Lost in the Dark

by Ann Jensen

  “Dragon!” She felt him twist her nipples and the pleasure was too much. Fireworks shot off behind her eyes and she lost control of her body as the orgasm blinded her. This man was like a drug and she couldn’t get enough. They panted together and her stomach twinged with a sharp pain.

  Dragon was like a drug, but was that a good thing? This life, the danger, men who owned cars that could withstand bullets. Was this something that was good for her and her daughter?

  Chapter 22

  Yes we should forgive our enemies, but not until they are dead.

  Dragon thought Tari’s sleepy grumbles were the cutest thing he had ever heard. The sex had been amazing, but he had been concerned when she passed out at the end. She had woken up briefly when he cleaned her up, but she had almost immediately snuggled up in the chair and fallen back to sleep.

  The doctor had warned she might sleep a lot at first and he hadn’t probably intended for Tari to be so active. The gunfight had triggered every protective, possessive instinct he had. Even if he hadn’t had the privacy of Tek’s tricked out car, Dragon didn’t think he could have waited.

  Knowing his woman was still in danger tortured him. Thank all the saints she hadn’t argued about going back to the compound. He knew his Brothers would keep her safe and help him eliminate whoever it was trying to harm her. Joining the Dark Sons had been the best decision he had ever made.

  Civilians couldn’t understand the Brotherhood that these men represented. He had felt that loyalty and certainty of purpose when he was in the SEALs and finding it outside the military was priceless.

  The divider slowly lowered and Tek looked back and chuckled at the sleeping woman in the back seat.

  “We’re almost there. Sounded like you guys were done so I thought I’d let you know.”

  “Sounded?”

  Tek grinned into the rearview. “My ride may be bulletproof, but it’s not soundproofed.”

  Dragon shrugged not caring much. “Glad you picked this ride to take us home. Don’t think things would have worked out as well if we had taken Puck’s truck.”

  Dragon had planned to ask his newest Brother to drive them but, after the party for getting patched in, Puck was still hungover two days later.

  “Lady Luck must like you because I usually only use this on ops for the company or if I need a mobile office. I don’t usually drive it. I will be giving Mitch a bonus for convincing me to put out the extra cash for the armor.”

  Dragon knew Mitch was the head of the mercenary arm of Tek’s company. He wasn’t a Brother, but he would sometimes come and hang out with them. “How much did this ride cost?”

  “This upgraded model costs over $75,000.”

  “Damn. Glad you have that kind of cash to spare.”

  Tek shrugged. Dragon respected his Brother even more. Even after making billions, and being CEO of a major security corporation, he would do shit like volunteer to pick up a Brother and his woman at the hospital. Tek never shirked doing anything for the Dark Sons and gave the MC digital security that was unrivaled in the US.

  “Max called while you were busy.”

  “Did he catch the shooters?” Dragon hoped if he had that the Brother saved a piece of them for him.

  “No, by the time he tried to follow they were gone, but he said he recognized the driver.”

  “Who was it?” If they knew who it was, Dragon would get Tari settled in at the compound then ride out and end this shit.

  “Chobo.”

  “I thought we hadn’t gotten the info on that name yet.” Dragon was pissed. They had started the search for an identity for that asshole yesterday after Tari’s nightmare, but as far as he knew they had drawn a blank.

  “I’m guessing you haven’t checked your email this morning. I found a picture and some details, but don’t have a location on him yet.”

  Dragon hadn’t even looked at his email in the last two days. Someone should have called or texted him. “What do we know?”

  “Mid-level player in the Jacks. Other than one arrest for assault, we don’t have much. He doesn’t have a known address or workplace.”

  The Jacks kept showing up wherever he looked. “You think this was random or has to do with Dark Zen.”

  Tek chuckled and Dragon saw they were pulling into the compound. “Still can’t believe the Club owns a place with the word Zen in it. I don’t know. Her first attack could have been random, but then why go after her again when they know that is going to bring us down on their heads?”

