Chapter 34
“Areyou sure you have the right place?” Xayden looks at me and Seven as we stand outside of a Motel Sunrise that isn’t in the greatest area of the city. This place looks like a complete dump. There’s trash littering the parking lot, the outside looks rundown as fuck, and God knows what diseases are crawling on the mattresses. I look back at the busy highway that it sits right outside of and then turn back to the place that shows where Rory last used her debit card from her own checking account. The one that the money from her father sits.
“I’m telling you man, this is it. This is where the card leads us. That and the Walmart down the street. She has to be here.” Seven types something into his tablet and looks up at me. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go find her.”
I let out a grunt as I push off the rental car and walk toward the door of the office. I yank it open and let the other two go in first. All three of us walk up to the front desk and are greeted by a man who looks like he hasn’t showered in at least two weeks. His hair is greasy, and his skin is dirty and oily. The smell coming from behind the desk assaults our noses, and I see Seven take a step back the minute he smells it.
“Hi, welcome to Motel Sunrise. How many nights are you staying?” the front desk clerk asks us in a monotone voice.
“We aren’t. We’re looking for someone. A girl. Name is Aurora Dawson,” Xayden tells him.
“I’m sorry. I can’t give out guest information.” He scratches his head, and I can see the flakes coming off with each scratch. It’s revolting.
“Look, I don’t give a fuck. We need to find her, and this was the last place she was seen. So what room is she in or we go kick in every fucking door.” Xayden steps up closer to the counter.
“I can’t give out guest inform?—”
I grab the guy by the shirt and drag him over the counter before dropping him to the floor. “Here’s the deal. You either help us with your eyesight intact, or I start hitting until you can’t see out of those little fuckers anymore. So, you want to do this the hard way or the fun way?”
“Okay! Okay!” The man innocently holds up his hands in front of him. His entire body is shaking. I yank him upright, helping him stand.
He steps back slowly as he grabs the keys from his pocket, never taking his eyes off of me. He walks backward toward a door across from us that says “office” on the outside and then turns at the last minute to open it and runs inside, slamming it shut.
Not that it would stop me from hopping this counter and beating him, but I’ll let him think he’s safe.
“W-What was her name?” he asks shakily.
“Aurora Dawson,” Seven answers.
“Room 210.” He points to where we need to go toward and without a second look back the three of us take off.
When we get to the room, Xayden knocks on the door. We wait a minute, but there’s no answer, so he knocks again.
“Rory! It’s us. Let us in. Come on, Rory. Come to the door and let us know you’re okay,” Xay begs.
Still no answer.
I try to peek through the window, but the curtains are pulled shut. It’s four in the evening, so it’s still bright out. There is no way to tell if maybe there is a light on inside to give us an indication that she’s in there. With a huff, I walk up to the door and take my foot to it.
The sound of the door jam splintering and the wood breaking cracks through the air. I give the door another kick and it flies open.
To an empty room. Her stuff is everywhere, but no Rory. I walk in and about three feet from the entrance, I step on something that crunches under my foot. Looking down, I see broken glass and glitter on the floor. I look up and see a few snow globes on top of a dresser, knowing now what I stepped on.
Walking further into the room, I head over toward the bed and see a cell phone. I pick it up and toss it to Seven. He can crack it and see if he can figure anything out.
“Where is she?” Xayden peers around the room. “Where the fuck is she?”
“She was here. But something tells me she didn’t leave of her own volition.” I point to the towel on the floor and lights still on in the bathroom. “And somehow that snow globe got shattered on the floor.”
“And she left her phone.” Seven holds it up. “Doubt that was intentional.”
“So, where the hell do we look for her?” Xayden runs his hands through his hair and pulls on the ends of it. We all feel the frustration.
A buzz goes off in my pocket. I pull out my phone and see I have message.
Sperm Donor:
Hey, son. Hope your flight was good.
Me:
What the fuck do you want? And how the fuck do you know I was on a flight?
