by Sam Crescent
The image of a woman, Mandy, came onto the screen. She was a beautiful woman, and as he looked over the files, he saw that she was indeed the woman whom they’d been searching for. A couple of months ago she had been admitted to hospital, where blood work had been drawn, and the documents were on file.
“He hacked into a government database.”
“Lewis is losing his mind, and his need to find this girl is getting stronger,” Richard said.
“The intel, this place, what do you know about it?”
“Some rich retired billionaire, believe it or not. It’s in his name, and there’s no record other than one company, which goes by the name Augustus, Limited.” Richard leaned back in his chair.
“What do you think it is?” he asked.
“I think after all these years, Lewis has found the girl he’s been searching for, but I also believe that it’s out of our hands. We can’t go in and save her, like Lewis wants. It’s overseas. The location you’re looking at is on some exotic island. Makes sense, girls are shipped over, trained, and sold. Big business.”
“I can’t believe we’re even having a discussion about women being big business.”
“It’s a hard topic to deal with, but it’s what we do.”
Russ agreed. “If he’s found her, and she’s brought back, Lewis may find some peace.”
“Or it can send him on a mission to help more like her.” Richard shrugged. “I just thought I’d come and make sure you were still alive.”
“You knew I was alive. I’ve kept in touch. I’ve just not been around the club.”
“This thing with Anna. Is it serious?”
“Yes.”
“How serious?” Richard asked.
“I made sure she lost her apartment, put her stuff into storage, and fucked her without wearing a condom. She’s not on any birth control either. That’s how serious I am right now.”
“Shit!”
“Yeah.”
“How did she take that?”
“Anna freaked when she realized I hadn’t used a condom. She shouted, and I stopped her from losing her shit, by fucking her against the wall near her room. Since then, she’s moved into my room, and I spend every chance I can, making sure I get her pregnant.”
“You’ve got issues.”
“I’m not giving her the chance to walk away. Call me a pussy all you want, but I know what I want.”
“It’s what has made you a great businessman. You’ve not spent time dawdling on a decision. You’ve always been precise.”
“Thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should probably stick your head into the club to let them know what’s happening. Lewis wants to demand a church meeting tomorrow.”
“I’ll talk to Lewis when I stop by the club.”
Richard got to his feet. “For what it’s worth, I happen to like Anna. She’s a good woman, a fighter. You need a fighter in your life. Take care of her.”
“I intend to take care of her, and protect her, Richard.”
“I’d be careful of Tina. She’s grown attached to you, and seems to be under some kind of impression that she can win you over.”
“Thanks for the heads-up.”
Russ watched Richard leave, and on his way out, several women stopped to admire the large man. Richard stood out in a crowd, and even though he was a large, scary man, women still flocked to him.
Pulling out his cell phone, Russ put a call through to Franny.
“This is your third call of the day, Russ. Anna’s fine, and I’m making sure she’s not overdoing it. If she finds out you’re calling every couple of hours, she’s going to get angry. Let her breathe.”
“I’m sorry. I worry about her. Call me if anything changes.”
“You will be the first man I call.” The line disconnected. Logging out of his emails, Russ got to his feet, and got his PA, Daniel, to cancel the remainder of his meetings. He had his cell phone, which allowed him to conduct business from wherever he was in the world.
Within minutes he was on the road, heading toward the exclusive club for their MC. While he was driving, he went back over the night over a couple of months ago when he’d heard Anna’s scream. She had changed his life forever, and he’d not even known it. When he’d gone to her hospital room, he’d needed to know she was okay. Fuck, if he’d left it another night, she would have been dead. He hated the fuckers who took her, but he hated every single bastard who hurt women.
Growing up in foster care, he’d seen a shitload of evil in other people. One of the homes he’d been to had a father who liked to use his fists on his wife and the kids. Russ couldn’t stand to hear a woman crying, and when he had heard the sounds of the sweet foster mother who took him in, he’d not been able to keep his fists to himself.
One night, Russ had made sure he was awake when the pleas had started. His foster mother had been so kind. The kindest woman he’d ever known until Anna. She loved to bake, and cook, and sing as Anna did. The only darkness inside her was that of her husband. He scared her into staying with him. Looking back, Russ had no doubt that someone would have saved her. She’d been too kind, too beautiful to ignore. That Friday night had changed everything. He had walked downstairs, making sure not to make a noise.
His foster father had his belt in hand, and was beating her, slapping, and hurting the woman who was just trying to protect herself.
Russ had seen red. He’d grabbed the nearest lamp and thrown it at the man, distracting him. When his foster father turned on him, she had tried to protect him, jumping in front of him, and telling her husband to back off.
The next part still broke Russ to remember.