  “Guess we’ll have to just ask them when we find them.”

  Chapter 23

  I’m usually sweet, but if you make me mad, remember I always have a pocketful of crazy waiting to come out!

  Tari slowly woke, an unfamiliar fuzzy pillow was under her cheek. Wherever she was smelled of lemon cleaner covering a faint scent of smoke and stale beer. The room was quiet except for the sound of two women whispering nearby. It took a minute for her to understand the words and fear evident in their quiet tones.

  “They are so big, Yana. Will they hurt us?”

  “I don’t know, Daria.”

  They were speaking Ukrainian with what Tari thought was a western accent probably coming from somewhere near Poland. Why was she laying down on what felt like a couch in a room with women she didn’t recognize? The last thing she remembered was being with Dragon in the back of the car. A flush crept up her cheeks as she remembered what they had been doing.

  Tari opened her eyes, but the visual of her surroundings didn’t help much. She was in a large room with almost a bar or club feel. She was, in fact, on an old couch with a blanket over her and a folded fleece blanket under her cheek as a pillow. Two women sat huddled on a couch that was next to her own. Though calling them women might be stretching the truth, girls was more accurate.

  They looked similar enough, with ash blonde hair and green eyes, they were probably sisters. The older, who might possibly be eighteen but was probably only sixteen or seventeen, held the younger in a protective hug. Tari would have bet all her savings that the younger girl wasn’t a day over fourteen.

  “I can’t do a group of big men again. Please tell them I’ll do anything, just not that.” Bile rose in Tari’s throat as she realized what the younger girl, Daria, thought was going to happen.

  Yana looked around the room as if looking for an escape, while she rubbed circles on Daria’s back. “None of them have looked at you with hunger. Maybe they will leave you be and only want me and this other woman they knocked out.”

  Tari sat up, taking stock of herself. Had something bad happened while she slept? She was sore all over but was sure she had just been asleep, not knocked out. Could she have slept through being kidnapped? She didn’t think so.

  “Maybe she knows what they want, ask her.”

  Yana gave Tari a hesitant look making her feel sorrow for the two terrified girls. “Know why we is here?” The girl’s English was so heavily accented that it was painfully obvious she barely spoke English.

  Tari looked around trying to make sense of the situation. Across the room she saw three rough looking men all wearing the black leather vests she recognized as Dark Sons’ cuts. My God did the Dark Sons have a hot men only policy? It was really kind of ridiculous that every one of them was in what looked like peak physical condition. Only one looked familiar and she racked her brain for his name. Did Dragon’s Club kidnap girls? She wanted to reassure the girls they were safe but she wasn’t sure.

  Deciding to find out what she could, she asked the girls in Ukrainian, “How did you end up here?”

  Both girls looked relieved when she spoke their language. “Big men broke into the place Master V keeps us and started asking questions. But they were angry we couldn’t understand them. They dragged us back here and another man tried talking to us in Russian but we don’t speak that. Then they brought you in and most of them went back there.” Daria’s words were said in a rushed whisper as if she feared being overheard.

 
; “Master V?”

  “He is our owner. Do you think that he sold us or did they steal us?” Yana didn’t seem to know which option was scarier.

  Bile rose in Tari’s throat. That the girl spoke of being owned like it was normal sent shivers down her spine. Slavery was something the ignorant and privileged couldn’t believe existed in the US but right here was proof they were wrong. Young girls trapped in what had to be hell was more than Tari could stomach.

  Daria’s earlier words echoed in her mind ‘I can’t do a group of big men again’. The thought of what these two girls had obviously already survived had Tari fighting back vomit. She might believe there were motorcycle clubs that sunk to that low, but she could not believe for one moment that Dragon would be part of any group that would buy and sell underage girls.

