Bent : The Dove Series: Book Two (The Dove Series Book One 2)

by Renea Porter

  In my office, I took my phone out and dialed Rowan’s number. I didn’t expect him to answer, but he did.

  “Well, if it isn’t the prodigal king himself,” Rowan answered, his voice low, smooth, and deep.

  “Hey there, cous.”

  “I’m guessing this isn’t a social call,” he said.

  I sighed. “It’s not. Even though I’d love to catch up and put the past in the past.”

  “What do you want, Damon?”

  “A favor. My girl was taken and I don’t know where she is. I was wondering if your crew could help out. See what the word around town is, if any. And if you can locate her, all the better. But I want to be the one to kill the motherfucker myself.”

  Rowan sighed. “Let me talk to the guys. I’m sure we’ll be able to assist in any way we can.”

  “I’m willing to pay. And I can owe a favor for a later time.”

  “Of course you will. We’ll talk soon.”

  We hung up and I was hopeful Rowan would be able to help. Especially if money was involved. But I wouldn’t want it any other way, family or not. I paid my dues and returned favors when they came. That was how this business worked.

  An hour later, my phone rang. I noticed it was Rowan calling me back.

  He doesn’t even bother saying hello first. He got straight to the point. “Cutter wants a meeting.”

  Cutter was the president of the MC.

  “That’s fine. Want me to come to you?”

  “Yeah. You remember where?”

  “Yes. I’ll see you in two hours.”

  “See you then.”

  When we hung up, I quickly texted Matteo, who was around here somewhere. I figured meeting on Rowan’s turf would be easier and possibly smooth things over between us. I was showing respect and trying to put the past in the past. There was no reason for us to be fighting over something that happened years ago. We were family. Rowan was never much of a talker, so it was on me to mend this riff between us. I only hoped he wanted to do the same.

  Matteo appeared, standing outside my office. “Come in, Matteo.”

  “Any news?”

  “We are meeting the Bad Bones Crew in two hours. We should get going soon so we can meet them on time.”

  “Okay. I’ll let Connor know.” He rushed out of the office to let my driver know to be ready.

  Once Matteo was out of the office, I closed my door so I could get in my safe to collect some cash. In this town money talked. I grabbed twenty-five thousand dollars and put it into a briefcase. There was no way they would turn down that much money to help out, because it was more than enough to keep the MC running.

  ***

  We pulled off onto a deserted road, made another turn on a dirt road, and then we were facing a security fence that secured the compound the MC lived on. They had several properties around the main clubhouse where the men and women congregated. Once I showed my face to the camera, we were buzzed through and Connor pulled in.

  “You sure about this?” Matteo asked.

  I cocked a grin. “Sure. Nothing bad is going to happen. As much as Rowan hates me, we are family. And we don’t turn on family. Even if he wants to kick my ass.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “But I want you both outside of the vehicle just in case anything does go wrong. Because I don’t know what I’m walking into.”

  “You got it,” Matteo responded as the three of us exited the SUV.

  I straightened my suit jacket and strolled inside the club. I was cool, collected, and calm as all eyes turned toward me. Everyone was wondering why a man in an expensive suit was coming into this place. But the crew knew.

  “You must be Damon Alessio.” A man held his hand out to shake mine.

  “You must be Cutter.”

  Cutter was the Bad Bones President. I spotted Rowan off to the side.

  “Come in. Welcome to Bad Bones. Let’s step into my office.” He motioned with his hand, and the crew followed behind.

  We entered a room where I assumed was where they conducted business. Each member greeted me with a hand shake while Rowan simply said, “We’ll talk after.” I nodded in response.

  Chapter Twelve

  DAMON

  I took a seat after the crew sat in their respective places. Again, it was respect.

  “So, I hear you have a little situation on your hands,” Cutter mentioned.

  “I do. There is a turf war. And I don’t know if you have heard of Jose Macias, but he’s trying to take over. And now he’s got my girl.”

  Cutter rubbed his rough jaw. “So, we’re talking about a possible rescue mission.”

  I sighed. “Yes.”

  “You are aware my men could get killed.”

  “I’m aware. However, I really just need to locate her. My men and I can take it from there. Plus, I’m prepared to make it worth your while.” I brought the briefcase up on the large wooden table and opened it. “It’s twenty-five thousand now. It’s generous. And if you locate where she is, I can double this.”

  “She’s worth that much?” Hayden asked. He was the club’s Vice President.

  “She’s worth all the money in the world. But like I said, I just need assistance in locating where Jose is holding her. I can take it from there.”

  “Alright. I think we have enough info. Would you mind stepping out and having a drink at the bar while we discuss this?”

  “Not at all.” Standing, I buttoned my suit jacket back up and walked out to the bar where I ordered a whiskey.

  Not long after I downed my whiskey, the door opened and Cutter appeared with his hand out to shake mine.

  I gave his hand a firm shake. “We’ll be happy to help in any way we can.” He placed his other hand on my shoulder as if assuring me they would hold up their end of the bargain.

  “Thank you. I appreciate the help.”

