Copper (RBMC: Tulsa, OK Book 2)

by K. Webster

When I think I’ve seen enough for the day, Night Giant enters the cage. He strips off his shirt, baring all his thick muscles and chest hair, before unbuckling his belt.

  “Clothes off. On your knees,” Night Giant instructs. “Now.”

  I no longer expect hesitation from Dragon. Sickness churns in my belly as Dragon removes all of his clothes and then kneels in front of Night Giant.

  “Hands,” Night Giant growls.

  As soon as Dragon is on all fours, Night Giant takes to whipping Dragon with the belt. Dragon doesn’t yelp or whimper or cry. He just takes it. After far too many hits with the belt, I can no longer watch what that monster does to Dragon. My eyes burn with tears as the slapping of flesh on flesh begins.

  This time, Dragon cries.

  Those cries, with every grunt and moan that comes from Night Giant, are burned into my soul. They’re rapists. Sick rapists. I’m horrified at the realization that Erin has probably been living this exact life for nearly two years. And if Koyn and Copper don’t find us, my siblings and I might soon be living that life as well.

  “Good boy,” Night Giant grunts.

  I finally lift my gaze to find Dragon sprawled out and unmoving as Night Giant tucks his dick back in his pants.

  “I’ve missed that kid,” Night Giant says to Wolf. “Get him cleaned up and some food in his belly. He has a busy day tomorrow.”

  I don’t know what tomorrow brings and I’m terrified to find out.

  Copper

  “Meeting in five,” Payne says, drawing my attention from my laptop.

  I glance at the clock and then give him a quick nod. “I’ll be there.”

  Once we felt like Katana wasn’t going to die, we loaded him up and went back to Koyn’s. Several Royal Bastards from the Little Rock chapter showed up with their doctor not long after we arrived. She was able to stabilize and stitch up Katana. Each gunshot went straight through and narrowly missed important organs. He’ll hurt like a bitch, but he’ll live.

  Grabbing my laptop from the kitchen table, I start for the conference room where Koyn usually holds Church. On the way there, Hadley stops me to give me a hug and whispered assurances. I finally break away from her and take a seat beside Koyn that he’s saved. The room is packed full of our own Royal Bastards plus several of the Little Rock guys.

  “I’ve got King from California on the line,” Koyn says once I’m seated. “Let’s get started.”

  As Koyn converses with King from the Santa Clarita Royal Bastards chapter, I flip open my laptop and continue my search. Dan was able to get some guys on the hunt for a seven-foot guy named Night Giant. There aren’t tons of guys at that height, but it’s enough that they’re going to have to comb through to see if any match this guy’s description. In the meantime, I’m cross-referencing all my notes from the trafficking file Dan gave me plus everything we know so far, trying to get a location on these fuckers.

  “…the dark web is where I’d start,” King finishes, snapping my attention his way.

  “What? Can you repeat that?” I demand.

  “I said,” King barks out on the speakerphone, “that based on the fact you think they’re expert traffickers, the dark web is where I’d start.”

  “Do they post about their kidnapping shit or something?” Filter asks.

  “You’d be surprised at how many of them video tape their abusive acts. Hell, knowing these fuckers, some of them might even put out ads for buyers.” King sighs. “The dark web is a cesspool of weird ass shit, so you really need to be specific when searching.”

  “You’re well versed on hunting these fuckers down,” Koyn grumbles. “How the fuck do we know what to search for?”

  “Input keywords in with your search that relate to your missing person,” King offers. “Cities where they came from. Size. Hair color. Nicknames. Anything you can think of to narrow the search.”

  As they continue to discuss what to look for on the dark web, I try to remember anything of use. Watcher’s Group keeps niggling at me.

  “I’ve got the dark web pulled up,” Bermuda says from my other side. “Where do I start?”

  “Watcher’s Group,” I reply, turning my attention to his computer. “Seven-foot giant. Night Giant. Memphis.”

  He types the string in but nothing shows up.

  “Try Night Giant by itself.”

  No videos show up but a few links do instead. He doesn’t click on them.

