by Erin Trejo
“She cares about you whether you like it or not,” she says softly.
“She don’t know enough about me to care, P.”
“Sure she does. Just like you know enough about her. You should at least make sure she’s doing okay. What if she didn’t go home?” She asks looking up at me. As I look back down at her, I let myself think that over.
“She didn’t go home. I checked. Haven’t seen her, her dad or her friend since that day.”
“You don’t think it’s strange that it’s been three weeks and you haven’t seen her? Somethings wrong, Ransom.” Piper pulls out of my grasp before I run my hand through my hair. Scratching at my jaw, I ponder that. What if she’s right? No, she couldn’t be. Natalie is gone too which more than likely means she hauled ass out of here the first chance she got. I can’t say that I blame her there. I would have run as fast and as far from me as I could too.
“I don’t think so. Her friends gone too, P. They probably hauled ass out of here,” I shrug. Piper crosses her arms over her chest and raises her eyebrow at me.
“You really think so? You can’t just not look for her, Ransom.”
“I did look, Piper! What the fuck do you want me to do? I ripped this fuckin’ town apart lookin’ Piper!” Flicking my cigarette to the ground, I stomp it out with my boot before walking away from her.
“I’m sorry!” She calls out to me. I wave over my shoulder and keep walking until I reach the road. Standing there, I glance up and down the lively street. People laugh and drink, dance and party. I would give anything to do that with her. When I first took her, I saw the little girl that she was. I saw the girl that didn’t want for anything but love from her dad. She never got that, that much was clear as day. She compensated for that with the money that he’d stuff in her account to make her happy. Some people are happy with material things but others just need to be loved. Henley changed over the months that I had her here. She saw the light and she saw the reality that her dad made. The girl changed into a woman that saw what was right and wrong. Hell, she even offered her own money to those girls that her dad took.
“You think somethin’s off?” Triton asks when he walks up passing me a bottle. I take it from his hand and down the liquid savoring the burn as it slides down my throat.
“Piper thinks so. I figured she’s just moved on now that she was free of me.” Triton nods his head when I pass the bottle back to him. We stand in silence for a few minutes just drinking and watching the scene unfold in front of us. Some drunken ass guy man handles his girl and to be honest, it’s pissing me off.
“You are so disgusting!” He roars at her. I shake my head as he slaps her around a little more. Anger surges inside of me but I reign it back in.
“I get it but why would she not at least tell you she’s okay?” Triton asks as my eyes keep tabs on the asshole in the road.
“Why would she? I took her ass, Triton,” I remind him. He’s about to respond when the girl cries out again. This time, I let the anger that sits heavily in my chest take over. With my hands balled at my sides, I storm out into the road, grabbing the little fucker by the back of his neck and tossing him to the ground.
“You asshole!” he screams trying to get back up. Pulling my leg back, I kick the fucker in the ribs listening to him scream in pain before helping the girl to her feet. I pull a few hundred out of my pocket and stuff it in her hand as I say, “Get the fuck outta here. Get a cab and don’t let me see you with this little fuck ever again.” Her eyes water with more tears but she nods and takes off. Then I turn around, grab the little fuck off the ground and haul him to his feet in front of me.
“You ever put your fuckin’ hand on a woman like that again, I will fuckin’ kill you. You got me?” I snarl in his face. His eyes widen and he nods his head rapidly. Another slap across his face and I give him a shove sending him on his way. Stupid little fucker. Triton laughs and comes to stand next to me, his hand on my shoulder.
“Feel better?”
“Not in the slightest. That girl has my head fucked up, brother.”
“We’ll put out some feelers. See what we can find out. We might have taken his safe houses but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t fillin’ up more.” I nod my head knowing that he’s probably already gotten more girls lined up and working. He isn’t a stupid man on that front.
“What’s the point, brother? Drag her back into my darkness? She learned her lesson. I doubt she’s out there waitin’ on me to save her ass after I broke her.”