  “I know it took a lot for you to come to us so I have mad respect for you bro.”

  “Thanks.” I smirked.

  Then Rowan came into view. “Can we talk?” I asked him.

  “Yep.” He nodded toward the front door and we made our way outside. I spotted Matteo and Connor still standing and on guard.

  “Look, what I did back in the day? It was shitty. I’ll admit that. Do you think we can put this past us and move on? We used to hang out all the time. And you and Claire are all the family I have.” Claire was Rowan’s little sister.

  Rowan smirked. “I was thinking the same thing. We’re family and we shouldn’t let any bitches come in between us.”

  He offered his hand and I took it with a matching smile. “We should all get together for the holidays this year,” I suggested.

  “Yeah. That would be good. But it’s at your fancy place and you’re paying for all of the food.”

  I chuckled. “Deal. Give Claire my love, will ya?”

  “I will.”

  “See ya.” I waved before entering the vehicle.

  “All good?” Matteo asked.

  “All good. We have their support.”

  ***

  I was sleeping for once when my phone rang. “This better be fucking important,” I said to whoever was on the other end. I didn’t bother seeing who it was before I answered.

  “Boss, it’s me. We got a huge lead on Kara’s whereabouts. We believe she’s at Jose’s compound outside of town. It’s heavily guarded. We would need to do some recon before we could do a rescue mission.”

  The sooner I could get to Kara, the better. But as much as I hoped this would go off without a hitch, I didn’t have much faith at the moment. I just wanted her safe and back with me.

  “Whoever gave you that tip deserves a raise,” I told him, smiling.

  Chapter Thirteen

  KARA

  “I bet you are thrilled I’ll be gone soon,” Sienna sneered.

  “I am, actually. And I hope you get the most vile man to bid on you.”

  “Whatever,” she scoffed and walked away

  She d
idn’t have a comeback because she knew Jose would make sure her life was miserable.

  After working in the kitchen, helping to prepare a meal for the guys, Jose provided me with a blanket. I was thankful I’d have warmth for the cool nights. And I was still waiting for Jose to tell me he wanted his payback for helping me out.

  Ever since he killed that man, he was on edge and he was unpredictable. I was basically waiting for the other shoe to drop at any given time.

  Antonio was in the kitchen keeping an eye on me. I didn’t know why he had taken an interest in me but it didn’t seem in a romantic way. I think it was more of a protective way; he was watching out for me.

  “Sorry about your hair,” he commented when he thought no one was around.

  “Thanks. She did me a favor because I like it like this.”

  “It looks good. How is your cheek?”

  “I’m okay.” The pain was nothing I couldn’t handle.

  “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

  I offered a slight nod. “Can I ask where you’re from?” I asked.

  “I’m from the south side. Why?”

  I shrugged. “Just curious.”

  He moved close enough to whisper to me. “Don’t say anything, but I work for the FBI and I’m working on a plan to get you all out of here. Just a little tricky right now.”

  My mouth fell open but it didn’t surprise me that much because I knew he was different from the other guys. “Don’t go getting yourself killed.”

  One of Jose’s men walked in to get a drink, causing Antonio to quickly step away from me. I hoped he hadn’t heard anything we said. They both nodded at each other and then they both left.

  ***

  The next day, I spent most of my time in the basement. A wave of new girls came in and they looked frightened and scared, as they should have been, dealing with Jose. He was unpredictable. I was certain he didn’t want to see my face right now after yesterday’s fiasco. I enjoyed the thought or should I say the fantasy of seeing Jose dead. That was the problem, though. It was a fantasy.

  How much longer was I gonna be here? Would Jose put me up for auction? Had I pushed him over the edge? The questions plagued my mind. I wish people like Jose were dead. Who traffics girls and makes a profit from it? Those kinds of people were despicable. It sickened me to my core.

  Was there more I could do to protect these women? What was Antonio doing? Would he save us? As a whole group, we could probably overpower the men in charge, but they had guns so we couldn’t risk it. Feeling helpless was a hard pill to swallow. There was nothing any of us could do.

  “What are you thinking about?” Livy asked, bumping my shoulder with hers.

  “I just feel helpless. I wish there was something I could do to save all of us.”

  “Yeah. It sucks. But we just have to live one day at a time. Maybe you should have killed Jose when you had the chance.”

  “I probably should have. But it would have been a shootout with his men.”

  “I bet Jose was shitting himself when you pointed that gun on him.”

  “It was nice to think about killing him for a moment.”

  “It’s probably best you didn’t pull the trigger in the end.”

  “Get upstairs so you can get dressed. Bring that dress you wore the other day,” Antonio said, appearing out of nowhere.

  He had to appear like he was one of them. “What is going on?” I asked in a rushed tone.

  “Livy is going up for auction with Sienna tonight,” he whispered before heading back up the stairs.

  “What the fuck?” I asked.

  Livy sat there shocked. “Well, it actually is happening. My fate is sealed.”

  I wanted to cry. “I guess we better head up.” I stood, pulling Livy up. Looking into her eyes, I saw pain and sorrow. She was not fine with her destiny after all. Because now she was facing it.

