by Erin Osborne
Instead of going over to him and interrupting the two men, I stay where I’m at. The women are all huddled together, pulling comfort and strength from one another. In the center of the circle of women, the kids are sitting and playing. No one is letting them out of their sights. Most of the men are standing in front of the grills, making sure the women and kids have something to eat.
Eating is the last thing on my mind. The only thing I want to be doing is heading out on the road in search of Cassidy. We have no clue who has her, where they’ve taken her, or what they want with her.
Well, we don’t know for sure who has her. My thought is Craig has her. Somehow he found Diablo and his fuckwads and hired them. I’m not sure what the end game for Craig is other than taking Cass back to prove a point or some shit. She’s not his no matter what a fucking piece of paper says. Cass is ours and we’re bringing her the fuck home.
Chapter Thirteen
Cassidy
THE SECOND I begin to become alert; I realize a few things. The first being that my head is killing me. I’m not sure what I was hit with but based on the knot on the back of my head, it was a larger object. My sight is blurry from the knock to the back of my head.
My second realization is I’m freezing to death. Looking down my body, I’m only in my bra and panties. Someone has stripped my clothes from my body while I was unconscious. What the fuck? No one other than Hawk and Chains deserve to see me without any clothes on. Not anymore.
Thirdly, I realize I have no clue how long I was out. If I was only hit, then it probably wasn’t more than a few hours. That assumption is based on the past though. On the other hand, if whoever has me injected me with something, I could’ve been out for longer. There’s no way to tell at this point.
Looking around the room, I take stock of where I am. The room I’m in is small and cold. There’s one window facing me. I know there’s no way I’ll be able to escape the room through there because there’s bars covering the entire width.
The paint on the walls is peeling and there’s a layer an inch think of dust. Looking at the window again, I realize I’m so cold because it’s broken. There’s a hole the size of a softball in the bottom corner of the window.
As I look closer at the wall, there’s scratch marks. It looks as if someone put them there as markers. Like they were counting the days here or something. I’ve never seen anything like it and it sends a chill down my spine. Who the fuck has me?
My mind immediately wanders to the last person occupying this room. I want to know all about them. And definitely what happened to them. Or, am I to suffer the same fate they did? Will Hawk and Chains find me in time?
Other than me, and the leg shackle attached to my ankle, there’s nothing in the room. Only one doorway. This means no bathroom or closet in this room. Nowhere I can go to the bathroom or hide if the need arises.
Speaking of bathrooms, I have to go and there’s nowhere to go. What the hell am I supposed to do? Before I can contemplate what I’m going to do about the bathroom situation, the door is flung open.
Standing in the doorway of the small room is Craig. There’s a sinister smile on his face and his eyes are even more lifeless than usual. For the longest time he just stands there and stares at me. It feels like it lasts an eternity but in reality it’s more like a few minutes.
“I told you you’d be back with me. It was just a matter of time before I got my hands on you,” Craig says. “I’ve spent even more money on you than I wanted to. Now, I’ll be adding on to the cost of you.”
“W-w-what are you talking about?” I ask, trying not to show my fear.
“I told you I needed your help. See, I got into some trouble with men you don’t want to piss off. They saw a picture of you and now you’re theirs. They’ll be here within weeks to pick you up.”
“What? How can you do that to me?” I ask, outrage filling me.
“If you thought my punishments were bad, you have no idea the hell you’re waiting for. These men are sadistic, unrelenting, and unfeeling. You should’ve stayed put,” Craig tells me.
He takes a few steps toward me and I refuse to cower in his presence. Once Craig gets close enough to me, I slam my palm forward and slam it against his nose. The sound of the bone breaking sends a chill through me. I’ve never been violent before in my life.
“You bitch!” Craig yells out as blood begins to pour from his nose. “I’ve had enough of your shit.”
