Highway to Heaven

by Harley McRide

  “Get your ass moving. Now.” Her head whipped around and saw Gage, his eyes igniting in rage. Shark pulled her tighter but her body went rigid. She jerked away, leaving them both with a lethal glare. How fucked up was that? What the hell did Gage care? And more importantly, why did Shark almost kiss her? They weren’t exactly in an appropriate place, although that was only one of the reasons it totally fucked her head. She tried to shake it off but couldn’t. Her steps were swift but she kept each one calculated and planned to avoid noise. This time, she watched for any little questionable area for traps. There was no way she could handle another ‘saving’ tonight. It’d be better if she took a bullet than deal with these damn guys.

  Abi turned and saw Heaven coming up beside her and noticed her badass attitude had taken on a new bad with an extra helping of attitude. She kept a steady path, still eyeing her in question. With Shady a ticking time bomb on one side, and Heaven a raging volcano on the other, she smiled. The three of them could take down anyone who got in their way tonight. Who knows, maybe they’d get lucky.

  *****

  Tami woke to excruciating pain and flashes of terror that wouldn’t stop. She’d closed her eyes in attempts to shut it off, but every part of her body throbbed and caused the horrific assault to set itself on a loop in her head. She felt the touch of a hand on her arm and jumped, wincing and crying out.

  “Shhh. Go back to sleep, Tami. Please go back to sleep.” Sadie’s voice overflowed with desperation. The soft voice eased the beating her heart was doing against her sore ribs.

  “I can’t,” she croaked. Her throat hurt from being choked. That man…that horrible man had choked her, then forced his dick down her throat until she’d almost fainted. He’d kept her from breathing using multiple tactics that forever scarred her soul. After the beating and assault, another man took over. One by one, the five guards that ran the hell they were in took a turn until they broke everything. Her body, her mind, her heart—there was nothing left.

  “Please, Tami. Make it go away. Dream of somewhere beautiful.” Sadie brushed Tami’s hair off the knife wound on her shoulder and seeing it for the first time, felt ill once again.

  “Try, sweetheart. You don’t want to be here.” Shea reached her fingers through the cage and brushed her fingers against her arm, feeling despair squeeze her chest for the poor girl. She knew that pain. Knew that want and need to fade away and pray for death to come. Tami looked up through swollen eyes, the emptiness in her distant expression.

  “Hel-l-l-p,” she pleaded.

  Shea’s eyes filled with tears she didn’t know she had left. Her heart broke from the shattered shards it was to dust. “Sleep, baby girl. It’s our only escape.” Tami rolled her eyes up in the back of her head and she let out a single, soul breaking wail. Her entire body shook. She was going into shock. Even if she came out of it, the trauma had already corrupted her mind. Thankfully, she fell asleep. Whether she’d fallen unconscious or fell into a deep slumber, she was better off. “I say every day that I can’t handle any more. God has to come for me soon. Yet, every day, more comes.” She looked at Sadie, leaning her head against the cold metal cage.

  “It’s almost over. Just trust me, and believe, Shea. They will come for us.”

  Shea shook her head and closed her eyes. “No one is coming, Sadie. No one has ever found us, and no one will. This is the first auction in over a year. They’ve been building up stock for this. And they will continue to if the guard was right. Auctions are going to be held every week.”

  “Which means more abductions,” Sadie added, her eyes growing wide.

  “Yeah. At least the new girls won’t be tortured as bad. They won’t have time to.” She hoped with all her heart that no one ever had to endure what she’d been through. “Until they are sold, that is.”

  “God, how could someone buy a human. Slavery ended a long time ago. I’d rather be sold to plow fields or clean and cook than someone’s sick sex fetishes.” Both girls went silent and still as the men filed into the holding area where they were being held. Another group came out of the cave door, all speaking and laughing.

  “What’s going on?” Sadie whispered so quietly she wasn’t sure if Shea had heard. Shea turned her head and pressed her mouth against the cage.

  “Shift change,” she cringed. “Sadie—” she wanted to tell her to fight and go to that place no one could penetrate in her mind, but she couldn’t spit it out.

  “Which means, I’m next.” Sadie’s face went ghostly white.

