by Colbie Kay
She stands and approaches me. “I’m not asking anything of you.” Her hands cup my cheeks, and my eyes close when she touches me. “You might be all that, but Bam Bam was a good guy when he helped me. Bam Bam took care of me. Bam Bam laid with me, kept me safe, and made me feel protected. And that man is Jenson. You are one and the same. No matter who you are today, the boy I remember is still there.”
I whisper feather-light, “Only for you. Always for you, Rowan.” In a moment of weakness, I bring my own hand up and lay my palm against her rosy cheek and bend my head. Her eyes flutter shut as my lips softly touch hers, giving her a chaste kiss. I pull away sooner than I wish to because she’s not ready for this no matter what she thinks. She needs time, and I can’t lead her on. “Rowan,” I speak her name in a soft voice, “I need to know what you can tell me about your kidnappers, about what happened to you.” I change the topic to not only keep my shit together before I lose it, doing something I’ll regret, but I have to accomplish this task. The club needs answers in order to help her.
Her body immediately stiffens. “I can’t.” Her head frantically shakes back and forth.
“Okay.” I pull her into my chest, and she immediately calms, making me grit my teeth from the sensation of having her body pressed against mine. “But you’re going to have to open up, Rowan, that’s the only way I’ll find Belle and the others.”
“Belle.” Tears fill her eyes as she murmurs her name. “I’m too scared and ashamed to talk about it.”
A knock on the door draws my attention. “Yeah?”
“Bam, Hanger said we’re ready to ride. And he knows the girl’s here, so he said to bring her,” Bear’s voice commands through the closed door.
“I’m ready.” I turn back to Rowan. “I need you to trust me and come with me.”
“Okay.” She doesn’t even hesitate to agree.
On the ride across Wichita with Jenson–I guess I should call him Bam Bam now–he explained that we’re going to another club like his. I do trust him, but a mixture of emotions run rampant through me. I'm happy to be here with him; although, the other people make me nervous.
It's the same way I felt when I saw my family again and had to answer questions, explaining what I could. I know they are getting frustrated with me because I don't want to talk about what happened. I need time and hate being bombarded by people, even if they are familiar to me, let alone all of these men that I don’t know.
Bam Bam makes me feel safe. I don't know if that's because he has always made me feel that way even when we were kids, or if it’s because he is the one who found me. He has always been protective when it came to me, even more so than my brother. At the time, it was annoying, but right now, I need him. Maybe my urgency comes from his assistance when I tried to get into his club without permission, or maybe it’s because he lets me be without pushing too much. Whatever the case may be, there is a connection between us. A bond that is forever twined, not to be broken. A fate that brought us together again. Neither of us understands why right now, but I believe there’s a reason.
My own family kept pushing me over and over without giving me a chance to breathe, especially my brother, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to get away. I called a taxi, had it drop me off at the edge of town, and I ran the rest of the way to Bam Bam’s club.
Betrayal and resentment toward my brother overwhelm me since finding out he works in law enforcement. There are reasons I didn't let the truck driver call the police the night I jumped in his truck, and there are reasons I refuse to tell my family who really took me, refuse to allow them to call the police to inform them I’m back. Every time they try, I panic, and they back off…at least they do for now.
Bam Bam parks his car, and after we get out, he takes my hand in his as he leads me over to his brothers from the club. He questions the man with the name Hanger on his vest, "You sure this was a good idea bringing her?"
The man shrugs. "It can't hurt."
We walk to the front door and pile into the room, which is much like their own club, however, this one has a naked woman dancing on a pole. My eyes widen, not with surprise, but at how the men ogle her as they throw money at her, and based on her beaming smile, I’d say she likes the attention she’s getting.
Hanger yells at no one in particular, "Where's Snake?"
The man behind the bar replies, "They're waiting in the chapel."
Hanger simply nods, and we follow him into the back of the bar, and down a narrow hallway until we come to an open door.
