by Erin Trejo
“Straighten her out. That’s all you need to do,” Piper chimes in. I reach for her and pull her into my side before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
“Thanks, P.”
“No problem. I am the clubhouse counselor after all,” she teases before I shove off the stool and head toward Henley. I take purposeful strides until I’m standing directly in front of her. Saylor looks between us and smiles but doesn’t say a word. The spell that I’m under with this girl is nothing I’ve felt before. Why does she make me feel whole?
“Are you okay?” She asks when I don’t make a move to speak. I nod slowly, seeing the girl she was meant to be sparkling in her eyes.
“I need to know that you’re okay with what I’m plannin’ here. I didn’t ask the club to back me when I do this,” I tell her.
“You didn’t have to. We’re fuckin’ brothers, Ransom. You think we don’t know what he did to your mom? You’re wrong. We all saw the way it tore you apart and broke you down,” Neo speaks from next to me. I turn my head to see him standing there with a smirk on his goddamn face and I know I’m home.
“I didn’t ask you,” I remind him.
“No but we decided. Doesn’t matter what you want. We’re in this together. I don’t like what he’s doin’ to those girls any more than you do. We set it up, get them out and then we move on him. You think you’re up to that?” Neo turns his gaze to Henley. She chews her bottom lip between her teeth causing my cock to harden in my jeans.
“I’d prefer to not have to see what you do to him if that’s okay.” Her voice is so small that it rips at another scab on my heart slowly making it bleed.
“You don’t have to be but we’ll need your help with the girls. You up to it?” He asks her.
“Yes. I told Ransom that I want whatever is in my account to go to them.” Shock registers on Neo’s face. He looks to me as I smirk before dragging his eyes back to hers.
“Your dad would notice it,” he reminds her.
“Not if we move it after he’s…you know,” she says, the hint of a sob in her tone. I reach for her forgetting everyone else and pulling her into my arms.
“You’re right but you sure that’s what you want to do?” he asks her again. Henley looks up at me and smiles the most perfect smile before looking over at him.
“Yes. It’s what I want. Someone told me that it isn’t about the money. It’s about the people.” When she pulls her eyes back to mine, I move in quickly. Kissing her like she’s my last breath. My tongue sweeps into her mouth, sliding so deliciously against hers. Our breathing becomes sporadic and my cock hardens. I press against her as Neo chuckles.
“Get a fuckin’ room.”
“Fuck a room,” I grumble against her neck, kissing and sucking until I feel her body tremble.
Chapter 18
Henley
My nerves are on edge. I could easily change my mind but the look in Ransom’s eyes when I said I would come with was something I never want to miss. He looked so proud of me. No one has ever been proud of me and the idea of him seeing me differently just didn’t settle right.
“You can go back to the clubhouse you know?” Neo says as I watch him check his guns. Ransom is in the front of the van with one of the prospects giving directions to the one of the safe houses.
“No, I can’t. I need to do this.” I try to sound sure of myself but I’m not. Truth be told, I’m terrified.
“All that time he watched you, the things he would say. I didn’t think you’d be alive, let alone stayin’ with him.” I should be surprised by what he’s saying but I’m not. Truth is this is all the things that Ransom has already told me.
“I’ve never thought about things the way he showed them to me. I guess I just wanted to live in my little ball of dumbness. I didn’t want to believe that my dad, the only person in my life would do those things to people.”
“And now? You believe it?”
“I saw the look in Ransom’s eyes when he told me about his mom. There was no mistaking that look.”
“He told you about that?” Neo asks raising an eyebrow. I nod my head and take a deep breath.
“He did. He showed me pictures too. I feel so bad for not caring before. I just lived my life the way I always had and no, I didn’t give a shit how that money got into my account, just that it did.” Neo shrugs as the van comes to a stop.
“We all figure things out in our own time, yeah? Just glad Ransom could make you see what you were doin’ before it was too late.” The back doors open and there he is. The man that has forever changed my life. I can’t believe that he has made me see so much more than I ever have before.
“Come here,” he demands. I stand and quickly move to the edge of the van where he wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his chest. I squeal a little when he spins me around and sets me on my feet.
“You don’t get out. You don’t move from here. The prospect will be with you the whole time, yeah?” His hands hold my face tightly as I nod as much as I can. Ransom leans in and kisses me before pulling back and pressing a light kiss to my forehead.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Didn’t ask that. I’m tellin’ you to stay right here. That’s an order,” he says sternly.
“I heard you. I’m not going anywhere, Ransom.”
“We get the girls out and we load them up. You need to calm the ones in here. Can you do that?”
“I can do that. I promise.” Ransom nods and pulls me into his chest, his nose pressing into the top of my head as he inhales. It’s like he thinks he might lose me and needs that last scent. It hurts my heart that he has to go into the same place that is like where his mother was being held. It hurts that he still has to live with those memories. I wish I could take them away but I can’t. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I hold him tightly.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I whisper. Ransom takes a deep breath before pulling away and giving me a wink. I climb back into the back of the van and watch as he closes the door slowly, his eyes never leaving mine until there is nothing but the slight light coming in through the front. Time seems to linger as I sit here. It’s been at least twenty minutes when the van starts up.
