by Erin Trejo
“What the hell took you so long?” I turn my attention back to Micah with a grin.
“Oh, you know. We wanted to make a grand entrance.” I force a laugh.
“You ready?” I turn to Jordyn. She nods once but I don’t make a move to touch her. I’ve seen what it does to her and I’ll be damned if I ever cause that kind of reaction in her again. I motion for her to go in front of me. We follow Micah and Dax up the steps with Kane right behind us.
“Jesus Christ, I never thought I’d miss the goddamn sunlight,” I say as soon as the heat hits my skin. It’s a fucking welcome relief after being in that basement.
“Well, aren’t you a fuckin’ sight for sore eyes.” Bomber shoves his gun into the back of his jeans as he smiles at me. I walk up and pull him into a hug.
“Damn right, I am.”
“Glad you’re ok, brother,” he whispers in my ear. I nod my head, thinking the same thing.
“We need to have church,” I tell him as I pull back. He shakes his head before he says, “Not today we don’t. You need to rest and by the looks of it, she does, too. Got Doc on his way over now.” I nod before I look back at Jordyn. She stands off by herself, her arms wrapped around her stomach. It crushes my heart to see her like that. I don’t fucking know her, but it hurts just the same. I walk over slowly and give her a small smile.
“They won’t hurt you. None of them. We aren’t like these assholes were.” She swallows hard before she peers up at me with the greenest eyes, I’ve ever seen.
“He said the same thing.” Fuck! I should have known that. I should have thought that one over first.
“I know he did. The difference between us is—I’m not a liar. I promise.” She gives me a short nod. I want to reach for her. I want to grab her and hold her against me and tell her that everything is going to be ok.
I start to reach out and do just that but the look in her eyes shift and I stop myself. She looks almost relieved that I didn’t do it. It makes a part of me wonder what the hell happened to her that made her this way. What they did or who else did something to her.
“Everything’s gonna be ok now,” I remind her as I motion for her to head toward the van.
Without a fight, she walks over and climbs in. I silently thank God for that. I didn’t want to have a fight with her but I would have. There was no way in hell that I was about to leave her here and risk the motherfucker’s coming back for her.
Chapter 6
Jordyn
Infiltrate them. Find out what they run. When... and where. How much. Get me Bomber. The words ring in my head like a fucking alarm going off. It’s deafening. I try to sort through my feelings as I lie on the most comfortable bed I think I’ve ever been in.
The Doc came by and checked us out just like they said he would. There wasn’t much to check, though. What could he tell me that I didn’t already know? I had a busted-up lip, black eye, and bruised ribs. The Doc knew something was up though. When I’d flinch away from him and not from pain.... He knew. He didn’t comment on it, just gave me the look. That—I know what that means look, and passed me a card. He told me that if I ever wanted to talk about it, he was always available. I don’t know what talking is going to help. Will it change the way I hurt? No. It can’t possibly. There is too much damage that has been done to me to fix me now. Twenty-four years of pain and suffering. You can’t take that away with talking. A knock on the door pulls me from my thoughts.
“It’s open,” I say, not knowing what else to do.
Link walks in looking refreshed and almost like a whole new person. His smile is bright, his eyes are sparkling.
“I brought you somethin’ to eat. I cooked.” He wiggles his eyebrows. I let myself relax a little and smile up at him.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I say shyly. Why is he making me feel like I need to be shy? He is the man that took my virginity, although it was forced, I should still feel something... right?
“Look, I don’t know what happened to you or why they had you. I just want you to know that you’re safe here. No one will hurt you here. I also wanted to talk to you about what happened with us.” He passes me the plate with eggs, motioning for me to eat. I don’t know how he expects me to eat when he wants to talk about that, or by the way he looks at me.
“I don’t rape people,” he blurts out. His cheeks are red but I can’t tell if it’s embarrassment or rage.
“You didn’t rape me,” I say softly. I look up into those gorgeous eyes. I just feel like I need to make him feel better. The urge is overwhelming. I don’t want him to feel that way. It was forced.
“Rape is rape, sweetheart. No way around that,” he starts to say. I set the plate on the bed and without even thinking I touch his face with my hand. His warmth floods my body.
“You didn’t rape me. He would have killed me. Look at me, Link.” He slowly brings his eyes to meet mine and I can see just how hard this is for him. “You didn’t…. I promise.”
“You were a virgin, yeah?” he asks and now my cheeks heat. I nod my head slowly before he swallows hard. He knew. I don’t know why I thought a man like him wouldn’t! He’s probably been with a million women!
“So was I...” My mouth falls open. I know it is. I can feel it hanging there. He was? What the hell?
“You were?” I ask not sure I heard him correctly. I mean, look at the man! How the hell is that even possible? I let my hand fall from his face and I immediately miss his warmth. It doesn’t hurt me to touch him, it hurts me when people touch me. It’s a strange concept that I don’t understand but losing his warmth does something to me.
“Yeah. I was. I never found a girl that I was into like that. I mean, I wanted it to be someone special.” All the air rushes from my lungs at his words. I am no one special. I’m the evil that lurks in his presence now. I took something from him as much as he took from me. My stomach cramps and the idea of eating is suddenly not such a good thing.
