by Bella Jewel
We moved out together when we were younger, fuck, he's been in my life since we were young men. Knew him for so fuckin' long. Never knew much about his family, he always told us he had nothin' to do with them. Was that a lie all these fuckin' years? Why now, too? Why would he choose now to come in and fuck this club up? I guess we're about to get our answers.
"Yeah, let's roll."
I take the shot, he takes one, too, and we get up and walk out of the building towards the sheds.
I feel some hesitation from him, but he follows me all the same. We reach the sheds and find a seat. A minute or two later, Alarick, Cohen, and Bohdi walk in. We usually put Mykel on Facetime for this, but we're not goin' to now because if he finds this out, he'll lose it.
Waverly will come chargin' in here wantin' to find her sister.
Right now, we can't risk any of that.
"Brothers," Alarick says, glancing at Samson as he walks closer.
Bohdi shuts the door and locks it.
Samson glances over at it. "Where's everyone else?"
Before he can say or do another thing, Alarick and Cohen have guns on him. It only takes a split second, but the look on his face is pure guilt as he stares at them. He knows they know. He's not even tryin' to act surprised. He drops his head, his big shoulders sagging, and it fuckin' breaks my heart. It kills me to know that he has done this to us. It kills me to know it's breakin' him apart so heavily.
He's tired.
Worn down.
Broken.
"Why?" Alarick demands, his voice so low, so broken, it fuckin' feels like a knife to the heart.
Samson shakes his head, his hair falling around him as he hangs his head. "You'd never understand. If you're goin' to kill me, do it now, Alarick."
"You do not get away with it that easily," Alarick roars, slamming the gun over Samson's head in a wild rage. Then he lunges at him, and the two of them crash onto the floor. "You fuckin' tell me why? Why would you turn against your whole fuckin' club? Tell me!"
Alarick drives a fist into Samson's face. Over and over again.
He doesn't move.
Even when blood spurts from his mouth.
He doesn't fuckin' move.
"Enough," I bark, leaning down with Cohen and hauling Alarick up. "This ain't getting' Zariah back. You cool it, Pres. You gotta fuckin' use your brain."
Alarick is panting as Samson slowly gets to his feet, blood dripping from his mouth and nose, and a large gash on his head.
"Why?" Alarick rasps.
"He has my daughter."
For a moment, we all stare at him. Shocked. Confused. He has a daughter? Since fuckin' when has Samson had a daughter? We've never, not ever, seen him in a relationship. How the fuck does he have a daughter?
"Explain," Cohen growls. "Do it fast before we kill you."
Samson exhales, making a gurgling sound. He wipes the blood away from his mouth with his leather jacket. "When I was fifteen, I met a girl. She was older than me, maybe by two or three years. I was young and dumb, and I was in a fuckin' shit family. There's a reason you never knew about my past, about my family. I came to that club a broken man, and King took me in. That was where my past ended."
"Save the fuckin' pity party and finish the story," I growl.
Samson glances at me and continues. "This girl, her name was Annalise. She was all fucked up, crazy, you know? She and I had a very brief relationship. Took my virginity. I was young. She was young. It was fucked. Drugs and alcohol. She came to me a month or so after it ended, told me she was pregnant. I flipped out. You can imagine how fuckin' scary that was for me, just shy of sixteen fuckin' years old. I told my brother, I didn't have parents. Only had him. I hated him, but I knew he could help me."
"Blanche," Alarick snarls.
"Yeah, Blanche. I told him, he went and spoke to her. Came back to me a few days later, told me she got an abortion, and wouldn't bother me again. That was the end of that. I went on my way, separated from him, and joined the club. I didn't even question if it was true. I just wanted to be done with it. Never spoke to him again after that. Knew he was high and mighty, knew he was doin' big things for himself, but I didn't give a fuck. He left me to my life, and I left him to his."
"You're fuckin' lyin'!" Alarick bellows, slamming his fist onto a table. "If that were true, you wouldn't have backstabbed us."
