“Not sure. Seems Snake has a brother, and I think he’s the same guy who threatened the girls before. I’m gonna take a few of the guys to Chapel Hill to see if I can find anything out.”
“Meet you at the gas station off the highway in ten and I’ll follow you.”
“See you then.” I hang up, lock up my room, head straight towards my bike, and swing my leg over.
“Anything you want us to do here?” Blaze and Jinx ask, and I hadn’t even realized they were following me.
“Ask around and see if anyone heard anything, if anyone knows anything. Right now, we’re taking any lead we can get.”
“Got it.,” Blaze says, stepping back from my bike.
“Jax is meeting us off the highway and will follow us down,” I tell Harlen, Everett, Z, and Mic.
“Let’s roll,” Mic says, and it takes just a few minutes to get to the gas station, and when we do, I don’t even stop; I just circle the parking lot and let Jax follow me in his SUV. On the highway, I lead with my boys to my sides and July’s cousins to my back. It takes less then twenty minutes to get to Chapel Hill, and when we pull into town, I stop at the first mom and pop shop I see.
“Don’t really got time to stop and get cookies, Silver,” Jax says, and I ignore him and head inside the small shop, and just what I thought, an older gentlemen is behind the counter.
“I was wondering if you know anything about a church in town being up for sale?” I ask him, and he nods.
“If you take a right out of the parking lot and go about four miles then go over the train tracks, past Lord’s Jewelry, you’ll see it on the left. Someone bought it about three weeks ago, and they’ve been having work done to it.”
“Thanks.”
“Anytime,” he tells me, and I lift my chin then head out front.
“Church is down across the tracks on the left. I say one of us goes down and checks the area then comes back with intel, just to make sure we don’t need any back-up.”
“On it,” Mic says, taking off towards the church.
“You got any info?” I ask Jax.
“Uncle Nico says River and Snake are not related. They grew up in foster care together, and that’s why we didn’t know about him. Seems like River is Snake’s muscle.”
“Jesus,” I say, and I hear Mic before I see him. He pulls up close on his bike and doesn’t even shut it down before he starts to talk.
“Church parking lot is empty, and the doors have chains locking them closed. Across the street are some houses, and I saw a woman out front in her garden. She said this morning a van had pulled up, and a couple men took some stuff inside, but it’s been quiet since then.”
“Let’s go check it out.”
*
July
I look at Ellie then at the piece of wood I’m still holding in my hands. We didn’t find anything else, but I did find a hole in the roof. It’s small, but I think that with how weak it is, we can chip away at it, hopefully making it large enough to fit through.
“Hold this,” I tell Ellie, handing her the two-by-four. I go to where the hole is and peek through. The sun is setting, and I can see—at least from where I’m looking—it appears we’re in the forest. I press on the wood, and it bends slightly at my touch. I don’t know who has us, or if they are around so I don’t really want to make a lot of noise. I hold onto the beams in the ceiling where the wall pitches downward and put my foot to the wood, pressing hard, and my foot goes through the roof.
“Oh, my God!” Ellie whispers, and I stop what I’m doing to look at her, wondering if she heard someone coming.
“What?” I whisper back.
“I can’t believe I didn’t try that,” she says, and I almost want to laugh at the look on her face, but I don’t; I just turn around and press my foot a little higher. This time, more of the roof crumbles enough that I can stick my head out, which I do cautiously then look around. We’re about two stories up, but until we get out, we won’t know if there is a way down.
“I don’t know if there’s going to be a way for us to get down, but I would rather be on the roof than in here waiting for them when they come back.”
“Me too,” she agrees, holding the two-by-four a little tighter in her grasp.
I use my sweatshirt over my hands to pull more of the roof off. I know that if this spot is so weak that I can do this, then there must be others in the same shape, so once we’re out, we’re going to have to be very careful not to fall through. “I’m going to get out first, then you’re going to follow me and only put your body where I put mine. The roof is weak, and there is a chance we could fall through if we’re not super cautious.”
“Okay,” she agrees, and I push out through the opening, using my arm strength to lift myself out. I look around to make sure no one’s below then stick my head back in the hole.
“Come on.” I hold my hand out to Ellie, and she hands me the two-by-four. I set it aside then help lift her out onto the roof. Once she’s out, we both lean back against the shingles. I grab her hand and give it a squeeze. “If anything happens and one of us is able to get away, we go for help, okay?”
“I won’t leave you behind,” she says, shaking her head.
“It’s not about either of us leaving the other behind, but about getting help if we need to,” I tell her, and she looks away then squeezes my hand back.
