Chapter 13
Jules
“ F uck! It’s animals,” Rhodie curses, kicking the back tire of the truck that Rider drove to the clubhouse.
“What the fuck?” Tav snarls, pulling his bulk into the back of the truck to see for himself.
Marx stands, feet apart, arms crossed over his broad chest, seething. He’s been in a mood since he and Lovely arrived back at the clubhouse. Lovely on the other hand seems her usual self, which is great because it means we won’t have to kick Marx’s ass. Lovely is, well, lovely. She’s a gentle soul and if Marx had hurt her or even so much as growled at her there would be all hell to pay. Instead, he’s brought his foul mood to the back of a truck that was a fucking waste of time. Although something feels off. Why the fuck would he be carting near dead animals in a large truck? Glancing at my sister I can see she has come to the same conclusion. Her eyes are narrowed and she’s squishing her lip between her thumb and forefinger, staring into space.
Shaking her body she looks around at our brothers, and the DRMC brothers that are here. “Rev Room time. I need answers.”
She turns on her heel and starts walking toward the back shed. Well, it’s a little more than a shed, what with its metal hospital table, autoclave for her tools, floor drain and high tech sound system. I follow Tank and Judge into the space, no one having asked Judge what happened today. He’s usually fucking steady, so it must have been fucked up to cause him to lose his cool.
“OK my little friend, you got some ‘splainin to do!” Chewy singsongs, walking right up to her victim and mussing up his hair. “Baby? I think I need my samba beats.”
Rhodie drops a kiss on her lips and fucks about with his phone. He taps the screen and the quick, upbeat drums and peppy melody flow through the room, the LED’s pulsing in time with the music. Groans sound out from behind me, the brothers more often than not hating Dayz’s music choice. Normally her pulling this shit doesn’t bother me, but today? Fuck today it reminds me of Vi’s plump ass and thick thighs gyrating to the beat.
“I need you to tell me what you’re doing transporting near dead animals. And no bullshitting, because my man will know.” Dayz waves toward Rhodie, arms crossed, scowling and looking like an all round mean fucker.
The trucker leans back and tries to headbutt my sister, but she’s faster. She dodges to the side then sprays something in his eye. He freezes in place and then starts to scream, his eyes squeezed shut. White froth oozes out from under one of his eyelids and he squirms in his seat. Dayz watches him for a moment, leaning against her ol man, waiting for the yelling to subside .
“Take your time, buddy. I got all day. Unfortunately you probably need medical attention, so if I were you I’d spill so I can get you the help you probably need,” my sister says in her caring voice. Which sends a shiver down my spine because she only uses it when doing horrific things to bad people.
“Fuck, shit, OK. I got paid double to follow Maurice.”
“The guy you were sitting with at the diner?” Rhodie asks.
“Yeah, him,” the trucker whimpers.
“Who paid you?” Marx growls, causing the guy to jump.
“It’s all done through Snapchat. Jobs come up, I apply, they Venmo the money and I Uber to the pickup point. The truck is ready and waiting to go, along with the appropriate customs papers and I drive. That’s all I know!”
Dayz rummages in the guy’s pockets, ignoring Rhodie growling behind her. “Ha!” she yells, victorious, holding the dude’s phone high in the air.
Ringing sounds out, giving Dayz a fright and she fumbles the phone before looking at the screen. “Crap. It’s not his phone.”
“Babe?” Gus’s voice says, “What? No, Jules is here with me. And she’s not home?”
Who’s not home? Marx’s phone goes off and he walks to the corner, jabbing at his screen before he turns to look at me. “When was the last time you saw Vi?”
My brows pull low. “At the diner? Why?”
“Chewy, put him on ice. Everyone else? Common room. Now.”
Dayz pops a hood over the guy’s head, patting him lightly as the rest of us file out of the Rev Room and make our way into the common room. I call Vi, but it keeps ringing out and I can feel my blood pressure begin to rise. I make my way to the bar as soon as I make it inside, spreading my hands on the cool, dark wood bar top. I take a breath and let it work through me. I’m in control of my body, not the other way around. Feeling calmer I figure that Vi is probably just busy. I mean, Juno probably had a blow out. That kid’s ass is pretty dangerous.
“Where is my nina ? I don’t care if you’re built like a Quinametzin with a taste for chalupas, you will tell me where my baby is!” Spinning around I’m met with the sight of 4’10 Flora Davies poking Marx in the chest.
Moss’s gaze lands on me and he storms over, finger at the ready, looking to poke me. Must run in the family.
“Don’t. Fucking. Think. About. It,” I growl.
The doors burst open and Pops, Mama Debs, Ana, Mira and Nat rush through the door. “Are they here?”