Chapter 7
Link
“You look better.” Aubrie smiles before throwing her arms around my waist.
“I feel better, darlin’. These last few days have kicked my ass,” I admit. Talking to Jordyn seems to help, though. She understands what I went through since she went through it herself. I don’t know why I feel like I need to rehash it with her but she doesn’t seem to mind, and I think she actually likes talking to me, too.
“I’m glad,” she whispers into my shirt. I hold her a little longer when I see Jordyn out of the corner of my eye. Laura gave her some clothes to wear but I find her most days in one of my t-shirts or a sweatshirt that I let her have. She looks around the room, taking it all in. This is the first time that she’s come out of her room. I know she needs her space. I know she needs time to herself and I’ve been giving her that, but it just seems too damn lonely for her. I don’t like that thought at all.
“She seems like a sweet girl,” Aubrie follows my gaze and says.
“Yeah. I just wish I knew what they were doin’ with her. She won’t say much.” Not that I blame her. She has probably had the shittiest past that you can imagine.
“We got church!” Micah yells, pulling my attention. Aubrie pulls away from me and heads toward the kitchen. I motion to Micah to give me a minute and nod toward Jordyn. He nods before he disappears into the office. I walk over slowly to Jordyn, not wanting to startle her.
“Hey, darlin’. You ok?” She startles a little anyway before smiling up at me.
“I’m fine. I just got bored in the room. I can go back.” She takes a step back when I grab her wrist. I immediately know it’s a mistake. I watch the fear as it races through those green eyes. I let go as quickly as I grabbed her.
“Fuck! I’m sorry. I just—” I don’t get to finish. She stops me first.
“No! It’s ok. It’s just hard for me to let anyone touch me. Long story.” And there it is. There is my answer. The one that I’ve been asking myself. Something has happened to her long before Bone and Dirk got
their hands on her, and now I want to know what.
“Yeah, I got that much. I gotta go into a meetin’. The girls are in the kitchen if you wanna go in. They’re nice.” Jordyn watches me for a second without saying a word. I’m not sure what she’s looking for but the way she looks at me sets my heart up to explode. I’ve never felt that with anyone. The way my hands feel clammy. The way my heart picks up a beat. My pulse roaring in my ears. Her eyes blaze with green fire before she blinks and it’s gone.
“Thank you for everything, Link. You didn’t have to bring me back here.” She almost looks torn about that.
“I’m not the type of guy that would leave you to fend for yourself, sweetheart. You’ll figure out quickly that we aren’t them.” I give her a slight smile, which she returns. I know that part is going to be the hardest for her. Trust isn’t an easy thing to gain, not after what she went through.
“I’m figuring that out already.” She leans into me slowly, pressing a kiss to my cheek. When she pulls back, I can see the war in her eyes. There’s more to this girl than I know right now. I will find out though. I want to know more. I want to know why they had her. How they got her. I want to know every last thing that has to do with her and the Ranger’s.
“Go on in. I’ll be out soon. I can take you to eat if you’d like.” She smiles once more and nods her head slowly.
“Ok.” I walk away and head into the office, feeling like a goddamn fool. I’ve never been so fucking nervous around a girl in my whole life. I’m damn near thirty-years-old, and I feel like I’m back in my teens. You know that first crush you have that you’re afraid to talk to? The one that’s pure perfection and you’re the freckle faced boy with pimples? Yeah, that about sums up my feelings at the moment.
I drop into my chair, I rest my head in my hands as we wait for Bomber to come in. I need to get my shit together and my head right. She’s causing all kinds of new reactions in me.
Chapter 8
Jordyn
Link went into his meeting and I took that as my chance to look around the clubhouse for any information I can get. The rooms are all upstairs but there are a million doors down here. I assume the one he went in doesn’t hold much but a meeting place for them.
I stalk down the hallway just to find all the doors are closed. I glance behind me to see if I can see anyone before I open one of them. I step inside and find a damn near empty room. Except for a few boxes that I’m sure aren’t anything, I walk back out. I walk to the next door and do the same. This room is massive, and filled with computer equipment. I walk around and run my fingers over the desk that holds seven monitors, that are currently turned off. There’s a big screen TV attached to the wall above the desk, that looks to be connected to the computers somehow.
“This is Link’s office... so to speak.” A girl’s voice startles me. I jump and turn to see a dark-haired girl smiling up at me.
“I’m sorry. I was just looking around.” She’s going to tell one of them. I know she is. What the hell are they going to do to me?
“It’s fine. Link doesn’t mind. I sneak in here all the time and play games.” She smiles. I give her a soft smile back before she says, “I’m Shannon.”
“I’m Jordyn. What does he do with all of these?” Here we go. Get one of the girls talking. That’s always easier than a man.
“Surveillance mostly. Link is a computer genius.” Shannon sits in one of the chairs and spins it around.
“All of this is for club surveillance?” I ask needing to get more information from her before they come out of their meeting.
“No, just some of it. I don’t really know all the details. I know he can get you whatever information you want. He’s that damn good.” Shannon smiles before spinning in the chair once more.
