it for the open front door in an angry rush. Ginger and I exchanged a look before she took off in the direction of the bedroom, but Della emerged before she made it. The woman looked flustered and royally pissed.
She smiled in the face of Ginger’s concern. “Well, four years down the drain, but it was long overdue. Once they start asking you for money … “She didn’t finish the rest of her sentence, but it was easy to fill in the blanks. In spite of the four years gone, she didn’t look all that broken up about the breakup. “Been down that fucking road before.”
“Good riddance,” Ginger remarked with a smirk.
A snort escaped Della. “I know, honey. You never really liked Daryl. He wasn’t always a looser, though, you know? But the drugs … “She looked my way and smiled. “Why can’t I meet someone like you?”
I laughed. “What makes you think I’m a good man?”
She giggled, her gaze darting to Ginger and then to me again. “A woman can tell.” Her lips quirked downward at the corners. “Usually.” She winked. “And from what Ginger told me about your shared past, you treated her right.”
“Did she now?” I rested my gaze on Ginger, wondering if she really felt that way, knowing that if I’d treated her right I would have told her about the money. Thirty grand had gone missing, but I’d always known that she hadn’t been the one who’d taken it. I’d had several stashes of money hidden throughout my place, hoping to throw off anyone who searched my apartment into thinking that if they found one stash that was all there was. It had worked, because whoever had taken the thirty thousand hadn’t found the rest.
Ginger was right when she’d said that she only owed me four thousand.
I knew that I should have told her the truth about the money and let her off the hook. But if I’d done that there would be no reason for me to stick around, and I wasn’t ready to leave just yet, not after running into her again after all this time. Years ago, when I’d finally returned to my apartment to find her gone, I’d made an attempt to find her. Starting at the bus station had been a good call, but there hadn’t been much after that. After a while, life got in the fucking way.
I’d moved on.
That didn’t mean that I hadn’t looked for her when I was on the road, that I hadn’t asked around about her, even if I’d given up on ever seeing her again. I’d never stopped thinking about her, maybe because she’d been such an innocent, maybe because I’d been the one to take her cherry. Hell, I didn’t know why or what made her different, but something about her had gotten into my blood.
Not my heart.
Because I knew better.
I wasn’t the settling down type, I wasn’t looking for that special someone to get serious with and have a family. None of that shit was in my future, yet I couldn’t fucking leave her alone. She’d said that she hated me, but I knew that she was scared over what I had made her feel. Fuck, she should be afraid of what she made me feel. If she knew, she would have fucking run. Women were a means of stress relief for me, and nothing else. No strings attached, no emotions, no repeats, unless they were club whores. The kind of women I liked used me as much as I used them.
They weren’t the forever-after-kind.
They didn’t expect anything in return.
We both got off, and didn’t look back.
“Should we have some pizza?” Della was the one who asked, and she was already making her way toward the boxes that I’d placed on the counter.
Be
fore I could answer my phone buzzed. I dug it out of my back pocket and glanced down, seeing Jace’s name. Fuck. He wouldn’t be calling me unless he had news. I watched as Della opened the first box, eagerly reaching for a slice. My gaze swung to Ginger. “Go ahead, I have to take this call.”
I stepped outside the apartment, closing the door behind me.
“Yeah?” I ran my hand through my hair.
“We have to make plans, brother. I just got wind that Marcus Duponte rented an estate on A1A. He’s planning an auction tomorrow night.”
Fuck. I’d heard about Duponte. He operated under the cloak of philanthropy, jet setting around the world and holding elaborate parties under the guise of garnering donations for various charitable organizations. He incorporated human auctions while he moved around, but the locations and times were kept closely guarded. The guests on the invitation list were filthy rich and exclusive. Of course, they were pillars of society, but no one knew who they were. He must have pissed someone off for one of them to have betrayed him.
“Fuck.” That didn’t leave us much time to plan shit. “The girl will be there?”