  “Protect yourself, Sadie. Don’t let them take your soul.” For the second time in over six months, Shea had tears fall down her cheeks.

  Sadie locked her fingers with Shea’s and leaned against her. Even though the cold metal was a gruesome reminder of where she was, feeling Shea’s forehead against hers gave her hope.

  Chapter Twelve

  The door to the clubhouse busted open and slammed against the wall, denting the sheetrock. “Shady! Rose! Where the hell is everyone!” Rose came running down the stairs as the guys flooded in from all directions.

  “What’s going on?” She glanced back up from where she’d come, her mind racing. Harley was asleep in her bassinette and no one else was up there. She decided to stop midway in case she had to dart back and get her.

  “Fish called. The Feds are mounting up to go help out. Tonto called in backup. They’re going to sell the girls at some psycho disgusting sex slave trade.” Rave’s back was rigid and shoulders squared off. For as young as she was, the girl had one hell of a presence.

  “Fuck. I’ll make a few phone calls. Chief!” she yelled out. Chief came shoving through the group, moving past the mob of bikers who’d appeared out of the woodwork. With the Savages, the other chapters that had come to aid, the Nomads, and the same for the Ops, the place was crawling with brawly leather clad bikers.

  “I want to leave twenty of you here and the rest are heading out in thirty minutes,” Chief instructed the guys as he moved to the front where Rose could see him.

  “I need Chevy here with Harley. I’m going.” There was no way she was going to stand aside any longer. This shit was over. “Call the bitches. Hell, get the rats up here. I want a fuckin’ army ready to roll out within the hour.”

  “No, Rose. The girls all stay here.” As an elder, Chief was more protective of the girls than their own men.

  “The fuck you say. We may not be official yet, but the Ladies are riding. We need all the help we can get with this and you know it.”

  “Fuck.” He shook his head. “Chevy won’t stay while you ride off down the highway. I’ll get my sister to take her back to the suburbs where she’ll be safe.” Chief was the black sheep of his family, and the oldest. His sisters were all professionals in one way or another. Sherry, the sister mentioned, was a doctor, and his baby sister. She had three kids of her own and had proven her super mom skills long ago. Of everyone he could think of, she was the one to trust with Harley.

  “Chief—”

  “She’ll be taken care of. Sherry’s a doctor and a mom.” Chief knew how overprotective Rose was with her little one and didn’t blame her. After the childhood she’d been through, it was a miracle anyone got to hold her, much less babysit. Rose nodded, and the subject was done.

  “Get weapons. We need enough ammunition to take out an army, boys. We’re taking the trucks.” He turned to Road, and Road nodded. He had an expensive hobby, he loved rebuilding normal trucks with bulletproof glass and enforced panels. Ironically, he also was in charge of the artillery bunker. See, the Savages had collected a rather impressive bounty of weapons ranging from the average pistol to the most high powered sniper rifle and grenades that came across the border onto their turf. They didn’t want that shit out on the streets where gangbangers could shoot up houses and kill innocent people, so they generously took it away. The community was a safer place because of it, and even safer with them having the weapons in their possession. The cops were none the wiser.

  Z
eus did a chin lift to the guys and most cleared out, leaving only a few behind who would stay back and protect the home front. Jas had met Rose at the bottom of the stairs and her whole demeanor had changed. “What’s wrong?” Rose asked.

  “Nothing. I’ve just realized why my mom did what she did. I never knew about any of them until recently. How do I…um…” she stumbled over her words, unsure what to say. Hell, she didn’t even know what she meant. She just knew that after she got out of the hospital, she hadn’t seen a lot of Shady and had no idea if she wanted a relationship, or if they were beyond all that and it’d just be one of those awkward friendships so many absent parents seemed to fall in.

  “You’re afraid Shady won’t want to get to know you.” Rose said it so simply she felt silly. She wasn’t a little girl anymore, but there was a tiny piece of her that still yearned for a momma. Someone to give her guy advice, to take care of her when she was sick. A mom to hug her when she needed and kick her ass when the time called for it. Growing up where she did, there had always been that hole in her life that she couldn’t fill. Jas nodded embarrassed. “Honey, don’t worry. Shady loves you more than anything. You may have not been around her when you were growing up, but there wasn’t a minute of any day she wasn’t thinking about you and wondering if you were okay. Now that she’s got you, she’s never letting you go again.” Rose hugged her briefly, pulling away to look her in the eye. “You’re family now, Jas. Forever. Okay?”