Sperm Donor:
Is that anyway to talk to your father? And I have eyes everywhere.
Me:
What the fuck do you want?
Sperm Donor:
You missing someone? A spunky one?
Me:
Where is she?
A picture loads on my phone seconds later, and my eyes widen when I see who it is. Rory. Laying on a shit mattress, unconscious. In the photo, I can see bare walls, a dirty floor covered in fuck knows what.
Me:
When I fucking find you, I will end you, you stupid fuck. I have Seven with me. You think I can’t find you?
Sperm Donor:
Son, calm down. I’m at the Solaris Casino. Can’t wait for our little family reunion. Told you I would see you soon.
“Fuck!” It takes everything in me not to throw the phone against the wall. So, I do the next best thing: I put the phone down and take my fist and throw it into the wall instead.
“What? What happened?” Seven runs over to me.
“He fucking has her! Fuck!”
Xayden takes a few steps toward us, brows furrowed. “Who does? Who has her?”
“My fucking father.” I run a hand down my face and take a look at the one I just rammed through the wall. It’s covered in drywall dust. And I’m lucky there wasn’t a stud behind there. or I would have a broken hand for sure.
“What? Why the fuck does he have her? Did he say where she is? Seven, can you find her knowing he has her?” Xayden starts rambling off questions.
“I know where she is,” I cut him off.
“Where?” Seven asks, dumbfounded.
I grit out, “The Solaris Casino.”
“What the fuck are they doing at a casino?” Seven scrunches his face.
“The MC owned that club. The Vegas Chapter. I thought it was sold off when my father went to prison, but guess that didn’t happen. And that’s not the best news,” I sigh.
“What then?” Xayden slowly takes steps closer.
“If he’s there, then it means that is still club territory. That means us going there…”
“We are immediately outnumbered and we have no way to get in and get out. They are already expecting us,” Seven finishes for me, voice flat.
I nod. “He told me where he was. He knew we were here.”
“And we’re sure she’s there?” Xay asks.
“Yeah. He is using her to lure us there. He has her locked up I’m guessing in the casino cells.” I rub the back of my neck. Every muscle in my body is tight and in a knot. None of this is a good thing. We are royally fucked six ways past next Sunday.
“Then what do we do?” Seven blows out a breath. “What the fuck do we do?”
I run a hand down my face. “The only thing we can do. We go to her. We go to Rory.”
We pull up to The Solaris Casino about an hour later and I can instantly feel the churn in my stomach. Anything that is club-related makes me sick. I never wanted anything to do with the club. I grew up knowing my father was a piece of shit. The best thing that ever happened was his arrest and conviction. Everything dismantled without him at the helm.
Or so we thought.
Apparently, the MC was still running underground in the shadows. With a skeleton crew. Or at least it’s the only thing I can think of.
As we walk through the doors, the smoke from the cigarettes hits us and I start coughing. The ventilation in this place is apparently shit. The sounds of the slot machines and cheering can be heard throughout. Even those who are swearing at the machines because they probably just lost their life savings.
Here’s the thing: Vegas wasn’t built on winners.
“Where the hell do we go?” Xayden looks around us, no doubt trying to spot Rory. But she is locked up tight.
“It’s not where we go, it’s who comes and gets us,” I respond.
“What does that mean?” Xay narrows his eyes and frowns.
Seven points at the cameras above us. “Eyes in the sky. They already know we’re here.”
And before I can say anything else, four prospects come up to us. They are scrawny, and the three of us could take them and lay them flat on their asses in under five seconds, but we need to get to Rory. So, we have no other choice than to see what they want.
“Gentlemen.” Xayden takes a step back to form a line with Seven and me. “We don’t want any trouble.”
The fat one who looks like he is about to bust out of his pants laughs. “Good, then you’ll come with us.”
“And where exactly are you taking us?” I question.
