CHAPTER FIVE
With Marissa sound asleep on the sofa, Joey stood in his small kitchen, staring at her beautiful face.
“She’s the one, isn’t she?” smirked Bo.
“Yeah. She’s always been the one but she doesn’t know that. Seeing her on that stage, fuck me, it gutted me.”
“Brother, you know these guys were pulling a scam. Sounds like they hit up girls at the expensive schools, drew them in, and then didn’t give them an option for anything else,” said Bullett.
“The question I want answered is what’s their game in the end.
Are they forcing these women into prostitution? Are they selling them?”
“I can’t even think about that,” muttered Joey.
“Is she really a Jordan of the Jordans?” asked Red.
“Yep. Her father is Christopher, grandfather is Wes, and great-grandfather is Angel. Her brothers are Mitchell and Brooks. They’re going to blow a fucking gasket over this.”
“You’re going to tell them?” frowned Bullett.
“I have to, brother. This is family. We don’t keep secrets.” He stared at her sleeping body and walked into the living room, tossing the blanket over her. “Keep an eye on her. I’m just going to step outside for a minute.”
They nodded at their teammate as he walked out onto the breezeway of his apartment. Staring at his phone he ran through what to say, then realized it had to be direct.
“Hello?” whispered the sleepy voice.
“Christopher? It’s Joey Dougall.”
“Joey? Are you alright, son? Is something wrong?”
“I’m fine. I mean, sort of. I have to tell you a story.”
For twenty minutes Joey talked while Christopher listened. At one point, he heard him moving around the room, clothing rustling and then him texting others.
“Right now, she’s asleep on my sofa but she’s terrified what they will do to her. We need to find out what their game is and how many other women have been trapped by this.” There was dead silence, then the sounds of murmurs. “Sir?”
“Sorry, Joey. I’ve got my brother here, dad, and grandpa. A few other guys just walked in.”
“I’m so sorry to call so late, or early, whatever it is. I’m going to keep her safe. I promise you that I am.”
“Son, I have no doubt she’ll be safe now. I just want to know how all this happened and why she wouldn’t trust us,” said Christopher.
“I think she was embarrassed and didn’t know what to say. Plus, it’s obvious she’s very afraid of these men. That’s what my teammates and I need to figure out.”
“Joey, you’re active duty, son. If you do this, you could be in a lot of trouble,” said Wes.
“I know, sir. I’m off for a few days and my teammates are willing to help. I think I need to get her away from Fayetteville for a while.” His door opened behind him and Red looked at him.
“Brother, one of the soldiers at the club recognized us. He said the place went nuts when you carried her out of there. He says wherever you are, there are at least ten men out looking for you.”
“Did you hear that?” he asked the others.
“We heard. Get out of there. Get somewhere safe and we’ll send help,” said Angel.
“Yes, sir. Sirs? All of you, I uh, I should have said something sooner. I love Marissa. I always have. She doesn’t know it but, well, I do.” There was silence on the other end of the line, then a low chuckle.
“I know, son,” said Christopher. He heard the voice of his father and smiled.
“Protect that girl,” said Gator. “Get her home.”
“I will dad.” He ended the call and turned to see his teammates staring at him in disbelief. “What?”
“We knew. I mean, we knew who you were but to hear their voices, that’s fucking amazing.”
“I have to get her out of here,” said Joey.
“Take my truck,” said Red. “We’ll wait here to see if they show up. Don’t worry. If you need us, call.”
“If I’m not back by Tuesday, I’ll have to make some sort of excuse to the colonel. My family is on the way, which means this place is going to be crawling with trouble. The good kind.”
“Is there a good kind?” smirked Bo.
“There is in my family,” smiled Joey.
He bent over Marissa’s sleeping body and she blindly wound her arms around his neck, snuggling close. She didn’t weigh as much as his ruck and that pissed him off. The first thing he would do is feed her. The second thing would be to spank her ass.
Then he was going to marry her.