Brianna finally squirmed free, but had now backed herself against the wall. “Leave leave me alone!”
“Darnell’s been on the road for eight long hours and this is how you gonna treat him? I brought some new girls down from Oakland. Had to pull off the road to test out a couple of ’em. But none of ’em was as fine as you. I bet you still a virgin. Well, Darnell gonna do you a favor and break you in. Take off your clothes. Let me see what you workin’ with.”
Brianna was certain she was about to puke. “Get the hell away from me!”
He frowned. “That ain’t no kinda way to talk to Daddy.” Darnell grabbed Brianna’s thin top and ripped it off. “Dang! You ain’t got no titties, girl.”
“Get away from me!” Brianna bent at the waist, crisscrossing her arms to cover her breasts. “Please leave me alone!”
“I like it when they beg,” Darnell said, laughing and rubbing his groin. “We gonna have us a good time. What’s your name?”
Brianna had her eyes on the open door and wondered if she could make it past him before he caught her. But then what would she do? Maybe she could get to the kitchen and grab a knife from the drawer.
As if he’d been reading her mind, Darnell took a few steps backward, slamming the door shut without even looking behind him.
“I asked you your name, little girl. Don’t make me get ugly.” His tone had gone from playful to gruff.
“Bree…Brianna.” She took a sideways step. Darnell did the same.
Brianna was having trouble breathing again, and this time, it wasn’t an act.
Darnell started unbuckling his belt.
“Well, Brianna, you and me ’bout to have a little private party.”
Chapter 56
Day Four: 2:00 a.m.
“Idon’t see anybody coming,” Dre said, checking the rearview mirror as he sped down the alley.
He made a sharp right, then a series of turns that he’d mapped out in his head the day before.
“That’s because they probably don’t even know he’s gone yet,” Terrell said with a laugh. “The minute Clint walked out of the men’s room, I gave the signal and Gus and D’wan pretended to punch each other out. All the bouncers ran over there, while I clocked the dude and stuck a sock in his mouth to keep him from screaming as we carted him out the back door. Your plan worked like a charm, bruh.”
Clint was tied up on the floor of the van. He stopped squirming after Apache punched him in the face and he passed out.
Dre felt ecstatic about how smoothly everything had gone down. But he also knew his plan could put Brianna in further danger. Dre wished he could’ve kidnapped someone who meant as much to The Shepherd as Brianna meant to him. But there appeared to be no one like that in his life.
It took less than twenty minutes to reach the abandoned warehouse in Gardena where Dre had arranged to take Clint. The van rolled into a humongous building that looked like something out of a James Bond movie. Cold, dark and isolated.
Mossy walked up to the van. “You were supposed to call me and let me know everything went down according to plan. I’ve been sweatin’ bullets.”
“Sorry, man.” Dre slapped his friend on the shoulder. “I got so excited I forgot all about calling you.”
“I just wish I could’ve been the one to grab dude,” Apache moaned.
Bobby and Terrell retrieved Clint from the back of the van and dumped him on the ground in front of the van. The bright headlights from Mossy’s van and Dre’s Jetta were their only source of light in the expansive warehouse.
Dre opened a bottle of water and doused Clint, who slowly began to wake up. He squinted at the bright lights, then took in the five men staring down at him. His eyes landed on Dre last. The distress in them pleased Dre immensely.
Bobby and Terrell lifted Clint from the ground and set him in a rusted-out chair in front of Dre. His feet were bound and his hands were tied behind his back.
“Hey, Mr. Big Shot,” Dre said.
Clint started to whimper.
“We’re going to show you what it feels like to be kidnapped and beaten up,” he said.
Clint’s whimpers quickly grew into sobs. A string of saliva stretched from his lower lip to his white silk shirt.
“We need some information,” Dre said. “My cousin here is going to show you what’s gonna happen every time you fail to answer one of my questions.”
Dre stuffed a towel deep into Clint’s mouth, then gave Apache a nod. His cousin stepped forward and happily zapped Clint in the groin with his stun gun.
