Chapter Eight #2
“It was deliberate.” Sophia looked up at me, swiping at the tears on her face with one hand.
“Yeah. It was.” I held her a little tighter.
“He tried to run Thor off the road.”
I glanced at Thor. “Looks like he missed.”
She nodded. “Thor outsmarted him.”
“Good to know.” I made a mental note to talk to Ace about patching Thor in. We could use a few more good brothers.
“I saw his face. When he was behind me. He was mad.”
“Doesn’t matter now.” I brushed my lips across her forehead. “He won’t bother you again.”
She didn’t say anything, but I felt her relax just a little bit.
When Thor had messaged me that they were in trouble, my heart dropped. I should have been there. I should have protected her. If anything had happened to her, I would never have been able to live with myself.
I’d underestimated the enemy. I wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Thor cleared his throat. “We need to get out of here.”
“Yeah.” Chances were the faceless enemy would know they’d failed and might send out a backup team.
I loosened my grip on Sophia. “You want to ride on my bike, or should we take your car?”
“Bike.” She shivered. “I want to hold onto you.”
Good choice. The bike was more maneuverable than her car. I looked over Sophia’s head to Thor. “You’re coming with us. Lock the car up. We can send someone back for it.”
He nodded and strode over to the vehicle.
Sophia grabbed her helmet from its perch on the back seat of my bike and strapped it on. I buckled mine as well, and we mounted up. I started the bike and let it idle, waiting for Thor to finish with the car before setting out.
* * *
The invisible assholes were escalating, and that meant it would be safer for Sophia at the clubhouse.
It had been built with defense in mind and had the advantage of sheer numbers.
Most of the brothers were there at one time or another.
Hard to have a discussion on a bike at highway speeds.
I’d explain it to Sophia when we got there.
I was done taking chances with her safety.
We pulled into the driveway, and the prospects on gate duty waved us through. I stopped next to a row of bikes and killed the engine. I took my helmet off and hung it on the handlebars.
Sophia slid off the bike and unbuckled her helmet. She looked like the ride had helped her settle down. Placing the helmet on the seat, she ran her fingers through her hair and gazed up at the renovated mansion. Her eyebrows rose in disbelief. “This is what a biker clubhouse looks like?”
I smiled. “Not sure about other clubs, but this is what Riptide’s looks like.”
“I’m speechless. Somehow, I expected a rickety shack, with maybe a satellite dish and a broken down sofa in the front yard.”
I shook my head. “Nah. We’re too spoiled for that. Ace likes his comfort, and he’s rubbed off on the rest of us.” I reached for her hand and led her up to the front door. I was starting to like this handholding thing.
“Your dad should be around here somewhere.”
“He knows we were coming?”
I shook my head. “No, but he was here when I took off. He’s going to have questions.”
Sophia rolled her eyes. “He always has questions.”
“Yeah, he does. But he cares about you so I’m going to let him ask all he wants.”
She stopped and I pivoted to face her. “You’re not trying to recruit him into your biker gang, are you?”
“It’s not a gang,” I said. “It’s a club. A group of ex-SEALs who understand each other better than anybody else could. Your dad seems to fit right in.”
“He doesn’t own a motorcycle,” she pointed out.
“Neither does Jake,” I countered.
She frowned. “Who’s Jake?”
“I’m Jake.” An older guy detached himself from the shadows at the end of the palatial porch and held out his hand. “You must be Sophia.”
She took his hand. “Must I?”
“Well, from everything your father has told me about you, yes.”
“Then I guess I’m Sophia.” She studied him curiously. “Why don’t you have a motorcycle?”
“Long story, or short version?”
“Short will do for now.”
“I was in an accident.”
“And?”
He shrugged. “And now I don’t ride. Used to. Gave it up. Miss it sometimes but it is what it is. I’ll give you the long version someday but right now I have the feeling Deuce has plans for you.”
She looked over at me, and I nodded. “Ace is expecting us.”
“Ace is the head honcho, right?”
I suppressed a smile. “He’s the president of Riptide, yes.”
“So why would he want to see me? I don’t own a motorcycle.”
“Give it a minute, and he can tell you himself.”
