by E. C. Land
Piper nods in response and leans back with her arms crossed over her chest. “Yes.”
I grin and give Piper’s belly a tickle. “Come on then,” I chuckle, closing the door.
“Mommy,” Piper squeals, delighted to see her mom.
“Hey, baby,” Parker laughs and steps over to us and reaches out for Piper.
Piper immediately launches herself into her mom’s arms. I smile at the love she holds for her daughter shining through her eyes.
Piper’s excited and throwing her arms out.
“Easy, baby, your arms,” Parker says right as Piper let’s out a piercing scream. “Piper, calm down, sweetie, it’s gonna be okay.”
Parker lifts her gaze to me. “I need to get her to the hospital and have her doctor meet us there,” she murmurs, holding Piper to her.
Nodding, I grab my cut and throw it on, grab my keys then take Piper from Parker. “Get your shoes, we’ll go.”
I open the door and step into the hallway. Piper’s screams of pain draw attention from everyone around.
“What’s happened?” Whip asks.
“Piper’s elbows slipped out of place,” I explain as Parker comes up behind me.
“Fuck, poor kid,” Whip mutters his eyes softening as they land on Piper. “I’ll get a few brothers together.”
“Thanks, Whip,” I mutter, heading for the door.
“We’ll get the new prospect to drive the cage,” Stoney says as he joins us. “We’ll take the bikes and surround it, we’ll have three in the front and three behind the cage.”
I nod and open the door to the back. I put Piper in the car seat and step back so Parker can strap her in. “I’m following on my bike,” I inform her.
Nodding she hops in the seat. Harley and Tinsley get in on the other side. I can understand Tinsley going since she’s a nurse but I’m guessing Harley’s going to show her support and to keep Parker calm.
I close the door behind Parker and head for my bike.
As I straddle the back of my bike, my gut twists. I don’t like this. My gut tells me something’s gonna happen and I don’t know what.
Chapter Fifteen
Parker
I knew it the moment she started to flail her arms around wildly it was gonna happen. When she gets overly excited and starts moving her arms quickly Piper ends up jerking her arms making them slip out of joint. It’s how she did it one time before.
“She’ll be okay,” Tinsley murmurs from the front seat. I’d met her at the hospital before, she’d been Piper’s nurse. I’d been surprised to see her jump into the SUV with Harley, who introduced herself to me as soon as she jumped in the backseat on the other side of Piper, as the prospect driving the SUV floors it.
Piper’s cries of pain kill me.
I nod my response while trying to soothe my little girl.
We’re pulling out onto the main road and all of a sudden squealing tires are heard and Tinsley and Harley scream. Then I felt it. Pain radiates through my body. I feel the vehicle being moved with the force of the one that slammed into us.
Gunfire rings out, my name is yelled along with Harley’s, someone grips my arms and yanks me roughly from the vehicle. Then everything goes dark.
Throbbing pain radiates through my body and I can barely move from the cold floor I’m lying on.
“She’ll sell for a nice price, it’s a shame you didn’t have time to get the little girl as well. She would have brought us a hefty amount,” a woman says in a heavily accented voice, drawing my attention to my surroundings. Footsteps come closer and I squeeze my eyes shut not wanting them to know I’m awake.
“If it weren’t for those fuckin’ bikers I would have nabbed her as well.” I knew that voice to be my brother’s.
Then I remember, the wreck.
Oh God.
The gunshots. Piper. Cane.
Please. Please. Please let them be okay. Let Cane be taking care of my daughter.
I hope everyone is alright.
“Well, it’s okay, you were able to compensate by getting this beauty here,” the woman says from close by. I open my eyes enough to see who she’s talking to. “I remember her. I had my eye on this one a while ago when I’d been here.”
“This woman was one of the targets Ezra wanted you to nab Lavina,” Warren mutters from right above me. “It was just our luck the bitch being in the SUV with Parker.”
“I remember,” Lavina says with a smile in her voice.
God, please get me out of here.
“The auction is five days from now and these two need to be there on time as they’re to be sold to the elite. There are several members who are interested in them both already from the shots you sent me.” My stomach churns at what I’m hearing.
“They’ll be there,” Warren confirms.
Not if I can help it.
“Good, now show me the rest of the merchandise and then I’d like for Cherry to be brought into the office. I’m in the mood to have some fun with her again,” Lavina states.
“Only if you promise not to damage her too badly,” Warren chuckles.
“Oh, you can join us of course but she’s mine and I’ll be taking her with me when I leave. I’ve decided to add Cherry to my collection.”
“What is Peaches not enough for you?” Warren snorts.
“No, you can never have enough. Peaches is now more than ever ready to spread her legs at all times. The drug we created is working amazingly well and I’m finding that after the first ten doses, they only need one every other day or so. Come I’ll show you what I mean, Peaches is already in your office as we speak with one of my men watching her of course.”
Gross.
The two of them speak as they leave the room and close the door.
I open my eyes and slowly lift my body up off the floor to see where I’m at. We’re in some sort of warehouse. The lighting isn’t that great but I notice Harley right away and remember hearing her name screamed out as well.
I’d been dazed when they took us and then I’d blacked out due to the pain.