"Welcome." An older man stands from the head of the table. Once we are all inside, the door shuts behind us. I jump a little, but settle as Bam Bam's hand squeezes mine. "Son, you needed some information?"
My head turns to Bam Bam. "Son?" I question quietly.
He answers by barely shaking his head, moving it only enough for me to notice, silently telling me not to ask questions.
Hanger speaks up, "We need information on the sex trafficking."
The older man, who I’m assuming is Snake, blows out a deep breath. These guys have weird names. "I can't tell you much. All I know is these two girls showed up at the club one day. Said they were held in cells and don't know where they came from." My interest is automatically peaked.
I yammer excitedly, "Where are they? Are they here?"
He nods. "I couldn't throw them out, and they needed help." His eyes travel to a man sitting down. "Ace, bring ‘em in." His gaze shifts to me. "Church ain't no place for a woman."
Bam Bam cuts in, "She just escaped from Colorado, and we need to find out if they’re connected so we can handle it accordingly."
Snake chuckles while shaking his head. "So, some bitch lands at your feet and now you wanna get involved? I've had these girls for months and no help from your club. Now, I understand Hanger and I have issues that we’re working through, but we as clubs are allies." I bite my lip to keep silent because he called me a bitch. Bam Bam didn’t like it either by the way his hand tightens against mine.
Bam Bam tries to stomp closer to the table, but Hanger holds his arm out, blocking him.
Hanger grits his teeth. "If you wanna blame someone, blame me. It's my club, my orders. We've had our own shit goin' on and you know that especially after the clubhouse explosion, but we're here now. You want our help or not?"
Snake huffs in his seat, "If you can get these two to talk, then we'll go from there."
The door opens, and my body turns to see who’s coming through.
"Chapel! Haven!" I can’t believe I’m seeing them. My hands cover my mouth, and I bounce on my heels in excitement.
"Rowan!" They cry, running over to me. The three of us hold each other tight and cry loud, wailing sobs.
"I’ll be damned." The voice is Snake’s.
"Looks like it's connected," Hanger states.
"Fuck!” Bam Bam mutters.
“Guess we gotta get one of ‘em talking,” says the man that brought them in.
I turn to face the men. “Can I talk to my sisters privately?”
Snake nods, and his eyes settle on the man that brought them in. "Ace, take them back to their room."
A few ways down the hallway, Haven opens a closed door and the three of us enter. I glance around the bare room that has nothing more than two small beds and a dresser. Ace stands there for a moment his hard stare trained on Chapel, hers fixed on him. It’s like they have a secret conversation going on between the two of them. She nods once and he closes the door. Each girl sits on a different bed, and I sit next to Haven’s on hers.
"I'm so happy to see you, both of you." I lean over taking one of each of their hands in mine. They look great. They’ve been well fed, are clean, and are even more beautiful now than when we were in our cell.
"We're so happy to see you too," Chapel responds teary-eyed with a beaming smile.
"Belle?" Haven questions.
My eyes cast downward, I fight to hold back tears and shake my head. When my gaze meets theirs, I say
, "I am going to get her. I've asked for help. I’ve known Bam Bam a long time. He’ll help set Belle free, and maybe the others too."
"How did you get away? Why do you have stitches?" Haven asks.
"After you two didn't return, I knew I had to get away. For months I worked on the bars in our cell, until finally, I could pull them out. Belle and I escaped, but she hurt her foot and couldn't go on anymore. I had to leave her behind. By the time I made it out of the woods, I had a lot of gashes." I counter with a question of my own, "How did you end up here?"
Haven begins, "The night they took us, we heard them talking about how we were going to be sold and sent somewhere else. The leader, he didn’t want us anymore. We complied so we wouldn't be tied up, and we waited in the backseat until the car was in motion. When the time was right, we fought both men until the car swerved off the road and crashed. They were unconscious, and we ran.”
My brows knit in confusion. "Why didn't you go home?"