“Fine,” she says after a long moment. I nod, turn onto my belly, and start to slide across the roof. It’s steep, and I know that one wrong move could have me tumbling to the ground. When we make it to the side of the house, I see there are wire cages set up. It takes a moment for me to realize what I’m looking at. Hundreds of dogs are stacked one on top of the other in two rows for about twenty feet. My stomach begins to turn with rage. I know these dogs are probably either fighting dogs, or it’s a puppy mill.
“Can we use the cages to get down that way?” Ellie asks in a hushed tone, and I look at her, shaking my head.
“The dogs will all flip out if we try, and if someone’s around, they will come to see what’s causing the dogs to go nuts,” I whisper, and she looks over me, down to the ground, then back towards the way we came.
“Maybe there is something on the other side.”
“Yeah,” I agree, and she leads us in the other direction. Halfway there, her foot goes through the roof, and she covers her mouth before a scream can leave it.
“It’s okay; just go slow,” I assure her when her body freezes and begins to shake. She closes her eyes then opens them before moving again, this time more cautiously. I follow behind her as she slides over the hole, and I do the same. The roof pitches at a steeper angle, almost like we’re completely vertical. I look down and cringe when I see how far we are from the ground.
“Don’t look down,” Ellie hisses, grabbing my hand. I bite my lip then follow her to a ledge near where the roof changes angles. “Someone’s here,” Ellie says, peeking around a corner of the roof. “It’s the guy who took me,” she whimpers, with fear evident in her voice. I hold her hand and she scoots back toward me.
“What is he doing?” I ask, looking around and noticing we are surrounded by forest on all sides.
“Taking dog food out of his truck,” she says, disgusted.
“Did you see a way down?”
“No, I didn’t really look though, ’cause he’s there and I didn’t want him to see me.”
“Our only other option is to wait until it’s dark, hope they don’t come to check on us, make our way down the side the cages are on, and then make a run for it,” I tell her.
“Since I have been here, they have checked on me once in the morning, and once at night. They take me down to the bathroom and give me some water or bread then send me back up.”
“So they will be coming back. Staying here isn’t an option,” I say then hear a vehicle start up, and Ellie stands, peeking over the pitch in the roof.
“He’s leaving,” she hisses, sitting back down next to me. “What
if we go down over the cages and open them as we leave?” she asks.
I hate the idea they would hurt the dogs if we let them out, but I know we need to do something. If we stay put, we are sitting ducks, and that is not an option.
“Let’s head over to that side of the roof. We’ll find a safe way to get down then make a run for it.”
She agrees silently and we make our way across the roof again as the sun sets in the sky. Once we reach the side of the house with the cages, I know we can get down, but I also know the minute we make our presence known to the dogs below, they are going to start barking, drawing attention to us.
“We’re going to have to be fast…really, really fast,” I whisper.
“If we make it out of this, I’m joining the gym.”
“I’ll go with you,” I whisper back, making her smile, and even with the events of the day and how exhausted she looks, I realize how beautiful she is. Her smile is blinding, and I hope when we’re out of here and she gets her daughter back that she smiles more.
“Let’s get the hell out of here, and then go get your baby,” I say, and a light fills her eyes right before she hugs me.
“Let’s go,” she murmurs, releasing me from her grasp. I take a few deep inhales and then lower myself to the shortest part of the roof. A fresh wave of adrenalin starts coursing through me as I watch Ellie get down next to me. It’s about six feet to the top of the cages, which have pieces of plywood set on top of them. I hop down, and the dogs immediately begin to bark louder and snarl in the cages.
“Hurry,” I tell Ellie, looking up at her. She hops down, and I hear someone off in the distance yell, “Shut the fuck up!” and my body freezes. Then I slide over the back of the cage, hitting the ground hard, and Ellie comes down next to me, her feet hitting the ground then landing on her ass.
“We can’t let them out. They’ll attack us,” I tell her as she looks at the dogs. “Let’s run back that way.” I point towards the forest behind the house. “I don’t know where the road is, but maybe we will see another house.” We slowly make our way back into the woods, and the deeper we go, the darker it gets.
“What was that?” I pause, asking Ellie as I hear what sounds like a four-wheeler.
“I don’t know.” She holds my hand a little tighter, and we begin to run as the sound gets closer.
“You can’t hide, you dumb bitches. This is five hundred acres of private property. No one is around for miles,” I hear yelled from off in the distance.
“Oh, God,” Ellie whimpers, and I stop and grab her shoulders.
“Listen to me. We got this far; we are going to get out of here,” I tell her. Even as scared as I am, there is no way I’m giving up. Not now, not when we have come so far.
“I’m not giving up, but I’m scared,” she says.