“My contact couldn’t confirm that, but it’s highly likely. I’ve been in touch with Moody. Froggy’s is still open another hour, I need you two down there five minutes ago.”
I released a heavy sigh. “On my way.”
The fact that Duponte had rented an estate told me that he must have been planning this for a while now, and he must have rented the place under an alias. Usually his auctions were held in abandoned warehouses or underground. Once in a while he went all out and held the auctions in a much more extravagant location, which he only did when he had a larger inventory of girls, the kind who brought in the big bucks. Most of his clientele wanted them young and beautiful, but his specialty auctions focused on virgins. They brought in big money, and he was obviously counting on a huge payout this time if he was renting an expensive property to house the girls and prepare them for sale.
I hoped that the Politician had given Jace enough money to play with, because something told me that getting his daughter back was going to be expensive. Unless Jace didn’t plan to buy her back.
I would learn soon enough what his plans were.
Chapter 15
Ginger
“God, where can I find a yummy biker like that for myself?” Della asked the second that Rebel stuck his head in and said that he had to take off, but that we should enjoy the pizza.
I huffed. “Are you kidding me? We just went through Bike Week and they’re always popping into the bar. And besides, Rebel isn’t mine.”
“He doesn’t act that way,” she said around a mouthful of pizza. “Not the way he looks at you.”
I didn’t feel like talking about Rebel. The man infuriated me. “So, you don’t look too torn up about Daryl. He’s asked you for money before, so what happened this time?” We were standing at the counter eating our pizza. I was thankful Rebel had ordered cheese and pepperoni, but I knew that Della liked the works. Still, she seemed to be enjoying it.
She shrugged.“He stopped paying me back. I work hard for my money and I don’t mind lending it if I’ve got it, but don’t keep coming to me for more when you haven’t paid me back what you owe. Daryl didn’t ask this time, he demanded, and it was a lot, Ginger.”
I was curious. “How much?”
“A thousand bucks!” she exclaimed.
My eyes rounded with surprise. “Why would he need that kind of money? For drugs?”
“Who knows? Probably. I finally realized while we were fighting about it that I was so over him. Our relationship hasn’t been what you’d call a real relationship in a long time. I know things change between people over the years, but you hope it’s for the better.” Her smile was more of a smirk. “I think I’ll go back to one-night stands.”
I laughed. “That’s not the answer and you know it, plus it’s dangerous.” I reached inside her junk drawer for one of the many loose napkins that she kept stuffed in there from other take-out deliveries. “How’s the pizza settling in your stomach?”
“Not too bad, but I think I’ll stop at one slice.” She rubbed her tummy.
“That’s probably a good idea,” I agreed. “Do you think you’ll be up to our spa day tomorrow?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Hell, yes. After the week we’ve had? We deserve it. And let’s go out tomorrow night, too. Somewhere far away from Pirates Cove.”
“Sounds like a plan. I think I’ll spring for a foot massage while I’m getting a pedi.”
Della giggled. “I want my whole body massaged. I don’t care if I did miss two days of work.” I was sure the flu had left her feeling achy.
“Well, I’m ready to turn in. Do you want any more pizza? Because otherwise I’m taking it with me in case Rebel comes back hungry.” She shook her head, so I picked up the boxes.
“So he’s staying with you?”
I nodded without turning around as I walked to the door. “I’m not sure how it happened, but it appears he is. See ya in the morning, honey.” I yawned loudly. Her mumbled “goodnight” could be heard just before she closed and locked her door.
****
Rebel
Moody, Jace, and I were sitting in the back of the room against the wall, watching the sexy sway of the waitress’s fine ass as she walked away after delivering our beers. The short shorts that she was wearing didn’t begin to cover the cheeks of her shapely ass. The tits that she’d flashed at us hadn’t been half bad, either. If it had been another time I might have been more interested, but after having Ginger my dick didn’t seem interested in anyone else.