  Pulling her in close, I hugged her tiny body tight. “I’ll never forget you, Livy. Never. And if I have any say, I’ll find you.”

  She nodded, blinking back the tears. She was scared, and I was scared for her. We held hands as we walked up the stairs. I needed her to believe I would find her and try to save her. Even though I didn’t know the first thing about how to look for someone, I knew someone that did.

  Damon.

  Chapter Fourteen

  KARA

  Upstairs, we were ordered to head to the changing room to get dressed. Me in the gown I wore previously and Livy in a white, flowy dress. She looked like an angel. I could only hope the person that bid on her would go easy on her. But she would be eager to please whoever it was. That was just who she was because she didn’t have anyone.

  Once I was dressed, there wasn’t much else to do except put a few clips in my hair and apply minimal makeup. I helped Livy in her dress, and I fixed her hair and makeup as she did her best not to cry.

  “You have been a good friend to me through all this and I’ll never forget that.”

  She wiped a few tears that escaped. “You have been my best friend. And I’ll never forget you either.”

  I tried to smile and offered her comfort. “We’ll see each other again. I know it.”

  “Do you promise?”

  “I promise. I don’t care what hell I have to raise. We will meet again. Come on, we have to go out there before they come knocking.”

  “I can’t do this, Kara. I can’t.”

  Placing my hands on her shoulders, I looked into her eyes. “You can. And you will. You are so strong, Livy. Stronger than you even realize.”

  She blew out a breath.

  “We don’t have much time. Tell me your birthdate and your full name. I promise, if Damon gets me out of here, I will have him look for you.”

  “My full name is Olivia Anna Bristol and my birthdate is December 4th, 1997. My birth mom’s name is Carrie Anne Bristol and my dad’s name is Roger Wyatt Bristol.”

  I looked into her eyes. “Good. Good job.” I repeated her full name and her birthdate until it was memorized in my head. “For now, you’re going to have to put on a brave face. I promise you I will get you out of this.”

  She sucked in a breath before slowly letting it back out and nodding her head. She believed me. I hoped I could live up to the promise I just made.

  Together, we walked out. She was nervous and probably scared. I was scared for her.

  “Bout time,” one of Jose’s men said.

  We entered the room, and it looked like it was a masquerade theme. The man handed us each a mask. In any other situation, this would have been fun. But there was nothing fun about this. It almost seemed even more sinister since no one could make out the faces underneath the mask. My mask was black with gold embroidery and Olivia’s was white with gold embroidery.

  “Get to the piano and start playing. Guests are already arriving,” Jose ordered.

  Separating from Olivia was almost excruciating. She was like a little sister to me. I watched as she was ushered to one of the hollowed-out grooves in the wall. She stood stone faced and I was proud of her. She wouldn’t show any sign of weakness in front of everyone here.

  My fingers worked the piano, though it was almost mechanical this time around. It was impossible to get lost in the music. I was concentrated on everyone else and in particular who would bid on Livy. With a mask on, it would be impossible for me to see who the person was, which would make it harder for her to be found.

  The auction started and I put my focus on Livy and the sick men bidding on her. She knew what was happening and still she never faltered. Had she accepted her fate? Or was she clinging onto the promise I made?

  Olivia Bristol sold for a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to shout how sick everyone in this room was.

  For the finale, I played a dramatic song and my body swayed to the music. I got lost in the song because it was the only escape I was offered. Watching Jose celebrate the rest of the night smiling like a Cheshire cat, it sickened me even
more. Now more than ever, I wished I would have pulled that trigger. Maybe it would have been better to chance death. Now I’ll never know.

  Chapter Fifteen

  DAMON

  Since finding out that huge lead on Kara, I was anxious to get started on the recon of the compound. I wasn’t sure if I would even find Kara there. Just to spite me, he may have sold her already. I hated that thought. But I had to hope she was there.

  Stripping out of my clothes, I headed to my large bathroom and stepped into a hot shower. My heart was thumping inside my chest with anticipation. I couldn’t wait to have Kara safe and back in my arms.

  Once out of the shower, I decided to forgo a suit and wear a pair of dark jeans and pulled on a black tee shirt. I paced the floor while Matteo got the team ready. For the recon, we only needed a few men and some good binoculars. I knew we couldn’t get close or we would be seen.

  “We’re all set, boss,” Matteo said.

  “Okay, let’s get ready to roll.”

  We entered the SUV. I was ready to get this over with.

  “I know you will want to go in guns blazing, but you are gonna have to restrain yourself,” Matteo explained. And he was right. I had to exercise willpower.

  Changing the subject, I said, “Any word on her father?”

  “He’s at his place. But it’s been pretty quiet.”

  “Okay. Keep an eye on him. We may have to pay him a visit.”

  “Already have a guy on it, boss.”

  I smiled. Matteo was superb at his job and he exceeded his duties, and he really was my right-hand man. He knew when to take initiative.

  “When this is all over, I’m going to give you a raise. A big one.”

  “I’m just doing my job.”

  “You are exceeding your responsibilities and I want to show my appreciation.”