"Listen," Samson growls, his voice gravelly. "When Briella came into town and started lookin' into Magnolia's disappearance, and the club got involved, things changed. He came to me, out of the blue, and told me that I needed to stop you all or he'd make me pay. I didn't give a shit, told him to go fuck himself, and if he was involved in all the illegal shit with Dax and Peter, he was goin' down."
He pauses, his face tightening.
"So, he showed me a birth certificate. For a woman named Annalise, and a guy...me. A baby born, a little girl, seven months after he told me she got an abortion. I didn't fuckin' believe him. I didn't because I would have known about it. He presented a fuckin' DNA test. This cunt had been holdin' that under his belt all these years, so fuckin' smart. He was waitin' for a time when he'd have to use it. He told me he had followed Annalise and found out she had passed away, and my daughter was in foster care. He went, adopted her, and fuckin' took her out of the system. He has her. He has my little fuckin' girl."
"How can you be so fuckin' sure?" I snarl. "He could be makin' all of it up. Fake DNA, fake birth certificates. Surely you're not that fuckin' stupid, Samson?"
He pulls out his phone and scrolls through, and then turns the screen around and faces it towards us. I glance at Alarick, and he nods, I walk forward and take the phone from his hands. On the screen is a picture of Blanche and a girl. She's only maybe sixteen or so, beautiful. She looks exactly like Samson. There is no way in the fuckin' world you'd ever assume she belonged to anyone else. Long, thick black hair. Brown eyes. A face that's a replica of his.
She's beautiful.
I hand the phone to Alarick, and I know the moment he sees it too because his face drops.
Samson goes on.
"When he found out you were all lookin' into Dax, he used it against me. It started small. Make sure I was leadin' you all in the wrong direction. Then when Waverly was sent in, he sent me a fuckin' video of him hurtin' her. Told me he'd kill her and film it for me to see if I didn't give him everything he needed. So, I told him about Waverly. That was fuckin' it. That's how Dax knew. It's how they came up with the fuckin' plan."
Alarick looks to him, his face confused, broken, and hurt.
"Then he found out Zariah was involved. It was the perfect chance for him to come to town and get closer to make sure you all stopped. That's what he did. He got her workin' on a case for him, got himself right where he needed to be. He's fuckin' smart."
"Fuck!" Alarick bellows. "Zariah could be fuckin' dead, do you fuckin' understand that?"
"She's not dead," Samson mutters, his teeth gritting through the evident pain. "He won't kill her; he'll sell her. Then he's goin' to take down this entire club. He'll finish this, don't you fuckin' doubt it."
"Not if we get in first, he won't," Alarick says, crossing his arms. "You're goin' to find out how to get to him, and you're goin' to do it now. If you don't, we'll kill you here and now, and you'll never fuckin' see your daughter again."
"You're goin' to kill me anyway," Samson spits. "Might as well fuckin' do it now."
Alarick walks over, leaning in close to Samson's face. "You're goin' to do this because you owe us this much. Do you fuckin' understand me?"
Samson holds his gaze, his expression hard. Then, in a low, gravelly voice, he growls, "Yes, boss."
"Where is your brother?" Alarick demands.
"On a fuckin' island."
"Where?"
"I can show you," Samson mutters. "He'll kill me before I get my daughter back. But let's do it your fuckin' way."
Alarick snarls a curse at him. "You don't get a choice here, Samson."
Samson stares at him. "Then you better get movin', or it'll be too late."
Fuck.
This is gettin' intense.
Here goes nothin'.
"BIKE!"
We're standing in Alarick's office, discussing our next move, when Jayden comes running in and right over to me, stretching his little arms up to pick him up. In the last two days we've had him, he has been clinging to me non-stop. The kid has decided he likes me, and I can't deny that I fuckin' like him, too. He's a good kid, fuckin' cute and sweet. I pick him up and smile at him. "Hey buddy, we'll go to the bike soon, okay?"
He wraps his arms around my neck.
Something inside of me goes soft.
Fuckin' kids.
"What are we going to do with Jayden while you all get Zariah?" Briella asks, smiling at Jayden.