“You don’t know that. Her dad is straight fucked up, Ransom. What if there is somethin’ off about all this?” He could be right but the truth is, she probably just left.
Chapter 22
Henley
“Move!” The asshole screams shoving me forward. My feet drag along the dingy floor as I try to keep up. I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve been here. Dad has had Natalie and me moved so many times I’ve lost count. My insides tremble as we make our way to the hallway. We’re in a place that looks to be an old motel of some sort. All the doors have been removed from the rooms so we can see in each and every one. Filthy men rape the girls although rape is a hard word to use for it. Most of them don’t realize they are consenting to it. My time here has made me understand what kind of monster my dad truly is. All the girls, myself included are malnourished and nearly dehydrated. We barely get enough food or water to stay alive and they drug us. A majority of the time we are so high that we barely remember what we’re doing or where we are. I have no idea that this was what those poor girls had to live through.
“I don’t feel good,” Natalie whispers as we stumble along the hall. Three girls to a room, we’re shoved inside. Natalie and I are typically together but I believe my dad planned it that way so I was forced to watch what happens to my best friend.
“It’s okay. It’ll be okay. These rooms have sinks,” I tell her as I watch the line of girls keep moving past our door. I grab Natalie’s hand and tug her toward the sink. When I get the water running, I cup it in my hand and hold to her weak lips. Natalie sips the water from my hands as tears fill my eyes. This is all my fault. She’s here for no other reason that being my friend.
“Are you okay?” I ask Abby, the other girl in our room. She nods her head before dropping on the bed and curling into a ball.
“I’m okay now. Thanks, Henley,” Natalie whispers breaking my heart a little more. I led her to the bed and sat here down, her thin frame dropping quickly.
“Get ready!” I hear that asshole call. I can’t believe I actually cared about that bastard once before. Adam walks into the room, a sick smirk on his face and a bag in his hand. He sets the bag on the table and pulls out a vile and syringes as I watch. I already know what’s coming, this isn’t much different than any other day.
“Whose first?” Abby nearly jumps off the bed to get hers. Addicts. That’s what most of us have become including me. When they don’t give it to us, we lose it. It’s sad and sickening all at the same time. I watch Adam as he shoots the drugs into Abby’s veins before moving to Natalie. It kills me to see them doing this to her. Me? Maybe I deserve it for all the things that my dad gave me in the past. This is my redemption. This is what I was supposed to become to make things right.
“Your turn, baby,” Adam coos as I stretch out my arm. The needle pricks my skin and that sweet relief rushes through me. “If I didn’t know any better I would think you like it.”
“What difference does it make?” I slur as the drugs start to work their magic. The room begins to spin and blur as I step back and hit the bed.
“You know this isn’t how I wanted things to work out, Henley. I just wanted in,” he tells me. His voice sounds like he’s in a barrel. Some days I wish the asshole was really dead in one.
“You wanted it all,” I slur as my head begins to fog up. I can feel his hands on me but it isn’t a hard touch.
“I wanted you. You fucked your dad over by going with those assholes. You should ha
ve stayed home and this wouldn’t be happening!” He snaps loudly. The best I can do is laugh. The drugs dance through my veins like ballerinas on a stage.
“You never wanted me,” I laugh harder. Natalie and Abby both begin to laugh with me. What the hell are we even laughing at?
“You made your choices and I made mine. Now we both live with that.”
“Just tell me you never wanted me or cared, Adam!” I yell before laughing again. His fingers wrap around my chin forcing my blurry gaze to meet his.
“I did want you. I still care and maybe I fucked up getting in with your dad but you know as well as I do, there is no way out now.” His lips press into my forehead but I don’t feel it. Adam leaves the room when another man walks in. His eyes move from me to Abby and stop on Natalie. A sick grin crosses his face when he begins to remove his clothes. He moves toward her and my chest tightens. My eyes roll around in my head when he grabs her by the leg and jerks her limp body toward him.
