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

by Renea Porter

  “Thank you.”

  “We’re here.” Matteo looked at me once again to reiterate, “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid once we leave this SUV.”

  I knew I had to remain calm and level headed if I wanted to rescue Kara. “I promise. I’m letting you take the lead. So, I’m following your instructions. I know you have experience in this kind of thing.”

  “I do.”

  We parked about a quarter mile out of sight from the compound. We just needed to see what we were dealing with and who we were up against. It pained me being this close to Kara and not being able to go in and get her, if she was even there. This could be all for nothing.

  Making a plan, we spread out over the area. Matteo took the side, I took the front and Heath, one of Matteo’s guys, took the back.

  Three guards guarded the front and they held big guns. We would have to sneak up on them to take them out. I did notice some cameras as well. Heath was our tech guy and he was going to see if he could hack in and mess with the cameras once we went in. But that was for later.

  After gathering the info, I texted Matteo that I was done and I’d meet them at the SUV. It was better to get out of there before we got caught. I didn’t want to risk Kara’s safety. I couldn’t risk it. In the SUV, it pained me to pull away without my woman.

  “Let’s just go back to my place and we can make a plan,” I told the guys.

  Back at my place, I poured everyone a drink before we got started. Susie set out some small sandwiches, fruits, and veggies for us to snack on. During this time, she was a lifesaver and didn’t even know it. My crew was the best. And they deserved a lot more credit than I gave.

  Heath started the discussion. “Alright, once you arrive at the compound, I can fumble with the security cameras. I’ll dial it back a few shots so you are ahead of the frames.”

  Then Matteo chimed in. “We’re gonna need at least two, maybe three guys for the back and one to two on each side. This place is guarded like Fort Knox. So, the more men we have, the better.”

  I began to speak, “That’s where the MC comes in handy. I’d much prefer my men take these guys out while the MC only jumps in when they need to. They can be our backup if something goes wrong.”

  “But it won’t go wrong,” Matteo stated.

  This was Matteo’s element and I could see he reveled in this type of thing. Maybe he was selling himself short just working for a mob boss like me.

  A call came in and Matteo stepped away to take it.

  After a few short minutes, he came back to the group. “I just got word Jose had an auction tonight and he’s having another one tomorrow. He doesn’t usually do them back to back. Something is up.”

  “Well, we need to get this plan in action now.”

  “Could be the perfect time to go in.” Heath grinned.

  “Make the call,” Matteo told me.

  Grabbing my phone, I dialed Rowan’s number.

  “What’s up, cous’?” he answered.

  “Hey, you got a sec?”

  “Yeah. What’s up?”

  “One of my guys found where Kara is being held. We did some recon tonight and we figured we need at least five more men. Think some of your guys would be down for that?”

  He didn’t even hesitate. “Fuck yeah we’ll be down.”

  “Then come to my place at nine p.m. tomorrow night.”

  “See you then.”

  “See ya.”

  Matteo and Heath nodded appreciatively, and I poured us each another drink. I held my glass up as if I was making a toast, but it was really just a statement. “I appreciate you guys. I know you are putting yourselves on the line for someone you don’t know. But I promise you she’s worth it.”

  Matteo nodded in agreement, and then we all clinked our glasses before swallowing the shot.

  I bid the guys goodnight as they started to leave, and Matteo hung back until it was just us.

  “I really want to thank you for all your efforts. I know it’s been rough at times and I’ve been a complete asshole most of the time. But if you ever need anything, and I mean anything, I got you.”

  He put his fist out and I bumped it with mine. “Try to get some sleep tonight, okay,” Matteo told me.

  I grinned. “I’ll try.” But I knew how unlikely that was, knowing I’d see Kara by tomorrow night.

  Chapter Sixteen

  KARA

  I was stuck with the new girls. And I never felt so alone in my entire life. I was missing Olivia and Damon. I wondered about the man that possessed Olivia. Was he cruel? Was he nice?