“What’s going on?” I call out to the prospect that’s in the driver’s seat. He doesn’t answer but the sound of something hitting the outside of the van vibrates through me.
“Gettin’ shot at!” He calls out as the van lerches forward. I roll and slam into the side of the van when I feel it slow. The sounds are getting louder and louder.
“What happened?” I scream but when I climb toward the front, I gasp. Blood is everywhere I look. I reach up and press my hand to the kids head where it’s slumped to the side only to realize he’s already dead.
“No! Oh god!” I scream. The back doors fly open and three masked men climb in. I scoot as far back as I can get but it’s no use.
“Who are you?” I ask when they move toward me slowly, calculatedly. The man in front just chuckles from behind his mask as he reaches for me. I swat at his hand and try to move but there is nowhere for me to go. I scream until my voice is horse. Being dragged from the back of the van, I panic. What the hell is happening? Where is Ransom? Panic takes over and I feel like I can’t breathe. The harder I try, the more I feel like I’m losing conciseness. I kick and try to fight until a rag is placed over my face. Tossing my head from side to side, I try to avoid it but it’s no use. Slowly I feel myself slipping into the dark.
Chapter 19
Ransom
“Move them!” I yell at one of the prospects as soon as we heard the shots being fired. They usher the girls into the waiting vans but one van is missing. It should have been parked up here with the rest of them. My heart kicks up a notch as I glance around but don’t see anyone.
“Where the hell is Vic?” I roar looking around the van that asshole was driving. I don’t see it and I don’t see Henley. I stomp down the back stairs and head in the direction we left them. Triton follows c
losely behind me, guns drawn in case anyone is still lingering. We shot a few that were in the house keeping watch over the girls but we didn’t see where the other shots were coming from. As we round the corner the van comes into view. The front window is blown out.
“Shit!” I roar before breaking into a jog toward it. When I get close enough I can see Vic dead in the front seat. Walking around to the back my heart pounds in my chest when I see the fucking back doors wide open. I already know she’s not in there, I can feel it all throughout my body but I still peek in to be sure. Just as I thought, she isn’t here. With my gun still in my hand I walk back toward the front of the van shooting a few rounds into Vic’s lifeless corpse.
“I told you to watch her you son of a bitch!” My voice thunders through air.
“Where the hell would she go?” Turning to look at Triton, anger rushes me.
“You think she what? Just hopped out and went for a goddamn stroll?” I roar. Triton watches me knowing that I’m on edge.
“Her dad?” He asks. I shrug because frankly I have no fucking clue who would have taken her. Not everyone knew what was happening today. How the fuck would he have found out we were about to raid his safe houses? I scratch the side of my head with the end of my gun trying to piece this shit together. It makes no sense. No one knew.
“What the hell is goin’ on? We need to move,” Neo snaps when he comes to stand next to us.
“Someone took Henley,” Triton tells him. Neo cusses and looks to me.
“Who are you thinkin’?”
“I don’t fuckin’ know! In case you didn’t notice I was inside gettin’ those girls out!” I stomp toward the house again, ready to rip someone or something apart but I have no fucking idea who or what. My mind is running a million miles a minute but where it’s going, I don’t know. The vans with the girls fill up and for that I’m happy. I’m glad that they are now headed somewhere safe and away from this.
“Don’t get all fucked in the head man, we’ll figure out where she is,” Rebel says slapping a hand on my shoulder.
“I know and when I find whoever has her, I will kill them,” I snarl. I stuff my gun into the back of my jeans when Neo says we’re good to go. I don’t want to leave without her but what the hell can I do? Instead of raging and taking it out on people that don’t deserve it, I climb in the back of the van and eye the girls. They’re all scared and huddled together. Some not looking older than maybe seventeen at the most.
“No one’s gonna hurt you here. We’re takin’ you somewhere safe and gettin’ you all cared for and returned to your family.” One girl in the corner sobs roughly and for some reason I’m drawn to her. Her eyes are as blue as the sky but full of tears it’s more like the ocean.
“You, come here,” I tell her. The prospect watches me but doesn’t say a word. She moves toward me slowly but cautiously as the van keeps moving. She sits next to me at the back of the van before I look down at her.
“What’s your name?”
“Amber.”
“Why are you cryin’ like that, Amber?” She wipes her eyes and glares up at me.
“They killed my family when they took me. I have no one to go home to,” she admits through the sobs. I close my eyes and visions of my mom jump to the forefront. The way she looked at me. The way her eyes pleaded with me to look away but I couldn’t, I didn’t want to. I knew that was the last time I would see her and there was no way that I was going to look away. I needed to see her, embed that image of her in my mind so that I could keep her with me forever.
“You don’t have to worry. We’ll figure somethin’ out.” She nods her head and rests it on my shoulder. My insides clench as anger slides through me. I want nothing more than to be holding Henley right now and telling her that everything is going to work out. I told her I’d protect her and I didn’t do that. I left her in the goddamn van to fend for herself.
