She jerked as someone hit out at her cage.
“Hey, little bitch, this cage suits you.”
Glancing up, she saw her tormentor was the one who gave all the women drugs. He was the reason Karen was dead, and her anger started to fester.
“I bet you’re starving right now, right?” he asked.
Not saying a word, she averted her gaze and stared at her blood soaked hands.
“Hey, I’m talking to you, slut!” He slammed the cage, and Anna forced herself to look at him.
“Does it feel good?” she asked. Her voice was raw from all the screaming and shouting she’d done. Not only was her voice raw from actually using it, but the man in front of her had tried to strangle her.
“What?”
“You kidnap women, and then you beat them into submission. Does it make you feel good, tough, strong?”
He smirked. “You better be careful.”
Anna was past caring. She had been pushed to her limit, and her ability to care was gone. Her best friend was dead. She had no family, and no one was waiting for her at home. Anna even doubted anyone knew she was missing. Her life sucked. It was one big pile of shit with no way out.
“Or what? You’ll beat me? You’ve done that.” She wiped the tears that had spilled from her eyes. “You’re just a coward.”
“You think that?” The man was smiling, and Anna knew she should be afraid, but she didn’t care.
“There are no men here. You’re all afraid of men, and you get power from hurting women. You’re all just a bunch of cowards.” And she wanted to die.
The moment he opened her cage and dragged her out, Anna tuned everything out. At first, she surprised him by landing in a few blows herself. After he knocked her down to the ground, everything became a blur.
She wanted to go to Karen.
Anna was done being alone, and she was goading him to make it possible for her to finally have peace.
When darkness came, she prayed it would stay.
There was nothing else for her.
Chapter Two
“It’s a simple extraction. Kill who comes close, and backup will be there and waiting. We go in quiet,” Lewis said, pointing at the layout of the old ranch house. Richard, John, Dave, and Jamie stood up looking at the location. Sean, Malcolm, Blake, and Jackson had already gone over the details. This was the club in its entirety.
“Our main entrance is through the front gates,” Richard said.
“No,” Blake said. “Look there.” He pointed several yards down to a wooden gate. Russ had done a drive by in his car, taking pictures of the building as he passed after Lewis told him where it was.
Russ’s gut twisted at the thought of what could be happening there. He’d wanted to know how good security was, and he’d pulled up against the gate and pulled out a map, pretending to read it. He’d not worn his leather cut, sticking to his suit. It was one of the benefits of being both a businessman and a member of the MC. He could blend in. Within minutes a guy who had blood spatters on his clothing had come up, demanding he leave.
While he’d been out, he’d heard a feminine scream, and it had done something to him
“We’ve got a feral bitch that needs to be put down. You’d be best taking off now, sir. This is not for the weak.”
Climbing into his car, he’d driven off, but he’d gotten what he needed to. There were women there, women being hurt. Russ hated it when men set out to hurt women. He hated men who beat their wives, children, or set out to hurt those weaker. Russ had a code, and those weaker and vulnerable needed to be protected.
The gate was a pedestrian access that had been overgrown. There was no security, and the back access that would help them into the ranch without being detected.
“We go in there, and the cops come here,” Richard said, pointing at the main gate. “They come on our signal, and we’ll all make it out alive.”
Russ looked at the layout, and couldn’t think of a reason as to why it wouldn’t work. They could make it happen.
“Yes,” Lewis said. “We can get inside without the men being detected, and risking the women’s lives.”
“We don’t want to risk anyone. We learn from our mistakes,” Malcolm said.
They gathered their weapons. Each of the men was trained and ready to shoot. The club and their mission to take down traffickers demanded they perfect their techniques. Russ wasn’t just skilled in handling a gun. He also knew how to handle knives and hand to hand combat. It wasn’t his best skill, but it was something he was proud of.
Once Lewis had put the call to his informant and his friend within the law, they headed out. They didn’t go on their bikes, and instead split into teams of five, taking black trucks. Night had fallen, and there was no time to waste, or at least he didn’t believe there was time to waste.