Craig temporarily forgets about his nose. He proceeds to punch and kick out at me. This time, I can’t get away because I’m chained to the damn wall. I block as many punches as I can, but I still feel every jolt and hit. I’m going to be bruised once again. Fucker!
“Now, you can stay here for the rest of the day. I was going to have you make dinner. Hell, I’d even give you the scraps. Now, you can fucking suffer you bitch,” he says.
Craig turns and leaves the room. The distinct click of the lock sliding in place echoes in the room. Well, isn’t that some shit. Even if I manage to figure out how to get out of this damn shackle, I can’t get out of this room. Not without a bobby pin or something. And there’s nothing like that in here.
I slump down to the floor and curl myself around my knees. The more I stretch out, the worse the pain in my body will become. I’ve learned that much from my time with Craig. If I stay as small as possible, I’ll be able to try to ease the pain and stay warm.
It might not be freezing cold outside, but the temperature has started to drop with the absence of the sun. In some ways I relish the cold temperatures because it will help ease the swelling and pain. On the other hand, I’m worried about getting too cold. When I get cold, it usually takes me forever to get warm again.
I let my thoughts drift to Hawk and Chains as I lay as still as possible. The first memories playing on a loop in my mind are of Chains teaching me self-defense. With his hard body pressing against mine as he taught me different moves.
Thoughts of Hawk invade my mind. The first time he took me on his bike fills my senses. Remembering the way it felt to have my arms wrapped around his hard body and the freedom that filled me as we rode down the roads.
The way I feel safe, protected, and loved when I’m with the two men. Our bodies fit perfectly together when we’re making love. Last night, depending on what day it is,
Our time together seems to be nothing in the grand scheme of things. A few months at most. Long enough for me to fall in love with the two men. I didn’t even get the chance to tell them I love them. Because of Craig, I waited too long and now they may never know.
At some point, I passed out. I’m not sure how long I’ve been sleeping when the door crashes open again. I don’t concentrate on him standing there though, I can’t. My bladder feels like it’s about to explode. I haven’t been to the bathroom in God knows how long.
“You have five minutes to go to the bathroom and get cleaned up. Then you’ll be cleaning this fucking place and making me something to eat. If you try any bullshit, I’ll make sure you suffer the consequences. Don’t fucking try me,” Craig says.
I stand perfectly still as he bends down to unlock the shackle around my ankle. Once I’m free, I move my ankle around to try to get some feeling back in it. I can see where my ankle is already bruised and where the metal has cut my skin open. This isn’t gonna be fun to walk around on.
Craig shows me where the bathroom is and roughly pushes me through the door. I almost trip with my ankle still not fully functioning. He laughs as he stops across the hall from the bathroom and leans up against the wall. The only sound he makes is when he tells me not to shut the door. Now I have to pee in front of him? This is sick and I shouldn’t be surprised by his actions.
“Hurry up bitch!” he yells.
I hurry up and finish taking care of my needs. As soon as I’m done washing my hands, Craig pulls me out of the bathroom and leads me down a set of stairs. I’m expecting him to push me down them. But, I suppose he can’t damage the ‘merchandise
’. It’s insane to think he wants to sell me to cover a debt he got into himself.
I’ve tried to keep my thoughts off of the fact I’m about to be given to another human being like some kind of slave. With the look in Craig’s eyes, I guarantee he knows I’m about to be violated and raped. The same shit he used to do to me. These thoughts take over my mind as I walk into the lower level of the house.
Taking my first good look at the living area of the house, I take in the garbage, piles of dirty laundry, and everything else littering the small space. This house must not be very big. Something Craig isn’t accustomed to because our house was huge and pristine.
The floor plan is open as I stand at the bottom of the steps for a second. To my left is the living room. It’s got a small couch, an older style TV, and a table in front of the couch. Every spot of the floor is littered with something. And the table is covered in papers and what looks like work things of Craig’s.