The energy in the room is bordering on frantic and I can’t fucking think. Flora is yelling at Marx, her husband trying his best to calm her down. Jazz and Lily have tear streaked cheeks. Moss is ready to tear my fucking head off and the women are frantic. My hands shake when I realize that I haven’t laid eyes on Vi or Juno.
“Where’s Violet?” My voice sounds like I’m in a tunnel, hollow.
“That’s what we’re asking you, asshole!” Moss barks, shoving me, “The girls said she went to change Juno and she never came back. So where the fuck is she?”
The whole room quiets and my head spins. I close my eyes. I’m in charge of my body. I am in charge of my body. I let out a breath, before shooting a look at Jazz and Lil. “Are both Vi and Juno missing?”
Lil nods and I let out a breath, thanking fuck they’re together. I tap my phone screen, bringing up my tracker. The carrier is showing as here, at the DRMC, but that can’t be right .
“Tracker says the baby carrier is here, but that can’t be right.”
“Oh, we packed her bags into our car. She took Juno’s carseat and diaper bag with her,” Jazz sniffles, leaning into her father.
Nodding I check the location for the diaper bag and car seat. I frown at the coordinates. “It says she’s at the diner.”
“No, she can’t be. We looked everywhere. We waited an hour and she never came back. That’s not like her,” Jazz argues.
“It’s not. I know my mija , and she wouldn’t just disappear,” Flora says, voice full of conviction.
“Not unless there was a good fucking reason,” Moss says quietly.
“You sure that’s where she is, Jules?” Marx, ever the voice of reason, calls out.
“That’s where the trackers are.”
“Good. Let’s roll out.”
Violet
I curse that I like my curvy, lazyish body and don’t have one of those fitness watches. If I did I’d have a way for Dayz or Wire or Remy or damn near anyone to track me. I’ve seen it on the news, some woman who was tracked thanks to her watch. But not me. I’m in the back of a moving vehicle with no watch, no cell phone. Nothing other than a group of scared little kids.
I have my arm wrapped around Maddy’s shoulders, and the two little ones, who I managed to find out are called Max and Jett, are curled up in my lap. I don’t even mind the smell anymore. It may have turned my stomach earlier, but now I seem to have become accustomed to it. I’ve been humming under my breath, and cooing soothing words at the kids. If I’m crapping my pants about the situation, these kids must be downright terrified. So far I have found out that they all have parents, and they come from all over. I’m not sure where this truck came from, but I do know there’s a port nearby. How the hell they came through there with no one noticing is beyond me. And where the hell they had even been before coming through there is another mystery. All of these kids are from the States so why they were there is one of many things playing on my mind.
“Maddy, where were you before you were taken? I know your family are from Kansas, but is that where you were taken from?” I ask, quietly, so as not to wake the boys in my lap.
“No,” she whispers back, “I was on holiday with my family in Cabo.”
My brows pinch, “How did they get you, sweetheart?”
In the dim light I can see her lip tremble. “We were at the kids’ holiday program.”
My frown deepens. “We?”
She nods. “Me, Max and Jett. I think they might be brothers.”
I pull my arm tighter around her as I try to piece things together. If they took Maddy and the boys from a kids’ holiday program at a resort, chances are they did the same to the other kids. Why take American citizens then smuggle them back to the country they came from? That doesn’t make any sense. Although, is this the type of thing that usually does? I mean, they only took me because Rodney ran off.
Speaking of, I hope like hell he went and found help. My gut clenches thinking of Juno asleep in her car seat in the diner bathroom. I’m glad that she’s safe and far away from here, but I still worry about her. I soothe myself with thoughts of Rodney getting help, or my sisters realizing I’ve been gone for too long and they’d go looking for me. The quicker someone realizes I’m gone, the quicker they’ll find me.
Leaning my head back on the cool metal behind me, I try to estimate the length of time we’ve been driving. It doesn’t feel that long, and yet it feels like a lifetime. That one gross dude mentioned using me to pop out a ginger and I shudder at the implications. I’m like every other woman in the world. I’ve seen enough true crime to know that shit like this doesn’t usually end well. So what I need to do is pull from my hours of crime watching to come up with a plan.
So far I know there is only one driver.
“Maddy, does the truck stop often? And for how long?” I know she won’t know how long between stops, but knowing that it does stop every now and then would be helpful.
“Um, yeah he stops sometimes. That time, when he got you, that was a long time. He sometimes stops for little bits and gives us water and snacks.”
I nod, my thoughts bouncing around. OK, that’s good. The fact that he gives them water and snacks means they shouldn’t be too malnourished and weak. If we want to make a break for it I need them to be in some type of good health.
The rocking of the truck starts to slow and we pull sideways a little. With any luck this will be a stop and I can maybe get the kids to cause enough of a distraction to be able to get the upper hand. He’s not a huge guy, and the fact that I’m pissed off, in a truck with these babies will make me a worthy opponent. Besides, I made a vow to him, and I intend to fulfill it .