  And Damon. My heart ached. I missed his touch and the spark that was between us. I wondered if I could be the woman he wanted me to be. At this point, it was impossible to know. I wasn’t the same woman I was when I first came here. I was harder, and, at the same time, I felt weaker.

  I’d only been gone three weeks, but to me, it felt like a lifetime. So much had happened in a short span of time. It was almost too much to handle for one person. I wasn’t sure how I would cope once this was all over. Once my fate was sealed.

  And just like that, it was.

  “You’re going up for auction tonight,” Jose spouted.

  “Tonight?” I questioned.

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing, Sir.” I bowed my head because I did not need another slap across the face. My cheek was just starting to heal but was still red. But I couldn’t stay silent.

  “Please don’t do this,” I begged. “Damon is coming for me,” I blurted.

  “You silly girl, he’s not coming for you, Dove. He used you and then threw you away, just like the trash that you are.”

  I flinched. “You don’t get to call me that.” I was furious.

  He folded his hands in front of his body. “You’re right. Your new husband will be the one to call you that if he chooses.”

  “You’re despicable.”

  “And you’re gonna bring me a lot of money.”

  There was nothing else I could do.

  “Get dressed, and help the other girls if they need help.”

  I entered the big changing room and changed into an off-white gauzy gown. I brushed my hair; fixing the angled bob I was sporting. I put on mascara and some lip gloss.

  “Can you help me?” a girl who barely looked like a teen asked.

  “Of course.” I forced a smile, helping her into her dress, fixing her hair, and completing her look. “There. You look really pretty.”

  “Thanks.”

  The girl was frightened beyond belief.

  “It’s gonna be okay,” I assured her. But I wasn’t sure I believed that myself.

  I flung the door open to exit and was facing Jose. “Ah, much better,” he gloated.

  I wanted to slap the smug right off his face, but I settled on spitting on his face instead.

  “You fucking bitch. You’re lucky you’re being auctioned off.”

  “Or what? You’ll beat me? Slap me across the face? Nothing you do will break me,” I spewed while he took a napkin from his pocket to wipe his face.

  “That’s good. Because tonight is your wedding night.”

  My heart stopped. “What?” My mouth got dry as a desert.

  He chuckled. “Whoever pays for you tonight, you will be getting married to them… tonight.” He turned on his heel and laughed.

  I was breathless and weak. It felt like I might faint as my heart beat so fast in my chest. Was I having a heart attack? That had to be it because this wasn’t real life. This wasn’t the life I envisioned for myself. I’d rather die than get married to whoever was buying me. I wanted to scream bloody murder; I could kill someone right about now. This couldn’t happen.

  Entering the room, I stood where I was instructed to. I swallowed hard and waited for my fate to be sealed. Tears never came as I forced my face into a stoic state. This was my wedding night. I could not fathom what was about to happen to me.

  By now, Damon was too late. He couldn’t save
me. Above anything else, that was the one thing I had to come to terms with.

  Chapter Seventeen

  DAMON

  It was time to rescue Kara. I wondered what kind of shape she would be in. After I met with the guys and we discussed our strategy, we all loaded into two SUVs. We were all wearing black from head to toe, even had face masks so the cameras wouldn’t detect us. But I couldn’t resist putting on dressing slacks and a tight, black, long sleeve tee shirt. During the ride to Jose’s compound, my leg shook as nervousness took over. I wasn’t nervous about taking Jose down, I was nervous to see Kara. God, I had to admit I loved her. She was made for me and I for her. There would never be anyone but Kara Ricci for me.

  With the dead of night hanging above us, we arrived and everyone took their positions. We only had one shot to get this right and it had to be flawless. We carried walkie talkies and once the four of us were rounding the back, I radioed in, “Now.”

  The four of us took the three men out by sneaking up on them and silently choking them out. We were all in unison while Matteo took the lead. The door was locked, so Matteo had to work his magic with the pick and then we were in.

