by Carmen Faye
He wasn’t stupid; he realized a while ago that the Scorpions worked in human trafficking, but he hadn’t thought about the possibility of Maya being taken as product. It buzzed again, and another typed message appeared below the picture. This is her fate if you don’t come through, amigo.
Vance wanted to scream in rage, but he couldn’t. Any small noise would alert the Scorpions outside. He shoved the phone back in his pocket, determined now to get in and get Maya. And if he could take out a couple dozen Scorpions along the way, that was even better. He knew he couldn’t trust Tres Amenazas, and now that wariness was reinforced.
Dusty gave him a questioning look, but he just shook his head. Motioning for everyone to close in, he knelt down and spoke so softly he knew some of the guys were straining to hear him. “I don’t know how many directions there are to go when we get in, but we need to break into groups and follow every one of them. Three minutes, and if you haven’t found Maya, get back to the entrance. We can’t be separated too long, and we can’t take too much time.”
Caleb piped up in a whisper, “Tank and I will grab those two. I think it’s better for all of us if I stay up here. Otherwise, I’m not sure I can, you know, follow orders and all that.”
Vance appreciated his honesty and took him up on the offer. There wasn’t much cover, so they did their best to stay out of sight, as Caleb and Tank crept around from a distance and tried to keep the truck between them and the Scorpions’ line of sight.
He felt his crew tense as the two men rushed up behind the Scorpions, but he had to admit Tank was fast for a big guy, and they had both men trapped and silenced with almost no sound in thirty seconds. With the area secure, Vance signaled the others, and they rushed the little hut that covered the underground entrance. The Scorpions struggled to get loose, but Caleb and Tank had a firm hold and weren’t letting go.
Vance led the way, drawing his gun as he clopped down a flight of rickety wooden stairs. As he’d expected, they were in a small carved out room, and three tunnels led off it. He took the one straight ahead, expecting the others to divide and conquer without any further direction.
Dusty moved up beside him, and he glanced over his shoulder to find Brock at his back. It was good cover, and he assessed the hallway before making any decisions. A long, ragged carpet ran its length, and it stretched maybe a hundred feet in front of him. He didn’t see any branches off it, but there were three doors, two to the right and one at the end.
Vance hoped the other two halls were as simple. He didn’t need his men getting lost. He backed against the wall by the first door on the right, listening and waiting. He nodded, and Brock kicked the door in. Vance whipped around and pointed his gun, Dusty covering him in a crouch, but it was an empty bathroom. The plumbing was exposed and starting to corrode, and the stench was almost unbearable.
They backed out, and Vance shut the door quickly, moving to the next. The same routine uncovered an empty room with little more than a bed. But what caught Vance’s attention were the chains on the bedposts. He could imagine what this room was used for, considering the text he’d just received, and he was disgusted. But it fueled him forward, and he clung to the fact that he hadn’t found Maya there.
Heading to the end of the hall, he busted through without waiting to hear who or what was inside. He searched the room so desperately he nearly missed what he was looking for. The space was like a studio apartment, with a bedroom, and a living room and kitchen combined, and Maya sat quietly at the kitchen table, reading a book.
She looked up at him, startled at first and then relieved. She jumped out of the chair and threw herself at him with her full body. He caught her in his arms and held her, like a precious possession missing too long. “Are you alright?” he asked quietly, not wanting the raw emotion in his voice echoing off the walls and back to his men.
“I’m fine, I’m fine. A couple of bruises and cuts that will heal just fine.” She sounded calm, but he felt the moisture on his shoulder that meant tears fell from her eyes. As he held her at arm’s length for inspection, he saw them, and he wished he had more time to comfort her. But they had to get out fast.
“Come on, let’s go,” he said sharply, and he took her hand to lead her out. They waited in the small entrance for the others to come back from their hallways, and the whole crew hurried up and out of the underground. Vance tossed his goggles at Maya, reaching into his vest for his sunglasses, but they didn’t stop moving until they reached the bikes.
Caleb and Tank brought up the rear, having taken time to tie up the two Scorpions outside so they couldn’t follow. But they were flying down the road back toward Wheelie in short order. Vance wanted to put several miles between them and the Scorpions before he could feel enough relief to stop looking over his shoulder. The faster they moved, the better.
***
Everything felt surreal to Maya as they flew down the road. She clung tight to Vance on the back of his bike, letting the wind blow her hair wildly around her. She’d worry about the damage done to it later. For now, she reveled in her freedom.
It was strange; beyond the actual kidnapping, she hadn’t been treated much like a prisoner, other than being locked in a room. And though she knew in the back of her mind Tres Amenazas had a plot she wouldn’t like, he’d made her feel safe under his care.
But it didn't hold a candle to the safety she felt with Vance.
