by Elisa Leigh
“Vince, I don’t have words. It’s beautiful. It’s us.” She turns to me and reaches out, resting her hand on my neck, where I had Sam tattoo her mark. “It’s perfect. Thank you for giving me this.”
“Thank you for letting me.”
Chapter Sixteen
Lana
A lot has happened in the past month and a half. After my freak out on Vince, I pulled my shit together and decided to settle into this wonderful new life. Sometimes I’ll think about the times when I was with Steven or those two weeks I was locked away with the other girls and Razors horribly abusive men. Whenever I think about it though, I remember all the good memories I’ve made since Vince came crashing into my world and the dark clouds disappear.
The girls and I are closer than ever, and I’d hate to think what my life would be like without them in it. The relationship between Holly and I started out rough but quickly turned into something I’ve never had. She’s more than a friend, she’s my confidant, one of my biggest supporters and is the big sister I never had.
One day while we were all hanging out at Spanky’s, we were talking about what I should major in. They knew I wanted to go to school, the problem was I had no idea what I wanted to do. Holly surprised us when she told me she dreamed of opening a bakery one day so she could bake like she used to with her grandmother. That was the day we decided to enroll in the Baking and Pastry program.
After a month of going to class together, we’re closer than ever. Every morning one of our guys will drive us in, and then one of them will pick us up when class is over. They’re crazy protective, and I don’t mind it one bit.
“You don’t look so hot, Holly. Are you feeling okay?” I’ve got my suspicions about what’s going on, but she hasn’t said anything about it.
She looks over at me, then back at the ingredients in front of us. Holly clamps a hand over her mouth and runs out the door of our classroom. I follow her out and to the bathroom, needing to make sure she’s okay. There’s a unique code we live by, something stronger than friendship, maybe even family. I’d be there anytime they need me.
Holly walks out of the bathroom stall and goes to the sink to rinse her mouth and wet her face. I hand her a paper towel, and she dries her face. Bracing her hands on the sink, she closes her eyes and breathes in deep. “Oh, my God I hate throwing up.” She groans.
“Sooo, do Jasper and Quinn know yet?”
Standing up straight she walks to the trash, throwing away her paper towel and then walks out the door of the bathroom.
I roll my eyes and laugh. “Holls, do they have any idea?”
She looks over at me and shrugs. “I don’t know. You know the moment they find out they are going to go crazy. I mean you’ve seen how Rock and Pres are with Chels and Em. Not to mention our men are already on our asses twenty-four seven. We can’t even go to school on our own.”
“Hey, it’s going to be okay. They’re overprotective, but they have a reason to be. So much has happened to the women in the club in the last few months it has them on edge.”
We get to the door, and she stalls, looking sick again. “You want to walk outside for a minute? I’m sure the cold air will help your stomach.”
She smiles and links her arm through mine. “That is the best idea I’ve heard this morning.”
Walking out of the building, we’re blasted with twenty-degree weather, and we’re immediately shivering. We should have grabbed our jackets. We huddle together as we walk around out front.
“What if they aren’t ready to be fathers? It’s only been a few months.”
“I thought you said they were trying to get you pregnant?”
“We definitely haven’t prevented anything. And yeah, they’ve said stuff, but now that’s it’s happening, who knows how they’re going to react.”
“I’d probably be freaking out too, but they love you. You three are going to make the most amazing parents. And if they do freak out, at least they have a few months to work through it.”
“You know I love you right? Shit, it’s cold. Let’s go back inside before we freeze.”
We turn to walk back into the building and get a few steps before a rough hand goes over my mouth. I scream, grabbing at the hand covering my mouth, but it’s no use, their grip is too strong. I feel a sharp pinch in my neck. I look over to see another man dressed in all black, doing the same to Holly. Instead of looking scared, she looks pissed.
As we’re dragged from the quad, my legs get heavy, buckling beneath me. The man pulling me tosses me over his shoulder, carrying me the rest of the way. We’re thrown into the back of a dark SUV where men are waiting for us with zip ties. I’m having a hard time keeping my eyes open, but I fight, knowing I need to stay awake. I want to struggle and get free, but I’m too tired.
I’m scared out of my mind knowing exactly what happens in situations like these. I’ve been here before, and it took almost a year to get free. I was lucky nothing horrible happened to me last time, but I can’t get that lucky twice. When I look over at Holly, she’s leaning her head against the headrest, and a single tear slips down her cheek. I was supposed to keep her safe, have her back, and I failed her and her baby. That is the last thought I have before everything goes black.
Chapter Seventeen
Vince
I’m in the middle of a doing a back piece on Carter when my phone rings. I’ve started keeping my phone next to me whenever Lana is at school, or with her girls, basically when she isn’t by my side. When I see it’s my contact at the school my heart trips in my chest. I put my tattoo gun down at my station and grab my phone.
“You’ve got Prince,” I say, answering my phone.
“Hey man, it’s Matt. Look, the girls are miss-”
“What the fuck do you mean they’re missing? How long have they been gone?” I shout. I jump up from my seat and begin pacing.
“Professor said Holly got sick and rushed out of class. Lana followed her, and they never came back. That was thirty minutes ago. Prince, all of their stuff is still here.”
