5. Stella
STELLA
Opening my eyes and looking around, I know I shouldn’t have trusted that damn bastard.
Not sure how, but Gino not only managed to drug me again but also moved my ass to another location, from the looks of it.
Son of a bitch, I’m no longer at his compound, that’s for damn sure.
Seems to be some kind of townhome or condo, if I was guessing.
Pretty fancy too, not that this kind of shit impresses me.
This freaks me out cause if Doc Jones calls the club and gives them the location, I’m no longer there.
I mean, from what Incubus has shared, his family is in the elite one-percent and he walked away from that shit many years ago.
He has some of his inheritance from his grandparents that he’s never touched.
I’m talking like a large shit ton of money, but from the minute I met him to recently, money, his, the club’s, or anyone with it has never meant anything to him.
I know when Isabella was born he transferred a huge amount into a trust for her so when she turns twenty-five or thirty, forget what age we decided on, it will be released to her.
Yeah, it was a decision we made together.
Even though we lived together and separately, we were involved in each other’s lives at all times.
Well, except for a few breaks which I’m not thrilled about, but it is what it is.
Some of the shit Cullen has done for the club has fucked his head up which is when we were on breaks because he needed to deal with all the bullshit.
Yeah I also know about the sweet asses he pounded because he told me everything.
That’s why when he wanted Isabella and me to come live with him I put my foot down.
And now this. Sometimes I wonder if the Universe is trying to send me a message about our relationship.
Though no matter what I’ll always be in his corner because he’s my soulmate. He now realizes that I am his.
Stretching, I look down to see I’m still in the sleep clothes I had put on myself before I fell into bed last night, or I think it was the evening before.
The bed is huge, as is the bedroom, probably the master.
I can see a walk-in closet and the master bath off to the one side, though the door isn’t open all the way.
Throwing the covers off, I place my feet down and they land on a pair of slippers.
Well, la-de-da is my first thought being the smart ass that I am.
Though when I slip my feet in, I swear my toes start to sing because the insides of the slippers feel like clouds and don’t hurt my injured feet.
Of course, Gino would have the best of the best, he always has been like this.
I remember when the Kings of Anarchy Indiana chapter started working with this particular section of the Mob, Gino, Cobalt, Incubus, and Psycho managed to have a pretty civil relationship.
It’s when Incubus sensed Gino, Salvatore, and the rest of them were stepping over that line of sanity that he hid Isabella with my family, and to everyone who knew us it looked like we had broken up.
Well, for a small window we actually did, both having severe tempers, and my ol’ man was honest. He told me that he got drunk was lonely and had been in his wet room so he ended up fucking some of the sweet butts in the club.
Did it hurt? Fuck yeah, like he tore my damn heart out, but I also know Cullen.
Though we were on a break, I feel for those women because knowing him like I do, they got fucked to within an inch of their lives.
And when he was done probably threw them the fuck out of his bed, room, and life.
Being that we were broken up and he was missing me and, yes, he’s an alpha, he probably used sex to try to heal his pain.
At the time, I had so much going on with work and life in general, then having to let Isabella go.
So when Incubus suggested we take a break, I got mad at the situation.
Instead of talking about it, as usual, I told him to go fuck himself.
As much as I love him, I didn’t have the bandwidth to deal with all the shit that was him and his club.
So when Salvatore started acting even crazier, my higher-ups wanted to know why and started putting a plan together to use me as a planted agent.
That’s when somehow Julie and her brother Jimmy got dragged in because of their dying mom.
When Jimmy’s involvement started, shit was hitting the fan.
Then Julie jumped in, and that’s when Gino lost the little bit of sanity he had left.
Got to give that woman credit because she never gave up and still hasn’t if what I’ve been told is correct.
She’s still trying to find every child who had been human trafficked so they can be returned either to their families or put into programs to help them and turn them from victims to survivors.
One of those places is out in Timber-Ghost, Montana, of all places.
There’s a badass female motorcycle club out there: The Devil’s Handmaidens and that’s what they do.
They break up human trafficking circuits and give victims a chance to find themselves again by working toward becoming strong survivors.
I should have been watching my back, but for some reason my head was all over the place.
Shit, I’m an agency woman through and through, for Christ’s sake.
Between my daughter, work, the Mob, and the Kings of Anarchy Indiana chapter’s enforcer, it all got to the point that I could barely breathe.
Walking toward the bathroom, I see my phone sitting on the table.
Well, shit, is this a test, and how do I want to proceed?
I mean, even a minute or two to call Incubus or ignore it like I never saw it?
There really is no decision to be made. I have to know Isabella is safe and being protected with eyes on her at all times.
Eventually, Gino is going to find out about Cullen’s and my little girl, and I can’t have him using her like he’s trying to use and manipulate my man with me.
First, I walk into the bathroom so I can release my bladder then stumble to the sink, which tells me for sure that I’d been drugged yet again.
I wash my face then looking left I see a toothbrush.
After opening it, I wet it then put a generous amount of toothpaste on it so I can rid my mouth of the terrible taste left from whatever drug was used.
When I finish, I walk back into the main area to the table and grab my phone.
Without a moment of hesitation, I pull Incubus’s number from memory and dial it.
I hear one ring then half of another before it’s picked up with a growl that I feel all the way down to my bones.
His voice sends tremors throughout my body.
“STELLA, where the fuck are you? Woman, talk before they realize your on this phone and have dialed out to me. You know how those technololgy assholes are.”
I talk as fast as I can, trying to get everything out.
What’s happened, where I’ve been kept, and letting him know I have no idea where I’m at currently.
When I ask about Isabella, I can hear voices in the background then her giggle.
I gasp first then my heart slowly starts to break.
Thank God he got our girl and brought her back to the clubhouse. She’ll be the safest there, I pray.
“Woman, listen to me. Doc Jones called and when the brothers got there you were gone. We’ll get ya outta there, just need some time.
No, change that, I’ll get that fine ass out, just to press my mammoth snake against it and in it, Stella.
Ya know Gino has a soft spot for you, so play on that, though don’t let that fucker touch you, hear me?
Now what do you see when you look out the windows or are you in a solid room without any view of the outdoors? ”
Walking toward the windows, I pull the curtain back and see nothing but cornfields, which I tell my man.
He keeps asking questions like, what direction is the sun sitting in right now?
Or if the trees are mature or seedlings?
Are there any outbuildings, houses, or subdivisions in view?
I’m so involved in our call I almost miss the sound of the key softly being placed in the door lock.
I whisper to Incubus that I have to go, someone is coming in.
He’s quiet for a millisecond then tells me to stay safe and that he loves me.
My hand goes to my chest because I know those words do not come outta his mouth often.
Moving quickly, I place the phone, after erasing my call, on the table and then dive into bed, pulling the covers up and above my head.
Trying to catch my breath, I slowly try to keep my body still and take in small breaths to regulate my breathing to a regular pace as soon as possible.
My heart rate is a bit harder but I slowly just about manage it when the covers are pulled off of me.
I pop my eyes open in surprise and try to cover myself.
My eyes move around the room and I see it’s three of Gino’s men and the man himself in the bedroom.
One of his goons pulled the covers off of me but he keeps looking at Gino before he does a thing.
Yeah, another one of his loyal as fuck lapdogs.
Gino makes his approach cautiously, his eyes taking me in.
That’s when it dawns on me I brushed my teeth, which will give away that I’ve been awake for a while.
Well, not much I can do about it. I scrunch my face up so I can throw attitude and keep them far away from me.
Need to do what Incubus said, use Gino’s feelings or infatuation against him, so that’s what I do.