by Kay Marie
“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.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
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.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
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.
“Give her time. I bet as soon as Cali has the baby, all the girls will get baby fever,” Buster says.
“And then we’ll end up with a clubhouse full of kids.” I snicker. “That’s about the last thing we need right now.”
“No shit,” Raze agrees. He seems to mull over his thoughts of trying to knock Minx up. And now, thanks to these assholes, I have thoughts of Sienna, belly swollen, carrying my child. It hits me right in my heart. I finally found the one woman who I can see myself settling down with, only to have her ripped away from me. I shake the thoughts out of my head and down the last bit of my whiskey. It burns all the way down, and once the burn subsides, I’m left with thoughts of Sienna again. I’m not sure what made me think that drinking whiskey would be a good idea.
Chapter Thirty
Sienna
The next day, Scarface’s brother brings me breakfast. This time, he only has a small bottle of water and two pieces of dry toast. This must be one of their tactics to try to break me. The kid doesn’t say anything to me either. I’m sure Scarface reprimanded him for that yesterday. I don’t make a move for the tray until he leaves the room.
Picking a piece of toast up, I take small bites, eating it slowly. After I finish the slice of toast, I take a drink of my water and end up chugging it. With there being nothing in this room and nothing to do to pass the time, I stand from the mattress and move to the window. Not even a nice view. All that’s around are old run-down, abandoned buildings. I’m not sure how long I stand there staring out the window, but I don’t peel my eyes away until Scarface comes into the room.
“Get the fuck away from the window,” he demands. I roll my eyes and stay where I am. He mumbles something in Spanish before he stomps his way over to me. He smacks me across the face so hard, I feel my eye instantly start to swell.
“Let’s go,” he growls out, grabbing my arm and yanking me out of the room. We go down to the main floor, but don’t stop there. There’s a door in the main hallway. We stop in front of it while he pulls out a set of keys and unlocks the door. He nudges me to walk down the stairs ahead of him while he follows on my heels.
Once I get to the bottom, I step to the side to let Scarface pass. As he walks by me, he grabs my arm again. If I ever get out of this, I’m going to have a permanent bruise on my arm. There are five steel doors down here. Scarface walks me down to the second door on the right and pauses.
“What you’re about to see is the last girl who gave me as much attitude as you,” he tells me. Before I can respond, he opens the door. My face screws up in disgust as my nose is assaulted with the nastiest smells. I cover my mouth and nose with my arm and glance around the room. My heart beats so hard it feels like it’s going to come right out of my chest.
There’s a girl hung by the ceiling with chains wrapped around her wrists. She’s completely naked and her skin is different shades of black, purple, and yellow. She has cuts and scars hidden in the bruises. By the way the girl looks and the way it smells in here, I would guess she’s dead. When I least expect it, she attempts to lift her head.
“Please, help me,” she croaks out, barely a
udible. My breath catches in my throat as I choke back a sob. Scarface brought me down here to scare me into submission. With any other girl, it might work. Call me dumb, but I grit my teeth and hold my head high. They can beat me within an inch of my life, but I’ll never let them win.
“This is where you’re headed if you don’t start acting like a good little whore and do what you’re told,” Scarface says, his face right by my ear. I don’t flinch, staying as still as I possibly can. I don’t want him thinking he can rattle me. He huffs out an angry breath at my lack of response.
“Vamonos, let’s go,” he says. Grabbing my arm, he ushers me back to the stairs. He walks me back to my room and shoves me in. I try to stay on my feet but trip, falling to the floor. When I turn around, he’s already closed the door.
A month goes by and I’m still in the hell hole. For the first two weeks, they were feeding me twice a day. Then they switched to once a day. The kid let it slip that Torres doesn’t want Scarface beating me like the girl in the basement. I’m sure that won’t last much longer. Scarface has evil in him. I can see it in his eyes every time he comes around. He also eyes me like he wants me for himself.
I scoff— like that would make me submit. If I was his, he would have to kill me before I would submit to him. Torres hasn’t been around in the past few weeks. Apparently, he’s gone further into Mexico. Another piece of information the kid let slip. He’s not built for this life. My guess is Scarface dragged him into it and won’t let him leave.
Scarface barges into the room, phone in his hand. With the lack of food and water I’ve been given, I’ve become extremely weak. They don’t bother locking the door to my room because I have no energy to try to run. I can barely make it to the bathroom on my own.
“Up you go, chiquita,” he tells me, pulling me to my feet. “Time to take some pictures.”
