I looked over at him and smiled faintly, submissively, wondering which one would give me the most satisfaction to watch.
Handcuffs or a coffin?
Bars or dirt?
Life or death?
I wasn’t sure which he deserved, I’d leave that judgement up to God, if there was a God. But if I had to choose, I’d probably choose the more permanent one.
Death was safer.
I laid down in bed and closed my eyes, listening to him take off his clothes and slide into bed with me. I waited for his touch, for a kind word, a wish goodnight, some kind of acknowledgement that he remembered that I was human.
When I heard his breath fall steady and rhythmic, I knew that wasn’t coming.
I lay there quietly in the dark, thinking about Grace and Eli. Grace was pretty, Snake was right. She was a little younger than me, but I didn’t mind that, either. She was smart and sharp. Too sharp for a life like this. Maybe that’s why I didn’t trust her. She was too good for this bullshit.
I thought of Eli then, his serious blue eyes, his dark blonde hair, his youthful face betrayed by his strong, sternly set jaw. He was so quiet, and I wondered if that was fueled by rage or maturity. Either way, his somber silence lent an air of mystery to him that left me wondering about him for hours in the darkness, his blue eyes haunting me into my dreams.
CHAPTER 14
ELI
“Look, brother, stop worrying about it. Nobody hates you,” I said into the phone. Nate had gone back to the clubhouse and I called him before I went to bed for the night to check in. Fury and I had a room to ourselves. Grace and Ryder were in one room and Riot and Wreck were in the other. Slade and Bones had both gone downtown to spend the night with their ladies. They’d all come back in the morning and then we planned to go in and get the first of the girls.
It felt fucking exhilarating to know I was doing something good for once.
Nate, on the other hand, was mortified at the way everything went down and was certain Ryder was just waiting for all of this to be over so he could kill him.
“Look, man, bury me next to Ma, okay?” he asked. “Don’t fucking cremate me!”
“Shut up,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Look, I’m handling things. We’re a package deal. You fucked this one up, but you’ll get the next one. No big deal. The worst part out of this is you getting hurt.”
“I’d hardly call this is an injury.”
“I was talking about your pride,” I joked.
“Fuck,” he said. “I’m glad everything went well today, at least.”
“Yeah, it was easy. Grace did all the work really. I just sat there listening.”
“That’s how it went for me, too, until it all went downhill.”
“Yeah, that sucks,” I said. “Hey — did you meet Snake’s old lady?”
“Sophia, right? Just for a second.”
“What did you think of her?”
“I don’t know, man, what do you mean? She’s probably pretty fucked up to be hooked up with a guy like that.”
“Yeah.”
“Dude.”
“What?”
“Dude.”
“What!”
“Fucking don’t.”
“Don’t what? Shut up.”
“I know you, man. I know you fucking inside and out and I know you don’t ask what I think of a woman unless you’ve been doing a lot of thinking about her yourself already.”
“It’s not like that,” I insisted. “She just didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the scene is all. I was just wondering what her story was.”
“Yeah, well, her story is that she’s hooked up with a really fucking dangerous dude and you need to keep your meaty paws off of her.”
“Whatever,” I said, rolling my eyes again. “You’re wrong.”
“Sure I am,” he replied, laughing.
“I gotta go,” I said.
His laughter annoyed me. So did his assumptions. He had no idea what I was thinking. He was so sure he fucking ‘knew’ me, knew everything I was thinking at all times, just because we’d come out of the womb together.
I was pretty sure he’d been wrong, at least once.
I didn’t spend much time thinking about it, though.
Fury was fast asleep in the other bed, the television turned down low. I flipped through the channels mindlessly, my head still spinning from everything I’d seen today.
Seeing those girls, all of them locked away like fucking cattle, virtual slaves to Snake and the highest bidder. I couldn’t have been more proud of being a part of an operation like this.
I’d done shit I wasn’t proud of. Selling drugs, trading weapons, even violence every now and then, when it was necessary. I always hated that part, but it took me a while to realize it.
At first, I thought I would enjoy it. I watched our Dad with his guns, and he taught us to respect them. But he also taught us to be afraid. Of him. Of what he could do with that gun.
If Nate or I ever got out of hand, he wouldn’t yell at us. He wouldn’t ground us or even beat our ass. He’d sit us on the couch, usually both of us because we didn’t do much without each other back then, and he’d make us watch him clean his guns. He had at least a dozen, and it would take forever it seemed to our young minds.
He’d do it silently, glancing over at us periodically to make sure we’d not started daydreaming or drifted off to sleep. Afterwards, he’d look at us sternly and give us one fierce nod of his head.
He didn’t need words.
We heard his message loud and clear.
And whatever it was we’d done to fuck up, we usually didn’t do that particular thing again. Because we knew those guns were clean and ready to go at the drop of a hat, or the flip of our Dad’s rage switch.
Because that’s how it was with men like him. He was always under a slow burn, just ready to explode at any moment. He was good one minute and then next — well, you didn’t know what hit you.