  I could hear the music softly playing in the background, and people were chit chatting not too far from us. Only the kitchen staff noticed us, and I placed a finger to my lips and they stayed quiet. There was no need to hurt innocent people. The four of us were close to the noise so I hoped I was closer to Kara; I was desperate to reach her. Desperate to tell her she was safe now and always would be.

  We were just outside the room where I assumed the auction was being held. I listened as people bid on the women and my heart pounded in my chest. Adrenaline was kicking in as I stormed inside. “I’m afraid the party is over, folks!” One of my guys shot a gun toward the ceiling, causing people to scatter.

  My eyes locked with Kara’s, who was in a glass enclosure in the wall of the room. “Damon!” she shouted.

  “Stay inside and wait for me to come get you.”

  My attention turned to Jose that my men now had hold of. All I wanted to do was to see the blood drain from his body.

  But two men came at us from out of nowhere. They fired at us and we returned fire.

  “He’s hit,” Matteo shouted about Greer, another one of Matteo’s guys that he brought in, who was lying in a pool of blood on the white marble floor.

  Rowan and Hayden, who were both part of the Bad Bones Motorcycle Club, still had hold of Jose, as they hurriedly restrained his hands.

  Greer was hurt badly and I wasn’t sure he’d make it. I bent down, taking his hand in mine. He took his last breath.

  My boots echoed on the marble flooring as I went to Kara, but she bounded out of the encasement and ran into my arms. “Thank god,” she whispered into my neck as I held her tight against me. “Is he…” She couldn’t finish the sentence.

  “He’s gone.”

  “Jesus.”

  Someone walked in the room, and I saw all eyes turn as they rose their guns up to shoot him. I put Kara down, and she moved toward the men as she shouted. “Don’t shoot him! That’s Antonio. He’s FBI. He looked out for me. He’s one of the good guys.”

  We lowered our guns and breathed a sigh of relief and walked back to Rowan and Hayden.

  “Matteo, take Kara out of here.”

  “No,” she said sternly. “If you are gonna kill him, I want to see it.” Honestly, if anyone deserves to kill him, it’s me.”

  I already had the gun in my hand, ready to pull the trigger. It was not something I wanted Kara to watch. But I saw in the look she was giving me, she wasn’t backing down. My Dove was no longer a scared little bird. No; she was strong and demanded respect.

  “Are you sure?”

  She nodded in response. Stepping forward, Jose was still on his knees, and Kara’s left knee connected with Jose’s face.

  “You fucking bitch.” Blood dripped from his nose onto his shirt.

  “No. It looks like you’re the bitch now,” she spit on him. She looked at me. “Go ahead and kill this fucker.”

  Raising the gun, Rowan and Hayden stepped to the side and I released the trigger. The bullet landed right between his eyes. He was dead, but I added another shot to his chest for good measure.

  We stood there watching the blood pool around him.

  The rest of the women and the young girl stepped out, and I realized at least they were free. They looked to me and the other men, thanking each of them.

  “You’re free. Do you have somewhere you can go?”

  “We gotta go get the others out,” Kara told us as she led us to the basement while Hayden guarded the door just in case we ran into trouble.

  “What the fuck,” I uttered out, seeing the women and girls huddled together because they were so scared.

  I watched as Kara went over to the group, bending down so she was eye level with them. “You’re all free. Jose and his men are dead. No one will hurt you.”

  Their eyes lit up as they stood. “Free?” one woman asked.

  Kara nodded before hugging her. “You’re free.” She gestured her hand to me. “He’s my boyfriend and he brought men with him to help.” I offered a wave from where I stood. I wanted to give Kara and the women space. “Do you have money? A place to go?”

  A few nodded and a few stepped forward saying they didn’t have any money. Kara’s eyes connected with mine. Reaching in my pocket, I took the wad of cash out of my thick wallet, and passed her the money.