“Harley,” I call her name quietly, hoping she hears me. I don’t want to draw attention to the two of us.
Harley lifts her head off the floor and I immediately regret this happening to her. Why couldn’t they just take me?
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“No, but we need to get out of here. I . . . I don’t want to be sold,” Harley murmurs, her eyes showing how terrified she is.
“I don’t either. Come on, let’s see if we can’t find a way out of here,” I state with a groan of pain.
“Are you okay?” Harley asks me this time.
“Not by a long shot,” I say with a shake of my head.
“The club will find us,” Harley mumbles reassuringly.
“I know they’ll come for us but I’m not wanting to wait around.” And I wasn’t, my daughter was in that wreck with us as we were on the way to the hospital. I don’t know if she’s okay or not and I don’t know if Cane was hurt in the gunfire.
No don’t go there.
I don’t need to think of him being hurt right now. The thought of him being hurt along with Piper is terrifying. For now, I need to think of them being whole and safe.
Together.
Harley and I have been sticking to the shadows of the warehouse trying to find a way out of this dreadful place. I’ve heard noises, I know will haunt me for the rest of my life. Women’s screams for men to get off of them. Even a male voice yelling out for them to release him.
I felt bad we weren’t able to help but right now our main concern is the two of us escaping. We enter a room on the bottom floor and there’s a broken window. “Harley, I’m gonna give you a boost first then I’ll follow you,” I state.
“How are you going to get up there without help? You’re as small as I am,” Harley mutters.
“Yeah, I know I am, but I’ll figure out a way to hop up there. Now let’s get you up and out so we can get out of here,” I groan
.
Harley gives me a curt nod but I know she doesn’t want to go first. I help her up, my body screams at me the entire time. I sigh in relief when Harley’s able to lift her weight up over the windowsill. I take a deep breath when Harley climbs to the other side.
“Parker, I’m out of the way, come on through,” Harley whisper yells through the window and I slump against the wall while looking around the room for something to stand on. I spot a crate off to the side some and drag it over placing it under the window.
I step on top of it and start to pull myself through the window until an arm wraps around my waist and I’m jerked back inside. “RUN,” I scream to Harley.
“You think you’re getting away that easily, bitch?” the man I fear even more than my brother sneers as he tightens his hold on my waist.
No. No. No.
This can’t be happening.
Marshall shouldn’t be here.
Warren sent him away when I tried to press charges against him when he’d raped me. What’s he doing here?
“I think it’s time you and I have some more fun while your brother’s preoccupied. Seems to me you’re in need of being put back in your place,” Marshall says, straddling my waist.
I clench my eyes together and try my best to take my mind somewhere else.
The first blow to my face hits like a sledgehammer and I swear this time around Marshall’s going to kill me. I won’t even make it to the auction my brother and Lavina want to place me in.
At this point I don’t know what’s worse.
Harley
Parker screams at me to run and though I hate myself for doing it, I run. I don’t know where I’m going or even where I am right now but I need to find help. I should have made Parker go through the window first. She’d been hurt far worse than I’d been when we’d been hit.
Darting through the field, I don’t glance back as I run as fast as my legs will let me.
Past the field there’s a small tree line. I dart through the trees and come across a dirt road leading to a log cabin. We can’t be more than a mile away from the warehouse. I take a deep breath and rush up to the front porch and knock on the door.
It opens moments later to an older man standing there. “You okay, miss?” he asks, his brows furrowed with concern.
I’m sure I look horrifying with blood caked to the side of my face from where I’d hit my head against the window.
“I . . . I’m sorry to bother you but could I use your phone? I need to call someone.” My words come out all jumbled together.
“Yeah, sure, sure. Let me just get the phone for you,” he mutters.
“Thank you.” I nod and take a breath.
The older man comes back and opens the door and steps out. “Name’s Jefferson,” he murmurs, holding his phone out to me with one hand while holding a shotgun pressed against his leg. “You make your call, sweetheart, and don’t worry about anyone coming after you. They’ll eat buckshot before they even get close.”
Oh my God.
Taking the phone, I dial Neo’s number. My heart racing in my chest the entire time. He doesn’t answer so I try once more, when he doesn’t answer, I try Venom. He doesn’t answer so I figure he’s most likely with Neo so I call my brother’s number. The only other member of the club that I have memorized. The three of them made sure I memorized their numbers.
“‘Lo,” Badger mutters.
“Badger,” I say my brother’s road name doing my best to keep from crying.
“Harley? What’s wrong?” he asks alert.
“I . . . need . . . you to tell me Rachel’s phone number. I can’t get ahold of Neo or Venom,” I stutter.
“Alright, but first tell me are you okay?” he demands.
“Yes, but I don’t have time, I need to get ahold of Neo,” I say tears, welling in my eyes.
Badger rattles off the phone number and I repeat it to him and then hang up promising to call him back.
I dial Rachel’s number, she answers on the second ring. I ask her to get Neo and a moment later I’m on the phone with him telling him what’s happened and that they need to hurry. I don’t know how long Parker has. From the way she let out that bloodcurdling scream, I knew it wasn’t long.