  “Flak.” Tari called out to the only man she recognized. She had only met the tall dark-haired Italian man once, but she was sure he would either tell her what was going on or get Dragon for her. The girls on the couch next to her huddled in on themselves. The looks on their faces clearly stating they thought her insane to draw attention to herself. “I will find out what is going on,” Tari murmured trying to show with her calm there was nothing to fear.

  Flak turned his head, a smile lighting up his handsome face when he saw she was the one calling to him. He said something to the men next to him, then strode over. “Sleeping beauty wakes. What can I do for you?”

  Tari was surprised by how casual and welcoming the big bad biker was. She had only met him briefly when he took over a shift on guard duty, but he acted as if they were longtime friends. That had to be a good sign, right?

  She tried to echo his attitude while showing the girls there was nothing to fear. “Where’s Dragon?” She thought she was more likely to get answers from Dragon.

  “They’re in Church. He told me to get you whatever you needed until they’re done.”

  Tari had a vague memory of her roommate telling her that Church is what these men called their Club meetings. Pain spiked in her head as she tried to remember more but it slipped away. She felt the fuzziness she had learned meant her mind was not quite right. She took several breaths to focus so her words would come out in English. “How long will they be in there?”

  “Till they’re done.” Flak smirked and Tari barely resisted the urge to growl.

  Where was her calm? The last few days had eroded the peace she was normally able to wrap around herself. “Fine. Can you tell me why these girls are here?”

  “That’s Club business, sweet stuff. Can I get you a drink or something to eat?” Flak’s tone held ice that Tari didn’t like one bit.

  “It’s Club business to kidnap underage Ukrainian girls? What? Can’t find enough local sluts to sleep with? Tu madre debe estar muy orgullosa.” Tari felt her control slipping and didn’t care what language she was now shouting. “I’ll cut your balls off and feed them to you! If you think I’m just going to sit here and let you do what want–”

  “Relax, Tari.” Flak held his hands up as if trying to placate her but the rage inside her was like an out-of-control inferno. She took a deep breath to tell him where he could shove his platitude when blinding daggers of pain racked her brain and her mind dragged her into a memory.

  “Ahhh!” Her voice cracked as she gripped her head feeling as if it would break apart. Like a movie on fast forward the night she had been attacked played through her thoughts. The pain, fear, and desperation just as sharp as if it was all happening again. Every moment crystal clear and she screamed as she felt the knife slicing into her again. Then it started again and again.

  Strong hands grabbed her and she lashed out throwing whatever came to hand, wanting to fight like she hadn’t been able to that night. She kicked, cursed, and thrashed trying to kill the men all around her.

  “You won’t hurt my baby!”

  “Cristo, stop fighting me, Tari. Calm down no one is going to hurt our daughter she is with Mama.”

  Dragon’s voice finally cut through the replaying nightmare and she felt all her strength pour out of her along with the red haze of her rage. His grip eased as he pulled her against his chest, stroking her hair. She looked around and found the room was now filled with about twenty men. Their expressions all a varied mix of amusement, confusion, and pity.

  Yana and Daria were curled into the corner of the couch trying to make themselves as small as possible. She recognized some of the men from her time in the hospital, but others were strangers. How many men belonged to the Dark Sons? Every one of them looked lethal, even the few older men who looked to be in their fifties.

  “What happened, mi reina?” Dragon’s deep voice was so soothing she felt her calm starting to return as she breathed in his intoxicating male scent.

  “It was a flashback to that night.” She now remembered every moment of that nightmare, but she didn’t let herself slide back there. She concentrated on her breath, her heartbeat searching for the centered place that allowed her to find clarity in the most difficult of times.

  “What set you off? Was it a dream?” He kept stroking her hair and she wished they were alone so she wouldn’t have to talk in front of these virtual strangers.

  Tari looked up into Dragon’s dark eyes and sent a silent prayer out that what she feared couldn’t be real. Switching to Spanish and lowering her voice she hoped only he would hear her next question but with so many of them close it was unlikely to be private. “Does your Club deal in trafficking sex slaves?” She swallowed and looked over at the girls forcing the next words out on a shaky breath. “Of underage girls?”