"You and Merleigh will have him," Alarick tells her. "We're leavin' tonight, goin' to keep you here at the club where I know you'll be safe."
"That fucker know we're comin'?" I ask Samson, who is bound to a chair, dried blood on his face.
"He knows fuckin' everything."
"You're goin' to call him, say whatever it is you say, to make sure that he doesn't know we're comin' for him," Alarick orders.
Samson glares at Alarick. He isn't sayin' a word.
"How do you usually contact him?" I ask Samson, bouncing Jayden to my other hip because fuck, this boy is heavy.
"I don't," Samson mutters. "He contacts me. He's not stupid enough to have a way for me to trace him."
"You know where this island is, you're certain?" Alarick asks.
"Yeah," Samson answers. "I know where it is."
"Then we don't waste any more time. We need to get movin' and catch him out before it's too late."
"You can't just show up there," Samson shakes his head. "He has that place on watch. They'll see you comin' a mile away."
"How does he usually get there?" I ask, forming a plan in my mind.
"He has a stock ship that goes back and forth Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday."
It's Friday today.
Perfect fuckin' timing.
"Then we get on that today," Alarick stands, looking to Bohdi. "Find guns, weapons, anything you can pack in a bag. One each."
"That'll never fuckin' work, he'll kill you," Samson argues, tugging at his restraints.
Alarick walks over, leaning down, hands either side of the chair. "We've got no other fuckin' choice, thanks to you. We die, our blood is on your hands. That fuckin' clear?"
Samson's jaw ticks.
"Flick!" Briella says, her voice wobbling. "It's too dangerous..."
Alarick glances at her. "We got no choice, babe."
"There has to be another way."
"He's got Zariah and Samson's daughter. We go in there, and we get them back. There isn't another option. He's too fuckin' smart. We think this over too long, and he'll find out. We're leaving today."
"If you knew where this island was, Samson," Briella says to him, her face hurt when she looks at him. "Why did you not just go and get your daughter?"
"You think it's that easy?" Samson growls. "He never kept her in one spot. I looked into it. He is smarter than any of you realize, and he's goin' to get away with all of this. You're fucked if you think you can beat him."
"Bike!" Jayden cries again, tugging at my jacket.
"It's sleep time, little man," I say to him. "If you don't have a daytime nap, your momma is goin' to crush my ass. Let's go."
I look to Alarick. "I'll get shit sorted. Meet you here in a few hours."
Alarick nods.
I turn and walk out with Jayden. We get to a spare room that I have allocated to be his and only his, and I lay him down on the bed, sitting beside him. "Time for a sleep, yeah?"
He shakes his head, putting a stubborn look on his face that reminds me of Zariah. God, how did I fuck up so bad with her?
"You got to," I prompt.
He tugs at my jacket, and I exhale, lying down beside him. A huge smile spreads across his face, and he snuggles into my side. My heart feels big again, a pulsing, soft muscle that's makin' me feel things I've never felt before.
I want her in my life.
I want this boy in my life.
I'm fuckin' scared about bein' locked up before I can save her.
How did I screw up so damned badly?
And how the hell do I fix it?
21
ZARIAH
"Where are you taking me?" I ask as Steven pulls me along a gravelly dirt path towards a large building.
Three men are following me this time, of course, guns pointed on me. One thing that I have noticed is that nobody has hurt me. They're not treating me well, of course, but they're not abusing me, and it seems they're not abusing the other women, either. I'm thankful for that, mostly because I honestly don't think I could handle it if they were to hurt those poor girls, and I wasn't able to do anything to stop them.
"You'll see."
We reach the building, and Steven opens the door, stepping inside. I find we're in a massive hall. Upfront is a small stage; in the middle is a long table full of food and people. Those people being men, mostly. Only two or three women sit amongst them, and they're very quiet, not speaking or interacting. My stomach flips when I realize they're women who have been sold, and I'm currently standing in a room with people who are buyers.
Is this it?
Is he going to sell me?
Has my time run out already?
Panic grips me, and I struggle, pulling back, my heart racing.
