Carri slumped against James, unable to keep her eyes open any longer. The last thing she heard before the blackness entirely engulfed her was, “You should have listened to me, Carri.”
Chapter 24
Link waited in the shed outside the tunnel as they had planned, but he couldn’t get rid of the feeling something was off. The airfield was quiet, not a single plane was coming in or going out. There was a light on in the tower, but he couldn’t detect any movement within the building. Either the flight controller was sleeping or there wasn’t anyone there. It didn’t make sense, this place was small, but it should be manned around the clock. Link pulled out his phone and texted Tuck.
Something isn’t right, either we’re being set up or this shipment isn’t coming in here. Things are too quiet.
Agreed, we don't see any signs of the truckers, either. Sent Tal back to check out other channels.
Link knew that meant Tuck was having Talon check the law enforcement channels. Tal would also pull up satellite views and look for heat signatures other than their own.
Do we have eyes on Worthington and Haslet?
That’s a negative, both men went into The Grove over three hours ago and haven’t been seen since.
Son-of-a-bitch! I’m going to take a closer look. Tell the guys to hang back.
Link showed his own team the text and waited for them to acknowledge him. He left the shed, Jinx right behind him, and stayed in the shadows, going building to building, checking things out. He was right, the place was a ghost town. At the last building, Jinx tapped his back. When Link turned around the man was had his fist up indicating that they needed to stop. When Link halted, Jinx made a series of hand movements—there was a bogie to their left, several of them.
They crab walked further into the shadows and watched, and sure enough, in the last building was an entire team, FBI, DEA and even ICE officials. They were setting up a sting of some kind, and Link knew the RBMC was the target. They beat tracks back to the shed as fast as they could without making any noise. Once inside, he motioned the men to move back into the tunnel before he shut the door. He texted Tuck.
ABORT we are being set up—ABORT mission is a no go.
He received Tucks affirmative and acknowledgment, then closed the hidden door and took off running. They needed to get back to the Clubhouse and figure out what the hell was going on. Tuck and the others could take the road, but Link and his team were stuck running the fifteen miles on foot until they could get to their bikes. Jinx was right at his side and handed him a head lamp. Shit, Link wasn’t thinking, he’d been running blind. The head lamp made the job a little easier.
When he bolted out of the tunnel right into Crank, his gun in pointed right at him, Link stopped cold in his tracks.
“What the hell was going on?”
“Jesus, motherfucker!” Crank yelled. “You almost got a fucking bullet right in your fucking head.”
“What are you doing here, why aren’t you at the Clubhouse with the women? Link barked as he started running again.
“Carri got a call from Addy’s phone and heard her screaming. I came here to the farm to check it out, but she isn’t here. Rea called and said Addy showed up at the Clubhouse twenty minutes after I left. I thought I would check things out, but Link, listen man, you need to stop.”
“No, we need to get back to the Clubhouse. The mission was a setup, feds all over the place, waiting. We need to make sure we’re back there before Raimes can pull any more of his bullshit searches and get the information we got from Dowes office.”
“No, you need to listen,” Crank grabbed his arm, “Carri is gone. She was on the porch when I left, but never went back inside. Blade pulled up the surveillance tapes and there was a new model, black BMW exiting the property shortly after I did.”
“What!” Link rounded on the man. He wanted to hit something and right about now Crank seemed like the best person. The man was supposed to stay at the Clubhouse and keep Carrington safe. Instead, he was here at the farm, leaving Blade alone to deal with the women and whatever was to come. That was unacceptable.
“Listen,” Crank said, holding his hand up, “Blade called Tanner, they got the license plate number and found out the car is registered to Val. Talon is working on hacking into her OnStar.”
Link turned around and started for his bike. He wouldn’t sit around the fucking farm when Carrington needed him. Grabbing his phone, he dialed Tal’s number.
“Talk to me.”
