by Marie, Kay
After driving for a few hours, we pull up to a building that looks like a small, old, rundown apartment building. There are bars on the windows which makes me think this isn’t a good area. It looks like a pretty deserted place. The two guards get out of the SUV before Torres and I. One walks to each of our doors. The one at my door grabs my upper arm and drags me inside. He takes me up a flight of stairs and down a hall. We come to a stop in front of a door with multiple locks on the outside. All but one is currently unlocked. The guard takes a set of keys out of his pocket and unlocks the last one.
“Puta,” he says as he shoves me into the room. He pushed me so hard I fall to the floor. He slams the door closed and I hear four locks being locked. I glance around the room. There’s a twin size mattress on the floor, a side table with a small lamp, and another door. I scramble off the floor and grab the door handle. I let my head fall when I see it’s just a bathroom.
I walk to the mattress and sit. It’s worn down and disgusting, but it’s better than the wood floor. It’s time I start thinking of a plan.
There are footsteps coming down the hallway. They stop before getting to my room. A door opens and a girl starts screaming. There’s some shouting in Spanish and the screaming stops abruptly. After a minute or two of silence, the footsteps are back but descending.
I’ve heard stories about the Cartel being involved with human trafficking. This place must be where they keep girls before selling them off. I can only imagine what goes on here. I’m sure I won’t have to wait long to find out first hand.
27
Shade
We make it to San Antonio in record time. We find an abandoned warehouse parking lot to pull over in. I climb out of Buster’s car and walk to the bikes. Bull is away from the group with his phone to his ear.
“He’s checking in with his contact,” Ranger tells me. “How are you holding up?”
“As good as I can, considering,” I say. “I just want her home and safe.”
“Do you think he took her because she’s affiliated with us,” he asks.
“No, I don’t think that has anything to do with it. Wren told me TJ texted Sienna quite a bit after their double date. Like he wasn’t taking no for an answer,” I explain to him. Before he can respond, Bull walks over to the group.
“Per my contact, Torres has eight armed guards around the perimeter of the house. We have double the manpower, so this should be a piece of cake,” Bull explains. “It almost sounds too easy, so keep your eyes open, watch your six and expect the unexpected. Buster and Shade will lead the pack in Buster’s car. Bikes will all follow behind them with Diesel and Clutch following at the end. All in favor?”
A roar of ayes is the response. Everyone is itching to get their hands on Torres. I, personally, want my shot at TJ. More than anything, I want Sienna.
“Alright. Let’s roll out,” Bull shouts. We all load up and head for Torres’s home in Laredo.
We roll up to a mansion of a Mexican style home. It’s quiet out here. Too quiet. I signal for the bikes to hold back.
“Buster, drive around the house. I think this place is empty,” I tell him. We drive around the house. There are no cars and no sign of anyone inside. “Son of a bitch!”
We pull around to the front of the house and signal for everyone to roll up. Buster and I climb out of his car at the same time.
“There’s no one fucking here,” I growl out when all the bikes are shut off. Diesel goes to the front door and tests the handle.
“It’s open.” He shrugs and walks in. I look at Bull then follow Diesel. He heads for the living room while I head upstairs. The first room I walk in looks like it’s been used recently.
“Come on, Whiskey. Give me a sign you’re alright,” I say. I check the closet. Nothing. I walk into the bathroom and find a pile of clothes. Looking through them, I realize they’re the clothes Sienna had on yesterday when she left the house. She’s been here. Question is, where is she now?
“Yo, Diesel,” I shout as I walk downstairs.
“What’s up?” We walk outside so I can tell everyone at once.
“She was here.” I hold up her shirt to show them. “House is empty now.”
“They probably ran to Mexico,” Diesel adds.
“What do we do now,” Rascal asks.
“Some of you can stay in Laredo while the others head back to the clubhouse,” Bull suggests. “Shade, I know you’ll wanna stay. Anyone else wanna volunteer?”
“I will,” Diesel says.
“Me too,” Rascal replies.
“What the fuck. Why not?” Kicks speaks up. Bull nods in approval.
“Keep your cuts packed up so you don’t draw too much attention to yourselves,” Bull orders. “You’ll already be drawing attention with that fuckin’ car and two bikes.”
“Keep us updated regularly,” Ranger says. “If y’all run into trouble, call. I got some buddies close by that can be here to back you up if needed.”
“I have Tech hacking street cameras to see if he can find out where they went. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything from him,” Bull tells me.
“Thanks, Prez,” I take his hand and slap his back in a hug.
“Safe travels, brothers,” I say before they all start up their bikes.
We get into the city limits of Laredo and find an Extended Stay hotel for fifty dollars a night. We get two rooms, both with two queen size beds. We pay upfront for a whole week and they knock fifty dollars off for each room. Once we get the keys to our rooms, we head to find somewhere we can buy some clothes. None of us expected we’d be staying out here, so no one came prepared.
We come across a Target and decide we should probably get some food too. Both our rooms back at the hotel have small kitchens in them. While Diesel grabs the food, I grab a pack of t-shirts, boxer briefs and socks, a couple pairs of basketball shorts, a backpack and some bathroom necessities. I grab enough of everything for Diesel, too. It’s the bare necessities. I would have packed the same shit had I known to be prepared for a long stay.