His foster father had back handed her so hard that she was pushed across the room. The only problem was, the attack made her impact with a corner of the glass table. He’d watched his foster mother smash her head on the corner and fall to the floor dead. The single blow to the head had killed her. Russ had gone to her, checked her pulse, and discovered she was dead. He’d exploded in a fit of rage, grabbing a poker, and unleashing hell upon the man who had just killed the one woman who had protected him.
Pulling out of his memories, Russ found himself at the parking lot of the club. He’d not gone to jail for killing his foster father. It had been proven he’d attacked in self-defense. It also helped that their children testified against their father, and that had saved him a long jail term.
He was given a warning, and was placed in a home for troubled kids. Russ had taken many lives since that night, but he had never raised his hand against a woman, and he never would.
Locking up his car, he made his way toward the elevator. He hadn’t thought about his foster mother in a long time. It sucked, the memory of that night, but had cemented his path.
The door opened to the club opened, and he stepped inside.
Tina was walking across the club when he arrived. She turned toward him, and the smile on her face grew as she spotted him.
“Hey, baby. It has been too long since you were here.” She walked up toward him and ran her hands up his chest.
He grabbed her wrists, and shook his head. “No. I’m not interested in what you have to offer me.”
Tina’s smile disappeared. “Is this because of that fatty you brought here?”
“Don’t think of disrespecting my woman, Tina. Anna belongs to me. She’s my old lady.”
The club members had never taken an old lady, but Russ had decided he was going to change that now.
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t believe you’d pick her over me.”
“Your pussy belongs to the club. Anna belongs to me. You’ve got nine other brothers to satisfy, not me.”
“I don’t want anyone else.”
“Then I suggest you find a job that pays well. You don’t fuck the brothers, you don’t get to be in the club, and you don’t get paid for the pleasure.”
“You’d kick me out?”
Russ had more important things to do with his time.
He entered the main office, and saw Lewis staring at a projector with Mandy’s three images. There was the image of when she had disappeared as a child, the one that had gone through the aging program, and then the image of the woman on the security footage.
“It’s her then?”
“Mandy’s blood was tested when she was a child so it was on record. I matched the two blood samples, and discovered them to be the same. It’s her, Russ. That’s Mandy. She’s alive, and she’s the one who has been helping those girls and women. I don’t know how she’s been doing it.”
He moved behind his friend, and placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll find a way to get her out.”
“I’ve already made sure our contact knows money is not a problem.”
“What happens now?” he asked.
“They’re going to find the background info on Augustus, and then come back to me.”
“You don’t sound hopeful,” Russ said.
“Every second we wait, it risks Mandy. She was being monitored. If someone knew there was a leak of girls, she could be dead. My involvement could kill her.”
“Have you removed her photograph from the missing persons?” Richard asked.
“Yes, I removed it, and closed down any trace of that image ever being taken.” Lewis stood, and ran fingers through his hair. He had several weeks’ worth of growth around his face, and he looked like shit. Russ told him so.
“Have you gone home?” he asked.
“No. I’ve not wanted to go home. This is important to me, Russ. I can’t just go home.”
“What good are you going to be if they come back with an answer for bringing her home? You’re tired, worn out. What are you going to do then?”
“I’ve got to get her out of there.”
“You will, but you’re going to have to be prepared for what comes next. It may not be good.”
“I know that. I know she’s not going to be the same fucking Mandy who was taken. I get that you all care about me, and you’re all just looking for me, but it’s fucking hard, okay? It’s hard to know someone I’ve been looking for, for fucking years, is right there, and I can’t do anything about it.”
Lewis stormed over to the map and pointed at a location. He was being torn apart, and it was hurting him.
Russ couldn’t do anything but listen.
“We’re all here for you. None of us are going to back down. This is our mission as much as it’s yours.”
Lewis deflated. “I’m sorry.” He rubbed at his eyes and released a sigh. “I’m fucked in the head right now. I can just imagine her screaming for my help. She screamed for me then, and I was too damn slow. I don’t want to be slow now. I’ve got to be strong for her.”
Richard nodded. “We will.” He wasn’t about to tell his friend that Mandy could very well be dead. That wasn’t what Lewis needed to hear right now.
“I heard you and Anna are a thing right now? The girl that we saved?”
“Yes.”
“Then you will know part of what I’m going through. Imagine Anna being taken, Russ, and you can’t find her, or locate her, and she’s always there. Her screams for help, begging you. She’s within your grasp, and you just can’t do anything.”
The very thought had Russ in knots. He couldn’t handle anything like that.
“Keep hold of her, Russ. Life is too fucking short, and it’s too fucking painful to live a life with regrets.”
Chapter Eleven
One week later Anna placed the light goods onto the shelf, and took her time so she didn’t hurt any other part of her body. It had been just over a week since she and Russ had sex, and they had fucked every single day of the week. Russ had an insatiable appetite, and he refused to wear a condom. She tried not to think of the pregnancy tests kits that she was now placing on the shelves.