Chapel explains, "Because we were scared that they’d come for us. We still are. We ran until we came to a busy area in Denver, and we searched vehicles until we found one with the keys inside. We drove it to Oklahoma and ditched it. We ran again until we found another car and crossed into Kansas and ditched that one too. We came across this place, and they took us in, kept us safe. They’ve pushed for answers, but we've stayed quiet. We’re scared that if they make us leave, we’ll be taken again, Rowan. I don’t want to go back there.”
Standing from the bed, I walk over to Chapel and hug her tightly. “None of us will ever go back there. I promise. When I ran, a truck driver picked me up and brought me to the outskirts of the city. I ran until I came to a fence that I tried to climb over, but Bam Bam stopped me. He took me home to my parent’s house last week; I’ve been staying there.”
"Your family? You've seen them?" Haven perks up. “I wish we could see our mom and dad.”
"Yes.” A tear trickles down my cheek, and I quickly wipe it away. “I was so desperate to get home, needing to see my family just as bad as you, but it's not the same as I thought it would be. They don't feel like my family anymore. They are demanding answers, and I can't talk about it. You two are more like family to me than my own flesh and blood."
Haven nods in understanding. "You may not be our blood, but you are our sister, Rowan. We have been through so much together over the years. We’re here. No one can imagine what we’ve endured. Maybe one day we’ll feel safe enough to return to our home, but until then, we want to stay here."
"I get that. I want to stay with Bam Bam at his club too. I feel safe with him. I have known him my entire life, and yet, it's different now. I think I had this expectation of how things would be, and I was let down. My own father didn’t even recognize me when I knocked on his door."
Chapel smiles ear to ear. "It's fate that you found him, Rowan."
"Literally, especially when I fell into his arms.” I laugh lightly at the coincidence. “I think we should tell them what we can. We need to find Belle. Maybe if you talk to them, they’ll allow you to stay? The way Ace was looking at you, Chapel, I don’t think he’s going to let you out of his sight."
Her cheeks begin to turn a light shade of pink. "I hope not."
I sigh and square my shoulders. "Are you two ready to talk?"
They shake their heads. "Are you?"
Shaking my own head, I shrug and say, "No, but I am going to tell Bam Bam the truth." Nervousness consumes me at the thought of telling him my story, and the truth about who kidnapped me. Will they believe me? Maybe if I give them his name, that will be good enough? It makes me sick to my stomach to recall the horrible things done to us, the things we were forced to do ourselves…speaking about it is worse.
My eyes drift between the two of them and my smile grows. I’m so happy I’ve been reunited with them. After they were taken from our cell, never returning, I missed them terribly. That emptiness and longing they left when they disappeared are completely gone now. Between them and Bam Bam, I’m whole again.
"So, now we have three women that have appeared out of the blue, and they say they’re sisters. What the fuck do we do?” Snake says absently while running his hands over his face.
I interject, “Rowan isn’t their sister. I’m assuming what they have been through together has made them form a bond, which is understandable.”
Chayser cuts in, "You said those two have been here for months. Why didn’t we ever see them when we stayed here after our club explosion?"
Snake’s eyes narrow on my brother. "Because they wouldn't come out of their fucking room. They've been scared shitless and so fucking timid. We've tried to do the best we could by them, tried to figure out where they came from, but we haven't succeeded."
I step closer to the table. "All I know is Rowan said she was in Colorado somewhere. She isn't really talking either, but there's a little girl, Belle, that's being held, and Rowan wants us to find her."
Hanger speaks up, "But do we really want to get involved in this shit?"
Looking at him incredulously, I ask, "Do we have a fuckin’ choice? What if it was one of your daughters?"
Snake’s Vice President, Storm, jumps in, "One of them needs to fucking talk then. We can't help if no one is opening their fucking mouth."
Suddenly, there is a knock and the door opens. The three women enter the room with Ace.