“Are you okay?” Amber looks up at me with those soft blue eyes.
“They took somethin’ that belongs to me.”
“A girl?” I nod my head and watch as her face pales. The next words out of her mouth only fuel my rage.
“I’m sorry.”
Chapter 20
Henley
The throbbing in my head is overwhelming. I squint my eyes trying to get my bearings but it’s too bright in here. The light stings my eyes as sweat drips down my neck. I groan as I roll onto my side. That’s when I feel someone next to me. I pry my eyes open, squinting against the harsh light. As soon as I look at her, I gasp.
“Natalie? Oh my god, no!” I grab her shoulders and shake her until she groans. Oh thank God she isn’t dead. “What did they do to you?” I whisper. She turns her head and through her puffy eyes, she watches me.
“Henley? You’re here?” She asks her voice shaky and gravely sounding.
“I’m here. What happened?”
“They were looking for you. Your dad showed up and said that I was the last one that saw you. He thought I had something to do with you being missing.” Tears well up in my eyes.
“They hurt you didn’t they?” She nods her head and my heart breaks in my chest. How the hell did he do this? He knew she was my best friend.
“I’m going to figure out how to get us out of here, okay?” Natalie nods her head slowly before sniffling. When the door opens, I move to sit in front of her, protecting her. I never thought I would come face to face with the man that’s standing there though.
“Dad? What the hell is going on?” I ask as the tears fall faster. I climb from the bed and rush toward him but he puts his hand up to stop me before I get too close.
“Stop right there, Henley.”
“Daddy? What’s happening?” I plead with him. A dark look crosses his face causing my heart to fall in my chest. That look was damn near the same as the look Ransom got when he whipped me so why is my dad looking at me that way?
“I asked you to stay out of the way, Henley. You didn’t follow the rules.”
“What? I did! Someone came to my house and took me!”
“You ran to those disgusting bikers! You ran into his bed, Henley!”
“He kidnapped me, dad! I didn’t have a choice. He took me!” What am I doing? Why am I not fighting him? What he did to those poor girls, to Ransom’s mom, to Natalie.
“You were always more trouble than you were worth, Henley. Keeping you in money wasn’t good enough was it?” He hisses. My mouth falls open before I close it quickly. I hold my head high and take a deep breath.
“You kidnapped those girls didn’t you? You took them and made them into whores! How could you?” My dad laughs when I say it which pisses me off. How could he be so heartless?
“What happened to my mom?” He narrows his eyes and glares daggers at me.
“She left because of you. She didn’t want you, Henley and now you question me? How dare you after what I’ve done for you!”
“You lie! She died didn’t she? I know she did.”
“Shut your mouth! You are the most ungrateful little bitch I’ve ever met in my life!” The thunder that rumbles out of him causes me to flinch. His hand comes up so quickly that I didn’t even see it. Backhanding me across the face, I cry. Raising my hand to my cheek, I hold it as it burns.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Doing what? Making you what you’ve already turned into? I figured if you could sleep around with scum you could start working for your money,” he sneers. My stomach trembles.
“He will kill you,” I hiss knowing that Ransom will kill him when he finds out. My dad laughs and throws his head back.
“He will never find you, Henley and if he does, I will have you killed.”
“Like you did his mom?” His eyes lock with mine and the monster that I’ve never seen before shows right before me. Ransom knew he was messed up. He knew my dad had this darkness in him but I refused to see it. I refused to accept that he could do those things but I can see it in his eyes. My dad steps toward me, grippin
g my chin in his hand roughly.
“You didn’t want to be a part of this life. You wanted all the extravagance that came with it but none of the work, right Henley? Yeah, I made him watch that whore of a mother of his die. She wanted to fight me. She wanted a way out and I gave it to her. Just like I’ll give it to you and your little friend over there. You can’t escape me and now that you know, there is no sense in hiding it. You might as well get used to it,” he hisses before swiftly leaving the room, closing the door behind him. More tears fall when I finally sit next to Natalie.
“Did someone really take you?” I turn my head and look down at Natalie where she lies on the small bed and nod my head.
“At first he wanted to hurt me but after that, he came around.”
“You care about the guy that took you?” She asks nearly looking disgusted.
“Yeah, I do. He isn’t much different than we are, Natalie. He’ll come for us.”
Chapter 21
Ransom
I’ve torn Daytona apart. Pieces by pieces, brick by fucking brick, I’ve ripped through every part of town with no signs of Henley. Not even her dad has made an appearance. I keep trying to tell myself that maybe this is for the best, that letting her go is the right thing to do. If her dad has her back now, she’s more than likely safe and living the life of luxury once again. I keep trying to picture her smiling and sitting on the beach with a cold drink in her hand but it’s harder than I thought it would be.
“You okay?” Piper steps up next to me, wrapping her arm around my waist as I smoke my cigarette and stare at the stars.
“I don’t know, Piper. I think it’s best she’s back to her normal self, not bein’ drug down by me. She didn’t deserve the shit I gave her.” Blowing out a ring of smoke, Piper laughs her head on my chest.