Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Lock gagged.
“You fucking piece of shit,” Ty spoke up for the first time.
“I owed so much money,” Oliver whispered as though that could justify participating in human trafficking.
“How’d you get Brenna?” Lock asked in a voice he barely recognized.
“She came by the club. It’s the same place I played poker. I never told her where it was, but she overheard me once and showed up all pissed off. I’m guessing she wanted to talk about the lawsuit.
Lock doubled over, planting his hands on his knees as bile rose in his throat.
Fuck.
“What club?” Spec asked in a voice so deadly Lock shivered.
“Stray.”
“Hmm, swanky. Let’s go, boys,” Spec announced, but he didn’t move away from Oliver.
Lock knew exactly where that club was. They could be there in ten minutes. He turned and ran toward the door.
Before he made it out of the house, he heard Spec’s voice once again.
“How many women did you get for them?”
“S-seven,” Oliver said, shame thick in his voice.
Christ.
As his boots hit the driveway, a shot rang out. Seconds later, Spec appeared in the doorway, phone to his ear.
“Hey, prez, gonna need a clean-up on aisle three.”
Lock grinned. Good fucking riddance.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
THE SCREECH OF the heavy door dragging along the concrete floor exploded through Brenna’s semiconscious state like a bomb going off. She jolted awake so hard her head cracked against the rock wall.
Her heart raced, and her breaths came in harsh pants. Beside her, Kelsie whimpered and began to shake so hard her teeth rattled. Sitting shoulder to shoulder to combat the cold and provide some physical comfort, they’d drifted into a fitful nap some time ago.
Bolt, the giant of a man who’d carried her down the stairs, filled the entire doorway, wearing black denim, a black T-shirt, and a bored expression. “Let’s go,” he barked.
Kelsie trembled hard, bouncing against the uneven wall behind them. Silent tears tracked down her cheeks as she stared at their guard with abject horror in her expression.
“Shh,” Brenna whispered. She gripped the younger woman’s hand between hers. “Try to breathe.”
“Get the fuck up.” As he shouted orders, he stared at Kelsie.
There was no way the other woman could stand and walk out the door. Whatever had happened the last two times they took her, it traumatized her to the point she couldn’t function. She clung to Brenna’s hand as she wept.
“Get her up.” He shifted his attention to Brenna.
When neither of them moved, he rolled his eyes.
“Don’t have time for this shit,” he muttered as he strode into the room. It’d be no problem for him to grab Kelsie and toss her over his shoulder as he’d done to Brenna.
Without giving it more than one second of thought because if she did, she’d have a heart attack, Brenna shouted. “Stop!” She climbed to her feet. “Leave her. I’ll go with you.”
“N-no… no.” Kelsie yanked on her arm, trying to get her to sit, but in her weakened state, she could barely maintain her grasp on Brenna’s hand.
She straightened to her full height and stared the asshole right in the eyes, even though inside, she was quaking as hard as Kelsie. “I’ll go. Leave her the fuck alone.”
“They didn’t ask for you, but what the fuck do I care. Start walking.”
“No… B-b-bren… don’t…” Kelsie tried to stand, but her legs gave out. She was forced to release Brenna’s hand to catch her fall.
Brenna turned and cupped her co-captive’s face between her hands. “It’s okay. I’ll be okay.”
Rivers of tears poured from Kelsie’s face as she shook her head.
“I will.” She leaned closer and whispered. “Remember what I said. They’re coming for me. For us. Hold on to that. I promise we will be free.”
“No…” Kelsie wailed. Her breathing changed to a short, choppy fight for air.
“Enough of this bullshit. Move.” A large hand grabbed the back of her shirt and shoved her away from Kelsie. She fell forward, landing on hands and knees as she struggled to breathe.
The idea of leaving Kelsie alone in this state was a knife to the gut, but she had no choice. Kelsie might not survive another assault, or at least her psyche couldn’t, and Brenna couldn’t live with herself if she allowed that to happen.
“All right! I’m going. Get your fucking hands off me,” she said, wrenching away as he reached for her again with far more confidence than she felt inside. She climbed to her feet and started forward on unsteady legs. She had no doubt that the MC would come for her, but who knew what state she’d be in when they finally found her?
Would she be like Kelsie, traumatized and broken? Would Lock be able to glue the pieces of her back together?
Would he even want to? And could she let him if he did want her?
The man had been through enough in the last year. Latching onto him after all this didn’t seem fair.