“Don’t…touch her.” I barely manage to get the words out but the pig just laughs. He grabs his cock and shoves into her unmoving body as he sneers at me.
“Don’t worry slut. You’re next.” My head becomes too heavy for me to hold up. My body drops onto the king sized bed next to Abby. The drugs are intense this time. I let my eyes flutter closed. Visions of Ransom dance in front of me. The smirks he gave me, the anger and rage that make him who he is. The tear that he shed when he told me about his mom.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble when I’m jerked toward the edge of the bed. “I’m so sorry, Ransom.” I don’t know if the words actually came out of my mouth or if they were just in my head. Hands grab my thighs roughly and jerk them apart as I slowly sink into the darkness.
Chapter 23
Ransom
If hell were a place on earth, I’d be standing in it. Rumors had been floating around that Keith Heiser had been using a few abandoned motels just outside the city to run his girls in. This one is disgusting and makes my stomach turn.
“You see that shit?” Neo growls pointing to the needles on the ground near the bed. I nod my head and walk through the room trying to figure out what the hell happened here. The rooms are sparse; the doors were all removed. I’ve seen enough whore houses to know that this is what a majority of them look like. The beds are in dismay, the old dirty blankets thrown around. Blood stains the old worn sheets making me cringe. The things those poor girls have to endure for that bastard to have money makes me sick.
“You findin’ anything?” Rebel walks in a cigarette hanging from his lips. Shaking my head, we all walk out into the hallway and keep walking. Every room we come to is empty but looks much like the others.
“This is bullshit!” I roar slamming my fist into the wall watching the old drywall crumble and fall.
“They were here,” Neo adds. No fucking shit! They aren’t now though!
“I gotta get outta here,” I grumble, shoving my way past Rebel and heading out the side door. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, tipping my head back. I can’t function and the not knowing is kicking my ass. The closer I think we’re getting to something, the further away she feels. My stomach rolls when my phone rings in my pocket. Dragging it out, I answer.
“What?” The line is silent for a second before I hear a man’s voice.
“They are killing them. They can’t function. She doesn’t deserve this,” the man on the other end of the line says.
“You wanna tell me who the fuck this is and what you’re talkin’ about?” I growl into the line.
“Henley and Natalie. They are at the old motel on sixth, the one off in the trees. They keep moving them but they were in room two ten. They are armed in there.”
“Who is this?”
“I know who you are and I know that Henley cares about you. It’s part of why her dad is doing this to her. You have to get her out of there.”
“Last time, who is this?” I snarl.
“My name is Adam. I’ll be dead by the time you find them. Just get her out.” The line goes dead when I dial Neo. I tell him everything I was just told and we all agree to move out now. We got our boys from Miami on the way over there too. We might need back up and we know it. That’s why I love having another chapter close by. They can get help to us and us to them before they know it.
“You sure about this? Could be a fuckin’ trap,” Rebel says twirling his gun around his finger.
“Could be but the guy sounded desperate as fuck. I have to see if she’s there, brother.” He nods his head.
“Then let’s do this. Let’s get your girl,” Rebel says heading toward the bikes. I follow behind him, my head buzzing with emotions and nerves. I’ve never felt this riled up in my life. I thought that girl pushed my goddamn buttons when I first took her but this is worse. I’ve never wanted someone’s blood on my hands more than I do right now. The thought alone pulls my lips into an evil snarl. We climb on the bikes and ride out quickly. Following the guys, my heart races in my chest. If you would have asked me years ago if I’d ever have a girl that I gave a shit about the answer would be no. There was never much in my life that I gave two shits about aside from my mom and when she died, I died a little with her. My heart never became whole again and the thought of having Henley fill that void is overwhelming. We take the turn for the motel and follow the old driveway back into the trees. It’s an eerie feeling pulling in here. When we stop, Neo nods to me letting me know that we’re good. Lucky for us, the other chapter was close by handling some business and made it to the location before we did. They all stand around waiting on us far enough out of sight that no one in the motel should be able to see.