“The car is headed south on County Road U. Turn on the GPS app I put on your phone, and you’ll be able to follow it. I confirmed three heat signatures in the vehicle, two in the front and one in the trunk. It looks like they’re headed toward the old manufacturing plant. You're about thirty minutes behind if you drive like the wind. Tuck and his group are closer, they should catch up with the target in twenty.”
“Get your ass back to the Clubhouse,” Link bellowed at Crank. “Anything happens to Carrington, I’m coming after your ass. I expected more out of you, man. You aren't thinking right, anymore. Count on a vote coming your way soon. You don’t deserve that patch on your chest.”
“Boone, Creed, ride with him. Jinx you’re with me. Get ready to ride like the wind, Brother. Tal said we’re thirty minutes behind. That’s bullshit, we’re going to meet up with Tuck and the rest of the guys before they know it. Let’s go get my girl and take down the fuckers who dared touch her.”
“Lead the way, VP, I’ll be right at your back every step of the way.”
Link set up his phone and turned on the GPS. There was a red dot showing the target and a green one showing his location. He hated how far apart those damn dots were. Revving his engine, he hightailed it out of there. He had a woman he needed to track down and another one he needed to be rid of, permanently. Val wouldn’t know what hit her. Link didn’t agree with violence against woman, but this bitch was walking a fine line.
Carrington’s condition when he found her would determine Val’s fate. She would either spend the rest of her life behind bars or pushing up daisies, either was fine with him. But the idea of Val in an orange jumpsuit, sitting behind bars, that was the one that he liked. He would even visit the bitch, so she knew who put her there.
Link and Jinx met up with Tuck and his crew right outside the manufacturing company’s fences. They were far enough back that anyone driving down the road wouldn’t see them, but close enough they had a clear view of the plant. He hadn’t wanted to stop, but he knew he needed the intel he knew Tuck would have for him. He also needed confirmation that Carrington was in there and this wasn’t another setup.
Link walked over to Tuck who was standing behind one of the Clubs SUVs, looking at a laptop. It seemed they already had the blueprints for the place, which would help plan what came next.
“Talk to me man, is Carrington in there?”
“Everything indicates an affirmative. I have Brass and Snipe at the back, taking up position. There’s only one viable exit. Unless the fuckers want to take a flying leap out of one of the second story windows and save us some trouble. Crash and Whisk are getting a close up; we should have video soon. Jinx, I want you to head to the east side. The boys indicated there’s a possible exit there which is a low laying window. I want it covered.
“Once we get video confirmation, you and I,” Tuck said indicating him and Link, “are going in, right through the front door. Heat signatures show five people in the warehouse and another ten in a room off to the east side. Shade checked in, and he and the boys pulled over our missing truckers, not ten miles from here. I’m waiting to find out what they were up to, but my suspicion is they were on their way here.
“Tal hasn’t gotten anything on the feds yet, but he was able to confirm our good old buddy, Raimes, is back in town and at the airfield with the others. Tal moved everyone at the Clubhouse to the safe room. The only exception being Cathy and Crank; she refused, and he said the scene wasn’t good. He felt it was better to leave her right where she was. If
they decide to do a raid on the Club, those are the only two people they will find. All documents, arms, and other mission goods have been relocated and the shed has been cleaned. We’re ready if they decide to mess with us again.”
This was the Tuck Link knew and loved; he was in control, calling all the shots and protecting everyone he could. No stone was left unturned. Link couldn’t ask for a better man to go into battle with. The screen on the laptop changed and the breath was knocked right out of him. Carrington was on the floor, unconscious. Worthington, his wife, James Haslet, and Val were all standing to one side. It looked like they were arguing. The picture changed and Link saw the other room; ten women of varying ages were crammed into a closet no bigger than a jail cell.
They were all on their knees and from what he could see, they seemed to be chained together. Their hands were behind their backs; he had to assume they were cuffed. The chain connecting them was around their waists. Link could only agree with Tucks, ‘son-of-a-bitch.’ Each of these women looked to be beaten and bruised, skinny as hell, and dirty.
