Chapter Seventeen
I t felt like the world dropped as they drove. All the light from outside went away as if they were going into a cave or a basement. Her fear skyrocketed.
“If I come out of this alive, I’ll be a lucky son-of-a-bitch.” The driver muttered.
Sutton wondered how much money he got offered. Her childhood fucked her up and made her hate most men except when treating them until she met Ayesha. The relationship between the other woman and her husband, King, made her wish for things Sutton knew were out of her reach. Yet she’d chosen to allow the men within the MC to become more than patients. Not that they were her friends. However, over the course of the past several years, as she’d worked at the local hospital, her friendship with Ayesha and the other ladies had grown. There was no way anyone could mistake the love and commitment between the women and all the men who worshipped them.
It was stupid to think she’d ever have something even remotely close to what they had. Although, for a moment with Kendrick, he’d given her hope. Her body came alive just like Ayesha, Kailani, and Lennox had brazenly told her theirs did one night when they spoke of their sexcapades with each of their men. Sure, they had given her details that seemed wild, especially Ayesha, until Kendrick. In a matter of hours, she’d spun dozens of fantasies that wouldn’t get a chance to come true, all because of the fucker driving her farther away from her dream man.
Again, the van came to a rocking halt. The guy driving got out this time, leaving her alone in the darkness. God, she’d been kidnapped twice in less than a week. Surely, that had to be a record. If she survived, Sutton was calling the Guinness Book to see if she qualified.
The back door opened. Someone grabbed her by the feet, dragging her unceremoniously from the vehicle. Her face scraped against the bottom, making her wince, but still, she kept up the pretense of unconsciousness.
“My guy said you’d knocked her out good. I hope you didn’t fucking do any permanent damage. A limp chick can only do so much for business, you know?”
“Hmm, well, a whore with a tight hole is good for a lot of things. Let me know how this one is. I heard her moaning, so she’s still got life in her. For now.”
“I’m told many men are willing to kill for the women they love. I wonder if she has that kind of loyalty?”
“I doubt it. I’ve seen her around the clubhouse for a while and she’s never hooked up with any of the brothers. Fucking Cowboy’s brother aside, I’d have sworn she was a virgin, especially the way she blushed anytime she visited the club during a party. You never know if you’ll walk in on an orgy or just a few of the brothers getting their dicks sucked. Little Miss there would turn tail and run away to the safety of the main house as soon as it was considered polite. We took bets on how long before they made her into a plaything.”
The longer he spoke, it became harder for her to pretend they didn’t affect her. To know the men who’d stood around and smiled politely were thinking such horrid things sickened her.
“Well, stick around, boy. Maybe I’ll let you play with her after—”
Her head flopped against a man's back as she allowed her arms to hang down. The feel of someone’s hand caressing her as a thumb ran between the cheeks of her denim-clad ass revolted her. She heaved, unable to stop herself.
“Shit, Boss. I think she’s going to throw up.”
“Fucking, dumbass. You probably gave her a concussion. That’s a sign.”
The sound of skin slapping followed by a grunt let her know one of the men hit the other.
“Give her an hour or two, and she’ll be fine, dammit.” Her driver said after coughing a couple of times.
“Yeah, well, how the fuck am I supposed to send that fucker a message right away if I have to wait. Fuck, if you’re going to do something, you have to do it yourself.”
“Maybe you should lay her out, strip her down, and wake her up with your head between her thighs. I know that’s how I like to wake my woman.”
She gagged again. If any of them thought she’d enjoy having them go down on her, they were batshit crazy.
“WE GOT A PROBLEM.” Keys angry tone broke through the quiet before the elevator landed on the bottom level.
Kendrick held up his hand. “What is it?”
His heart hammered against his ribs. Most men in his line of work faced shit like this like it was nothing. Hell, he’d done his fair share of racing into buildings with guns raised and bullets flying. The big difference this time was that it felt more personal. He didn’t want to think of Sutton’s perfect skin or silky hair damaged ever again.
“Sutton’s missing.”
Keys words dropped like a lead weight on his shoulders. His hands clenched with the need to kill. “Do you have information on who?” he bit out.
There was the sound of furious tapping—the clicking grating on his stretched nerves. Kendrick imagined Sutton’s silky hair and lithe body, hating the thought of finding her abused while they blissfully drove toward the casino. She was a beautiful woman many women could only wish they looked like; dozens, if not hundreds, of men would kill to possess. Now, she could be on her way to god only knew where. He’d seen others after they’d fallen into hell holes. When they came out of the horrors they endured, most would’ve preferred to die than make it out alive. Stop it, stop thinking about it.
“Gotcha,” Keys exclaimed.
“Brother, I need you to give us more than that, or I’m afraid our friend Kendrick might start shooting up this casino any second.”
Kendrick realized he’d palmed the Glock 19s in his hands, fingering the safety off of each.
“I found a way to hack into a few cameras in the casino's lower part. I swear, the asshole must’ve read Fifty Shades and decided he wanted something like his own red room on steroids mixed with a torture chamber of sorts, then went a little further so that his friends could enjoy it. You all need to be prepared for a shitshow when you walk in. It’ll be dark and strobelighty.” Keys let out a deep sigh.