"Calm down, Zariah. We've still got until tomorrow night before you're sold. You're just here to interact, meet potential buyers. They want to see what they're spending their money on. Come, take a seat, let them look at you."
Steven pulls me to the head of the table and sits me on a seat right next to his. Across the table, I see a girl. She's only young, sixteen or seventeen if I were to guess. She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. When she looks at me, with her dark hair and brown eyes, my heart skips a beat. I gasp, and everything in my world feels like it's spinning as I take in her oh, so familiar face.
She looks like Samson.
Pain crashes into my chest as the realization of why Samson betrayed his club becomes real.
He's got a daughter.
There's no way that young girl doesn't belong to him. She has to.
She could be a sister, but I'd doubt that. She's too young.
"Oh, I see you've noticed my angel," Steven says, grinning over at the girl who is now studying me. "Just like her daddy, isn't she?"
I make a pained sound and grip my chest, wanting to go over to that girl and take her into my arms, protecting her. She's beautiful, and she's scared. I can see it in her eyes. The way she looks at me then glances at Steven. She doesn't speak, no doubt because she's not allowed to.
Poor thing.
"You've got Samson's daughter?" I breathe. "All this time, I wondered what you had against him. Now I know. How could you?"
Steven laughs. "How could I? Easy, of course. He's my brother, and he's part of a club that decided to stick their noses where they didn't belong. What did you think I was going to do, Zariah? Let him take me down? I don't think so."
"What's her name?" I ask, and then in a louder voice, I say to the girl. "What's your name, honey?"
Steven slams me across the back of the head so hard I gasp and then cry out in pain. "You do not speak to her. You do not address her. You do not fucking breathe in her direction. Do you understand?"
Tears burn under my eyelids, and when I look back at the girl, she's staring at me with a look of pain on her face. She mouths 'Lilian' and then looks away.
Lilian.
Beautiful girl.
I make a vow to myself at that moment that we'll get her back. That Samson will be with his daughter again. As a parent, I know exactly how it feels to want to do anything to protect your child. I'd betray everyone that came in my path for Ja
yden if it meant he was safe. I didn't understand before why Samson did what he did, but I do now.
"Oh look, someone I'm sure you've been missing," Steven says.
I glance to my left and see none other than Dax walking towards me, a massive smile on his face. It's a cocky smile, a smile that I'd love to wipe off. He's a god damned monster of the purest form, and he knows it.
"Hello, Zariah," he murmurs, low and husky. "Wonderful to see you again. Tell me, how's Waverly?"
I jerk in my chair and spit, "Go fuck yourself!"
"Feisty, this one," Steven laughs, and a few men at the table laugh, too.
"Glad to hear you're doing well," Dax laughs. "I'm sure you'll find a wonderful home with one of these lovely gentlemen."
I glance at the men, all staring at me, and my skin prickles. "In your fucking dreams."
Dax laughs. "She is hot-tempered, isn't she?"
He takes a seat next to Lilian and leans in close, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She flinches, and I want to launch out of my chair and beat the ever-loving shit out of him. "Get your hands off her!" I snap, glaring at him.
"Do you need me to give you another reminder to shut your mouth, Zariah?" Steven growls, his voice a low whip.
"Make him take his fucking hands off her, or I'll make a scene that'll ensure nobody purchases me. You want me to sit down and shut up? Then you get that filthy slime ball away from that little girl."
Steven looks to Dax and nods his head. Dax removes his arm, and Lilian drops her head, staring at her plate of untouched food.
"Thank you," I grind out.
Steven laughs and holds up a glass of wine. "Let's get this party started, shall we?"
I sit in absolute horror as Steven parades around the girls he had stuffed into those horrible cages. They walk around, some of them more willing than others. It's like a god damned cattle auction, and my stomach turns as I watch them, knowing I can't do a damned thing about it.
"Your turn, cop," Steven says, shoving me until I stand up.
Two men take me by my arms and walk me around in a circle. I don't fight; only because I know he'll take it out on Lilian if I do. He announces me like some sort of prized bull, telling them all I'm a police officer. Some men growl, others cheer, others throw out bids already. My stomach turns, and I drop my head.