The door slides up, bathing us in light so bright spots dance in front of my eyes. The little boys whimper and I pull them closer, Maddy doing the same with Bella and Stevie.
“Out. Now,” he booms, gun pointed in my direction.
The kids look at me as I rise, gently placing Max and Jett on the filthy floor. I hold my hands up, trying to look small and afraid instead of murderous.
Maddy grabs onto the back of my shirt, “It’ll be OK. Just do as the man says,” I whisper down to her, hoping my voice is calm, so as not to scare them.
I jump down onto the ground, trucker man grabbing me roughly by the bicep as soon as I land. He holds me in front of him, gun to my head. Darting my eyes around I realize we’re in some type of warehouse. It’s a huge empty space with two other trucks parked nearby. There’s a set of stairs and what look to be offices that have windows looking down at where we are. There’s a tap with a hose connected close to where I’m standing and I try to take in as many details as I can. I can’t seem to see anyone else apart from this dickhead and the kids still in the back of the truck, so I take that as a good sign.
“All of you, out. Now.”
He watches with beady eyes as Bella and Stevie jump down onto the ground, Maddy passing the little boys down to them before jumping down herself. He uses his gun to line them all up before marching me in the direction of the tap.
The muzzle of his gun pokes into my temple, “Turn it on.” I begrudgingly do as he says, not wanting to do anything to anger him. I need to keep my brains inside my head if I have any hope of keeping these kids alive. Water spurts out of the end of the hose. “Pick it up, and aim it at the kids. Those filthy little fuckers need to be cleaned off.”
“Whose fault is that?” I say through clenched teeth.
He leans close, so close I can smell his rancid breath as he breathes into my ear. “Blame the childless rich fucks that’ll pay for them.”
Something powerful is rising inside me, half bile and half pure rage. I hate rich people more than I hate good looking people. Money should be used to help people, not fucking buy children to fulfill some sick need or fantasy. Kids aren’t the latest accessory. They’re a fucking gift.
I shake the arm in his grip, trying to get his sick breath away from me. He tugs me harder, reminding me of what I should be doing. I lean to pick up the hose and give the kids an apologetic smile.
“Sorry kids,” I say gently before spraying them with the cold water. It may be spring in Texas, but this water is still cold and these kids have been in a stuffy truck for god knows how long.
I get them cleaned up as much as I can before I make out like I’m done. He still has one arm in his vice like grip, so I don’t have much space to maneuver, but it’s enough. I wait until Maddy wipes the water from her eyes with her hands before I spin as much as I can and shove the hose as far into his face as possible. His grip releases from my arm in shock so I wrap it around his neck, holding him closer as I force the hose as close to his nose as I can, essentially trying to waterboard him. He’s sputtering and coughing, his body thrashes in my hold, trying to fight against me. His legs try to kick mine, so I wrap one of mine over his hip, pulling him in as tight as I can, my thunder thigh keeping him in place.
His movements start to slow, and his body weight feels heavy but I keep going. I told him he was a dead man and I fucking meant it. I’ll protect these kids with my life and I will kill for them if I have to. He makes a weird gurgling noise and then his weight drops, almost taking me down with him. I stumble back, dropping the hose from my shaking hand and spin to check on the kids. Maddy stares at me wide-eyed, one of the boys in her arms, his face buried in her neck. Bella has the other, doing the same thing, trying to shield them from something they’ll hopefully never remember.
“OK, kids, we gotta get outta here. Come with me.,” I take Max out of Bella’s arms and rush with him to the driver’s side.
“Ah, ah. Stop right there.”
I freeze in my tracks, so fucking close to freedom. There, in front of the truck is a tall, thin blonde woman, with red nails like talons. Behind her are four seriously built men, dressed all in black and holding guns trained on me. I place Max on the ground and move him behind me, trying to shield all the kids with my wide hips and ass.
“Now, I don’t like when people mess with my business. And you, you little bitch,” she spits, “have not only cost me a little ginger shit, but also one of my best drivers.” She strides up to me on impossibly high heels and backhands me, her huge diamond ring scraping across my face.
“Please, don’t hurt the kids,” I plead, trying to speak to some type of maternal nature she may be hiding in her thin as hell body.
“Oh, I would never hurt them. They’re my money makers. You, on the other hand, have cost me and I don’t like debts. Yours will be paid on your back, breeding me fresh stock.” A grotesque grin pulls across her face. She turns to her men, waving in our direction. “Take the kids to the dorm, tell Magdalene to get them cleaned up and fed.”
“And the bitch, ma’am? ”
She turns to eye me, taking me in from head to toe, before turning back to address the guy. “The breeding pen.”