by Kay Maree
“I have no intention of leaving her alone.” My back straightened and I couldn’t help but look around for any possible sign of a threat.
“We have to go after the other girls before it’s too late.” The old man said, and Nadia nodded along with him. It made me feel like a selfish asshole worrying about bringing Nadia around the guys when other women were getting tortured.
“The club is pretty… wild. Are you sure you can handle it?” I asked but I really didn’t need to because before I even finished my question she was nodding. I shrugged and stood up from my chair towering over her. I grabbed her hand and led her to the garage where my bike sat waiting for me. I loved that old Harley. I’d decked it out myself when I was only seventeen. It was like my own child. It was black and chrome and still drove like it had just rolled off the showroom floor even though it was well over twenty years old. I would never trade that bike in. It was an extension of me.
“I’m gonna ride on that?” Her eyes sparkled with excitement. I grinned involuntarily. I liked the idea that she was adventurous.
“Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before?” I raised a brow at her. She shook her head but the smile on her face told me that she was excited to ride one for the first time with me. I grabbed a helmet from the wall and carefully placed it on her head strapping it under her chin and grinning at how adorable she looked. She blushed bright red and turned her head away from me in embarrassment. “I’m gonna get on and then you get on behind me. Make sure you wrap your arms around me and hold on tight, okay?” She nodded enthusiastically.
“Got it.” She bounced on the balls of her feet. I straddled the bike and made sure to balance it with my weight so she could get on behind me. Pops looked at me with confusion. He knew how much I hated having a passenger on my bike, but I wasn’t going to let her take her first ride on anyone’s bike but mine. I paused at the thought. Was I getting too close too fast? Probably. What happened if whoever she was running from found her and tried to take her back? I growled low in my throat at the thought. The very idea of anyone taking her away from me made me angrier than I had ever been. It was stupid so I fired up the bike and waited for her to wrap her tight little body around mine. I took off a little too fast for a first timer, but much to my delight she laughed gleefully as we sped down the road. Next stop, the clubhouse and whatever craziness awaited us there.
***
Nadia wasn’t very good at following directions. At one point she let me go with one arm to feel the air whiz past her and I swerved thinking she was going to go flying off. The girly giggle that left her lips as she wrapped her arm back around me had me blowing out a breath. That had been a close one. I breathed a sigh of relief as I felt both her hands on my cut. She was holding on to the material even though I knew she wanted to be free and feel the wind through her fingers as we barreled down the highway at speeds that weren’t safe in a car let alone a motorcycle. I knew she’d been sheltered but her need for freedom touched a place in my heart. A place I hadn’t realized was there. I had always had the freedom to do what I pleased and it made me sad everyone didn’t have the same liberty to feel the wind through their hair as they barreled at ninety miles an hour down the freeway. I shook off the feeling. Everyone made their own choices and I wasn’t going to feel bad if their choices made it impossible for them to have that feeling. I was just glad Nadia was getting to experience things she never had before.
We pulled up to the clubhouse and there were several of our members mulling around getting supplies for the raid set to happen in just a couple hours. I ignored them as I motioned for Nadia to get off the bike. I followed her, wrapping an arm around her to let the other members know she was off limits. I glared at each man in the area and they all averted their eyes. Good. They would know better than to mess with Nadia the way they did with the club girls. If anyone did decide to mess with her, they would have to deal with me.
I led Nadia to the clubhouse and into my office before sitting her in the chair and calling one of the only other people I trusted outside my club. She managed the bar the club owned but it didn’t open for several hours so I knew I could count on her to come hang out with Nadia. The phone rang twice before she answered in her overly sultry voice. I rolled my eyes.
“Hey Tank, what can I do for you?” I could practically hear her batting her eyelashes.
“I need you to come to my office,” I said flinching at the words as soon as they left my mouth.
“Oh, I’ll come to your office,” she said suggestively.