  “Yeah. Thanks, Rose.” She hugged her quickly again and pulled away, her attention going back to prepping to ride out.

  “No problem, kiddo. Now, get on your phone and start calling the girls. We’ve got some ass to kick.” Rose was one of those women who could be one thing one minute, and with the snap of her fingers could turn into a mean badass who’d cut out someone’s eyes and gut them without a second thought. From the stories she’d heard, Rose came from a pretty fucked up family like she had. She’d been sweet, always doing the right thing and being a mom to her siblings. When the Savages found her, she had proven that under all that innocence was a bad mommajama who had been waiting to be unleashed. The stories she’d heard made her take a mental note never to piss her off.

  “Yes, ma’am.” She grabbed her cell out of her pocket and started dialing, starting with the bitches she’d met first and worked her way down to the rats. There were a few who declined and she made note under their contact info in her phone to discuss with Tonto later. The little tramps obviously didn’t belong in the Savages and even though she wasn’t an official member, Shady was. And Shady was her mom.

  Sledge came wobbling in with Lacey chasing after him in a full on nagging assault. “You can’t go!” she pleaded.

  “Go find Alice and Rugger, and stay put.” His tone left little room for argument, but she must not have got the memo. Her ranting only intensified.

  “You can’t tell me what to do, Sledge. Now get your ass back in bed. You’re gonna rip those stitches open!”

  Sledge gave her a questioning look, appearing half amused at her not realizing she’d just told him not to order her around and followed it with an order. The girl definitely had balls. She was the first girl to ever try to tell Sledge what to do.

  Rose had to stifle a laugh. Sledge couldn’t go, but she found it quite comical that her little sister could dish a helping of attitude right back at him. Then it hit her. “Why is Alice with Rugger?” Lacey’s nagging ceased then she and Sledge glanced at one another. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders.

  “I’m out of this. Ask your sister.” Lacey gave him a dirty look and heaved a deep sigh.

  “They’re just friends, Rose. Nothing worth talking about.”

  “Just friends? Yeah right. I know Rugger and don’t much like the fact my sister is ‘friends’ with the man known for his dick size. He’d generously confirmed the rumors to everyone even when it wasn’t requested.

  Not twenty minutes later, Chevy, Raven, Red, Bree, and Skillz showed up with the rats in tow. Sasha and Mercy led the new tail the guys had brought in. “Who are you?” Jas asked the dark haired Raven.

  “Raven. Although, it’s Rave now. It seems my name is popular these days…” she turned and looked at a few of the Ops who were busily filling a wooden crate with weapons. One of the guys looked up and smiled at her, giving her a sexy wink before dismissing the chicks.

  “One of their guys is named Raven,” Chevy explained with a smirk. “She’s a little butt hurt about it all.” Rave nudged her shoulder playfully.

  “Bitch.” Rave looked as deadly as Abi, the MMA fighter she’d recently met, did. These women weren’t your average Betty Crocker. They could bake a batch of cookies and kill you with the metal pan they baked on.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Jas said and followed the girls into the main room.

  “We’ve got work to do, girls. It’s time we take care of more than the skanks that cross us. Those sick bastards are going to see just how bad PMS can be.” Rose left Chevy to fill them all in on the details, what little they had, and went to pack up Harley. When she came back down the stairs, Road was waiting with his arms open wide. “Take care of my baby, Road.”

  “I’d lay my life on the line for this little one, darlin’. She’s in good hands. My sister just phoned and should be pulling up any minute. Go. I got ‘er.” His face softened and he smiled down at Harley. She smiled, still shocked at how a baby could turn these guys to putty. He made a few cooing sounds at Harley and she smiled up at him, her little eyes sparkling. Rose felt a sense of security knowing that her baby girl would grow up safer than any other with a group of uncles who’d protect her and two overbearing dads.