“Fuck!” I want so badly to tear everything apart, but I know if I’m going to get her back I need to keep my shit together. I take a deep breath, bringing myself back to a place I can be the man Lana needs me to be. “Get your ass to Spanky’s, now,” I growl before hanging up.
“What’s happening?” Carter asks.
“Lana and Holly have been taken. I don’t know anything else. Look I’m going to Spanky’s to get with Triton on this. Dave is going to cover your back. Get your ass there as soon as you can.” I tell Carter before walking out to my bike.
I sit on my bike and make the call. “Prince?”
“Lana and Holly. They were taken from the school. Pull their surveillance, do whatever voodoo computer shit you do, and find them. Find our women Triton.”
“Fuck!” I hear Triton shout before I hang up with him.
∞∞∞
Triton
I’m in my office here at Spanky’s, well under Spanky’s is more accurate. I’ve been chasing a lead on the men who had Lana, but every time I get close, they put up a block and lead me in a different fucking direction. Whoever it is, knows exactly what they’re doing. I’ve been on their trail for over a month, and I’m determined to shut them down.
I’ve always been good with computers, ever since I was a punk kid in sixth grade. The better I got with them, the more trouble I would get myself into. The older I got, the better I was at covering my tracks though.
I pick up my phone to play a game of Knife Hit when Prince’s name pops up on my phone. “Prince?”
“Lana and Holly. They were taken from the school. Pull their surveillance, do whatever voodoo computer shit you do, and find them. Find our women Triton.” Prince commands.
“Fuck!” I shout, not ready to go through this again.
I run up to Pres’ office, knowing he’s up there meeting with Chelsea. I knock but don’t wait for him to tell me to come in. Everyone looks up at me from
the table they’re seated at. Emersen is sitting beside Pres reading a book and Chelsea is going over paperwork.
“What’s up Triton?” Pres asks.
“We need to talk Pres,” I say and motion with my head toward the door.
He gets up and goes to the door and looks back at Emersen, “You know the drill Sweetness. Don’t walk out of this door. Lock up behind me.” He commands Emersen. She gets up immediately, and I hear the lock engage once the door is closed.
“You better not be up here about to tell me something has happened to one of our women Triton.”
I rub the back of my neck and look away, then back at Pres.
“Fuck, which one? Was it Lana or Holly?”
“Both.”
“Mother fucker! The girls are going to lose their shit. Have you told their men? Fuck, fuck, fuck, Vince is going to fly off his mother fucking handle.”
“He’s the one that called. I ran up here after I got off the phone with him. I haven’t told Jester or Rash yet though, needed to tell you first.”
“I’ll call them. You get everyone else back here, even prospects. Spanky’s, everything, is closed until they are found and back here. Our sole focus is getting those women back where they belong.”
“I’m on it.”
“We’ll be down in a few. Emersen and Chelsea are to be surrounded at all times. I’m not taking a chance on them being taken either.”
“Yes, sir.”
I go back to my office after informing the crew working Spanky’s they need to close. Unfortunately, they’re used to closing with no notice.
Back in my office, I send the text notifying everyone to get back here immediately.
Focusing back on my computer I get busy pulling up the surveillance at the college. I’m in the middle of zooming in on their license plate when Prince, Jester, and Rash come in.
“What do you have?” Rash barks.
“What are you looking at? Is that them?” Prince asks, coming to stand beside me.
“I got video on it all, but, fuck just watch. You’re not going to like it though.”
With Jester, Vince, and Rash behind me, I backtrack and hit play when the girls walk out of the building. We watch as they huddle and walk together. You then see two men dressed in all black walk up behind them slowly and then grab them.
“What in the fuck was that? Were they drugged?” Jester shouts.
This is fucking killing me. I hate seeing my brothers this upset. I hope to find the kind of love they have all found one day. I know if anything ever fucking happens to her, I’d stop at nothing to get her back.
“It looks that way man.”
Jester walks away and starts pacing behind us. That fucker is crazy. He’s all laughs until someone fucks with what’s his and then he’s gone. I’d hate to be the one that took Holly and Lana. Prince isn’t any better, except he doesn’t hide his crazy. Put those two together, and the whole fucking world is going to burn.
“Does this have anything to do with Lana? Could they be the men who took her from Russia?” Prince asks.
“I have no fucking clue. I’m going to run this plate and see if I come up with anything. More than likely it’s stolen, and we won’t get anywhere, but I’m going to look just in case.”
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I can’t sit here Rash. I need to do something. We need to go find her.” Jester explodes.
“You assholes aren’t doing anything until we’ve got a plan,” Pres announces walking in with Rock and Carter.
“I’ve got next to nothing Pres,” I tell him.
“This is how it’s going to go. Rock and Jester are going to the college to get the girl’s things and ask questions. Rash and Carter are going to ride the town and see if they can find anything out. Prince, you’re with Triton. Do any of you fuckers have a problem with this plan?”
When Jester raises his hand, Rash slaps him on the back of his head. “Fuck.”
“The best thing we can do is not lose our shit. We need to find out If there’s anyone new in town and where they’ve been. Someone knows they’re here, we just have to find out who. Now, are we good?” Pres asks again.