  “Stars in Memphis,” I blurt out. “Giant Night Stars in Memphis.”

  A link to Cypress City Clips pops up. I sit ramrod straight because Cypress is Collins’s first name.

  “Go there,” I order. “I think we’re onto something.”

  The website is all black with stars in the background. The only way to access it is by passcode. I flip Bermuda’s laptop around and shove it Koyn’s way, interrupting his conversation with King.

  “Get us in here,” I tell him. “Hurry.”

  Koyn ends the call with King and I slip out of the room. Katana has been sleeping, but he and I need to have a little chat. I need to know everything. There’s too much at stake now to be doing things the “right” brotherly way. I need answers and I need them now. Katana’s best friend is Dragon, so I feel like he’ll do whatever he can to help.

  His room is dark when I enter, so I don’t flip on the overhead light. I find the lamp beside his bed and switch it on. He winces and slowly opens his eyes. I’m reminded again how he held onto Gretel, staunching the blood flow. Had he not done that, Krista would have called back with worse news earlier. As it stands, Gretel is out of surgery and will be able to go home in a couple of days. Hansel was cleared to go home, but he wasn’t about to leave his sister’s side.

  “Hey,” I grunt out. “Sorry to do this to you, but time is of the essence. We have to find them.”

  Katana nods. “Hell yeah we do.”

  “I need to know the story of how you met Dragon. What happened? Where were you? Any detail will help us.”

  His face pales and he closes his eyes. “You really think it will help?”

  “I do. I know whatever it is was hard, but it needs to be said. All the clues we can get will help us piece it all together.”

  “Okay,” he says, exhaling heavily. “Dragon won’t forgive me, though.”

  “Maybe not. What’s more important? Forgiveness or his life?”

  “I know.” His features fall. “I was sixteen when I met him.”

  “Where did you meet him?”

  He sucks in a ragged breath. “I…I was so hungry. There was this restaurant I liked.” His eyes meet mine. “I was homeless after I ran away from my foster home. This one particular restaurant in Memphis tossed out hot, perfectly good food. I always wondered if they knew I ate from their dumpster.” He swallows, shuddering at the memory. “One night, I heard crying as I was climbing out of the dumpster. In the alleyway, under some boxes, someone was there.”

  Dark, sad eyes pin me, making my heart race. “Go on,” I urge.

  “It was him…Dragon. He was…dirty and bruised and bloody. His body shook so hard.” Katana makes a strangled sound. “I didn’t know what to do. For a split second, I considered leaving him.”

  “But?”

  “He begged me to hide.”

  “Hide him?”

  “Hide with him. As though whatever hurt him was going to hurt me too.”

  “Did you hide with him?”

  “I was still contemplating his words when I heard voices. They were calling out for him. Men. Big and older. I helped him to his feet and then into the dumpster.” He shudders again. “He was shaking so hard that all the trash was making sounds. So I held him close and told him to stay still.”

  “They didn’t catch you because you’re here. What happened next?”

  “We waited hours after their voices disappeared. It was chilly and he was so cold. I kept him warm and when the sun nearly rose, I got him out of that dumpster. There were unfamiliar SUVs creeping down the streets and my g
ut told me it was the bad men. Since I knew the city, I took him down alleyways until we were at the train tracks.” His eyes fall to his hands and he picks at his fingers for a second. “I’d never tried to leave the city before, but I knew if he was going to remain safe, we had to go. The next train that rolled through, we hopped it. It spit us out in Arkansas.”

  So far, nothing about this story helps me.

  “Did he say anything about where he came from?” I ask, trying not to push Katana too much considering all he’s gone through today.

  “When we got to Arkansas, we stopped to dumpster dive for food before we hopped a different train. This one took us to Little Rock. We walked and walked until we found an abandoned trailer. It was hidden in the woods and it felt like a safe place to land. I was able to scavenge for food in a nearby town, getting in and out without being seen. The trailer had running water still and the previous owners had left all kinds of useful stuff. We stayed there for a few weeks before I had the nerve to ask him about those people.”

  “And?”

