I lay on the bed, and Christopher helps me onto my back. The doctor looks down at me and tells me to lay still. The bed has leg restraints on either side, and I remember seeing something like this before when I went to the obstetrician with my mom to discuss me getting the needle in my arm for birth control.
Thank God my mom was on top of it because I had already gotten the needle when I was raped. The last thing I would have wanted was an unwanted pregnancy by a rapist.
Christopher bends one of my legs and straps it down while the doctor does the other.
My negligee falls to my thighs, and I know that I’m fully exposed to them. My breathing comes out heavily when I think about what they’re going to do. My hands grip the sheets beside me, and I close my eyes to try and calm myself.
Please don’t faint. Please don’t faint.
It’s funny because the first person who comes into my thoughts for some reason is Rhyder.
Where are you now, Rhyder, when I need you?
I feel my eyes burn with unshed tears when I think of him and how he was there for me when I needed him the most.
How right he was about everything.
He’s the one person I would call to help me. But how?
How can I?
How can I get to my cell? It has to be here somewhere.
How long have we been away from the villa? It’s hard to keep track when you’ve been lying in a dark dungeon with no light and no way to tell if it’s day or night.
My parents must be going crazy, and I wonder if Rhyder has tried to call me. I pray that he has because if I don’t reply or answer, he will know something’s wrong, surely.
“This will be cold,” the doctor explains. “Deep breath for me.” I inhale and then feel the coldness of something being shoved up my vagina. “I’m now going to clamp you open.”
“What?” I cry, but before he can answer, I feel myself opening, and then a light is switched on and facing downstairs.
I look at the doctor and can just make out his head between my open thighs.
He looks up at Christopher and says, “No. This one is no longer a virgin.”
I let go of the breath that I’d been holding onto when the clamp is taken out, and I quickly shove my negligee back over my legs. Relief washes over me, and then a thought comes to mind. “Why are they checking if I’m a virgin? What has that got anything to do with why I’m here? Is it because they’re going to sell me? Does being a virgin mean something?
Christopher and the doctor undo the straps around my legs, and I immediately squeeze my knees together. I can’t believe they just did that to me without my permission.
Christopher offers his hand, and I swing over the bed to stand up. I feel violated just like I did when I was raped. Walking me back to the door, he opens it, and then I’m ushered through and escorted to the end of the line.
Paige’s head is still looking at the floor, and she looks up when I pass her. There’s no doubt she’s been crying, and my heart breaks for her. I wish I could help and tell her that everything’s going to be okay, but if I am being brutally honest, I’m not sure we are.
What if we get separated?
What then?
How will I find her again?
I can’t imagine not being with Paige and not knowing where she is or who she is with. I try not to think about it too much and try to go to a happy place.
But right now, there is nothing to be happy about.
Please, Rhyder… please find me.
RHYDER
The plan was to head home to New York, but Tate insisted we take up his hospitality and spend some time in Vegas for a few days. With Lexi away, I wasn’t in a real rush to go home. However, there was something not sitting right with me. I had received no reply calls or texts from Lexi, and it’s now gotten to a point where I am thinking about flying out to Mexico to see if she’s okay. The problem with that is I know she’s with her family, and what will they think if this angry guy just shows up out of nowhere and worried because she’s not calling him back and acting like a fucking schoolboy.
Lexi’s probably having a great time with her family and hasn’t had time to answer my calls, but I think after around the twentieth voice message, she would have at least texted me back.
There’s a nagging inside me—I can’t help but feel like something’s wrong. Call it a sixth sense, but something isn’t right.
Tracker walks past me to head into the clubhouse, while I’m out in the Sinners’ garage helping Luke out with servicing his bike. I call out to him, “Yo, Tracker, can we talk?”
He stops with his hands in his back pockets and replies, “Right now? ”
“Yeah, I need a favor.”
Tracker turns to me and folds his arms, then enters the garage.
“What is it?”
“I’ll be inside getting a beer,” Luke states, as he looks up at me and Tracker. He must notice I need some privacy.
Checking around, I make sure no other brothers are in earshot. Don’t need anyone giving me shit about what I’m about to ask. Once all the boys have headed inside the clubhouse, I explain, “I’m wondering if you can track a cell for me.”
Tracker lifts his mouth in a smile. “And who in particular does this cell belong to?”
I sigh and shake my head. “Does that even matter?”
“Come on, you know it does. Doesn’t belong to that girl you’ve been following, does it?”
Folding my arms over my chest, I straighten. “And what if it does? Is there a problem with that?”
Tracker raises his palms out to me. “Nah, no judgment here. Just want you to admit it,” he says on a laugh.
“Fuck me! Okay, yeah, it’s for Lexi.”
“Is something up?”
“I know you’re gonna think I’m bein’ a bit extreme and shit, but she’s gone to Mexico with her family. And I know she’s on vacation, but I tried to call and text her, and she’s not replyin’. I’m concerned.”
He smiles again then shrugs. “Maybe she’s just having too much fun to call you back.”
Fucker knows how to pull my damn chain.
“Can you just do this for me. Fuck! Can a man just ask for a favor without gettin’ the third degree?”