Clint howled and writhed, tumbling from the chair onto the dusty concrete floor.
“That’s just a sample of things to come,” Dre said.
Bobby and Terrell picked him up and placed him back in the chair. Clint doubled over in pain.
Dre jerked the towel from his mouth and waited while Clint vomited all over himself.
“Where’s my niece?” he demanded.
“I don’t know,” Clint bawled. “I swear.”
Dre turned to Apache. “Go for it.”
His cousin rushed forward and zapped him in the nuts a second time.
Clint’s screams would’ve penetrated the walls if they hadn’t been in a soundproof building.
“You’re the one calling the shots here,” Dre said. “We can do this all night long if you want. Too many zaps could actually kill you.”
He gave the signal and Apache moved toward Clint for a third time.
“No, no! Okay, okay! She’s at one of Shep’s houses in the Valley. It’s on Wardlow.”
“Aw man!” Apache punched Clint hard in the chest. “I can’t believe you punked out that quick. I only got to zap you two times.”
Mossy shook his head and gave Dre another I-told-you-he-was-crazy look.
Dre stepped closer to him. “What’s the address?”
“273 Wardlow Circle.”
“Who’s at the house?”
“Just Freda and a few of the girls,” Clint cried. “She’s in charge of watching them.”
“No shit?” Bobby said. “Ya’ll got women helping y’all?”
Dre turned to Mossy. “Check the address.”
Mossy grabbed his iPad from the van and tapped in the address on Google maps, then showed the screen to Dre.
“Describe the house?” Dre said. “I want to make sure you’re not jerking me around.”
Clint sputtered out his words between sobs. “It’s beige, two big windows in front. There’s a six-foot gate around the entire house.”
“That’s it,” Mossy said.
“Where does The Shepherd live?”
“I don’t know!”
Dre pointed at Apache. But before Apache could zap him again, the information spilled out of Clint.
“He lives in Newport Beach.”
“What’s the address?”
“I don’t know it by heart. I swear I don’t!”
“Apache!” Dre called out.
“The house is on Ocean Boulevard. The address is in my phone!” Clint cried out. “In my pocket!”
“Man, you’re a little bitch!” Apache slapped him upside the head, then pulled the phone from his pocket and tossed it to Dre.
“Look it up,” Dre said, passing the phone to Mossy.
“I need the address to every single house where The Shepherd keeps girls.”
Clint hung his head. “It’s in my phone too. Under locations.”
They waited as Mossy checked. “Yep, here it is right here.”
Dre started moving toward his car. “Let’s go, everybody. Apache, you stay here with him.”
Apache was salivating. “Hey, dude, you and me gonna have big fun tonight.”
“Please, please! Don’t leave me here with him!” Clint screamed. “Please! He’s crazy! He’ll kill me!”
Dre took two steps back, grabbed the stun gun from Apache’s hand and also snatched the Glock from his waistband.
“Don’t touch him. Just watch him. See if you can find ou
t some more information about The Shepherd’s operation.”
Apache looked as if he was about to cry. “Y’all can’t leave me here with no heat!”
Dre ignored him. He was just about to walk past Clint again, but something stopped him. He froze and stared down at Clint’s left hand for several long seconds. Then he reared back and punched him in the face so hard he flew off the chair and crashed to the ground. In a wild flurry of movement, Dre started kicking him in the ribs, then stomped repeatedly on his head.
After a few seconds, Mossy grabbed Dre by the arm and dragged him away. “Yo’, man, we just tryin’ to get your niece back. We don’t need no murder wrap.”
Clint lay on the floor moaning.
“He was the one—” Dre tried to speak, but he was so worked up he had trouble getting the words out. “He was the one beating up Brianna on that video.”
Mossy was still holding on to Dre. “How do you know that?”
He pointed down at Clint’s hand. “I saw that diamond pinky ring he’s wearing on the video. I’ll never forget it.”