  I didn’t care about money as long as I had Kara. She was safe. These women were now safe.

  Kara passed hundred-dollar bills to everyone and it actually made my heart happy. “If they don’t have a place to go, I have a safe house that they can stay at until they get on their feet.”

  “I don’t want to be no trouble, sir,” the woman said.

  “It’s no trouble, really. You’ll be safe there, I promise.” I pressed a hand on my chest. “It would make me feel better knowing you aren’t on the street. You will never owe me anything. I’m just offering this to help you out. I have the means and the connections to make sure you’re treated properly and safe. Kara and I can take you there.”

  “Are you sure?” another woman asked.

  I smiled. “I promise. You’ll be safe. You can come and go as you please. You don’t owe me anything. I think you’ve been through enough. Let me help.”

  The women looked at Kara, looking for her assurance.

  “I can vouch for him. What he says is true.”

  “Okay.” They smiled appreciatively.

  We assisted the women into the SUVs we had lined up down the road.

  Chapter Eighteen

  KARA

  I was amazed by Damon’s generosity. He gave and never questioned anyone about anything unless they chose to divulge themselves. I was surprised to learn he had a safe house that was just sitting there empty.

  “I had it just in case I would need it one day.”

  There was so much I didn’t know about this man, and I wanted to learn and know everything about him. It took three SUVs to transport the women to the safe house. Some were with us, some with the Motorcycle Crew-I later learned who everyone was-and we had to have another SUV driven in for the rest. It was crazy how many women and young girls didn’t have homes to return to. It was sad. But I was happy they would be safe and could learn all the basic things they needed to get by in life.

  Covering me with his jacket, I snuggled into Damon as we rode in the back seat of the SUV. Tears were threatening to burst through but I couldn’t let the other ladies see me break down. I’d been holding everything in and I needed to let it out. Damon kissed the side of my head, and as he put his arm around me, it was like I couldn’t get close enough to him. And I couldn’t tell if it was for me or him.

  “Thank you,” I said in a whispered tone.

  “For what?”

  “For finding me and helping these girls.”

  He frowned as he fingered the hem
of the dress I was still wearing. “Why white?”

  I forced the tears back. “He likes them to look innocent. And he was going to marry me to the highest bidder.”

  Damon grimaced. “Fuck.” His jaw ticked.

  Taking Damon’s chin in my hand, I forced him to look in my eyes. “I’m safe now. Thanks to you. All these women are safe now.”

  He offered a simple nod. He pulled my legs into his lap and I was almost sitting on him at this point. He brushed the hair out of my eyes. “What happened to your hair?”

  “This girl named Sienna cut it in my sleep.”

  “Damn, that’s vicious.”

  “I set her straight.”

  Damon chuckled. “I’m sure you did.”

  I smoothed a hand over his fitted shirt. “Hey. I’m sorry about Greer.”

  “Me, too. Me, too, Dove.”

  Silence fell between us until we pulled up to a house. It was massive in size, perhaps bigger than the one Damon had.

  “Wow,” I said while Damon helped me out. It was clear he wanted me to be near him at all times.

  “This is it,” he said as everyone got out of their vehicles.

  I clasped my hand in Damon’s. It was comforting knowing he was there for me.

  We stepped up to the door and a woman greeted us with a smile. Opening the door wider, we all stepped inside the foyer.

  Damon gestured for us to stand next to the woman. “Everyone, this is Jacinda. She runs the house. It’s completely safe and there are all women on staff. There’s even a nurse here as well. If you need absolutely anything, Jacinda will take care of you. And here is my card as well.” Damon passed his business card out to each and every woman. “If you need a job, I run a club…” He paused. “It’s legit work, I promise.”

  I was, again, shocked to learn he owned a club and wondered just want kind of club it was.

  “And if you feel more comfortable reaching out to Kara, you can do that as well. Her number is on the back.”

  With a look, I silently thanked him. How would I ever repay his kindness?