When everyone nods, he rubs his forehead and takes a deep breath. “Emersen and Chelsea are in the living room. I’ve got two prospects and me on them. They’ll be in someone’s sight at all times.”
I nod, knowing the best thing I can do is get back to chasing their activity online.
Chapter Eighteen
Lana
It’s cold and dark in here, and the air has a distinct musty smell. My vision is blurry making it difficult for me to see anything around me. I try sitting up, but the moment I move, my head starts spinning. My stomach isn’t doing any better. Breathing in and out of my nose I do my best to keep from throwing up. Slowly, I roll to my side, but waves of nausea have me lying flat on my back. When I try and stretch out my feet hit metal bars. Not again, this can’t be happening again.
“The drugs should be wearing off soon, and you’ll start to feel better.”
“Holly! Holly, it's you, isn’t it? Are you okay?”
“Keep your voice down Lana, I don’t want those men coming back in here. The smelly one threatened to get in here with me if I didn’t stop making noise.”
“Okay, okay. Holly, it’s so good to hear your voice. How long have you been awake?”
“I’m not sure. At least a couple of hours I think. It’s been dark the whole time.”
The ground vibrates, and it feels as if we’re moving. Pressing my palm to the cold metal floor, I ask “We’re in a car?”
“I’m pretty sure we’re in the back of a semi-truck. One of the men who took us opened the back a while ago and got out. When he got out, I could see for a minute, and no one else is in here except a bunch of empty cages.”
“It’s happening all over again. Holly what are we going to do? We can’t go through this again. You’re…” I lower my voice, “You’re pregnant. Once they figure that out, who’s going to want someone who’s already knocked up? Fuck! We have to get out of here.”
She squeezes my hand tightly. “We’re going to make it out of here Lana. I promise we won’t be here long. Our men, backed by the mother fucking Steel Daggers MC will come for us. They’ll find us and bring us home. Do you hear me, Lana? We just have to hold on for a little while longer. Tell me you can do that.”
“I can do that. God, I hate to say this, but I’m so happy I’m not alone this time.”
“I feel the exact same way. Oh my god, TMI, but I have had to pee for a long fucking time.”
“Feel around you. Last time they had a bucket for us to use for the bathroom.”
“Fuck. I was hoping that was for something else.” I hear her drag something across the floor.
“Stand on your knees and hover over it.”
“I know how to fucking pee in a pot Lala!” She whisper-shouts and we both burst into laughter.
I’m laughing so hard I’m crying, and for a few seconds, I’m not trapped in a cage in the dark. Wiping my tears away, I take a deep breath and sit up against the wall. The spinning has subsided, and I’m left with a dull ache in the back of my head.
“That was kind of freaking gross. Did you have to do that the whole time you were with these fuckers? How long were you with them before Steven bought you?”
“It’s hard to tell, I want to say it was a little over a month. It could have been a lot worse, but it’s still something I never thought I would go through again.”
“Fuck, babe. We’re getting the hell out of here. The guys are coming, and you know they’re bringing fire when they get here. None of these assholes will make it out alive. Give it a few more hours and shit will go down.”
“I hope so Holly, I really do.”
We sit in silence for a while until I feel the truck start to slow. When we stop I squeeze Holly’s hand, scared of what we’re about to face.
When the back opens I tense up, terrified for me, but more for Holly an
d her unborn child. Moonlight illuminates the back where we’re being held, and I get a better look at our surroundings. One by one four men get into the back of the truck and walk to where we’re caged in and unlock the cages.
“Don’t make me drag you out. Be good girls, and we won’t have to hurt you.” The man who took me before suggests.
I look over at Holly who’s staring at me, and I nod my head. If it’s one thing I know, as long as I did what they said, they never hurt me or drugged me. Slowly, we crawl on our hands and knees out of the cage. As soon as we’re out, two men grab us, pulling our hands behind our backs.
That’s when I see him. He hid behind the others when he got back here. Dressed in a dark suit, the man of my nightmares comes into the light and chills run down my back. Razor is the man in charge of this operation. He would come by and talk to me, tell me all the things he’d do to me if I wasn’t sold off. This man scares me more than anything else. He has the power to destroy lives and take dreams away from you.
“It took some time for my people to find you little Svetlana. Longer than I’d like to spend looking for one of my girls. I always thought you were special though, I couldn’t give up the search. When I heard what happened with Steven, I had to get you back. Maybe keep you for myself.
Then you surprised us with your beautiful friend. I recognized her as Steven’s woman, the one he was looking for when he procured you from me. How did that work out between you two? Steven’s woman felt bad for his whore?
My only question now is, did that filthy biker break you in or will I have to do it myself? I’d love to take my turn with you, see what you know. You’d make such a beautiful treasure.”
“I’ve never been anyone’s whore. You will never put your hands on me. I’d rather die than let you touch my body. You can go back to hell where you came from.”
Walking up to Holly, he grabs her by the hair and pulls her, so she falls to her knees. She cries out, and I struggle trying but failing to get free. I brought this down on her, I hate she’s a part of his craziness.