To my right is the kitchen. The appliances are outdated and I’m surprised they still work. There’s a small four-person table in the middle of the room. Dishes fill every available surface. Along with an odor I can’t even begin to describe. It smells like something died in here and no one bothered to dispose of the body.
“Is there a laundry room or something I can use to clean your clothes?” I ask Craig.
“It’s down the small hallway just over there,” Craig answers, the usual harsh tone absent from his voice.
“Thank you. Is there a certain room you’d like me to start in?” I ask, keeping my tone pleasant.
“The kitchen so we can eat.”
I know how this works with Craig. If I act nice, like I’m ready to bend to his wishes, he’ll give me more freedom and keep his hands off me. So, until I can figure out how I’m going to get away from him, I’ll play the act and try to keep his hands off me.
Walking into the kitchen, I decide to start with the dishes. Both sides of the sink are filled to overflowing along with the counters on either side of the sink. Pots and pans litter the top of the stove and the table has three place settings left to sit for who knows how long. This is ridiculous.
Pulling the dishes out of the sink, I stack them so I can fill it with water and soap. I find sponges under the sink along with a full bottle of dish soap. With everything I need in hand, I get started on the dishes. I end up having to throw some away because they’re filled with mold and other things I don’t want to think about.
It takes me over two hours to do all the dishes. I’m sweating and ready to take a hot shower but my work is nowhere near done. I clean the stove, oven, wipe down the counters, and clean the table before grabbing the broom to sweep the floor. Once I’m done with that, I mop the floor so I can start a load of wash before cooking.
“What would you like to eat?” I ask Craig who’s sitting on the couch.
“Make me some eggs, potatoes, bacon, and toast. If there’s enough leftover, you can have some,” he tells me.
This is how it’s always been with him. Craig gets to eat what I cook and then I get any leftovers there might be. Usually it’s not enough to fill a fly, but it’s still better than nothing. I grab what I need to cook and get started.
Craig comes to the table to sit, expecting me to sit with him while he eats. I place a plate in front of him before taking my seat on the opposite side of the table from him. While Craig eats, I sit quietly and look around the room. There’s gotta be a way I can escape this hellhole.
Once I’ve eaten the scraps of food and take care of our dirty dishes, I make my way into the living room. It takes me just as long to clean the living room as it did the damn kitchen. As I’m cleaning, I find used needles and other drug paraphernalia. Well, I guess I know for sure now Craig’s on drugs. I always thought he was but had no proof.
I move carefully throughout the room because I’ve found the needles all over the place. Craig sits and bitches about me getting in his way while he’s watching TV. I’m not sure what he expects me to do as I try to clean up after his ass.
Finally, I switch the laundry out and let Craig know I’m done. He leads me back upstairs and locks the shackle around my ankle again. Once he’s sure I’m secure, he turns to face me.
“I’ll come for you in the morning. You need to take a shower after breakfast so I can take pictures of you for your new owner,” Craig announces before leaving me alone in the room.
I curl up into a ball as the pain of moving around today begins to set in. It doesn’t take me long to succumb to the darkness threatening to pull me under. Peace at last.
Chapter Fourteen
Hawk
WE SPENT MOST of the night searching for Cassidy. Renegade broke us up into teams and send us out on the routes Fox and I planned out earlier. I’m riding out with Bear and Psycho this time. Chains is riding out with Grave and Bishop. The rest of the men riding out look to find their own teams and pick different routes to travel.
If anyone finds our girl, they’re to call Chains or I immediately. We’ve explained the situation to them and they understand where we’re coming from. No one is to see her before one of us. The situation is bad enough and we don’t want to make it worse.
Renegade and Slim had us all meet a few hours ago. After discussing what happened, we’ve come to the conclusion Craig has our girl. There’s no one else Diablo would align himself with that would only take one woman. If someone is in the flesh trade, they would’ve taken most, or all, of the ol’ ladies here. No, they only took Cassidy.