“Stop it, Crystal. I need you to hang out with Nadia while I go save the rest of the girls. Can you do that or are you gonna be a brat? Should I ask Ellie to do it?” My voice was hard as I scolded her. She gasped quietly.
“No, boss, I can handle it.” I had a feeling maybe I put too much faith in Crystal. Maybe I should have called Ellie first. She liked Slash so she wouldn’t have been as suggestive. I was about to say never mind when Crystal hung up the phone and I cursed my stupid brain. It hadn’t been working right since I’d first seen Nadia at the Devils place. I needed to get my head on straight. The problem? The only thing capable of doing that was getting a certain sexy Latina under me, and I couldn’t do that. She was traumatized. That was the last thing she needed. I was so fucked.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Nadia
The second the bleach blonde tramp walked into the room I hated her. I could tell by the look in her eyes she resented me because she had been called in to work and babysitting me was her job. Keep Nadia happy while Tank went off to be the hero. I had no misconceptions he was a good guy and if I was completely honest, that was part of the appeal. My father had introduced me to one guy after the other with noble professions but none of them excited me the way Tank did. At one point, riding on his bike I had forgotten the danger and put a hand up in the air. Tank noticed immediately and we would have crashed if I hadn’t wrapped my arm back around him quickly. He cared, probably more than he should have but I was grateful for it.
As I sat there staring at the tiny blonde bimbo, I wondered what their relationship had been. She looked at him like he was hers, but I was the one sleeping in his bed, so I shrugged off any concern and dismissed her without another glance. “Never mind, Crystal. I’m gonna have someone else show Nadia around.”
“What? Why?” She pouted and I rolled my eyes at her need to please him.
“Because, I made a mistake. Now, go back to the bar. When the guys get back, they’re gonna want to party. Make sure everything is ready.” Crystal huffed before stomping out of the room past a brunette with excited eyes. The girl knocked looking shy. I instantly liked her.
“You called for me, Tank?” She kept her eyes averted.
“Hey, Ellie. This is Nadia. She was one of the girls the Devils kidnapped. I was hoping you could keep her company while we go rescue the rest of the girls.” He rubbed a hand over his neck, and I could see the tension there. It was probably from the lack of sleep due to the small couch. I knew I should have argued with him more, but he’d put his foot down.
“Sure, Tank. I would love someone to talk to that isn’t a club girl.” She bounced on the balls of her feet. Her excitement was contagious, and I found myself excited to get to know Ellie.
“Stay away from the bar. Crystal is a little irritated.” He half laughed. What was the deal with her? I hadn’t done anything. Did she have a thing for Tank? The thought had a growl releasing from my lips. Both Ellie and Tank turned in my direction with questioning eyes. I blushed bright red before turning my head away.
“Sure thing, boss. I’ll take her to hang out with me in my room until you get back.”
“Slash and Cobra are staying behind. If anything happens go straight to them. Everyone is on high alert until we get back, which means the bar is closed to outsiders. If you see someone who doesn’t belong tell Slash or Cobra immediately, got it?”
“Of course.” She smiled and wrapped her arm around min
e. “We are gonna have the best time,” she practically squealed. I looked back at a laughing Tank and glared at him. He shrugged mouthing the word sorry before she pulled me away. I guess I deserved it since I’d been such a burden to him over the last twenty-four hours, but didn’t he have someone with a little less pep in her step for me to befriend? At this point I would even consider dealing with the jealous bitch Crystal. Nope, never mind, that wasn’t an option. I would probably find myself sold back to the Devils if I was left with her. Even if I did have to deal with the bubbly Ellie it was far better than ending up back in chains. I shuddered and Ellie looked at me with sympathy.
“I’m sorry you had to meet the Devils MC. They are total animals. My friend Layla and I escaped them a couple years ago. We split up so they wouldn’t find us both. I went west and she went back to Tennessee where her father lived. From what I heard that chapter was disbanded after she got with her current husband. The Devils are no joke. I’m just glad Tank was able to get you out before anything bad happened.” She seemed genuine so I smiled back at her. I was glad nothing serious had happened too. I don’t know if I would have ever been able to come back from what they’d planned to do to me.
