by Kat Cameron
The window was slim but so was I and I could definitely fit through it. Checking to make sure there were no traps or anything under the window, I climbed through. I almost cried at the feeling of fresh air surrounding my body. Now to make it through wherever the hell I was would be another story. Considering he knocked me out for the ride here, I had absolutely no idea where I was.
As I started walking, I realized quickly that it was not smart to do this at night. Although it was dark and that helped me, it also reminded me there were animals out here and it was as cold as a witches tit. I didn’t have a jacket because in the winter time I only wore a jacket if it was snowing, which we didn’t get a lot of in New Jersey. It was the end of March going into April, so I was only in a hoodie. At this point in time I was sorely regretting it.
I have been walking for what felt like a good hour or maybe it was only twenty minutes, but my whole body was shivering when I heard the distinct noise of sticks crunching behind me. Being alone in the woods and hearing that is something terrifying. Knowing this could be your last moment on earth was something I never thought I would have to go through until I was older.
“Gotcha!” Nameless covered my mouth so I wouldn’t scream and started dragging me backwards until we hit a tree. “Now. You are going to be a good little Riley and walk back to the house without giving me any problems, you understand? I don’t want to kill you. I just wanted to show Axel I could be just as big and bad as he used to be for me. You see, when we were younger, he used to always stick up for me when our dad would come looking for a punching bag. Unfortunately, that just made me feel useless and led me down a path of misery. Misery because he made me feel like less of a man when I should have been standing up for him too. He thought he always had to protect me but when I wanted it all to end he wouldn’t let me do that either. Now he is going to see what it feels like to not be in control of his life. If you cooperate, you will live through this. If not, well then I am sorry, but you won’t ever see him again. It is up to you if you want to live or not but I would rather this not get messy and have to make you disappear forever.”
That was enough to shut me up and be cooperative. The whole walk home he was muttering to himself, something about stupid women and them being weak and useless. I didn’t know what Axel did to his brother, but surely it didn’t need to go this far. Maybe when we got back I could talk him off the ledge and see if I could meet him halfway with this ongoing battle he seemed to be having inside himself.
Finally we were back to the house and I honestly just wanted to sleep. I was overwhelmed with everything that happened and honestly, I was starting to lose hope. Nameless seemed intent on keeping me for however long, and I sure as fuck didn’t want to die. As soon as my head hit the bed I was out like a light.
The next morning wasn’t any better. I woke up feeling like someone was sitting on my bladder. It was not a nice feeling peeing in a fucking bucket. It was demeaning to say the least. Honestly, I was so close to tears that it was a miracle they didn’t come yet. For now, I had to keep myself strong. There was no way I would let this man break me. My day went on about the same as yesterday, although I noticed that Nameless kept the window unlocked which was really fucking strange since he knew I tried escaping once. It would have made sense to nail the window shut from the outside but he left it unlocked which baffled me.
The day came and turned into night time quicker then I thought it would. Since I didn’t have anything to do, Reese kept me pretty entertained, she was my best friend and only friend when I was younger. Even through my years of being married she was there. The ex husband didn’t let me out of the house much and when we were at parties and gatherings, I was at his side constantly.
You know I could have taken care of him sooner. It would have given you a better life, sooner rather than later.
“Yeah, and then I wouldn’t be as strong as I am today. Also, father would have been able to make my life hell sooner than he did. Thank god Stana took care of him. Now both of them are gone. Good riddance.”
Yeah, I guess so. But what fun I could have had with him too. Didn’t Stana say something about a playroom downstairs covered in plastic? Why did she get to have all the fun?
“You are something out of this world. Where did you even come from?”
How do I explain this? You were suffering and you needed me. Your grip on reality was not quite there. Even as a young child you needed a friend. I don’t mind. I love you and I am happy to be here.
Now there was a salty fluid flowing freely from my eyes. Damn it. If there was any hope I was getting out of here I needed to keep trying, but if he liked the chase was I really going to get away? It didn’t matter, I had to keep trying. So here I was, the next morning running away from this dingy, old house, trying to escape this fucking man. I just wanted to get back to Axel and Stana and even the other men of the MC that were starting to become like family. I think I got farther than I did last time but then I felt a sharp prick in my leg. Looking down I saw a feather type thing sticking out of my leg. That motherfucker shot me with a tranquilizer dart. Son of a….
Bullet
Trying to wait for Knuckles to come up with something about Riley was killing me. I didn’t really have a position in the club yet. I was just a member as of right now. I did whatever Snake told me to and as of right now, there was nothing to do.
Stana was a mess. She was about to be two and a half months pregnant with her and Crow’s baby, and the hormones were not doing her any favors. I have never seen a woman cry so much. Rage was out on a job a few miles away taking care of a woman's husband who liked to put his hands on her, but she was afraid for her and her kid’s lives if she left. Unfortunately her husband was an esteemed surgeon and nobody believed her when she tried to go for help. This is what we did. Helped people who couldn’t get help on their own, especially when their significant other was a higher up, so to speak.