My mind wanders to Cassidy while we ride through the night. Instead of finding peace and freedom on the open road, none of that fills my soul. Dread, fear, and rage fill my soul. Down to my bones, it fills me.
Every second I haven’t been busy researching the area, or talking with the other men, I’ve been thinking about Cassidy. The way her eyes light up when she’s truly happy about something. Or how she twirls her hair around her finger when she’s deep in thought. If she’s nervous about something, she’ll pull away slightly and get lost in thought before she talks to anyone about it.
Then the thoughts of how she’s coming out of her shell begin to fill my mind. How sexy she is in her little shorts and tank tops. Or when she walks around in front of us naked. The way she lets us know what she wants in bed is a major turn on.
The end result is me riding my bike with a fucking hard-on. Not the most comfortable thing in the world to do.
We ride the route we’ve been assigned and found nothing. There’s not an empty house, or a piece of land that looks as if it’s been visited recently. We’re in the middle of fields and homes with multiple lights shining like beacons from the windows.
My rage and frustration level increase to the maximum as we make our way back toward Slim’s land. I’m going to snap and it’s not going to take much to push me over the edge. I hate feeling so out of control and at a loss. I’ve never felt like this. Not until Cass came into our lives and started making us feel things we’ve never felt before.
Pulling onto the land, we park our bikes and I make my way over to the closest guys.
“Anyone find anythin’?” I ask.
“Nothin’. We’re waitin’ on Chains and them to get back, but nothin’ so far,” Renegade answers.
I want to turn around and get back on my bike to ride out and search some more. Unfortunately, that’s not a choice I have. We were mandated to come back as soon as our routes were complete. From there, we’ll formulate another plan and go from there.
“Fuck!” I shout out. “This is bullshit. I don’t see why I can’t just fuckin’ go out and find my girl. If it were any of you, that’s what would be happenin’. And I don’t just mean from Satan’s Anarchy.”
“You better watch your fuckin’ mouth, Hawk,” Renegade says, getting in my face.
“No! You know it’s the fuckin’ truth. If we weren’t here, Cassidy would’ve been fuckin’ protected and none of this would’ve happened. Shit, we had Diablo right fuckin’ here
in front of us and couldn’t do a fuckin’ thing about it. Now, our girl’s missin’ and it’s goin’ to be however long until we get close to Diablo again. Fuck this shit!”
“Hawk, if you don’t get your shit under control, I’m gonna knock you the fuck out. You don’t get to fuckin’ disrespect me or any other President here. We all know it’s your girl out there. We’d be feelin’ the same way if it were any of us. Get outta your fuckin’ head and realize she’s stronger than you know. Because she knows you and Chains love her and will be there to get her,” Renegade tells me.
I know he’s dead serious. Renegade never calls us out in front of a group. Especially clubs we really don’t know. Rationally, I know I’ve stepped over the line. With my head all over the place like it is, I can’t seem to stop myself. So, I walk away until Chains is back. He’ll pull me out of my fucking head so I can talk to the guys like a man and not an idiot.
Chains got back from his route with no news. Before he got to the RV, he heard about my lashing out. He’s not in much better shape himself. We both want to take off and not come back until Cassidy is safe in our arms.
Sitting in the RV, I go over the maps and satellite images once again. Chains is helping me this time. He may not know what he’s looking at, but he’ll do whatever it takes to bring our Pixie home. If he thinks he’s found something, he points it out to me. I’m making a list of houses in the middle of nowhere I can research.
Within hours of Chains and I taking up residence in the RV, there’s a knock on the door. Chains opens it to find Renegade standing there. He’s still pissed if the look on his face is anything to go by. I stand up and get ready to apologize.
“We’re ridin’ out. Gonna take time on the way home to search. Bishop, Bear, and Tex will stay here with Callie and Hadliegh. You got places to look?” he asks.
“Yeah. We’ve been goin’ over the maps again. Here are the houses we believe are empty,” I answer him.