I suspected Snake was a man like that. I could feel the tension rolling off of him, despite his friendly, easy-going smile. Men like him were cunning, calculated, calm and collected — until the time came to be something else.
I couldn’t help but wonder what it was like to live with a man like that, to wonder what life was like for Sophia. She was flashy, in her tight clothes and high heels, not a hair out of place, her makeup perfectly applied — she was put together like a model — a sharp contrast to all the greasy and grimy guys of the club.
Snake was a dangerous guy, and I knew women were attracted to that kind of guy. I got that part of the attraction. But there didn’t seem too much love flowing between them, not that I could tell.
But who knows what goes on behind closed doors?
I’d already seen behind two of the closed doors at Snake’s place. I shuddered to think what went on in his bedroom. Suddenly, I felt bad for Sophia.
She was a beautiful woman.
I was certain she deserved more than whatever Snake was handing out.
Our plan was to get the girls out, then figure out how to handle Snake. I wasn’t real sure what that meant yet exactly, because I’d made a vow not to ask the Gods too many questions. But I was pretty sure whatever it meant, Snake’s life wasn’t going to be the same once we were finished with him.
Which meant neither would Sophia’s.
Maybe that’s a good thing, I thought. Maybe that’s exactly what she needs.
I fell asleep to the sound of Fury’s snoring and the low din of the television, Sophia’s smile drifting in and out of my dreams…
CHAPTER 15
GRACE
“Let’s go in my office,” Snake said when Eli and I arrived the next day. He led us to a room on the other side of the clubhouse, a large room sparsely decorated with a desk and couch and a few chairs. On one wall hung a huge deer head, its dead eyes staring back at me eerily as I sat in the chair across from it. I placed the briefcase I was carrying at my feet and smiled over at Snake
as he sat behind his desk. Eli sat next to me, stoic and quiet as usual.
I’d grown to like Eli a lot. He was quiet, but sincere and down-to-Earth, one of those guys that didn’t speak much but when he did he really had something to add to the conversation. His stoic, peaceful presence was a blessing here. He’d never left my side.
“I have your money,” I said to Snake with a friendly smile. If this had been any other kind of business transaction, it would have been almost pleasant. Snake hadn’t thrown me for any real loops, he’d been polite and professional, for the most part.
Too bad he was such a terrible person, I thought. I had no sympathy for men like him. He knew what he was doing, he knew the extent of damage being done to these women and he simply didn’t care. There was no room for forgiveness for men like him, not in my world.
I’d taken down a lot of men and women in the last few years. The mayor of a major city, powerful businessmen, mixed-martial arts fighters — even a few women who thought they were invincible — all extremely dangerous people who’d done horrifying things to other people. And after we’d saved their victims, we’d exacted justice in our own ways to their abusers.
Maybe others wouldn’t agree with our sentences, maybe some people even thought they deserved complete forgiveness — but I didn’t.
And this was my fight.
It was a battle Solid Ground and the Gods fought on a daily basis and we’d seen the extent of the damage done. We’d seen the widespread problem human trafficking had become, in small and large operations all over the country. Because I was so close to the situation, I felt like the punishments that occurred always fit the bill.
Snake’s set-up was one of the largest I’d seen, for sure. He’d managed to grow his business into a monster’s playground. There was no way he was blind to how much he was hurting those women.
He was complicit, plain and simple.
And to be able to do that, one had to be heartless.
And if he was heartless, then he didn’t deserve forgiveness.
He deserved whatever happened to him, to put it bluntly.
I almost smiled at the thought of his demise.
“Well, let’s get this over with,” he said.
“Absolutely,” I said, standing and placing the suitcase on his desk. I opened it up, the clicks of the locks echoing in the room. I pushed it over to Snake and he looked inside.
“Small bills. Just like you asked for. It’s all there. You can count it.”
“I trust you,” he said, smiling up at me and closing the case.
“Great,” I said. “I have another appointment to get to, so I’d like to get the girls and get going.”
“No time for a drink tonight?”
“No, but maybe next time,” I said.
“Will there be a next time?”
“I’m hoping so,” I said. “This has all gone smoothly, and I appreciate that, Snake. I’d love to do business again soon. Before I go back to California, actually. See you again in a few days? I saw five or six other women I’m interested in.”
“Sure, sounds good,” he shrugged. “As long as you’ve got the cash.”
“The cash isn’t a problem,” I said, shaking my head.
“Bring it on, then,” he laughed. Eli and I laughed with him. He stood up, placing the briefcase in a drawer of his desk before turning back to us. “Shall we go get your girls?”
“Yes,” I said. We followed him out the door and back into the clubhouse.
“I’ve got them ready and waiting for you,” he said. “I already separated them from the others.” He led us back to the other building and down a different hallway than we’d gone yesterday. Tiny was waiting for us at the end of it.
Snake paused in front of the door and took a step back.
“They ready?”
“Yep,” he nodded, eyeing us warily.
“Tiny will help you get out of the gates. I’ve got some business to attend to. They’re all yours.”
“Thank you,” I said, watching him walk away. I called out to him. “So, I’ll be in touch soon, okay?”