The place was still packed, even though it was after two in the morning. It wasn’t surprising, considering that Froggy’s was an old, established bar located right in the middle of where all the action was when there was action. The friendly waitresses were eye-candy, the alcohol was reasonably priced, and the food was good. Normally, the place was loud and chaotic, but things were quiet right then.
“So what’s up?” Moody broke the silence. The three of us had been friends for as long as I could remember, but he was the one who you never quite knew where you stood. His expression was always serious, emotionless, and it was the coldness in his black eyes that made his weathered face appear to be cast in stone. We were friends, but that didn’t mean that we knew each other’s secrets.
The twist of Jace’s face told me that something was up, and that it wasn’t good. “We’ve got a minor problem. The same contact who told me about the auction also said that the Feds are planning a raid at the same residence that same night.”
“Then why don’t we let them do the job for us?” Moody asked. “Problem solved.”
I was surprised when Jace laughed. “Yeah, and then we don’t get paid, brother.” Shit, he was right, and it was a big payout, too. “I’m all for taking Duponte off the streets, and it’s about fucking time the Feds did their job, but I’m not giving up a hundred thousand dollar payoff after all the time I’ve already put in to this job.”
“Fuck,” Moody growled. “I’m with you.” He leaned back in his chair. “So we get the girl, we get the reward, and the Feds take down the whole fucking operation.”
I snorted. “Just Duponte and his operation. We all know he’s not the only one involved in trafficking.”
“He’s one of the main players, brother,” Jace commented. “And if he strikes a deal with the Feds and talks, others will crumble. This could be a good thing.”
None of us liked the fuckers who were involved in the selling of flesh.
“Then what’s the plan?” Moody asked, finishing off his beer and holding his empty glass up to get the attention of the waitress. She acknowledged him with a nod and turned back to the bar.
“The Feds won’t make their move until later in the evening, after the auction starts. They’ll want to catch Duponte in the act. So we’ll make our move early, while they’re still getting the girls ready. There’s
a guest house behind the estate where the girls will be housed until the show.”
“It’ll be heavily guarded,” Moody grumbled.
“Not necessarily,” Jace countered. “This is one of Duponte’s specialty auctions. Those girls are virgins, and he’ll keep them drugged to cut down on any drama, and to keep them manageable. They’ll be sold off and in their new homes before they even know what’s happened.”
I nodded, agreeing with Jace. “What about her friend?”
Jace shook his head, his warning clear, as the waitress walked up to our table with a tray with refills for everyone. She set a glass down in front of each of us, making sure to lean low enough over the table so that we had a view of her tits. Moody leaned further back in his chair and set his gaze on the curve of her ass, which was almost in his face, but as usual his expression gave nothing away. When she stood up, the sexy invite on her face was meant for anyone at the table who was willing to take the bait.
“Thanks,” Jace growled in a tone that made it clear that he wanted her gone.
Her smile wavered, and as she turned around to leave, Moody reached up and grabbed her hand. She halted, lowering her gaze to his. “You busy after the place closes?” She shook her head slowly. It was clear that Moody made her nervous. “Meet me out back then.” Her smile seemed a little forced, but she gave a brief nod and then walked off. I wondered if she knew what she was getting herself into. There was nothing soft about Moody. The man was a cold-blooded killer, and he’d seen and done enough shit that would turn most men into monsters.
Jace waited for the waitress to get out of ear shot before he continued. “We go in for one woman, we come out with one woman. We have to keep our eye on the objective.” He reached for something in his pocket. “This is her.” He handed the picture to me.
I glanced down at it. The girl was beautiful, and it was obvious that she came from money. Even dressed casually as she was in the picture, she stood straight and proud, her smile perfect and radiant. I gauged her age to be somewhere in her early twenties. Her complexion was pale against the red curls framing her heart-shaped face. The green of her eyes, her poise, both showed a woman who was content with her life and didn’t have a care in the world. I wondered how much of that innocence had been stripped away from her now that she’d had a taste of life outside of the protective gates of society.
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