She hadn’t realized she was underground until now, and the darkness of the room was causing her vision to blur, as her eyes watered in the bright sunlight. Maya hadn’t expected Vance to find her so quickly, and she’d wondered if he would look at all since there was another option on the table. Maya guessed that option had been bogus, or had been too much to ask. She didn’t know of any other reason Vance and several of his men would take such a risk, especially since she’d left him with no intent to return. How had he talked so many other crew members into joining him?
He’d mentioned more than once the loyalty they had toward each other, but Vance admitted to singlehandedly increasing tension between the Mojave Boys and the Scorpions. How far could the brotherhood carry? Wasn’t there some action taken against troublemakers? Maya would have thought she would be the perfect punishment.
She’d apparently been wrong about a lot of things. And with Vance having rescued her, despite the fact she broke things off, she was reconsidering her decision. It wasn’t just relief that had washed over her when he’d walked through the door of her holding cell. She finally realized just how much she cared about him. And being away from him, even for such a short time, showed her how important he was to her.
She’d worried more about him than herself over the past couple of days. That said a lot. She hadn’t really thought Tres Amenazas would kill her, but the couple of times she’d considered it, she’d never thought about her mother or her agent or her career. She’d thought about Vance, about never feeling his arms around her again, never looking into his eyes. And she’d thought about the effect it would have on him.
If that didn’t prove she loved him, nothing would.
Realizing it was going to be a long ride, Maya settled in, closing her eyes and enjoying how close she was to the man she’d never planned on seeing again. A smile crossed her face, as she thought about fate and how it sometimes stepped in to make her realize what she really wanted. The question, though, was how she would resolve what she wanted with what was best. But she’d face that later.
A loud bang made Maya frown and open her eyes. At first, she thought it was one of the bikes backfiring, but another boom followed, and the bike to her right, carrying Dusty, swerved and fell to the side. Vance slammed on the brakes, skidding sideways to a halt, and he had a gun drawn and firing before she could process the situation.
“Get off and get behind the bike!” he cried over the sound of gunshots, and Maya ducked behind the rolling hunk of metal. The Scorpions were riding in behind them, firing away, and all of the Mojave Boys had stopped to return th
e onslaught. They’d come for her, and Maya felt more guilt than fear. She peered around the wheel and tried to count, but she didn’t have a clear enough view. She wasn’t going to risk her neck by stretching it any further, especially as Vance crouched next to her and pulled a second gun.
“Don’t move,” he grunted at her, and she merely nodded.
He rose and fired some more, and Maya covered her face with her hands, staring ahead down the road they were on. She didn’t want to know who was winning or losing, considering she was already worried about Dusty. The noise was deafening, so loud she barely noticed as it died down just a little. It was the sound of revving engines that caught her attention, followed by Vance shaking her shoulder.
She stood, and she instantly searched for men down. Most of them were in the distance, Scorpions, but Dusty was in trouble, and a couple of others were wincing in pain. She rushed to Dusty’s side, assessing the damage, and he all but pushed her away. “Not much you can do right now, sweetheart.”
She scowled. “Your leg’s broken in at least one place, and you’ve got nasty road rash everywhere.” She was most concerned about the knot on his head. It wasn’t bleeding too much, but it was severely swollen. “You need to get your head checked.”
“I could have told you that,” he growled, laughing and wincing.
“Ribs, too,” Vance mumbled from behind her. “We’ll have to rig you something up so we can ride you into a hospital.” He started to protest, but Vance drew Maya away before he could argue.
A bullet had grazed Tank’s arm, and he was already tying a cloth around it. Caleb had crashed, too, and he was covered in scrapes, cuts, and bruises. Sid had taken a hit to the leg, and Maya wanted to vomit as she watched him dig out the bullet with his knife before covering it with a makeshift bandage.
Seeing that everyone was taken care of, Maya turned her gaze to the Scorpions littering the road, most of their bikes down, too. “They’re dead, Maya,” Vance said, coming up behind her. “We already checked. The last three rode out of here. We need to leave before they call for backup and catch up to us.”
Maya hesitated a moment, but she turned away and got ready to climb on Vance’s bike. “This is all because of me,” she said, shaking her head. “Why did you come after me? I thought you had another option. I didn’t want any more blood on my hands.”
“This isn’t your fault, Maya,” he argued. “It would have come to this for one reason or another. And this time, they’re crippled.” He motioned vaguely to some of the bikes that were down, as if Maya could tell easily which ones he meant from this distance. “These are some of the big boys with their crew. Their leadership experience was just reduced by a thousand percent.”
“Tres Amenazas has his men under control,” she argued. “He doesn’t need a whole council. He tore up one of his guards just for making snide remarks to me.”
But Vance didn’t seem to agree. “To a point, he’s a one man operation. But he needs his other leaders to be eyes and ears and muscle when he can’t be. Without them, he’s hurting.”
Now, Maya understood. She should have realized how the dynamics worked from seeing it with the Mojave Boys. There was a distinct head of the table, just like any family. But there were others who made sure he could do the job. And since no man could be everywhere at once, the others were necessary. She glanced over at Dusty, then at Caleb, and she thought about having lost Cougar. How hard would it be to cripple the Mojave Boys?