“Whisk, plant your camera and meet up with Creed. I want you guys to get in that room and get those women out. I don’t want to risk any of them getting caught in the crossfire.
“We have incoming,” Tal’s voice came over the computer, “two vehicles headed right for the plant. ETA five minutes.”
“Whisk, Creed, we are going radio silence, your mission is a go. Get those women out of there. You need us, you know what to do. Jinx hunker down, those lights will be headed your way soon. Make like the ghost we all know you are, but keep that door in sight.
Tuck pulled a screen down over the laptop which would keep the glare of the video from being seen, and he and Link crouched down. From where these guys were coming in, they wouldn’t have a chance to see him and Link, but they needed to take precautions. They watched as two SUV’s pulled into the plant and parked. Agent Raimes was the first to get out; he walked over to the other SUV and said something. It was too dark for Link to see who was in the vehicle or how many occupants it had. Talon solved that. He pinged both Link and Tuck's ear buds, there was a beep, and then nothing for a count of fifteen indicating the first vehicle was empty. Then there were two beeps followed by two more. The second vehicle had two occupants. Maybe they were finally going to get the man behind all of this.
Chapter 25
Carri came awake in phases. First, she felt the dry cotton feeling in her mouth. Then she felt the sting on her cheek and remembered what happened right before she was drugged to sleep. She tried to move her hands, but they were held tightly behind her back. There was also something on her feet, making it impossible for her to move around. Shit.
She kept her eyes closed and listened. She needed to figure out what was going on; then she heard them, all of them, her father, her mother, James, and Val. They were arguing about something. When her mind finally came on line, and she figured out they were arguing about Val marking her and the buyers wouldn’t be happy about that, she wanted to puke. What fucked up genes she came from. Hell, she knew her dad was involved, but her mother? The woman was never sober after three o’clock in the afternoon.
It should have surprised her they were planning on selling her ass, but it didn’t. These people were sociopaths. She must have made a noise because she was yanked up by her hair.
“Why hello, Father, fancy meeting you here. Have you had a good day? Mine, well, it’s been pretty shitty, but as soon as the RBMC gets here, I’m sure it will perk right back up.”
“Now, Carrington, you disappoint me. Right about now that gang of bike scum are being led to the federal penitentiary on charges of gun and drug running, so I wouldn’t be expecting any of them to be running to your rescue for say about ten to twenty years. As for you, I have big plans for you. I’m going to sell you off to the highest bidder, so I can finally be rid of you, once and for all. I knew adopting you was a mistake from the moment we brought you home, but your mother felt we needed to present a more family-type appearance for business purposes. You know it’s always business first.”
The dick released her hair and Carri fell to the ground with a thump; she would have some bruises from hell after this. There was a part of her scared out of her mind, but there was another part which knew Link would come to save her, she just needed to buy him some time to get here. That might be a wish and a prayer stuck together, but she was going with it until she had to give it up. Maneuvering around until she could sit on her butt Carri addressed her mother next.
“How nice to see you, Mother, I would have expected you to be knee deep in the bottle by this time of day. This must be a pretty big payday if you to have sobered up enough to be present.” Carri expected her mother to charge her, what she didn’t expect was her father to stop the woman.
“Sallie Mae, you know we’re already going to get a reduced rate because of the damage Valerie caused, don’t add to it. She’s only trying to irritate you.”
“So that’s the plan, you’re going to sell me? You do realize I’m a pretty well-known lawyer who will be missed by a few people? How are you planning on covering that up? You know, to feed my curiosity.”
“Carrington, didn’t you know the stresses of your job caused you to run for home? We had no choice, but to set you up in a nice little facility to combat your depression. Unfortunately, dear, you won’t be winning that battle in a couple of months. The facility will make an announcement that you gave up and killed yourself.”