“How about you stop asking questions?” a scrawny asshole next to fatty pipes in. He seriously looks like he just hit puberty and should be living in his mom’s basement jacking it to Pornhub.
“How about you wash your face, you greasy fucker,” Seven snaps back.
“Look, that’s fine. Keep talking shit. We will go take our time with that pretty pussy down there,” Fatty snorts.
I let out a growl as my fists curl at my sides. Red clouds my vision, and all I want to do is rip their extremities from their bodies. A hand flies out and hits me in my chest, and I look down to see it’s Xayden. He shakes his head at me and mouths the word “no”.
He turns back to the geek squad of prospects and nods. “Fine, take us where you need to.”
The two silent ones start walking, and we follow. Big boy and grease stain follow behind us. As we walk through the casino, the noise around me fills me with more anger. These people are just sitting here, giving their money to shit bags and have no idea they are holding a woman prisoner right under their noses. Keep feeding those machines, assholes.
We make our way toward the cashier’s cage. We take a slight right and head toward the set of double doors next to the sign that says, “employees only.” Silent Bob number one pushes a door open, and all of us follow behind him.
The walls are white and clinical. Casino workers are walking in and out of offices that are back here. Some are probably starting their shift while others are on their way home to live in their shit apartment with their shit pay.
We soon come upon a giant metal door, and Grease Ball puts in a code and it beeps. He pulls it open, and we all file into a small hall. He takes off as the door shuts behind us and I hear it lock. A shiver races down my spine as the latch engages.
We walk about twenty feet until we come to another door. Biggie and Greasy stop and point to the door.
“Head on in.” Biggie smiles.
Xayden grips the handle on the door, turns it, and pushes it open.
All three of us walk into a barely lit room. The contrast from the bright hallway is making it difficult for our eyes to focus in the dark.
The door slams behind us, and I blink a few times to try to get my eyes to adjust.
And that’s when I see him.
My sperm donor.
“Son! You made it!” He stands up from the metal folding chair he was sitting on. “So glad you did.”
“What the fuck is all this? I thought this place was dumped like the rest of the shit from the MC?” I ask through gritted teeth.
He drawls, “Oh, well, it was. But we worked our magic to get it back.” He shrugs. “Business stuff or whatever. I mean, what do I know? I was in prison.” His eyes gleam.
“Dad?” Xayden whispers beside me as Aaron comes walking out of the shadows.
“Oh, Xayden. I’m so glad you are okay.” Aaron places a hand over his chest and lets out a long breath.
“What are you doing here? Where’s June?” Xayden takes a step toward his father.
“Well, son, she’s sleeping,” my father answers for Aaron as he points to a figure of a person against the wall.
And my blood runs cold.
That’s June.
“June!” Xayden screams.
“Ah, Xay. She can’t hear you.” Aaron laughs.
“She’s as dead a door nail.” My father slaps his knee.
“She’s dead?” Seven’s voice is pained.
“Oh yeah. Completely. The minute I fired the bullet into her head. Pop! Lights out.” My father holds up his hand like he’s holding a gun and pretends to fire it.
“You killed her? Dad?” Xayden shakes his head, trying to process everything.
“Ah, so much to share with you, Xay. Look, she was a nice woman, but we got what we wanted from her.” Aaron claps and rubs his hands together.
“And what the fuck did you want from her?” Xayden growls at his father. I can hear it in his voice he is ready for an all-out war with his father.
“Xayden!” an angelic voice cries out, and all three of us turn toward it.
“Rory!” all three of us call out in unison as we start to move toward her on instinct.
The cocking of a gun stops us dead in our tracks as the barrel is pressed to her head. My eyes meet the person who’s about to meet his maker and everything in me comes to a screeching halt.
A gun is held to her head by the last person I was ever expecting to be here. And by the gasps next to me, the other two with me are just as surprised.
I narrow my eyes, and I see blood. “Damien.”
“Hello, boys. Any last words to say to Rory before we put bullets in your heads?”