Anna hadn’t taken a test yet, and she didn’t intend to. She wasn’t ready to know the truth, or to make a decision. The relationship she was having with Russ excited her. She never knew what was going to happen next, and when he touched her it was like a spark inside her, waiting to go up in flames.
When she finished with one case of tests, she pulled the trolley back to the supply room, being careful not to bump into any customers. Franny was in the back room as she passed, and Anna made sure to say hello to her.
Franny had been a rock in the workplace, keeping her busy, and getting her used to being back with the team. It wasn’t the kind of work she wanted to keep doing, but whenever she thought about moving on, it was too hard. Karen was gone, and taking that next step required her to remember what she had lost.
She was only on part time while her arm healed completely, and she had been to the doctors. They were sure the cast was going to come off within a matter of weeks. She couldn’t wait to have full use of her arm. Anna wouldn’t be as strong, but she would be able to use it.
Entering the warehouse, she moved toward the light section, and started to stack up her trolley when her cell phone rang. Russ had given her the cell phone, and demanded that she keep it on her at all times.
“You know I’m working right?” she asked, using her cast arm to hold her phone to her ear.
“I know, and I wanted to see you. You’re finished after lunch, right?”
“Yes.”
“Come to my workplace.”
“No.” So far she’d avoided his workplace like the plague. She wasn’t afraid of his money, but seeing him in his business domain kind of scared her a little.
“Anna.”
“I’m not coming to your workplace. They’ll probably throw me out on the street.”
“Anna! They would be fired on the spot. Come to my workplace. I’ve got a present for you.”
“I’m not comfortable having presents.”
He chuckled. “You’re going to love this kind of present.”
“Why?” There was something about his voice that made her body go wet with desire.
“Well, I was sitting here minding my own business, working, of course, and I happened to remember the taste of your sweet pussy, not to mention how damn good it feels wrapped around my dick. I started to get hard, baby. My dick, it needs your tight pussy on it, and I figured if I waited until lunch when your work was finished, you could come and help me.”
Anna rested her head against the shelf. He was driving her crazy. Her pussy grew slick just remembering the way he slid inside her. Russ was still a big man, but he didn’t hurt so much anymore when he fucked her. The pleasure was always intense, and he always pushed her to the peak of an orgasm, holding her on that precipice.
“You’re thinking about me right now, aren’t you, baby?”
“Yes.”
“Are you soaking wet for me?”
“You know I am. I’m always wet for you, and I always need you.”
“Come to my office. I will make it worth your while.”
Nibbling her lip, Anna thought about it. There was no point in saying no. The only person she was going to disappoint was herself.
“Okay, I’ll stop by for lunch.”
“I’ll have lunch delivered to us, and ready for when you get by.”
“Bye, Russ.”
She hung up the phone before he got a chance to say anything else. His words had lighted a fire, and now it was up to her to put it out.
Licking her lips, she took some deep breaths and tried to stop the arousal that he’d created. He was turning her into a sex addict.
Grabbing the items, she dragged the trolley onto the main floor, unpacked everything, and went back, repeating the same process. All the time, she watched the clock for the lunch hour that signaled the end of her shift. The clock seemed to go so slowly, and it was driving her crazy. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself
to keep on moving even as her excitement started to build.
When it was lunch break, she cleaned up her trolley, placed it in the bay, and clocked out. She grabbed a cab, and sent a quick text to Russ, to let him know she was on her way. Locking her fingers together, she stared out of the window, unsure of what was going to happen when she finally got to his office. She’d never been there, and didn’t know what to expect.
The cab driver told her they had arrived, and she paid him the extravagant fare, and climbed out of the back. She stared up at the tall building, and swallowed.
Holy shit.
The building was larger than she imagined, and it just frayed her nerves. Entering the building, she walked up to the main desk where a blonde woman was talking on some head device thingy.
When she finished, she looked at Anna.
“Can I help you?”
“Yes, I have a, erm, lunch appointment with Russell Wyatt.”
The woman looked at her doubtfully, and glanced across some booklet, which Anna guessed was an appointment booklet. “What’s your name?”
“Anna Little.”
The woman looked up startled. “Can I see some ID?”
Pulling her license out of her bag, she handed it over to the woman. “Okay, you may indeed go on up.”
She took her license back and started walking toward the elevators.
“Do you think that’s his sister?” the woman asked.
“Don’t be mean.”
“Mr. Wyatt is so hot. He can do better than that.”
Anna kept on walking. It wasn’t the first time she’d encountered catty remarks, and she doubted it would be the last. Once at the elevator, she clicked on the top floor, and stood back.
Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she winced. No wonder the woman had to question if she was a sister or something. Her cast was no longer white, and covered in signatures, most of them from the ten members of the MC of Russ’s. Her hair was a mess, sticking up all over the place, and her clothes were old. She stuck out like a sore thumb in Russ’s life. There was no way she could change who she was.