The four of us meet at the checkout line and pay for our shit. Once we’re back at the hotel, we order pizza and wait. Wait and hope to God Sienna is okay. I have a nasty feeling in my gut that has me worried.
“She’s gonna be alright, Shade,” Rascal tells me. “She’s strong and smart as fuck.”
“You don’t even know the half of it,” I mumble, thinking back to what she told me about her past. Which is part of what has me so worried. Knowing how Torres operates, he could keep her for himself or sell her with his next batch of girls.
“I can’t help but feel some guilt about all of this,” I admit to Rascal.
“You didn’t do shit to get her in this situation. From the sound of it, TJ would have done this whether you were in her life or not,” Rascal says. “And it’s lucky for her that you are in her life or she may not have anyone trying to bring her home.”
“Wren was all she had until recently,” I tell him.
“Now she has a whole tribe of a family.” He grins.
“Yeah. She does.” I smile. Now, if we could get her home and make it official.
28
Sienna
I’m awakened by the clicking of locks. A man walks in as I sit up. He has black hair with dark stubble covering his face and an angry-looking scar on the left side of his face. The scar starts above his eyebrow and stretches down to his jawline, earning him the nickname Scarface. I’m obviously not here to get to know the guy. His eyes are hard. It’s been said that the eyes are the window to your soul and you can tell his have seen some shit.
“Get up,” he orders without moving from the doorway. His voice holds authority. I stand from the mattress.
“Quitate la ropa,” he says. “Take off your clothes.”
I hold my head high in defiance. An evil grin stretches across his face as he closes the distance between us. Before I know what’s happening, there’s a sharp sting across my cheek and I’m knocked to
the mattress.
“Get up and take your fucking clothes off,” he growls out. I spit on his shoes and he lunges at me, grabbing a fistful of my hair and yanks me to my feet. “There is no room for defiance where you’ll soon be going.”
He pulls a knife out of his pocket. With his hand still in my hair, he manages to cut my shirt off me.
“I’ll enjoy breaking you.” He laughs, but there’s no humor in it. He tucks his knife away before grabbing the waistband of my pants and pulling them down. He releases my hair and takes a step back. His eyes roam over my body giving me a creepy-crawly sensation all over my body.
“El Jefe was right. You have a very nice body,” Scarface says with an evil smirk. “Once we break that disobedient attitude, we’ll be able to make a pretty penny off you.”
He takes his phone out and snaps some pictures. After taking pictures of my front, he turns me around to take pictures of my ass. Then he slides his hand down my back to my ass and squeezes. I move away from his touch.
“Pinche puta.” Scarface grabs my hair, yanking me against him so my back is flush with his front.
“You will learn not to fight me, chiquita,” he says. He moves his free hand down my stomach and into my panties. I clench my teeth and try to stay calm. His fingers slide through my folds and into my cunt. Something inside me switches and I elbow him in the gut.
“Oomph!” His grip on my hair tightens, but his fingers are no longer inside me. “You think you can fucking get away with that?” he growls out before shoving me face down on the mattress.
He straddles my legs, lifting my hips up, and pulls my panties down to my ankles. I squeeze my eyes shut and clench my teeth. This is worse than his fingers inside me, but I can’t let him see my fear. If I learned anything from my stepfather and stepbrother, it was that men like them feed off your fear.
“Mmm . . . look at that pussy,” Scarface says, caressing my ass. There’s a pounding on the door.
“Hermano, el Jefe te quiere,” a male voice shouts.
“Hijo de puta,” Scarface mutters as he stands from the mattress. “Today must be your lucky day, chiquita.”
I don’t move until I hear the locks click back into place. I pull my panties up and run into the bathroom. Slamming the door, I lean back against it and let my body fall to the ground. Tears fall down my cheeks despite my attempt to stop them.
I let myself cry for a few minutes then stand at the sink. I look at my reflection. The stress of yesterday and today has caused the dark spots under my eyes to be more pronounced.
“You’re stronger than this. Don’t let them break you,” I tell myself.
I splash some cold water on my face, careful not to swallow any. The last thing I want is to get sick here. I walk back into the room and grab my cut shirt on my way to the mattress. I slip it on, pulling it closed, and cross my arms in an attempt to keep the shirt closed and sit on the mattress. Leaning against the wall, I draw my knees to my chest and rest my head on them. The past two days have been more emotionally exhausting than anything, and I know it’s only going to get worse before it gets better. I start dozing off when I’m startled by the locks being unlocked, again.
A younger man walks in carrying a tray. He looks like he could be related to Scarface, but his features are a lot softer. He can’t be much older than sixteen or seventeen. He doesn’t look like he’s been through whatever it is Scarface has. The further he walks into the room, the better I can see what he’s carrying. He has a couple of bottles of water and some food.
“I brought you some dinner,” he tells me. His voice is quite the opposite of Scarface. Where Scarface is intimidating and authoritative, this kid is soft and kind. He sets the tray a foot away from me.
“Thank you,” I say to him.