Jake stood aside and we entered the house. Sophia paused and looked around. “This is a lot nicer than I expected. Cleaner, too.”
“That would be thanks to Mom. She keeps us all in line and makes sure the mess gets cleaned up after a party. You’ll meet her later.”
“I will?”
“Yes. Right now, we need to see Ace though.”
A door opened down the hallway and Ace stepped out. “Yes, you do. Come on in.”
We entered his office, and Ace shut the door behind us before striding to his desk. He gestured at two very comfortable-looking chairs. “Have a seat.”
Sophia gave me a wry smile. “I feel like I’m back in grade school and I just got sent to the principal’s office.”
I had to make an effort not to grin at the picture of a young Sophia and what she might have gotten into that would send her to the principal’s office.
“I’ll get right to it.” Ace steepled his hands on the desk in front of him.
“I’m not sure how much of this you already know, so I’ll just start at the beginning.
A cartel headquartered in South America is using dating apps in the US to target women.
They have their guys put up a profile, then they pull the pictures and data of women and put them up on a site they’ve created on the dark web.
A price is established. Rich perverts browse the pictures and decide who they want to purchase.
They pay a deposit, and a profile is created on the app for a guy guaranteed to spark that woman’s interest. A first meet is arranged, and bingo.
The woman is snatched. In your case, they used drugs.
In others they simply wait for the woman to show up and seize her before she gets into the meeting place.
Our guess is that something interfered with you being grabbed right away, maybe witnesses in the parking lot, and the drugs were plan B. ”
Sophia perched on the edge of her seat. “So now what?”
“I’ll be blunt. We assume they’ve promised you to a certain buyer and have taken money from that individual, so they’re going to make another attempt to abduct you, especially since you escaped and can potentially identify one or more of their operatives.
Failing that, they’re going to want you dead. ”
She reached over and gripped my hand. “So some creep took my picture from the dating app, sold me like a piece of meat, and then sent George to con me into meeting with him so they could abduct me?”
Ace nodded. “That’s about it. I’m guessing they’ve been cruising in ever widening circles around your meeting place since then to try and find you.
You were smart enough not to tell him where you worked or lived.
By what happened today though, I’m guessing they’ve found you.
Which brings me to my next point.” He looked at Deuce expectantly.
“You can’t go back home.” I laid it out for her.
“Chances are good they have your place staked out. If you go back, they will make a play for you. They’ll either take out the perimeter guards or sneak in while they’re out of sight to get to you.
Or, worst case, send a sniper to take you out from a distance.
These are serious bad guys. Given the circumstances, your place isn’t a viable option. ”
Sophia took it better than I expected. “What are my choices?”
“You can stay here. Just until we get this settled.” Ace toyed with a pen. “Your dad’s here, so it won’t be that strange.”
“Willow is at the house.” She looked at me in sudden panic. “Can I go get Willow?”
I exchanged looks with Ace. “We can send one of the prospects to get her.”
Sophia frowned. “She won’t go with a stranger.”
“Your dad could get her.”
“Would they hurt him?”
“Not likely,” I said. “They’ll figure he’s just an old guy coming to get a dog. If he shows up in that truck of his they won’t even connect him to us.”
“And your dad isn’t exactly the helpless type,” Ace added. “If one guy jumps him, it ain’t going to be your dad who needs the paramedic.”
She almost smiled at that. “True. But what about clothes? Toothbrush? All that kind of stuff? I can’t go get anything?”
Ace sighed. “I’m afraid not. We can get you a toothbrush and things. Clothes, I can talk to Mom and have her scrounge some stuff up. Normally I’d ask Emma, but she’s got exams coming up this week and she’s buried in textbooks. What size do you wear?”
He picked up his phone off the desk and fired off a text message.
His phone pinged immediately and he glanced down at the screen.
“Mom’s out shopping. Said she’d stop at the thrift store and see what she could pick up.
You shouldn’t need too much. Hopefully this will be over quickly and you can go home. ”
The door bashed open, and Sophia’s dad stomped into the room with Willow on his heels.
Ace stood up, scowling. “This is my office. You knock, or you stay out.”
“The hell with you. Where’s my daughter?”