“So, he’s a hacker?” She looks up at me with a grin and nods her head excitedly. “The best one around.”
That’s good to know. He can get into places others might not be able to. That doesn’t really help me with information on the who, what, where, and how’s that I need but he may come in useful at some point.
“What else do they do here?” I ask in the shyest tone I can manage. Shannon seems to be pretty talkative right now. I might as well get what I can.
“What do you mean?” she asks, giving me her full attention.
“I know that the club that had us... they ran drugs or something like that.” Shannon nods before she shoves out of the seat.
“I don’t know what happened to you but I’ve been there before. Kidnapped, and used. If you ever want to talk, I’m here. Link is a good listener, too. He helped me through a lot.” She doesn’t answer my question but I guess that was to be expected. Shannon turns and leaves the room as I continue to look around. I leave Link’s office and head down the hallway. Two of the doors are locked and the others didn’t really contain too much. I head back into the main room to find the girls all laughing and smiling around a little boy. I walk a little closer when the girl I met, Laura, waves to me. I walk over and sit next to them.
“This is Cory.” He grins at me when she says his name. His little tooth, sticking out in front is the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.
“Hi, Cory. You are adorable.” I tickle his little belly and watch him laugh. I sit back and watch as the rest of them play with the baby.
It makes me wonder.... Why the hell does Bone want Bomber so damn bad? I get that he blew their guys to hell but that’s the game, isn’t it? This club is nothing like theirs. They are family. They watch out for each other. They have kids here for Christ’s sake. They all sit around and smile together. A true fucking family, that I’m going to rip apart.
How the hell am I going to do this?
Chapter 9
Link
“We’re all glad to have you home, brother.” Bomber nods at me. “Ranger’s split once again. We saw that comin’. In fact, I wouldn’t put it past them to be the ones that tipped us off as to where you were. The question is, why? You hear anything while they had you?” I swallow the lump in my throat.
“They want you, Bomber. Said if I’d give you up, I was free to walk. I told them to fuck themselves.” The guys all chuckle but this isn’t a laughing matter. It’s truth.
“Bone and I have a past. You all know that. What you didn’t know was that long before a war was ever in the plans between us, I took out his son. It wasn’t somethin’ I was proud of. It had to be done. Most of you weren’t even around back then. Micah, Bullet. Shit, you boys were off in the war.” What the hell? Who is he talking about? I’ve been here.
“I know what you’re thinkin’, Link. You’ve been around. You may remember the kid. Martin James.” As soon as the name leaves his mouth, I know who it was.
“He fuckin’ lived here for a while, Bomber,” I say in shock. I remember him slightly. He wasn’t much to take note of.
“That he did. He made his way in as a prospect before I ever fuckin’ found out who he was. As soon as I did, I took care of him. He was spyin’ on us. His daddy had fuckin’ plans, even back then,” Bomber says without even flinching.
“I could have brought the club into it but he was a nobody. He barely even made a stench in here so I figured just takin’ him out was the best way to handle it.” Fuck! Now I see why he’s so pissed but why now I wonder. So, I ask, “Why now? That was over ten years ago.” Bomber runs his hand through his hair before looking back up at me.
“Ten years ago, this comin’ weekend. We’ve always had a rift. He always made himself known around this time. Think back, brothers. We’ve always had some kind of shit this time of year. It’s all on me, too. It’s all my goddamn fault!” he roars. Bash slams his fists on the table in front of him, pulling everyone’s attention.
“We never knew that shit! Now we do. We make a plan. We need to fuckin’ cut his ass off while we can.” I grunt my agreement. I have no problem going to war with that motherfucker.
“I agree. And we will. The girl, Jordyn. Any chance she’s
one of them?” All eyes fall on me. I shake my head.
“Couldn’t say, Prez. I know she was beat to hell just like me. Forced into shit like I was. If I had to take a guess just by that, I’d say no, but we all know that means shit.” Bomber nods his head before he blows out a breath.
“We’re not in the business of fuckin’ up ladies unless we find ample reason to. Keep an eye on her. All of you. You see her actin’ any kind of way, you come to me.” The guys all agree and so do I. Do I think it’s coincidence that she happened to be in the same place as me being held captive? No. Not with my logical thinking it doesn’t, but that doesn’t mean it’s right. I’ve been wrong before. I sure as fuck hope I’m wrong again. I don’t want to see anything else happen to her. She’s been through more than I even know as it is and to add to that would be death. I don’t know that she could handle it.
“We’re done here. Link, you good, brother?” Bomber looks to me once more.
“Yeah, I’m good. Glad to be home.” I smile. Bomber nods but I see the look in his eyes.
The guilt.
The anger.
He thinks this shit was his fault and to a point I suppose it was, but we’re family. We take care of family. There was never a time that we haven’t.
Chapter 10
Jordyn
Link has gotten me everything I could ever need clothes wise. He’s been really sweet to me and it makes me rethink everything I’m doing here. I pile my hair on top of my head as I walk toward the door.
“Where you goin’?” A deep voice booms behind me. I jump before I turn and see Bullet standing there with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Out for a jog. I used to always jog before...” I let that sentence fade. He doesn’t say anything. He just watches me.