She steered me down a hall that looked like something from an apartment building. There were doors on both sides of the hallway. I saw a couple pairs of eyes peering through the cracks of a few open doors. I figured I was probably a novelty. The poor girl who was kidnapped by the Devils, then rescued by their Vice President. I wondered if they were all as jealous as Crystal. Would they tell the Devils where I was hiding. Not if they cared about the lives they lived. I was sure the President of their club, along with Tank, wouldn’t let any girls who compromised the club stay with them no matter the reasoning.
Ellie motioned me forward into a small apartment. It was warm and inviting, and nothing like I would have expected a biker chick’s space to be. “If you left one club, how did you end up here? Weren’t you scared they would be like the Devils?” I asked softly.
“Oh no, my father was a part of the Saints MC. He’s the only reason I sought refuge here. He died when I was young and the Prez took pity on me when I came to him bruised and broken all those years ago. See they had been best friends and there was a time when my father had been the Vice Prez of the club. It was just after I turned eighteen when we first encountered the Devils. The president of the chapter had his girl Layla but the Vice Prez had his sights on me. They killed my father to get to me. I was tortured for a long time, along with Layla before we escaped and went our separate ways. I tried to get her to come here with me, but she was leery about trusting another MC, so she went home to Rockmound Tennessee. Her husband and his friends are big in the MMA world and she asked me to come with her because she knew I would be safe there, but I chose a different path. The path I had always known and the only people I trusted.” She shrugged.
I nodded. After listening to her story, I realized I was in the best possible hands. Even though I was trading one MC for another at least these men cared about women. They weren’t like the Devils. “Whatever happened to the man who… you know?”
“He’s in jail. Has been for a few years now. Layla was threatened and cornered by them, and eventually they were able to take them in on kidnapping charges. As far as I know none of them have been released,” she said thoughtfully, pulling her phone from her pocket. Her face paled at whatever she saw on the screen and she looked up at me with wide eyes.
“What is it?” I asked scooting closer to her.
“You got me thinking so I decided to check. I have the prison website for the prison in my bookmarks. Sometimes when I feel like I’m being watched, it makes me feel better to know he’s in jail still. The only thing? I just looked and he’s not…”
“This is all my fault. Oh my God! He found me and they are taking girls that look like me until he finds me.” She jumped up from her seat on the bed and started pacing the room. “I need to call Tank. Holy shit. He’s out and he’s looking for me.”
“Calm down, Ellie. You’re gonna be fine.” I walked over and led her by the arm to the bed. She sat down next to me and I wrapped my arm around the woman.
“But, what about the other girls?” She was shaking in my arms and I briefly wondered who was supposed to be helping who here. It was obvious she was trusted within the MC because of who her father had been but what if this psycho was targeting specific girls because of their resemblance to her? What if it was her he was looking for, and getting his sadistic pleasure out of hurting the other girls then selling them to traffickers after he’d “broken” them, was just a bonus? I had never been happier to know someone was out trying to protect the innocents, even if it was a less then scrupulous motorcycle gang. At least those girls were about to be saved from their torment.
CHAPTER NINE
Tank
The whole thing was fucked from the beginning. There were lookouts everywhere which had me wondering if someone had ratted us out. And where the hell was Miguel? Was he still alive? I hoped so. I couldn’t have his death on my conscience. It would be my fault if he was because I went against every rule we had in the book. I’d told the old man I would wait but when it came down to it, I’d chosen a girl’s safety over the clubs. Fuck! I did this! If Miguel was in trouble or dead, it was on my head because I couldn’t think straight around Nadia. I sent a text to Miguel and waited long minutes. Finally, he replied, and I blew out a breath. He’d managed to stay hidden.