  The look of horror and disgust filling his face soothed something inside her as he pulled back. The anger and hurt in his eyes that followed made her wince. “You think I’d—”

  “Okay. Show’s over.” A large man bellowed. Power seemed to just exude from him reminding Tari of the embodiment of a God of war. His voice held a hint of NY and his dark brown hair was laced with gray. On the right side of his cut were patches that read Hawk and President. The way all the men quickly backed off left no doubt in Tari’s mind that he was the man in charge. “Officers in my office. Dragon, bring your woman. Max, bring the girls. We are sorting this shit out now.”

  Chapter 24

  Assumptions are the termites of relationships. – Henry Winkler

  Dragon tried to hide his unease as he settled Tari into a chair. He rarely ever came into Hawk’s inner sanctum and didn’t like that he had to bring his woman there to face some of the scariest Brothers in the Club. Hawk, Dozer, Sharp, Highdive, Tek, and Max were enough to frighten the best special ops team. The room was done up in dark woods and the walls and shelves covered with pictures of Brothers and military memorabilia. Several chairs were in the office and it felt crowded with seven large men and three women.

  He wanted to be alone with Tari, figuring out why she thought such horrible things about his Club. But he knew Hawk had overheard her words and understood them. A private talk was no longer an option. The Brothers had just been discussing what to do about their suspicions of a sex ring, and what to do with the girls, when Tari’s screams and curses had echoed through the Clubhouse drawing Church to an abrupt end.

  The sight of her hurling insults and furniture at Flak was something he wouldn’t soon forget. The realization that she was in a full-blown waking flashback had gutted him. The strong vibrant woman who had filled his dreams for two years was now shadowed with darkness.

  It was his fault. He hadn’t been there to protect her or their child. She had struggled alone and been victim to brutal assholes who had hurt her so badly she experienced waking nightmares. Even now that they were reunited, he had obviously failed her if she believed he and his Brothers would sell young girls for sex. He had a long way to go to earn her trust and respect if she believed for even one moment that something like that was true.

  Hawk cleared his throat. “Since Church was interrupted, so we could save our prospect from getting abused by Dragon�
��s woman, I figure we can have this discussion with a smaller audience.” Dragon tried not to smirk as Tari’s eyes dropped to her hands and the cutest expression of embarrassment filled her face. “Max, what did you find out from the girls?”

  “Nothing really. Their language is Slavic, but I only speak Russian and a touch of Czech.”

  “It’s Ukrainian,” Tari mumbled into her chest, her nostrils flaring in that cute way they did when she was breathing deep trying to be calm.

  Hawk raised an eyebrow. “I’m assuming you know that because you speak it?” She nodded. “And that would be why you accused us of human trafficking and selling underage girls for sex.”

  Sharp cursed and rage filled his features. “You think that? You’re friends with two of this Club’s Old Ladies, you’re sleeping with one of my Brothers. Brothers who have saved your life twice and guarded your ass day and night. You think we’re scum like that!”

  Dragon stepped between Sharp and Tari. He knew his Brother was especially sensitive on this topic since Pixie, his Old Lady, had been saved from human trafficking just a few months ago. Dragon might not know what was going on in his woman’s mind, but he wouldn’t let Sharp vent that rage in her direction.

  Tari not knowing when to shut up waved at the two girls now huddled in a corner near Highdive. “You’re holding them hostage. And I woke up to hear a girl barely starting puberty begging her sister to convince you all to only take her one at a time because she couldn’t handle a gangbang... again.”

  Growls of masculine anger filled the room; only quieting when the whimpers of fear from the girls registered. Highdive, who never showed anything coming close to a soft side, cursed and stepped away from the girls, trying unsuccessfully to look less intimidating.

  Dragon stared at the woman who had filled every moment of his thoughts for the last week. “You really think that of me and my Brothers?” He wasn’t proud of just how hurt his tone was.