  “The men are going in trucks. We’re riding behind. It’s time we show these boys what we’re made of, girls. Get your bikes packed and ready. We roll out in ten.” Chevy grabbed a duffel bag Ironman handed her and disappeared outside.

  “You heard her, move!” Rose commanded. All of the girls went running. By the time the trucks had arrived and were loaded, the women were all in formation behind, with Chevy, Rose, Rave, and Jas taking point. Abi may be the baddest bitch in the history of badass bitches, but these girls were ready to rumble. Rose knew that whatever came their way, they could handle that shit.

  They rode out in a convoy, the roar of bikes vibrating the earth around them. Jas had never felt such a sense of belonging until now. The only thing that would make it better was if her mom was riding beside her. She firmed her grip on the throttle with determination. The biker chick in her blood came forth and she embraced it, ready to blow a hole in whoever got in her way. “Any word from Tonto or Fork?” she asked into the mic in her helmet. They’d all equipped their helmets with an intercom system that allowed them to talk back and forth.

  “Chief talked to them a couple hours ago. They were moving in the tunnel and are reporting back as soon as they are out and back to safety,” Chevy answered.

  “Do we know how many girls Reyes has?” Rave asked.

  “No, but they think it’s only two or three. They are planning on more just to play it safe though. Now the auction is a whole different story. Fuck knows how many poor innocent girls have been kidnapped for this shit.” Rose thought back to her siblings, saying a silent prayer they weren’t among the ones taken. She had an urge to lock them in a room of bubble wrap and never let them out of her sight again because of psychotic people like this.

  “I can’t wait to give those assholes what they deserve,” Red growled into the mouthpiece.

  “None of us can,” Bree said, breaking her silence. She was normally the calm one of the bunch but this even had her bouncing in her seat. They were all chomping at the bit to get in and get shit done.

  Music began to play over the radio and Rave was the first to complain. “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC pounded through their speakers. As fitting as it was, it was corny as hell. “Seriously?” she barked, a hint of amusement in her voice. Yeah, so, it was a little funny.

 
“This better?” one of the girls said, and changed the song. Laughter broke the tension as Aerosmith’s “Janie’s Got a Gun” played.

  “Yeah, but I like this one better. It hits my bitch switch better.” Skillz changed it to “Gun Powder and Lead” by Miranda Lambert. They left it on that song, applying the words to the group of sonsofbitches who thought it acceptable to rape and beat women. Yeah. They were going to eat some lead all right. It did a lot to simmer the group of women for the long ride ahead. They needed to save their hate and anger until they got there. Then, the devil would be getting a bulk shipment of evil souls to deal with.

  *****

  Heaven, Abi, and Shady followed closely behind Sandman and Fork, keeping their guards up and being fully aware of their surroundings as they found the mouth of the tunnel on Reyes’ property. Reyes, being the arrogant bastard he was, had cemented and fancied up the underground passage with statues of gargoyles and brass inlaid carvings of naked women at the feet of a man sitting on a throne. Yeah, sick didn’t describe this fucker. He put Hitler to shame. One by one, the group moved in, expecting someone to pop out at any minute. So far, only cameras had been the only security he had in place. Which, of course, was no match for Yo Neg’s expertise. In less than ten seconds, he’d managed to disable one by cutting a single wire and rewiring it to loop the video input to avoid detection of their intrusion. Six cameras had been fixed to their advantage so far. Fork gave the signal to move, and they skulked along in the shadows, keeping tight against the walls. The cave had been thoughtfully reinforced with cement and bricks, showing time and effort had been put in for long term use. How long had he been doing this? Heaven thought to herself, choking down the vomit that rose in her throat. It was clear Reyes was one of the sickest bastards on the planet. He’d make Hannibal Lecter cringe. The girls followed, carefully ensuring each step was strategically placed to keep their approach silent. About thirty minutes into the dark passageway, voices echoed from further within. Fork held up a hand and stopped everyone. He made a few hand gestures and the team nodded, all readying their weapons. It was in their best interest to neutralize the oncomers without gun power, but if the situation called for it, they’d use them. The guys all wielded knives and had them ready. Both sides of the cave had Savages and Ops lining the walls, all pressed up into the darkness to wait.