“I’m sorry about my brother,” he replies. My eyes widen at his words. How is this kid related to such a monster?
“It’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before,” I admit to him. My mind drifts to days with my stepfather and stepbrother. There’s nothing Scarface can do to me that they haven’t already done. The kid nods and leaves the room.
I pick at the food, not having much of an appetite. I decide to do something I haven’t done in a long time. I pray to a god I no longer believe in. The last time I prayed for help, nothing happened. My stepfather and stepbrother continued to abuse me and my mother continued to believe their words over mine. My faith in God withered away. Because why would God sit back and allow something so awful to happen to a child?
Things have changed since I left that hell hole. Maybe God is looking out for me this go ‘round. So, I pray for someone to come save me from this place and soon.
29
Shade
One week later
Diesel, Rascal, Kicks, and I are back at the clubhouse. A week has passed and we haven’t heard anything. When I got back to the clubhouse, I talked with Tech. He told me Torres made it seem like they fell off the grid. Tech couldn’t find a single clue to tell him where they went. All we know is they disappeared into Mexico.
Aside from talking to Tech, I’ve kept to myself. I didn’t sleep worth a damn all week and I doubt I will until I get Sienna back. I feel like a huge part of myself has been missing since she’s been gone and it’s killing me slowly. Sketch has been keeping Wren updated. She finally got a new phone and has been blowing mine up. Sketch told me Wren feels like it’s her fault TJ took Sienna. I know the feeling because I blame myself. When in reality, it isn’t either of our faults. The only person truly at fault for her being gone is TJ.
I’m sitting in my room, smoking on my pen and staring aimlessly at the TV when there’s a pounding on my door. I drag myself off the bed and open the door.
“Bull wants to talk to us,” Buster tells me. I walk out of my room, closing the door behind me and follow Buster to Bull’s office. The door is open, so we walk in.
“Shade, you look like shit,” Bull tells me honestly.
“Thanks.” I salute him. “What’s up?”
“I reached out to the Murphys,” he says to both of us.
“The Murphys, as in Declan Murphy,” Buster asks.
“Yes, those Murphys, but not Declan. His younger brother Finn. Finn and Lochlan have this side gig. They work with a crew in Kansas City saving trafficked girls and women,” Bull explains. “This crew buys women from a couple of different places, rehabilitates them and gets them set up in new locations where they’re protected by their affiliates. I sent them Sienna’s photo for them to keep their eyes open for her.”
“That’s great,” Buster says.
I don’t say anything. The different emotions I’m feeling all at once and the intensity they’re at has me on the verge of explosion.
“Finn did say it could be another week or so before Torres tries to sell her off. He said depending on how defiant a girl is and how long it takes to break them in determines how quickly they sell them,” Bull adds.
“Son of a bitch,” I mutter.
“What’s wrong,” Bull asks.
“Sienna has a mouth on her. With her past, she isn’t gonna let them break her so easily,” I explain. “That terrifies me for what they’ll do to get her to break.”
“We’ll keep looking for her. The Murphys are gonna send us everything they have on Torres and his affiliates. With all of us working together, we’ll get her back and fuck Torres’s world up,” Bull tells me. With that, Buster and I get up to leave.
“And Shade,” Bull says, stopping me just before I reach the door. I turn to look at him. “Keep me updated with what’s goin’ on in that head of yours. If you need to back down at any time, you know every brother in this club has your back.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, Prez,” I tell him and walk out of his office.
“Hey, brother,” Buster says, grabbing my attention.
“Yeah?”
“Come have a drink with us,” he suggests. I look down the hall to my room, then back to him.
“Alright.�
�� I shrug and follow him to the main room. “But if anyone tries to talk to me about Sienna, I’m goin’ back to my fuckin’ room.”
“Understood,” he says, slapping me on the back. Bull called for no club party this weekend, which means only some of the cut bunnies are here and no hang arounds. Tink is behind the bar tonight, and that’s where Buster and I choose to sit. She’s pretty good not hounding us about shit like Lolita does. Lolita just likes to know everything all the time.
“Hey, fellas,” Tink greets us. “What can I get ya tonight?”
“I’ll take a beer,” Buster tells her.
“Whiskey neat,” I say. She grabs a beer out of the cooler, opens it, and hands it to Buster. Then she turns to the wall of alcohol with her hands on her hips, searching for something specific. I know when she finds it because she does this little hop like a light bulb flipped on. She grabs the bottle of Gentlemen Jack and grabs a tumbler, filling it about halfway. She hands me the tumbler and leaves the bottle sitting on the counter.
“Let me know if y’all need anything else,” she says.
“Thanks, Tink,” I respond. She gives me a small smile then moves down the bar to Hollywood.
“Think the two of them have something goin’ on,” I ask Buster. He glances their way then back to me.
“Hard to tell.” he shrugs. “She’s pretty friendly with him and Diesel from what I’ve seen.”
“Hey, my brothers,” Raze says walking up to us.
“Hey, man,” I reply. “How’s it goin’?”
“It’s goin’. Tryin’ to get Minx to let me put my baby in her,” he responds. The three of us laugh.