  “He said he was there for two years. They’d taken him from a party where he’d been drinking. Filled his head with shit about making him famous. When he woke up, he was in a shipping container.” He shudders. “He didn’t say what they did to him, but they filmed him. Said he has hundreds and hundreds of movies.”

  “Is this why he never reached out to his parents?”

  Katana nods. “He said they killed the boy he was and his parents wouldn’t recognize him. He was someone new.”

  “What kind of movies?” I probe.

  “People paid to see him hurt others or others hurt him.”

  “How did he manage to escape?”

  “He said this guy was supposed to be watching him, but he got greedy and tried to fuck him. Dragon let the guy think he had the upper hand and then he used his training on this guy. Killed him with his bare hands. He slipped out of the place—”

  “What place?” I interrupt. “Did he say?”

  “The warehouse.”

  “Downtown?”

  “By the river,” Katana says. “It’s how they shipped in new stars or shipped out the deceased.”

  I text Dan immediately with the new information. He responds back that he’s on it.

  “They won’t be there,” Katana grumbles. “We went back once and it was abandoned.”

  “Maybe, but we can find out who owned the building back then. This is a good lead. Anything else?”

  “He promised me never to breathe a word about it again,” Katana chokes out. “We’d finally gotten on our feet a bit and he’d come out of his shell when we’d run into Koyn. The guy was intimidating, but he had something we wanted.”

  “Safety?”

  “Means to avenge.”

  “You’ve been looking for Night Giant ever since?”

  “When Dragon connected that Vidal and Collins were linked to Night Giant, he wanted to kill them but have them lead us to Night Giant first.”

  Katana looks three seconds from passing out, so I give him a break. “Rest, man.”

  “We have to find them,” he mutters. “I can’t lose my best friend.”

  “We will,” I growl. “They’ve got my ol’ lady and my baby she’s carrying. You better fucking believe we’ll get them back.”

  Katana smiles before he closes his eyes. I turn to find Filter standing in the doorway, listening like a fucking stalker. Shouldering past him, I ignore his furious glare. I get halfway down the hallway before he shoves me into a bedroom. My rage bubbles to the surface and I swing a fist at him. He barely ducks it.

  “She’s pregnant?” he snarls. “You’re a real piece of work.”

  I shove him against the wall, bringing my nose to his. “She’s pregnant with my baby. I’m going to move hell and earth to get them back. You don’t even want to know the lengths I would go to in order to destroy anything that stands in my way. Even you, Filter. I will cut your throat and step over your twitching body without even breaking a sweat. Brotherhood or not, your ass will be gutted and on the floor before I allow it to stop me. Are we clear?”

  His nostrils flare and he bares his teeth. “Super fucking clear.”

  “Good.” I step back and pat his chest. “Now do your job and let’s find these motherfuckers.”

  Stormy

  Someone screams, waking me from the fitful sleep I’d barely drifted into. My heart stutters in my chest as I quickly scan the dark room, still only illuminated by the bathroom light, looking for my siblings. Relief floods through me as I remember they’re with me. The twins are curled together like they’re in the womb beside me on one of the disgusting mattresses. I’m thankful the scream didn’t come from them. But when I see the dark figure dragging someone from the room, I realize the source.

  Pete.

  And now I know why Smelly Melly calls him PeePee Pete. The strong scent of piss permeates the air. Poor guy is so scared, he can’t control his urine.

  He’s gone within minutes and the door locks into place. Still no Dragon. My heart aches at having witnessed what Night Giant made him do and then the way he brutalized him. After, I was sent back to the room, but Dragon stayed with Night Giant. Not knowing what he’s doing to him feels worse than actually seeing it.

  An hour or so passes when another guy comes to extract Smelly Melly. She flirts with him and he fingers her a bit under her dress before he takes her away. Not long after, they take Crybaby Charlie and true to his name, he bawls. I want to help him, but I’m no match against these brutish men who are armed with weapons. But, when they return for Erin, I can’t keep my mouth shut.

  “Where are you taking her?” I demand.

  The masked man turns to look at me. “None of your business, bitch.”