“Bullet, need you in my office,” Snake bellowed down the hallway. I took the last swig of my beer and headed that way. It was hard to take my mind off Riley. Knowing my brother wasn’t all the way right in the head was a scary feeling. I felt hopeless and useless which were the two worst feelings in the world for a man. Knowing my woman was at the hands of a man I didn’t know anymore was this horrible, gut wrenching feeling.
“What’s up, Snake?” I sat down in the chair across from his desk and tried to concentrate on Snake.
“We have been in the process of buying the strip club down on King Ave. It is called Open Tease at the moment but we will be changing that when we get it. As of right now, the owner keeps his girls high as kites and keeps the money they make for himself. He is essentially their pimp. You know we don’t mess around with that shit. I want you to go in and see what we are dealing with. Check out the girls and how bad the situation is. Don’t do anything unnecessary; I don’t want any trouble. Besides, this will help you keep your mind off Riley until we can get some information on her whereabouts.”
“That is all you want me to do? Just scope out the place? You don’t want me to try and find out any information from the girls or the bartenders?” I wanted to make sure I was clear on my orders. This is the first job he was sending me on and I didn’t want to fuck it up.
“That is it. I don’t want anyone else going with you. I think it would make it look too obvious about what we are doing. The owner isn’t keen on selling the place because it’s how he makes his money, but you know we respect women no matter their choice of lifestyle, unless it fucks with us.”
I left his office and wanted to check on Stana. She has become like a sister ever since she has been here, and I never had anything like that since it was only me and J.P. Speaking of that fucker, I couldn’t wait until they found out where he took my woman. He would regret it. I would always love my brother, but that was a line no one would ever cross without consequence.
Getting to Stana and Crow’s room, I knocked on the door hoping Stana was in somewhat of a be
tter mood today. She opened the door and I could tell by the look on her face it was a bad day. That explained why I haven’t seen her yet. Usually she would be out and about around the clubhouse with the twins.
“You gonna leave me alone if I ask you to, Bullet?” she asked me. I shook my head and gave her the smile that it looked like she desperately needed to see. As I followed her into the room, I heard the twins babbling to each other as they ate their baby snacks in their high chairs. The shower was running so I guessed Crow was in there. I wouldn’t stay long since I had shit to do.
“How are ya today, darlin? Still chasing after these babies all day long?” I tried to throw in a joke but it didn’t go as planned.
“Yes, because I don’t have a sister to hang out with these days. Shit, I am sorry Bullet. I didn’t mean that. I am just so upset and overwhelmed.” The tears were going to start so I knew I had to switch the subject.
“You know I’m not supposed to be giving out details of my jobs, but this is my first one and I think it might give you a laugh. Snake wants me to go to the strip club over on King Ave. He said he is looking into buying it and wants me to scope it out.” I waited for her to laugh because that is what she usually did. Stana was never one that didn’t have a smile on her face. It seemed as though the damaged woman that came to us disappeared the moment she met Crow and his kids.
“You’re serious, aren’t you? He really wants you to go to a damn strip club while my sister is missing? Oh, I will rip him a new asshole. That fucker! Doesn’t he know there is a more important job? If something happens to her I will set this world on fire.” she was yelling and in tears by the end of her rant. Shit, this completely backfired on me. Crow came out in just his towel and I made my way out of their room with a kiss on her forehead. Damn it!
Later on that night, I made my way to the strip club. It was about ten minutes away from the club so I took my truck. My cut had the patch member on it so it wouldn’t be obvious about why I was there. Besides, I was pretty sure by the look on my face people wouldn’t want to bother me; I was fucking miserable. Without Riley it felt like I was a zombie walking on glass. My whole body was a walking live wire. One wrong move and I would go off. Or in this case, one wrong person. Going into this strip club may not have been the smartest move for me, but I had to do what Snake needed me to do. Here I was, clearing my head of everything and focusing on the task at hand so I could get done what I needed to. Hopefully this would make the time fly, and when I got back Knuckles would have something for me.
The first thing I noticed when I pulled up was how busy the place was. The parking lot was packed with only a couple spots left. There would definitely need to be more lights put in the parking lot. It was way too dark for it to be considered safe for the women that were done with their shifts.
The building was red brick with a few windows that had black out shades and neon lights in the windows. Second problem I noticed was there were no bouncers at the door. I shook my head at the stupidity of the owner. Anyone who owns a club like this knows there should be bouncers, first and foremost to protect the women, and second to protect the customers. Although, since the guy only uses the women for money and just kept them high as a fucking kite, it made sense. They had no sense of self preservation, just worried about their next fix.
Inside was disgusting and littered with trash. It looked like the carpet was a red color but going by the amount of liquid looking stains, it could have been any color. I didn’t even want to know what the hell kind of fluids I was walking on. Turning to my right, I saw a bar with some stools but the bartender was nowhere to be found. To the left there were some tables with matching chairs as well, but otherwise that was all there is. The poles were on a stage in front of the tables and there were two girls dancing to some remix of a song that talked about relieving stress through having fun with their bodies.