Chapter Sixteen
Cane
“Fuckin’ motherfucker is a dead man,” I snarl, holding a sedated Piper in my arms while I take my seat at the table. After everything she’s experienced today so far, I’m not about to hand her off to anyone else. We’d been lucky to get Alverez to bring one of his co-workers to the clubhouse. It was our luck the doctor just so happens to be Piper’s pediatrician. He’d given Piper something for the pain and reset my babygirl’s elbows.
It’s been a couple hours and the entire time she’s been in my arms.
Now she’s curled into my chest sleeping. I can’t put her down. Not right now. I’d nearly lost her along with her mom and Harley earlier today when Chigger and his men ambushed us and nailed the cage we’d had the women in.
How did they even know we were headed out?
Either way it doesn’t matter right now. All I care about is Cyprus and Aries were in the hospital, one with a bullet to the gut and the other getting the bullet dug out of both his shoulder and thigh. We lost the prospect who’d been driving the cage. He died on impact. Tinsley is also banged up and suffering whiplash. She’s the lucky one out of the bunch who didn’t get taken.
Neo is climbing the walls, furious this happened right before our eyes and we couldn’t get to them quick enough due to the fire we were taking.
“You can say that again,” Nerd sneers.
“What do you have for us?” Stoney demands.
“Well, I know who our rat is who told Chigger we were leaving the clubhouse with Parker,” Nerd declares.
“Who?” I ask.
“Prospect who’s dead.” My anger boils underneath my skin. Fucker is lucky he’s already dead or I’d be gutting him for being the rat he is.
“Burn the fucker and bury him in an unmarked grave,” Stoney commands, glancing to Shadow. He’d make sure it got done with a couple brothers help later. “Now what do we know about where Chigger would take the women?”
There’s a knock on the door. Neo gets up to open it. Rachel steps in tears in her eyes.
“Doll, we’re in the middle of something right now,” Stoney mutters gently.
“I know but this is important. I just got a call. She . . . tried to call you, Neo, but couldn’t get you on the line,” Rachel says, tears rolling down her cheeks as she hands her phone to Neo.
“Angel,” Neo growls soon as he puts the phone to his ear.
“Yeah, okay, we’ll be there soon. . . No don’t go anywhere . . . Stay where you are . . . We’ll find you . . . I promise you they won’t get you,” Neo mutters throughout the brief conversation he has with Harley.
Handing the phone back to Rachel he turns to us. “We need to go now and I hate to say it we might need Raven, Harlow, or Victoria for this one,” he declares.
“Why?” Tracker asks, his voice bitter at having to put his ol’ lady at risk.
“Because this involves Lavina along with Chigger. The warehouse is full of terrified women who are going up for auction in five days her and Parker were supposed to be going to the highest bidders of a group call the elites. I don’t know. She was sobbing but I’m thinking we need weapons they won’t see coming.”
“I got to agree with Neo on this,” Ranger grumbles. “Though we leave Harlow out of this. Lavina knows her and will have warned her guards about her. Besides she’s thirteen weeks pregnant. I’m not risking her getting hurt and losing the baby.”
“Blaze, Tracker, you okay with your ol’ ladies coming in on this?”
“Not by a long shot but I know they’re our key in,” Tracker sighs.
“I agree,” Blaze remarks none too happy about having to put a potential target on his ol’ lady’s back once more.
“Then you two go round them up. Can
e, you can put Piper in the room with Rachel and the kids. She’ll watch over her and do as the doctor said if she wakes up.” I nod to Stoney and stand. “We leave in five.”
“Did Harley say anything about Parker?” I ask, needing some type of news.
Anything.
“All she said was, Parker helped her over the windowsill she escaped through. Brother, we gotta hurry,” Neo mutters and I can read between the lines.
Nodding, I take Piper to Rachel and Stoney’s room. Rachel shows me where to lay her down. I press a kiss to her cheek and whisper in her ear that I would be back with her mommy.
Leaving Piper hurts my heart but I needed to in order to get my woman back.
It doesn’t take long for us to get to where Harley called Neo from. She’d called from an old man’s home who was kind enough to let her use the phone and who’s standing with a shotgun in front of her.
At least she found someone who would protect her until we got here.
“Harley,” Neo yells as he puts the kickstand down, climbs off the back of his bike, and rushes to his woman.
Harley sobs and clutches to him when he wraps his arms around her.
“You have to hurry. Please hurry,” she pleads with Neo.
“Calm down, Angel. I need you to tell us where she is,” Neo says calmly.
Harley takes a calming breath and explains running through a field and it couldn’t have been more than a mile, two tops from the way she pointed.
“Let Raven and I go in first,” Victoria murmurs, coldly.
“Vi,” Tracker mutters.
“No, we need to do this. I’ll text you as soon as we’re in place. We need to do this right and that means me and Raven go in first,” Victoria states and looks to Raven.
Raven nods. I’ve seen her at work when things went down after she had Mark but I’ve never seen her like this. Her eyes were colder than ice as she looks to Victoria. “Shut it off, Victoria,” she murmurs quietly and instantly Victoria’s features go expressionless. She becomes Silent Night.