Dre’s right hand throbbed with pain. As good as it felt to beat the punk down, he was glad that Mossy had stopped him.
If he hadn’t, Clint might’ve ended up dead.
Chapter 57
Day Four: 2:05 a.m.
Brianna closed her eyes and prayed. Dear Jesus, please help me!
She heard the clink of Darnell’s belt buckle hit the floor. She refused to open her eyes.
Jesus, please! Jesus, please! Jesus, please!
“Open your eyes, girl,” Darnell taunted. “Don’t you wanna see the nice big package Daddy brought for you!”
The door suddenly burst open.
“How many times do I have to tell you to leave my girls alone?” Freda yelled at the top of her lungs. “Get the hell out of here!”
Darnell scowled at Freda, then at Brianna. “I was just having a little fun with the girl,” he said.
“And I’ve told you a million times not to touch my girls.”
He took his time stepping back into his pants as if he wanted Freda to admire his equipment.
“Hurry up and put your pants on. Don’t nobody want to see that,” she snarled. “You’re disgusting.”
Darnell laughed, still moving in slow motion.
“Did you drop off the girls from Oakland?”
“Yeah.”
“How many?”
“Seven.”
“I’m going to ask every last one of ’em if you touched them and if you did, I’m tellin’ Shep.”
Darnell’s playful expression disappeared. “Don’t do that, okay? I didn’t mean nothin’. I was just playing around.”
“Just get out. You’re supposed to be transporting girls over to the motel anyway. And I better not hear that you tried to mess with ’em.”
Neither Tameka nor Kym came out of hiding until they’d heard Darnell leave the house.
“I hate him!” Kym said running up to Freda. “He always be botherin’ us.”
“I’m sorry, y’all,” Freda said. “I’ll make sure he never comes back here again unless I’m here.”
Freda’s smartphone rang and she pulled it from her purse.
Brianna was still hugging herself to cover her exposed breasts.
“You’re kidding! Oh my God!” Freda covered her mouth with her free hand.
Brianna, Kym and Tameka stared up at Freda as she continued the conversation, wondering what horrible news she was receiving. Her eyes seemed to bear down on Brianna as if she had done something wrong.
“Clint told you we needed to give that girl back,” Freda said into the smartphone. “She ain’t worth it.”
Brianna’s pulse began to pick up speed. Was she about to go home?
“I’m not disrespecting you,” Freda said. “I just—”
Freda paused, then rolled her eyes as she continued to listen. “Okay, okay.”
She hung up and stepped up to Brianna. “You’ve been nothing but trouble from the minute you got here,” she said, pointing a finger inches from Brianna’s nose. “Put on some clothes!”
Brianna didn’t know what to say, so she didn’t say anything. The woman must be nuts. She didn’t want to be there in the first place.
Brianna picked up a T-shirt from a pile of clothes on the floor.
Freda grabbed her by the arm. “Come on, you’ve got to go. Tameka, you’re comin’ with us.”
“I’m going home?” Brianna asked, hopefully.
“You wish,” Freda said, dragging her barefoot down the hallway. “I’m hiding you out in one of the other houses. Your uncle had the nerve to kidnap Clint. Shep is really pissed off now. No tellin’ what he’s gonna do to you.”
Chapter 58
Day Four: 7:45 a.m.
Bonnie finally faced the fact that for the time being there was little she could do about having her honors classes stripped away. She’d filed a grievance with the teacher’s union, but it could take weeks before a union rep even contacted her to follow up.
She was in the courtyard, watching students make their way to class when she spotted Ortiz surrounded by a group of eighth-grade girls. One of them had her arm linked through his. He reached out to hug another one.
Bonnie’s lips twisted in disapproval. In this day and age when teachers feared false allegations of abuse from both male and female students, the principal’s behavior just didn’t make sense. Perhaps those rumors about Ortiz and a student at his prior school were really true. Bonnie hurried by, hoping he didn’t notice her.