  “It’s my business because she’s my friend.” I slide off the bed to my feet so I don’t feel at such a disadvantage. “You people are sick.”

  The man chokes out a laugh. “There are sicker people out there who pay for what we offer. Shut your pretty mouth or I’ll find a way to shut it for you.”

  I keep my mouth closed until he slams the door and locks it into place. A ragged, overwhelmed sigh escapes me. I don’t know what to do or how to save anyone. The thought is exhausting and defeating. It takes forever, but I manage to fall back asleep. The next time I’m awakened, it’s because someone is dragging me out of the bed by my hair.

  “Time to go,” the man grunts.

  Tears burn at my eyes by the hold he has on my hair. All the people in this room are being led out by the masked men in black. I fight against my captor’s hold, but he’s too strong. In the end, I give up and let him lead me back to the cage room with all the cameras. As soon as I see Dragon, relief floods through me. It’s brief, knowing he’s alive, but then dread consumes me.

  He’s a maniac in the big cage—covered in blood and snarling. Several bodies litter the floor around him. My heart rate stutters in my chest with all-consuming worry. I’m no closer to escaping this place than I was yesterday when we arrived.

  The men keep hold of us as we gather round the big cage, watching Dragon end junkie after junkie they send in there, staggering and shaking too hard to fight back. He’s in such a crazed state, there’s no stopping him. Night Giant barks out commands that seem to get inside Dragon’s head each time, easily controlling him.

  Eventually, Night Giant ends the show and gives Dragon a break. Other men clean out the corpses as Night Giant leads Dragon to a bench. Night Giant takes a seat and Dragon kneels in front of him, resting his head in his lap.

  I want to whisper to the twins that everything will be all right, but I can’t lie to them. Not about this. There is nothing okay about this. We’re not going to leave this unscathed. I’m too weak to fight against these monsters.

  “You’re up next, Tuna Terri,” one of the goons says, dragging the poor, sickly girl toward the cage.

  He tosses her in and then follows after her, unfastening his pants. She’s too tir
ed to put up a fight. Simply plops down on the dirty mattress on the floor, waiting for the inevitable. I have to turn away, but I’m unable to ignore her cries or the grunts of the man abusing her. When he’s finished, another guy replaces him. This goes on until her cries are no longer heard.

  My cheeks are wet and I swipe away the tears as I glance back at Terri. A man carries her out and then dumps her to the floor near Dragon. He doesn’t flinch. Her back moves, so I know she’s still breathing. Unfortunately. After the brutal rapes she just endured, she’d be better off dead.

  Night Giant pats Dragon on the head and then points to the main cage. My heart rate quickens. The last thing I want to see is more murder.

  “You,” Night Giant bellows as he stands and walks our way. “You remind me of little Caught when I first captured him.” His eyes glint evilly beyond the mask. “Innocent and so goddamn breakable. Your cock sucking video was just the beginning and already is a favorite among our viewers. Soon, you’ll be a well-known star like Caught.”

  My chest squeezes painfully when I realize he’s speaking to Cove. Images of that bastard forcing my brother to suck a dick has me sick to my stomach. I can’t let him do that again. Or worse.

  Hell no.

  I’m shaking my head, gasping for breath as he nears. My limbs are quaking and my head throbs from lack of food. I realize I’m going to have to fight this man off my brother. When I try to stand, the man behind me yanks on my hair, keeping me in place.

  “Stop,” I plead. “Don’t do this.”

  Night Giant ignores me as he drags my silent brother toward the cage door. Calla sobs loudly, reaching for him to no avail. Cove gets shoved into the cage.

  With Dragon.

  The mindless murderer Night Giant has turned him into.

  “He’s not like the others,” Night Giant says to Dragon. “You’re going to have to use his body like I use yours. Break him that way.”

  “No,” I croak out. “Don’t do this.”

  No one listens.

  Cove’s body trembles as he lifts his terrified stare to Dragon, who is now circling him, cracking his neck. Bile rises up my throat and I gag. With nothing in my stomach, I don’t vomit.