“Like I said…”
“Cash, got it,” I replied. He held up a hand in a wave and disappeared around the corner, leaving Eli and I alone with Tiny.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Our car’s waiting,” I replied.
He opened the door and we walked in. The girls were sitting on a couch together, staring at me as I walked in. I turned behind me and put a hand up.
“Can I have a minute alone with them, please?” Eli and Tiny stopped and waited as I closed the door. I turned to the girls with a small smile.
“You came back,” Sadie said.
“Yes, I did,” I said. “I’m going to take you with me tonight. I can’t tell you much right now, but I’ll fill you in as soon as we get where we’re going, okay?”
They shrugged, looking at me skeptically.
“I guess,” Sadie replied. The other two were silent, letting her lead the way. “Are you a nice lady?”
“I am,” I said, smiling. “All I need you to do is come with me and get in our car, okay? Then, I’ll explain everything, I promise.”
“Any place has to be better than this place,” Sadie said, turning to the others. They shrugged and nodded and all three of them stood up, looking up at me trustingly.
I nodded slowly and turned around, opening the door as I let my smile fade from Tiny’s view.
“Let’s go,” I said, walking down the hall as everyone followed behind.
****
I held my breath as Eli pulled away from the curb, my heart pounding in my chest. We’d gotten a few blocks away when I asked him to pull over.
I unbuckled my seat belt and turned around to face the girls in the back seat.
“Okay, now that we’re away from there,” I said, smiling gently at them, “I want to properly introduce myself. My name is Grace, that part is true. I’m part of an organization called Solid Ground. We help girls just like you. I want you to know that you’re safe now. All three of you. You never have to be in a place like that again. Nobody will ever hurt you like that again. We’re going to get you to a safe place and make sure you’re taken care of.”
“Are you the police?” Lucy asked.
“No, Lucy, I’m not,” I said.
“The police are the ones that took my mama away,” she said. “She never came back.”
“I’m not the police, I promise. I don’t work for anyone else.”
“So, will we be back home for Christmas?” Sadie asked, her voice rising in hope.
“I’m not sure about that, Savannah, but maybe,” I said. “Obviously, we have a lot to talk about. I’m sure you have a lot of questions and there’s a lot to sort out. Right now, I’m going to take you to meet a couple of my friends, Lacey and Frankie. They’re going to take you to a really nice place to spend the night. After you’ve rested and eaten and settled in, we’ll have some good long talks about what’s going to happen. Does all that sound okay?”
“Yes,” Lucy said, a quiet smile forming on her face.
“Will there be real beds there?” Fiona asked, breaking my heart.
“Yes, absolutely. It’s warm and quiet, too. And all the food you can eat.”
“Okay, good,” she nodded. They glanced at each other with shy, hopeful smiles and I turned around in my seat and nodded to Eli.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said.
He took off and I let out a big, long breath. I think I’d been holding it since we’d arrived.
We did it, I thought.
Three girls down.
Thirty-seven more women to go.
CHAPTER 16
ELI
I’d never been more exhilarated in my life. The joy of getting those girls out of there safely was a feeling that surpassed anything I’d ever experienced. I could tell they were scared. But I also knew the last thing they needed was some strange guy like me trying to reassure them. Th
ey didn’t know me. So, I kept my mouth shut.
Hell, they didn’t know any of us and by any appearances, we were a motley crew at first glance. Thankfully, Solid Ground consisted not only of burly men but also kind women that were our complete visual opposites. Lacey and Frankie were young, but if you peered deep in their eyes, you’d spot the loving compassion and empathy that could only come from having lived through hell themselves.
They were waiting at the hotel when we arrived, along with the rest of the guys who were ready to act at a moment’s notice.
Grace introduced them all, then reassured them once again of their safety and within moments, they were whisked off to the safe house at the God’s clubhouse in Tillamook. I was in awe of Grace and Ryder, and well, all of them, to be honest. To say this entire experience had been humbling was an understatement. And yet, I felt as if I’d done nothing.
Because, really, that’s exactly what I’d done.
I’d accompanied Grace, kept my mouth shut and was there just in case she needed a little more muscle. Thankfully, she hadn’t, but I’d have taken a bullet for her and this cause. Seeing those girls had changed me, ripped my heart in two.
Nate warned me. Now, I understood.
I also understood how he was shaken. To see all that and then be faced with the threat of exposure, which would have led to failure, leaving those girls with no chance for rescue? That had to have shaken him to his core.
Not to mention the dogs taking a chunk out of his ass.
I felt bad for him, but I was still chuckling about that part.
But then, I remembered Sophia. She’d walked past us on our way out to the car as we left with the girls and I’d caught her eye. She’d looked at us with disgust, her judgement written all over her face. Her eyes could have cut glass, they were so hard and angry.
But she was a part of this bullshit, too — who was she to judge us? If she knew who we really were, how would she feel?
I couldn’t help but wonder once more why the hell she was there in the first place if she was so disgusted by it all.
SAVING GRACE: GODS OF CHAOS MC (BOOK SIX) Page 9