“Sure… just wanted to know who it’s for. Shit! Don’t get your panties in a knot. Come on, brother, let’s go to the room I’m staying in. You’re lucky I brought my equipment. ”
I follow Tracker into the Sinners’ clubhouse, and we make a pit stop at the bar to grab a beer. Walking into Tracker’s room, I notice his bed is made, and his clothes are neat and tidy and folded on the bed. “Brother, you always been this neat?”
Tracker looks around the room as he places his beer on the bedside table and removes his cut. “My momma brought me up right.”
I smile. “You’re goin’ to make a girl happy someday.”
He laughs. “Yeah, well, only girl I wanna make happy is Sophia.”
Ah, Sophia, the girl back in Vixen Falls who he constantly talks about, but we’ve never met. We give him shit all the time that she doesn’t exist, but he’s shown us pictures of them together in an attempt to shut us up. She’s cute and shit, been brought up well, and comes from a close-knit town. Can’t believe Tracker’s fallen for a cheerleader, but then again, look at me, Lexi’s just out of high school.
Tracker takes a swig from his beer then makes his way to the corner of the room where he picks up his laptop and grabs some surveillance equipment then sets it up on the nearby desk . Ex-FBI agent right here. Sitting on the chair, he looks over at me. “Number, please.” Then he starts typing something into the computer system as I walk over reading out the number to him. I watch on as he enters it, then all of a sudden, the computer screen starts searching numbers. I lean forward, my eyes pinned to the monitor waiting to see what comes up. After a few minutes, it stops, and then a flashing light pops up.
“Fuck!” Tracker grunts.
“What is it?”
“The phone’s switched off.”
I lean in closer trying to work out how he knows that. “What does that mean?”
He looks at me and grins. “Means I gotta hack the FBI system to find it.”
I wait as the FBI database pops up, and he types in a username and password. “How the fuck did you get that?”
“Sorry, bro, no can tell.”
I slap him on the back of his head. “You’re a fuckhead.”
“Yeah, well, this fuckhead has some seriously awesome skills.” Tracker chuckles and waits. “And… here we go,” he says when he hits one last button.
The blinking light on the screen turns from red to green. We both move forward to try and work out where the fuck Lexi is located.
“You know where she was going?”
With my eyes glued to the screen, I tell him, “Mexico. Some resort on… fuck! What was the name?” I drop my head trying to remember what she said. “I know it starts with an M.”
“Okay, well, that’s a start.” He types in Google and searches resorts in Mexico beginning with M. “Okay, so we have Morelia…” He looks up at me, and I shake my head. “Monterrey?”
“Nah, not that long.”
“Merida?”
“Yes, that’s it,” I say as relief washes over me. Tracker begins to do some more typing and curious I ask, “What’s goin’ on?”
“Just weird.”
“Why’s that,” I ask trying to see what he sees, but not making sense of anything on the screen in front of me.
“If she were staying in Merida, then why is her phone in Mexico City?”
“Mexico City? What? Let me see that.”
Tracker gets out of the seat allowing me to take his place, I scoot the chair in closer and watch the green dot. Watching the screen, she’s definitely in Mexico City.
What the fuck is going on?
I look at the map of Mexico showing Merida and can see they would need to fly to Mexico City due to the sheer distance. I look up at Tracker. “Somethin’ ain’t right, she told me she was headin’ to a resort in Merida.”
Tracker shrugs. “Maybe their family decided to split up their trip and head there instead?”
I nibble on my thumbnail, keeping my eyes focused on the screen. “Maybe, but then why is she not answerin’ my calls or texts.”
“Brother, did you ever think about the fact that maybe she doesn’t want to speak to you?”
I punch Tracker in the ribs, and he bends over pretending it hurts like hell, then he straightens. “You wanted to know where she was, and there she is. Well, her phone is, anyway. I’m going out for another drink. You comin’?”
I stare at the screen in thought, something just doesn’t make sense.
Tracker taps my shoulder. “You hear me? You comin’ out?”
I look over my shoulder at Tracker. “I’ll be right behind you.”
He taps my back. “Okay, let me know if you need anything else. I’ll get another beer for you.”
Not really listening to what he’s saying, I give him a nod.
I sit there for a while, grab my phone, and check Lexi’s messages. She sent me one of her in a hot black bikini, one I would never approve of, and I smile remembering how I had demanded she not buy it. She’s headstrong and likes to play games, but I have to admit the quality is endearing.
“I’m comin’,” I growl when the door to Tracker’s room opens again, when I turn around, it’s Torch standing there.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be right out,” I state, still looking at Lexi’s hot as fuck body in that bikini.
“I really think you should come out here and see this.”
Something about the way Torch’s voice is sounding has me snapping my head around to him
again.
Something’s up, I can tell by the way he’s looking at the floor.
“Spit it out. What’s goin’ on?”
“It’s Lexi,” he states as he looks up at me.
Immediately I stand, causing the chair to fall back onto the ground. “What about her?”
“Her folks are on the TV.”
“Her folks are on the TV?” I reiterate.
He pushes the door wide. “I think it’s best you come out and see for yourself.”