“That was my idea, by the way,” Val preened. “Of course, you’ll never see any facility, but your new master’s dungeon. I’ve been making inquiries, spreading your picture around. I wanted to ensure the right people were interested in you. I’ve picked a few who are well known for their sadistic qualities; nothing but the best for you, Carrington.”
Carri didn’t even address Val; there was no need, the woman was nuts. Worse than her parents and that was saying something.
“And what about you James, how do you fit into this little plan of theirs?”
James walked to her and crouched down in front of her and smiled, “See that’s where you have it wrong, this plan is and has always been mine. You coming here messed it up a little, but it seems we found a way around that.”
“So, you’re telling me you’re the mastermind behind all of this? And what is this anyway, a trafficking ring? What? Tell me, since soon I won’t be around to get all the details, as your wife so nicely put it.”
“I always said you were too naïve for your own good. You thought your Dad was behind the guns and the drugs, but that was me. When an associate brought me a proposal I couldn’t refuse, I jumped on it. It served two purposes you see; your father has the money, and I have the connections, it was easy. Even your little stunt back when you were a teenager was only a small problem. Since the business was essentially mine, it continued to run as smoothly as before.
“When good old Dad there started killing off the women I provided him with, I needed to replenish the stock, but the RBMC was getting in my way. A few trumped-up charges and they would have been too busy to pay attention, but you ruined that didn’t you, Carrington? I told you that one day, rooting for the underdog would cause you problems; looks like that day is now. You should have listened. I kept warning you, but I could never get through that thick skull of yours.”
James stood up when a door slammed. A man Carri had never seen before, walked through door, first shaking her father’s hand and then going to James to do the same.
“Agent Raimes, right on time. Do you have your buyer ready?”
Agent Raimes, whoever he was, walked over to Carri and looked her over like the leech he was. The lust she saw in his eyes made her already churning stomach rebel. The man grabbed her chin, held up his phone, and took a picture.
“The buyer will either confirm or decline delivery within moments. The other drivers should be here for the shipment momentarily. Do you have what we agreed on?”
Carri w
atched James grab a briefcase from Val and hand it over to the Agent. His phone beeped, and he looked down at it. “It was a pleasure doing business with you, the client has declined delivery. Better luck next time.”
Several things happened at once. James screamed, “What the hell?” Val went after the agent, only to be thrown to her ass, and there was a loud crash from somewhere in the building. Carri crawled the best she could to get the hell out of the way of whatever was going down. She was already vulnerable, being tied up without the use of her legs or arms, but, hell, elbows and knees did the trick. She was able to move behind a crate before anyone noticed her.
That crash turned into pops, and Carri knew it was gun fire, she just hoped it was coming from the good guys. James ran past her hiding spot with Val on his heels, and Carri was able to shoot her legs out and trip the woman. Getting on her knees, she waited while Val tried to straighten herself and head butted her for all she was worth. Damn, she’d hit her hard enough almost to knock out her own damn self.
She watched as Tuck and Link charged into the room from one side, Jinx from the other. Whisk and Crash were coming from the back. They all had their guns out and were fighting back Agent Raimes and her Father who both had guns. Carri couldn’t help it, she smiled for all she was worth. This was her man, and those other men were her family. The woman screeching like a banshee wasn’t her mother, but a person who she happened to know. She deserved whatever she got, so did her supposed father. It was a relief to know she’d been adopted. At least she wouldn’t be carrying on any of their tainted genes to her own children. Children she planned to have with Link one day.
Link spotted her and left the others to take care of Raimes and her parents. He noticed Val on the ground, unconscious and raised his eyebrow.
“What, I couldn’t let you have all the fun, now could I? She deserved it.”
“I see that, but that nice little goose egg isn’t something I like to see on my woman. What the hell, Carrington, you were supposed to stay at the Clubhouse where I knew you were safe.”
Link: Ruthless Bastards (RBMC Book 3) Page 17