“We move in hard and fast. I got back up comin’ with vans to haul the girls out. You find Heiser, he belongs to Ransom,” Neo informs everyone nodding his head toward me. I give a nod back but my first priority is Henley. I will eventually get Heiser if I don’t today. Ideally he would be inside this shit hole but it isn’t likely.
“You ready?” Neo asks. With a quick nod of my head, we move. All guns are drawn as we make our silently toward the motel. When it comes into view, my heart leaps a little. She’s here. She has to be; I can feel her. Taking a deep breath, we rush the door. Guys move in all directions but I take off for the stairs. Two ten. That number repeats in my head. Running down the hall, I check every room until I stop at hers. A man is hovering over her, his hips bucking into my girl! Without a thought, I fire, hitting him in the back of the head. His body falls on top of her but she doesn’t make a sound. Am I to late? Fuck! Rushing toward the bed, I roll the man off her and look down into her near lifeless eyes.
“Henley!” Wiping that assholes blood off her face, I lift her head in my hands. Checking for a pulse, I find a weak one when I lean in and whisper in her ear.
“No one is gonna hurt you anymore, Hen. I’m so goddamn sorry I let this happen to you.”
“Nat?” She questions me weakly. I lay her head back down and move to the girl next to her. Checking for a pulse, I curse under my breath. Another girl lies on the floor in a puddle of her own vomit, lifeless eyes staring into space.
“Henley, baby, what did they give you?” I ask moving back to her side. I can hear gunshots ricochet through the building but I know the guys are handling it. Henley is my top priority.
“Nat?” She asks again, her glossy eyes trying to focus on mine.
“She didn’t make it, Hen.” Tears fill her eyes, and sobs begin to shake her body. I lift her in my arms and hold her to my chest. Her body trembles as she cries but I don’t stop moving. Carrying her out of the room and down the hall I make my way toward the stairs. I need to get her out of here, out of this filth.
“You good?” Neo asks when I step past him.
“Her girl didn’t make it. You find her dad?” He shakes his head which pisses me off further. I will gut that son of a bitch when I find him for what he’s done to her.
“Get the prospect to get my bike back, yeah?”
“You got it. Tell one of the vans to go ahead and get you back. We’re gonna be a while.” With a quick nod, I carry Henley outside and toward the van. My life is spiraling out of control. So many thoughts are racing through my head. Kill him. I want to kill that bastard but at the same time, thoughts of hurting Henley for not staying at the goddamn clubhouse are shaking me to the core.
Chapter 24
Henley
She’s gone. That’s all I can think about. He did this to her because of me. How could the man that raised me do this? How could he let them do this to any of us? Ransom was right. My dad is a sick motherfucker. He used the money to keep me silent and I went along with it like the naïve little girl that I was and now look what happened? I’m completely worn out and lost in my head. The doctor came in and gave me a bunch of medicine and talked to Ransom but that does little to ease the ache in my chest.
“You gotta eat somethin’, Henley. There’s nothin’ left of you,” he pleads with me. I shake my head, not wanting to move or do anything let alone eat. My heart’s in pieces and I don’t think it will ever be the same again. Ransom climbs on the bed next to me, scooting closely and wrapping his arm around my waist. Inside, I’m cringing but I want his warmth. I want his strength because right now I don’t have any of my own.
“It’s all my fault, Hen. I shouldn’t have taken you there. I don’t know what the fuck to say to you to make it better. There is nothin’.” His words cause a sting in my chest. Nothing was his fault. It was all my dad.
“How did you find me?”
“Got a call from a guy named Adam. He told me where you were.” What? Adam? I turn my head and look at Ransom, tears filling my eyes, mouth hanging open.
“Adam?”
“You know him?” Ransom asks. I nod my head and my chest clenches.
“He was my ex. He wanted in with my dad so bad but once he was there, he regretted it. He’s dead isn’t he?” Even asking breaks my heart a little more.