I found a napkin and wiped down the seat I was taking. No telling what was on it and I wasn’t taking any chances. The girls dancing were good. But when they looked at you, it was all in their eyes. Every single one of these girls had pain hidden behind them. Although they were glassy, you could see it. It was disgusting how the owner was taking advantage of their pain when he should have been helping them. As if life wasn’t hard enough, they had this scumbag pumping them full of fucking poison.
The girls were about to switch shifts, and when they did, I saw they were walking straight, which is even worse because that meant they were hooked even worse than I thought. Two new girls come onto the stage about twenty minutes later. The second one that comes out is a pretty, little blonde with blue eyes that look like she is drowning in the Atlantic. Shit. The emotions she was giving off just from looking into her eyes were fucking heartbreaking.
They started dancing and I could already tell this could be something she would have been good at once upon a time. Juilliard would have been the school she should have gone to. She should not have ended up in a place like this. After seeing all these girls dancing just for a man to use them like this, it made me want to run this place myself and make sure they could get the help they need.
I had just about enough of this place and was getting ready to leave when I heard someone talking a couple seats over. “...this girl was doing some blow with me and told me that the local MC is going to be buying this place out. She said the owner is going to fuck them over big time. He is crazy if you ask me. Why anyone would wanna fuck with them is beyond me.” Looked like my night was not over at all. I had to find this girl they were talking about. While getting up and walking over to the table, I noticed the guys were starting to sweat when they looked down and saw my cut.
“Couldn’t help but overhear you two talking. What woman would you be talking about?” I grounded out. My anger was getting the best of me, considering someone was trying to fuck with us when we haven’t had any issues outside of my brother. The guys were hesitating to answer and I got it, but right now I didn’t have time to be fucking around.
“Alright. I will tell you but it can’t get out that it was me who told you. I have a family, man. If Jax finds out it could mean serious problems for me.”
“He won’t find out. You are under our protection as of now. I have yet to meet Jax but everything I have heard about him so far makes him worth less than the dirt under my boots.” The guy looked nervous to accept that I meant what I said about him getting our protection, but he told me who the girl was and I couldn’t believe what he was telling me along with it.
“You say you got yourself a family. I respect that, but get yourself off those drugs man. Your family deserves better.” With that, I left with the information I got for Snake and hoped like hell Knuckles was able to find something useful to find Riley.
Twenty minutes later, I was in Snake’s office giving him the detailed descriptions of everything. He was taking it all down while I was talking, and Knuckles was tapping away on his keyboard.
“Listen, Snake, one of the women that dances there knows some shit. She has been running her mouth off to some men that I met tonight. I told them they would be under our protection since they gave me all the information I just gave you. I know it wasn’t my call to make but he was a good man. He had an honest look in his eyes. Last thing, the woman who gave him all this information about Jax, her name is Davina Casey. She is more troubled than most of them. When she danced, it was like she was laying her soul out on the floor, and she was nothing but skin and bones playing along to the music. She needs serious help, Snake.” I vouched for her the way a brother would. Something about her spoke to me in a way that if something ever happened to her I would never forgive myself.
“Knuckles will look into her. Speaking of which, I think we may have found something to do with your brother. He was at a gas station down south. Other than that we lost him. But now that we know he is down there and what he is driving, you can go stake the place out tomorrow.” That was the best fucking news I had all day. If this didn’t pan out I was goi
ng to go hunting all over this town looking for my woman. Once again Knuckles got me a hotel so I could get up at the ass crack of dawn and get this shit moving.
It has been about a day and a half, going on two days since she has been gone. When we got her back there wasn’t going to be a second I didn’t have my eyes on her. It was driving me crazy to not know if she was okay. JP could have changed considerably since I last saw him. I honestly didn’t know where he fucked off to, but it could have been anywhere with anyone. Hell, he could have gone and gotten himself mixed up with a rival MC of ours for all I know. I just knew I had to go and get her back, and I had a feeling the ending of this situation was going to irrevocably change me for the rest of my life.
Riley
I woke up for the third—or was it the fourth?— day I have been here with a crick in my neck and my back burning. The day before, when I tried to run, he shot me with a tranquilizer dart. I woke up to being strapped face down to a bed without my shirt on. Upon realizing my situation and how utterly trapped I was, I began to have a panic attack. Reese helped me calm down but that was only until Nameless came back into the room.
There was a point in time when I realized I couldn’t stop whatever was going to happen. There was absolutely no point to panic because there was going to be no one coming to my rescue, if the days dragging by were any hint of my fate. I knew I should probably feel like a piece of shit for giving up so soon on Axel and his club, but I felt like this was all meant to be for some reason.
“If you would have just stayed in your room I wouldn’t have to punish you. I left the window unlocked thinking we might be able to build some trust, but now you went and ruined any chance we had at that. I don’t think Axel deserves something as beautiful as you anyways, so we are just going to remedy that problem right now. This might burn. You can scream as loud as you want. No one will hear you.” And scream I did. I screamed until my throat was bleeding and there were no more tears. Pain like I never felt before seared right down the middle of my back. It felt like he was digging a knife into my back, straight through to my insides. The pain was so unbearable that I passed out and now we were here in the present.