“What the fuck is strobelighty?” King barked.
“The place is set up like a huge club scene when you enter from the hallway. It’s dark, but from what I can tell, several stage areas have flashing lights, almost like strobe lights or camera flashes. I can’t really tell from the camera angles. There are tables and booths, along with several bars on each end. Hence, the bar setup look. When I switch to a camera they’ve cleverly titled Doom, the hallway is almost pitch-black, with the only lighting being from the floor, like in an airplane. There are doors about five feet apart on each side, but there are also large windows, which I can’t see if they’re transparent or not from the camera angles.” Disgust laced each word he spoke.
Kendrick had been to his fair share of BDSM clubs and was a member of several. As a Dom himself, there was a vast difference between consent and non-consent. He was pretty sure none of the people inside were there of their own volition. Kendrick couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t do something to get them out.
“Basically, Frankie Boy has his very own playroom set up down here that he shares with others for a fee. We'll soon find out whether or not he’s into buying and selling,” Kendrick said. He cleared his throat. The notion of finding trafficked people inside with less than a dozen men with him to help free them didn’t intimidate him.
He looked over toward Andre, seeing the resolve in his eyes, and knew his best friend and bodyguard would lay his life down if it came to it. Not that Kendrick wouldn’t do the same. They were family, and family did what was needed to protect one another. An image of a drugged Sutton, as he’d found her lying in the darkened room by the ocean following the kidnapping still threatened to send him to his knees.
“Can you see how many are inside this pseudo club?” King asked. The president wore a backpack slung over his shoulder, making Kendrick wonder what weapons he had on him.
They began walking the long hallway while Keys tapped on his computer. The wait filled him with more images of what could be happening. Shit. He needed to focus on other things.
“Okay, from my perspective, I calculate thirteen men, not including Frankie and whoever might be in the rooms down the hallways. By the way, there are two different hallways with similar layouts. They’re both on the east side of the room. One is directly to the left of the entrance behind the first bar. The other is farthest from the entrance and a little harder to notice if you’re not looking. You have to go all the way through the club layout and get close to the stage area. Once you stand and look up at the stage, you’ll see a black beaded doorway if you turn to the left. Behind it is another door. You’ll need a keycard to gain access inside, just like the other door. I watched a man try the door but get frustrated when denied access. A hulk of a man came up to him, and there was some exchanging of words before he was allowed entrance.”
“I’ll head that way first.” If they were taking Sutton, he was sure it would be to a location that was harder to get into.
“I figured you’d say that. When you get inside, get a keycard from any of the patrons. After that, I’ll ensure you can get into those hallways unhindered, aside from the guards who will come out of the woodwork. Be prepared, brothers.”
Kendrick and the others went silent. The next corner they turned showed two large arched doors handled by a mammoth of a man.
“I got this.” Cosmo, who had been silent through their entire trek, spoke. He wore a suit and tie with shoes that Kendrick knew cost more than most spend on their wardrobes.
“Name,” the man barked.
“Cosmo.” As the man lifted his arm to speak into his watch, the brother punched his fist forward. Blood splattered in an arc, coating the wall to the right. Cosmo’s other hand went to the back of the huge man’s head while he efficiently slid the blade across the dying man’s throat. Cosmo helped the man to the ground, wiping the blood off his knife, and stepped back. Drops of crimson dotted his pristine suit.
Cosmo reached inside his jacket and pulled out a large napkin, wiping off the rest of the blood on his hand. “Stupid fucker. He should’ve realized I wasn’t on any of his lists. Do I look like a regular to you?”
After cleaning the visible blood from his hands and face, Cosmo waved toward the doorway. “Shall we?”
Kendrick reached inside the dead man’s jacket and pulled out a keycard. He held it up, letting Keys see it. “Do you need to configure it or some shit?”
“You’re good to go. I guess there’s nowhere to hide the body?”
They all shrugged while Cosmo straightened his suit as if he hadn’t just slit a man’s throat. Kendrick’s lips twitched in a somewhat wistful smile, and he sighed. If he could recruit the brutal bastard, he’d do it.
Cosmo held up his hand. “I know. You’re half in love with me, but I’m taken. My ole’ lady would literally skin you and I both alive and probably have a recipe on how to cook us for the brothers to eat us without realizing what it was she’d served them.”
Duke groaned. “Don’t even talk about cannibalism, fucker. You know I have a weak stomach.”
“Says the man who came back from New York with a whole new set of torture skills.” King slapped his younger brother on the shoulder as he spoke.
Kendrick ignored their banter as he stepped up to the entrance and placed the golden keycard in front of the reader. “Reader, boys?” His eyes focused on the red bars that blinked red and then green. When the door's locking mechanism disengaged, he shoved the heavy double doors open.
They saw what Keys hadn’t told them as they walked into the dimly lit space. Scantily clad women sat around the booths where several men gathered. At the same time, he noticed a few young men with collars and leashes who appeared to be taking up spaces with men and a couple of women vying for their attention. Kendrick bypassed them, heading for the back.
“Keys, we need to know about the ones in here. Make sure they’re not casualties when we leave,” King said, glaring at the tables as they passed.