My brows pull down. "Rowan?" I see something in her eyes, and there’s something different about the way she’s shuffling back into the room. Maybe determination?
Her gaze is fixated on me. “We’ll talk.”
Haven stares off into the distance as she begins to tell what happened to her and Chapel.
"I was fourteen and Chapel was twelve. Our parents usually left for work before we were even up to go to school. I always set my alarm the night before, and that morning it went off just like any other day. Chapel and I went about our usual routine and grabbed the lunches that mom made for us out of the refrigerator. We locked up the house and began walking to our bus stop, but we didn’t even make it very far before a car pulled over. Two men jumped out and grabbed us. I tried reaching for Chapel and screamed for her the same way she did for me, but they put towels over our mouths, and soon after, my eyes began to close. When we woke up, we were locked in a cell." Haven appears to be the stronger of the two sisters, but it’s hard to watch her relive her kidnapping. She’s blinking back tears and attempting to hold it together as she wraps her arms around herself.
You could hear a pin drop with how quiet the room is until Snake asks, "Where are you from?"
Haven doesn’t hesitate to answer, "We're from Colorado. The man in charge had his three favorite girls." The three women grab each other’s hands as if they are giving strength to one another.
"You, Haven, and Rowan?" I state.
Chapel speaks, "Yes, but he didn't want me or Haven anymore. That's why we were taken away. He was going to sell us to these other men, but we fought and got away."
Hanger’s brows are pulled down in confusion. He questions, "Why come here instead of going home?"
"Because we're scared that if we went home they'd find us and take us back. We don't want to go back there. Please don't make us. We want to stay here. We're safe here." Haven’s voice is desperate, pleading.
Storm growls, "You're not going any fucking where."
I step closer to Rowan and caress her cheek with my thumb. Her eyes close for a moment. "Rowan?"
Rowan’s gaze drifts to everyone in the room. "Does the name Harold Dinch mean anything to you?"
"The cop?” All of us men ask shocked and in sync.
Hacker adds, “He retired five or six years ago."
Instead of confirming or denying, Rowan begins to open up about the night she disappeared, "Bam Bam was supposed to meet with me that night so that we could go out together, but Patty St. Clair stuck her claws in him, and he went with her instead. I was so heartbroken and upset. I ran to my car and was headed hom
e when I got a flat tire. My dad taught me everything I needed to know about cars. I was getting ready to change it when someone pulled up behind my car. At first, the lights were so bright I couldn't see, but the closer he got, hearing his voice when he finally spoke, I knew who it was. I believed I was safe with him since the street was quiet at night. He told me he would change it for me and instructed me to go sit in his car. I did. I mean he was a cop after all, and he was there to protect me, right?” She laughs without humor.
All of my guilt resurfaces and plows through me. I could have prevented all of this, and it confirms what I’ve known all along–it was my fault.
She continues, “Instead of changing my tire, he came back to the car and told me we were going for a ride. I tried to get away, but I couldn't unlock the door. He slammed my head against the dashboard, and I passed out. I think I was out for a while. When I finally came to, I was passed off to these other men and thrown into the back of a van. Someone covered my mouth, making me unconscious again. This time when I woke up, I was locked in the cell. Haven and Chapel were already there and had been for a couple of years."
I blow out a deep breath. I always thought there was something off about Harold by the way he would sit outside of the high school and watch all the girls. No one ever said anything because he was a fuckin’ cop. No one suspected he would be a fuckin’ threat. Turning my gaze to Rowan, I try to keep my rage buried, but I’m going to blow soon. “He was the lead detective on your case. He’s the one who took your missing person’s report. He’s the one who came into your fuckin’ parents’ house and talked to all of us.” Throwing my head back, I roar like a beast. My angry glare darts between my brothers. “I’m gonna kill that motherfucker!” I bet that’s why nothing ever came of her case because he cleaned it up and withheld everything so he wouldn’t get caught.