She refused to worry about it as the group of riders gathered and got ready to finish the ride home. She had to trust that Vance had things under control.
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
Most of the crew refused medical treatment, but Caleb came to Maya for stitches on his arm, while a couple of the others loaded a dizzy Dusty into the truck to take him to the hospital. Vance assured her there was an emergency clinic about thirty minutes away, just outside of Las Vegas, and they would take good care of Dusty.
“You need to stop worrying about everyone else. Take care of you for a minute,” he told her.
Maya shook her head. She didn’t really need anything. “I could use a shower,” she admitted reluctantly.
Vance nodded. “I’ll have to be back in the morning, but we’ll get out of here. I’ll take you home to get cleaned up.”
She started to protest. Maya didn’t want to just fall right back into what had become the status quo. But she realized everything she owned was gone. She’d even have to replace all the contents of her wallet. She couldn’t exactly clean up in the motel. She couldn’t even buy supplies until she got all of that back.
And her phone…it had all her contacts.
Suddenly despondent, she just nodded. “I have to get in touch with Franz.”
“You can do that at home, too. Come on, let’s go.” He pointed at Caleb. “You’re in charge till I get back.”
Caleb blinked as if confused, and Maya smiled. He wasn’t one of the old timers, and it was a lot to ask. But Maya knew he’d earned Vance’s trust and would handle it. Letting Vance take her hand and guide her toward the door, she gave Caleb a wink and a smile over her shoulder for encouragement.
“Why Caleb?” she asked, as he swung his leg over the bike.
“Because I trust him and Dusty the most. Dusty isn’t here, so that leaves Caleb.” He looked her dead in the eyes. “I trust my brothers, but only a few of them are stubborn enough to keep things in line. Caleb is a lot like Cougar and can be obnoxious, but he’s also like me, and he won’t take any shit from anyone.”
Fair enough, she thought, and climbed on behind him. She was desperate to get clean, even if she had no idea what she was going to wear. And she couldn’t wait to call Franz and get her affairs settled, maybe some clothes sent to her, though she didn’t know how she was going to explain losing her belongings.
As soon as they were inside Vance’s house, she excused herself to the bathroom and climbed into the shower, moaning as the hot spray hit her back. She ducked her head under and let it run down her body, which ached from a combination of lack of exercise and the roughness of the kidnapping. When she finally felt relaxed, she scrubbed her skin raw to get the dirt and grime off. Just as she started to rinse, the bathroom door opened, and then the curtain.
Maya stared at Vance in surprise, and she trembled at the sight of his beautiful nude body. She shouldn’t have come here, she realized. She should have stayed at the motel, or had someone take her to Phoenix or even Vegas. She’d known the temptation would be too much.
But as he joined her in the shower and his hands cupped her face, she melted. There was nowhere she’d rather be. His lips touched hers, and Maya fell into him. Vance was her shelter and the source of her contentment. Physically, emotionally, mentally—she needed him, especially now, and she wrapped herself around him.
Vance’s hands slid down her shoulders, over the small of her back, and beneath her buttocks, lifting her and turning her to press her back against the wall. The length of his erection pressed against her center, and she moaned. His lips devoured her, from her lips to her ears to her throat, and she dragged her fingertips over his back, his chest, and up the back of his neck. She loved the way his hair curled around her fingers when it was damp.
Maya was in a frenzy now, trembling as her fear broke through, her relief swept through her, and her desire to be with this man overwhelmed her. It all added up to a reason to celebrate, and the wave of pleasure rolled over her as Vance’s shaft teased against her folds. She cried out, but he swallowed it with a kiss so deep she thought he might swallow her.
He pushed inside, and Maya gasped into his mouth, the physical sensation erasing all thought. She took him into her center, letting her inner walls convulse around his swollen shaft. He thrust in and out with a fervor that sent her reeling, and she threw back her head against the tiles, panting and crying. The feel of him was so familiar, and it was still better each time. She basked in the glow of one orgasm after another as he pushed deeper,
harder, and faster into her. Maya clung to his shoulders, using the leverage to ride him, pushing her hips forward so she could take him in further. The water and the ecstasy running over her. When Vance came, they both nearly lost their grip and footing in the slick shower with the force of his peak.
Slowly, he lowered Maya to her feet, holding on until she managed to make her quivering legs work again. Just as she found her grip, his hands were on her again, and she shivered as he began to wash the intimate parts of her, cleaning away the smell of sex. Her eyes rolled back in her head, though, as he fingered her folds, and she couldn’t stop herself from coming again.
He chuckled as he stood, and she narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you laughing at me?”
He shook his head and pulled her against him. “No, ma’am. I’m laughing because I’m happy.” He kissed the tip of her nose and her forehead, and then he smacked her ass. She rubbed it, the sting worse because of the water. “Come on, let’s get out of here. We need to get you some clothes.”