Prologue Two
Kreed
SIX DAMN MONTHS. That’s how long we’ve been working on figuring out a way to get into the auction selling women to the highest bidders.
Not many people know that we work to bring down traffickers the second we hear about a new ring.
Yes, we realize the second one group gets taken down another one takes its place.
The more we can get ahead of the situation and bring down each group, the safer everyone will be.
I really never believed we’d find one so close to Glendale.
It took time for us to discover this one because everyone is extremely tight-lipped about it and they don’t do anything in Glendale’s borders.
Surrounding towns aren’t included, but no one is ever touched in the town we now call home.
Anyway, we’ve been investigating and laying the groundwork to infiltrate the ring holding the auction and it’s taken a lot longer than we anticipated.
These men keep everyone close and rarely let in anyone new.
“Who’s takin’ point on this one?” Reckless asks as we sit in church and go over all the information we have.
“I am. I’ve been the main one diggin’ up information with Master on this ring and the shit I’ve heard I don’t want too many others to learn.
Master is the only other one who knows almost as much as I do,” I answer immediately while thinking about the information I’ve gathered while on the streets and in dive bars we have no desire to enter on a regular basis.
“What do you need?” my best friend asks, looking directly at me so he can judge where my head is. He knows this investigation has taken a toll on me and I haven’t spoken to anyone about it. Reckless is worried but won’t say anything in front of the rest of the club.
“I need a small team to go to the auction with me. I’ve put it out that I’m in the mafia and lookin’ for a new playthin’.
It took until late last night for me to get the invitation to the auction and they’re expectin’ a group of six,” I answer the table as I look around and my eyes land on our newest member, Viper.
“Viper, you’re sittin’ this one out. I know you want to go with us, but this one will hit too close to home for you and I’m not puttin’ you through that shit. ”
“I can handle it, Link,” he says, sitting up straighter in his seat and looking directly at me.
No matter how hard Viper tries, he can’t hide the pain from years of abuse.
The women we’ll be seeing have been abused repeatedly in every way possible.
While we all know Viper has worked hard and put in the time to heal and even goes to counseling now, there is no way I will put him in a situation where he suffers.
Seeing the women at the auction could trigger him and I can’t risk him going off.
Viper doesn’t always let his emotions get the better of him, but when they do he strikes fast and hard.
There is no warning and it takes several of us to stop him.
We’ve only witnessed it twice and this is not a situation for him to test his resolve.
“We all know you can handle a lot more than when you were first brought into the club, Viper. None of us are questionin’ that.
I’ve seen pictures and heard a lot of shit about what we’ll be walkin’ into.
One of the rumors is that your stepdad is involved.
He’ll get the endin’ he deserves, but it won’t be in the middle of an auction with a ton of witnesses.
You will get your justice and it will be however you want it to happen.
Please, sit this one out and you can come on the next one.
I promise you that as the Vice President of this club,” I tell him, needing him to hear my words and realize I’m doing this to protect him and no other reason than that.
“You’ll be able to help once we bring the girls back to the clubhouse.
You’ll have a connection with them none of us will be able to make. ”
“You promise I can go next time?” he questions me, hope filling his eyes because he still feels as if he has to prove himself to each of us in the club. Luca, now known as Viper, won’t ever have to prove anything to us for any reason.
“You have my word.”
“Viper, I want you on point here at the clubhouse. Anythin’ you think the girls will need, you get it for them and have it ready.
No expense spared. Link, you choose the men to go with you and get with them away from the rest of us.
This is your plan and we’ll do whatever it takes to support you, but the less we know until everythin’ is over, the better it will be for the club.
Did you call this in to anyone?” Reckless asks me, his voice holding that edge of rage each of us gets when it comes to traffickers.
“I’ve called our contact in the government.
They know what we’re doin’ and will be on standby less than five minutes from the location.
A team will be in place to round up the fuckers holdin’ the auction while we focus on gettin’ as many girls out as we can.
The one thing I will say is some of these girls are young.
Not as young as we’ve seen in the past, but still young,” I inform the men sitting around me.
“Keep Cali away from the club when we first bring them in. She doesn’t need to see that shit.
I know she’ll wanna help, but she needs to wait until Doc has seen them first. The men I’ll choose to go with me are Master because he knows what’s goin’ on, Mad Dog, Priest, Chaos, and Manic.
We’ll meet a few minutes after church in my office and go over the plan. ”
The men I choose all nod in response before Reckless gets the rest of the meeting under way.
When we go to bring down a trafficking ring, we’re not all necessarily involved.
In some instances, the entire club will go and take care of business.
In some situations, like this one, a small group will go but we’ll be in constant contact with the rest of the guys through comms. Plus, we have support from one of our government contacts closer to the location.
This allows the men to be taken into custody before they can scatter and regroup somewhere else.
I try to pay attention to what’s being said in church, but it’s hard considering everything I have on my mind right now.
The sooner it ends, the better I’ll feel because in less than a week we’ll bring down another group of fuckers who are the lowest form of humans I’ve ever met in my life.
***
The day is finally here. My group of men is currently standing outside the building where the auction will be taking place.
Most of the men here are single or with one other person.
There are only a few small groups as the six of us keep our attention sharp as we take in every detail without making it known that’s what we’re doing.
Most of us have a military background and understand how to do recon without being obvious.
One of the reasons I chose the group I did.
As I look toward the doors we’ll enter, they open to reveal a man covered in black from head-to-toe.
He’s even wearing a black mask covering every inch of his face and hair.
They aren’t risking any small details about themselves to be known to anyone.
No skin is showing anywhere on their body.
The only thing about this asshole I can tell is he walks with a slight limp.
Most people probably wouldn’t notice it, but I do.
There’s the smallest hesitation when he steps forward with his right leg that’s not there with the left.
I make a mental note as he steps out and two other men flank him as the door closes firmly behind them.
“In a minute we’ll start taking in small groups of men to get their first look at the merchandise and decide what they want to bid on.
Feel free to touch, examine, and talk to the merchandise as you complete your inspection.
You will have a minute with each item before needing to move on to the next one.
We only have a limited amount of time and a large group of you here today,” the man says, definitely using a voice changer so we can’t hear his normal tone.
This group is smarter than most of the others we’ve taken down in the past.
The air around us begins to hum with a level of excitement that turns my stomach and makes me want to throw up.
I can’t even classify anyone here as a man because they’re vile monsters preying on the weak and buying another human for their own selfish reasons.
I want to take my gun and blow a hole through each and every single one of them.
Rid the world of the scum surrounding us and I can tell I’m not the only one.
Each man with me is trigger happy and physically restraining themselves as their fingers twitch and disgust fills their eyes.
Whoever came outside takes the first group of men in the building while the rest of us continue to wait.
Based on our position in line, we’ll be the next group in.
While I want to figure out the best course of action to take once we’re inside the building, a large part of me is hesitant because I know my life is about to change forever.
I’m not sure how it will change, but a deep feeling in my soul is telling me nothing will ever be the same after I enter the doors in front of me.
“Next group,” a different man calls out, opening the door enough for each of us to walk through while remaining watching everyone still waiting.