“I got a copy of that grievance you filed,” he said, catching up with her.
“Good.” She did not bother slowing down.
“It’s a waste of time.”
“We’ll see.”
“Good morning, Mr. Ortiz,” Tanya, the head of the Pep Squad sauntered by in a skirt that barely covered her bulbous butt.
Ortiz turned away from Bonnie and waved. He gave the girl a lustful, lingering look that stopped Bonnie in her tracks. Watching Ortiz’s hungry eyes following Tanya as she bounced around the courtyard sickened her.
“You’re a complete disgrace to the teaching profession,” she hissed under her breath.
Bonnie continued on to her classroom, seething over what she had just witnessed. When she entered the building, she spotted Wainright approaching her from the far end of the hallway.
“You’re looking pretty spiffy for your first day with your new students.” Wainright gave her a warm smile. “That dress looks like it came right off the page of some fashion magazine.”
“Don’t try to butter me up,” Bonnie growled.
“C’mon, Bonnie. Don’t take it out on me. You know I would’ve changed things if I could have.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Wainright followed her into her classroom. “Look, we’ve been friends for a long time. I just want to make sure this hasn’t changed anything between us.”
She sighed. “I know you were just following orders. I’m not mad at you. But I could strangle Ortiz.”
“Just hang in there. I have a feeling you’re going to do some amazing things with these students.”
“We’ll see.” She locked her purse inside the desk drawer, then looked around the room. “Look at this place. The walls are completely bare. This room should have been decorated long before the school year started.”
“I’m sure you’ll have it in shape in no time.”
Bonnie merely huffed.
Wainright was about to leave when Bonnie stopped him.
“Can I ask you something?” she said, walking around her desk. “I heard a rumor that Ortiz was accused of inappropriate conduct with a student when he was at Centennial. Do you know anything about that?”
“Please don’t try to recruit me to be a soldier in your war against Ortiz.”
“I’m not trying to get you involved. I’m just wondering if you heard that rumor.”
“Yes, I’ve heard it, but I have no idea wh
ether it’s true or not. Why are you even bringing it up?”
Bonnie hesitated. She didn’t know how much she should share with Wainright. He noticed her hesitation.
“C’mon, you can talk to me.”
“I just don’t like the lustful way he looks at some of the female students,” she admitted. “Always giving them hugs.”
Wainright peeked over his shoulder as if to confirm that they were alone. “I’ve seen that too. I have no idea why he does that.”
“I knew I wasn’t crazy!”
He held up both palms. “Hold on now. I’ve never actually seen him behave inappropriately with a student. So let’s not get any rumors started.”
“I’m not starting any rumors. It’s just good to know that I’m not imagining things.”
“I better get going,” Wainright said, obviously uncomfortable with the topic.
Bonnie took a seat at her desk. She was not going to start any rumors about Ortiz, but she certainly planned to keep a close eye on him. Since he’d blatantly retaliated against her, she’d find her own legitimate way to retaliate right back.
If she got even an inkling that the arrogant, self-righteous Manuel Ortiz was involved with a student, she wasn’t going to waste her time reporting him to the school district or her union rep.
She was going straight to the police.
Chapter 59
Day Four: 8:30 a.m.
As Loretha and Angela had feared, Peaches’ brave front about testifying against her pimp crumbled the second she laid eyes on the courthouse.
The two women cradled her in the hallway outside the courtroom.
“Y’all don’t understand,” she said through tears. “He’ll kill me.”
“No, he won’t,” Loretha said, holding her close. “If you testify, he’s going to jail.”
“Not for long. He got a good lawyer. He always gets out.”
“The charges against pimps are tougher now. If he’s convicted, it will be years before he’s back on the street.”
“He got friends,” Peaches cried. “He can put a hit out on me from prison.”
The courtroom door opened and a smiling young prosecutor stuck her head out. She noticed Peaches’ tears and her smile faltered.
Anybody's Daughter (Angela Evans Series No. 2) Page 21
