Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
Before
Amirah
The pen in my hand flies over the page, pouring out everything that I’m feeling. The anger. The helplessness. The passion to save these girls. The heartache. The drive. Gage is making it impossible for me to get out of here and go back to the club to get more information.
I’ve been to one training session and tried asking some of The Brotherhood soldiers about the club, but they didn’t give me anything.
I’m going to keep trying. My presentation is almost ready to show my brother.
Once he knows, he’ll be able to help me—but will he ever really listen?
Will a woman’s voice ever be heard at a man’s table?
I’m starting to wonder. Does he keep me around, keep me safe, because I’m his blood—but doesn’t really value me as a person?
My phone vibrates next to me, and I pick it up and open the message.
Gage: Freya’s been kidnapped. Be on alert. Don’t do anything stupid or reckless. Stay put.
I drop the pen in my hand and stand, my journal falling to the ground. Shit. My heart races as I pace across my room and back, gripping my phone. Freya’s in trouble. Gage told me to stay put, but I can’t. I need to help.
I grab a black hoodie from my closet and throw it and sneakers on before heading out my door.
Two of my guards push off the opposite wall.
I don’t bother telling them anything. I race down the stairs, taking them two at a time.
Voices carry from the ground level. There are soldiers everywhere, grabbing weapons from the living room.
Ronald, one of Gage’s elite, barks orders. He looks up, our eyes clashing, and stalks toward me.
“Where are you going?” he snaps.
“Tell me where they are,” I growl.
“I don’t take orders from you.”
I grab his forearm, digging my nails in. “Gage asked me to come but didn’t have time to tell me where. So you either tell me now or deal with him later,” I say, holding his gaze. It’s not true at all, but I don’t care.
He yanks his arm out of my grip. “The home Freya grew up in Daringville.”
I’m out the front door, running toward the garage, clicking my fob.
The gate takes several long seconds to open.
Hurry up. My hands shake. The front door to the house slams shut, and I move like lightning is up my ass, ducking under the garage door.
Running toward my car, I unlock her as I get close, then slide inside.
Kicking her into reverse, I back out, skidding to a stop outside the garage. My guards chase after my car, but I lose them in the dust, flooring it down the driveway and out the second gate. I press my fob to open the next gate to our community. It opens and I drive out.
A figure emerges from the guard box, my lights illuminating Lucas. I slam on my brakes and curse. He looks bad. Blood stains his shit, and his face is covered in dirt.
My passenger door opens.
“What the fuck happened to you?” I ask, eyeing him up and down.
“Long story. Where are they?”
“Get in,” I snap, and Lucas jumps in my car. I take off toward Freya’s old house.
“Dominic has Freya. The guys are there, and shit’s fucked up,” I explain.
I hope we make it in time, but what are we walking into? Are they okay? My fingers tighten around the steering wheel. I can’t live without my brother, Freya, and hell, even Hazen. They are family.
I slam on the brakes outside of Freya’s old family home and jump out.
“Go back home, Amirah. I’ve got it from here,” Lucas says. “The first lady of The Brotherhood can’t be out on the streets unprotected. Shit’s about to explode, and you can’t be in the middle of it.”
I shake my head. “No.”
Lucas moves around the car to stand in front of me, blocking me from going any farther. He pushes me back into the front seat of my car. “Go the fuck home. Now!” he growls.
I huff, slamming the door shut. Lucas walks off as more cars arrive around me. Backup is here. Fuck, I want to do something to help, but there’s no way they’ll let me inside the house.
When Lucas disappears inside the home, I drive off with anger coursing through my entire body. My phone vibrates, and I grab it from the console.
Unknown - Want to help those girls?
I keep my eyes on the road as I quickly type back.
Me - Yes. Who is this?
Unknown - All you need to know, Amirah Ledger, is that they are recruiting more kids. Get to Magick at 6 am and bring backup. Answers await you.
Me - Thank you
Unknown - Oh, and Amirah, don’t let the enforcer catch you, or you’ll end up buried with the others.
Goosebumps scatter along my skin.
I arrive back at the gate, and security lets me in. Though this is the breakthrough I’ve been waiting for, it couldn’t have come at a worse time. I pray that my family makes it out alive, and then we can save them.
I park back inside the garage and hop out of the car.
As I move inside the house, it’s quiet. Everyone is gone.
I run up the stairs. When I reach the top step, a door shuts from the ground floor, and I stop.
I thought everyone had left? Might just be one of the workers or my guards. They might have stayed.
Shaking it off, I reach my bedroom door. A shiver runs down my spine. There’s someone here. I turn around, but the hallway is quiet.
Fuck, I’m losing it.
I open the door and gasp, almost jumping out of my skin. One of my maids is inside my room, making my bed.
“I’m so sorry,” she says, her hands trembling at her sides. She’s been working for us for months, and I don’t even know her name. I’m such a terrible person.
“It’s okay. What’s your name?” I ask and move into my closet, grabbing some cash from my sock drawer.
As I return to my bedroom, she finishes making my bed. She’s young, in her early twenties. She shouldn’t be here working for us; she needs to get out of here and travel. Escape.
“It’s Beth.”
“Here, take this,” I say with a smile, handing her a stack of cash. It’s not much, but it’s something.
Her eyes widen, and she shakes her head. “I couldn’t. That’s too much.”
I push the cash into her chest. “Take it, or I’ll fire you,” I say, more serious this time.
She nods, taking the money and putting it into her apron pocket. Her arms fly around my waist, and I stumble backward a step. “You have no idea how much this is going to help me and my family,” she says, and my heart breaks.
It’s the least I can do. I pray that she’ll use this money to have a better life and not get caught like those other girls.
She leaves, and I fall back onto my bed, releasing a heavy sigh.
Everything is about to change, and I won’t stop until I’ve saved every last one of those girls.
Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I check the time.
It’s just past midnight. My stomach is a mess of worry for Freya, my brother, Hazen, and Lucas.
Will they be okay? I’m furious at Lucas for sending me home.
And now with the clue from that unknown number, I have to save them. I need to go to Magick.
I open a text to my brother.
Me - Update? I’m going to Mag—
The door kicks open, and my gaze clashes with a large figure before I scream, my phone dropping to the floor.
“Who the hell are you?!”