I have eyes on the shed, but they are moving the girls to a van as we speak. I need help getting to them before they take off. All the girls are… naked.
Thanks Miguel. We’re on the move now.
I pocketed my phone and motioned for my guys to follow me. These psychos weren’t going sell the other girls into sex trafficking. Not if I could help it. I moved behind the garage where the girls were being marched off and it made my stomach clench. I needed to help these girls. I hated sitting on the sidelines as the girls stood at attention with their breasts out ready to let this psycho fondle them. Each moaned in turn as he not only pinched their nipples but fondled their pussies. It made me sick, but it looked like this was something they’d gotten used to over the last days or weeks, or however long they had been kidnapped. I didn’t dare to go against Prez orders this time. I waited for the old man to catch up and watched as his fists clenched. All the guys were standing with their backs rigid. None of them liked the way these women were being treated. It made me feel marginally better about going rogue and rescuing Nadia. I was ready to help these girls and get them away from the sadistic fucks who thought they had control over them. The bastards thought they could parade these girls around in front of the world and violate them. My anger rose as I pulled out my gun and started firing. The girls all screamed and ducked while the shocked men looked around for a second before they started dropping like flies. The girls looked up at us with bewilderment from their places on the ground.
“C’mon, let’s go before the rest of them get here.” I motioned for the girls to follow me, but they looked between each other unsure.
“Go, move your asses.” A dark-haired woman with rage in her eyes yelled at the girls on the ground and they all scrambled to their feet and ran past me. The old man herded them and luckily had had the foresight to have one of the guys bring a stack of blankets. He handed blankets to the girls as he led them off to the van, with me and Jay taking up the rear. I was on edge. It had all been too easy. I kept looking around to see where the rest of their club members were. I heard some shouting in the distance, but no one was shooting at us yet so that was a plus.
“Something’s not right here,” I said to the old man as we ushered the girls into the waiting cars.
“I know, but what do we do? We can’t drop them naked in front of the police station. It would only add to their trauma.”
“If we take them back to the clubhouse, we could be followed.”
“We could be followed e
ither way, but I have an idea. We split up and go different routes. I’ll drive past the police station, that way if anyone follows the cars with the girls, they will think we’re taking them to the cops.” I nodded because it was the best plan we had. I grabbed Jay and Mike and told them which cars they were with before walking over to Miguel.
“You did good, kid.” I nodded to him. “You’re with me.” I made my way to my bike and waited for the old man’s signal before pulling out on to the road behind Miguel. He turned the opposite direction as the girls, and I wondered briefly how he knew what the plan was. I hadn’t told him. It wasn’t like we were quiet about it, so I shrugged it off.
We drove around in circles until we were sure we weren’t being followed, then made our way back to the clubhouse. The old man was ushering girls inside as we pulled up and the club whores were helping get them inside. They would give them clothes, then we could decide what to do next. I parked my bike and made my way past them. I had one thing on my mind, checking on Nadia. I made my way to Ellie’s apartment and knocked on the door. Ellie answered with tears in her eyes and my hackles rose. “What happened? Where’s Nadia?”
Ellie’s eyes widened as she shook her head. “Nothing happened. I just…”
“Where’s Nadia?” I asked again. Ellie knew how much I hated repeating myself.
“I’m right here. Ellie was upset when she heard the name of the club that took me.” Nadia looked at the girl with sympathy. “It’s the club she ran away from.”
I’d known she had had a bad experience with another club and sought refuge with Pop because she was his best friend’s daughter, but I hadn’t realized that club was the Devils. “Ellie, they have chapters all over the place. We don’t know that these are the same guys.” I tried to reassure her but even I wasn’t convinced. Many of the girls we’d just rescued bore a striking resemblance to Ellie. Sure, there were blondes with them as well, but it was starting to look like this bastard was looking for someone and using his deal with the cartel to find her. “You know we’ll keep you safe, right?”