I storm past him and head out to the Sinners’ games room and notice most of the brothers are standing around a television. I can hear the sounds of a woman who’s crying.
Once in the room, I pass all the brothers who have crowded around the television, then stand right in front of it—there’s an older woman and man with the news reporters. The headline running across the screen reads ‘Lost teenage girls in Mexico.’ My heart sinks as I focus on the news ticker, and fall to my knees when two pictures of the lost girls are shown, and one of them is Lexi.
The reporter is talking. “The girls were last seen heading out on a tour with these two men…” Two images now replace Lexi and her sister. I move in closer trying to embed their images in my brain. “The two men took the two girls out in a 2019 yellow Jeep.” An image of their car pops up, and I can see the license plate number plate clearly.
I quickly grab my phone and type the license plate number in the memory in case I need it later.
The reporter continues, “Paige Ambers is sixteen and her sister, Alexandra, known by Lexi, is eighteen. They were last spotted outside an enchilada food truck in Merida with the two men. They have now been missing for five days, and Mr. and Mrs. Ambers are extremely concerned for their welfare.”
The screen flashes to Mr. and Mrs. Ambers. “Our daughters are on vacation with us so we can spend some time together before our eldest daughter, Alexandra, heads to medical school. Lexi, short for Alexandra, plans to go to Harvard in the fall to study to be a surgeon like her father.” She looks at her husband. “This holiday was supposed to be a relaxing vacation for them, so we can spend some family time together.”
The reporter then says, “One of the men, who had been seen with the girls, worked at the resort, but has since disappeared. He goes by the name of Pepe. The other man is unknown. However, he was seen talking to Pepe before the girls’ disappearance.”
An image of the two men appears with them in deep conversation at what looks like the resort.
The screen flashes back to the reporter, and she continues, “Images show the two girls getting into the Jeep with the kidnappers.”
Fear grips me when I watch the images come up with Lexi and Paige getting into the back of the Jeep.
“We’re now going to take it back to the parents.”
I continue to watch, my eyes glued to the television not wanting to miss a single word.
This can’t be happening.
“Please, if you have seen either of my daughters, contact the authorities, the number is below on the screen. We just want our daughters back. They are good girls and have got their whole lives ahead of them. They’re beautiful girls. Please… please if you have seen them, I beg you to call us, even if you think it’s nothing. It doesn’t matter, any information could be important.” Mrs. Ambers cries into her tissue as Mr. Ambers hugs her to him.
He continues while struggling to speak through his emotions, “To the men who have my two girls…” he sniffles then continues, “… please bring them back. We want them home. I’m willing to pay good money to those who deliver them back to us. We plan to stay in Mexico for as long as possible. We won’t be leaving until we have our daughters safe and in our arms.”
I copy the number that’s flashing in the news ticker at the bottom of the screen and notice the room has gone quiet. I look around and see that all the brothers’ eyes are on me as I stand.
“What?” I ask, my hand tightening around the cell I am grasping, needing, no wanting, to punch something, anything.
Prez is the one who steps in next to me, and he places his hand on my shoulder. “We will get them back,” he says with a reassuring tone.
“There’s no fuckin’ doubt about that,” I growl in reply
.
I turn back to the television feeling like I’m going out of my mind as they continue to show image after image of Lexi and her sister from when they were young playing as kids, to both of them at home, at the beach, and lastly a picture of them recently at Lexi’s graduation.
I’m going to fucking punch something.
I let this happen to her. I shouldn’t have let her go.
But what was I supposed to do? Tell her not to, it’s a family vacation.
Why was she in the car with those two men?
Did she like one of them?” Jealousy consumes and eats at my pride.
I’ll fucking kill you for touching her.
They better pray she hasn’t got one mark on her because I will kill them. She’s been through so much as it is, and now she’s been taken. Deep down in my gut, I know why, it’s hard to keep those images from my mind. Mexico is known as one of the human trafficking capitals. A cartel that goes by the name of Clemente is the largest drug smugglers and traffickers in the entire world. I know this because when we helped out with Luke’s sister, this was information Tracker came by.
I look up at Tracker, and he mouths, “I got you.”
I nod ready to fly to Mexico right this minute and find the fuckers. With anger burning within, I storm to the room I’m sharing with Torch, ready to go and kill the motherfuckers who have touched my girl. I’m not willing to take a chance and waste any more time. I kneel to grab my duffel bag from under the bed and begin to throw my stuff into it, packing as quick as I can.
Prez enters my room along with Tate, Gunner, Tracker, Torch, and a few more of the boys, but they just stand there staring at me.
These fuckers! What do they think this is? A goddamn show?
I ignore them, heading to the bathroom and grabbing some more shit, and then reach under the mattress where I’ve left my blade and gun.
“Boys, leave us,” I hear Prez demand, and one by one, they head out.
“Tracker and Tate stay with us, ” Prez adds.
When everyone has left, Tracker shuts the door, and they step further into the room.
I stand and place the gun along with my blade into my duffel bag then lift it over my shoulder.
Lexi, Property of Rhyder: A Motorcycle Club Romance (Blood Brothers MC Book 6) Page 11