“Me too, but we need to keep moving. That’s the only way we’re going to be able to make it out of this alive,” I say then begin pulling her with me again. We run forever without coming across any sign of life, and my body is beginning to shut down from exhaustion. I know Ellie is in the same shape, because we both start to stumble more. Then I see lights shine through the trees, as the sound of the four-wheeler gets closer than it has been.
“I have a plan,” I whisper when I see the lights coming closer. “But you’re going to have to be brave.”
“What?”
“I’m going to stand out in the open for him to see me, and you’re going to hide behind a tree. When he gets close, I want you to hit him in the head with the two-by-four,” I say, looking down at that weapon both of us have taken turns carrying since finding it.
“I think you should hit him. I’ve been here for four days. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to hit him,” she whispers.
“Are you sure?”
“We have a better chance if you do it,” she replies, and the lights get closer, so I know we don’t have time to debate with each other who’s doing what. I slip behind the tree, keeping my eyes locked on Ellie.
“I’m here, and we’re not going down without a fight,” I tell her, looking into her scared eyes.
The lights land directly on her, and she yells, “Please, the other girl is hurt. She needs help!” She starts to cry, and I see the four-wheeler move closer, driven by a guy I don’t recognize.
“Where is she?” he growls, reaching out to Ellie, so I take that moment to run out from behind the tree. His head turns my way and his eyes grow with shock as I hit him in the side of the head. His body slumps forward and I push him off the four-wheeler.
“Let’s go,” I tell Ellie, who seems to be frozen in place. Her body startles then she jumps on behind me.
“Do you know how to drive one of these things?” she asks as I pull off quickly. Uncontrollable laughter bubbles out at her question, and I don’t answer, just drive faster. “I hope so.” She wraps her arms tight around me.
“I know it’s stupid, but we need to go back to the house and follow the road. We stand a better chance of making it to safety if we do.”
“You’ve gotten us this far,” Ellie says, and I just hope I can get us to safety.
We drive for a good hour, and I’m actually really surprised how long it takes for us to get back to the house. When we get closer, I notice a figure standing outside. I zoom past him, fishtailing, then press the gas harder as we head down a long dirt road.
“He’s coming!” Ellie screams right before the four-wheeler jolts forward. “Oh, God! He’s got a gun!” she cries, and I yell, “Duck,” getting down as low as I can while pulling back on the throttle. Then I see it, off it the distance—headlights. My pulse kicks up, and I know if these are his friends we are as good as dead. Shots ring out from behind me as I drive faster, and then I pull off the road and into the forest when the headlights coming from the other direction get closer.
“July!” I hear roared, and I’d know that voice anywhere. Wes. Then I hear gunshots, and my body begins to shake with worry. I turn, going back towards the road, and stop.
“Stay here,” I tell Ellie.
“No.” She grabs my hand, but I don’t have time to fight with her. I need to make sure Wes is okay.
“I need to get to my fiancé,” I tell her in a panic, and then we hear two more shots. I sob, trying to get to the road.
“July!” Wes roars again, and I yell back, “Over here!”
I step out of the clearing, my eyes landing on the truck that was chasing us. The door is open, and the guy is slumped onto the steering wheel. Mic, Harlen, and Z are standing next to him, and Jax, Talon Everett and Sage all look at us as tears form in my eyes.
“He’s dead baby,” Wes says, pulling my attention to him. His eyes meet mine then do a sweep over the rest of me. I run to him, pulling Ellie with me, only letting go of her when I throw myself into Wes. His arms wrap around me, holding me so tight that I feel myself molding to him. “Jesus.” He lets me go and begins to look me over, his hands moving over my body.
“I’m okay,” I assure him, putting my hands on his cheeks. He drops to his knees and his face goes into my belly, and I wrap myself around him for a moment. Then he stands, kissing me once more before looking to my side. “This is Ellie. She was here when they brought me,” I tell him.
His face turns hard and he growls, “There was more than one guy?”
“Yes, he was in the forest. We knocked him off the four-wheeler and took it.”
“Do a sweep of the forest. See if you can find the other guy. Your dad should be here soon,” Jax tells my cousins as he walks towards us, carrying a flashlight. The light sweeps over me then Ellie, and his step falters for a brief moment, before he continues towards us.
“Let me have that, baby,” Jax says, his eyes locked on Ellie, and she holds the two-by-four a little tighter to her chest then shakes her head, backing up almost until she’s behind me. “I promise I won’t let anything hurt you, but I need you to give that to me, and then I want to look you over,” he tells her gently. Her eyes
leave him and come to me. I look at her hands and see they are red, and I know why Jax is worried about her.
“This is Ellie,” I tell Jax then say, “Jax is my cousin. He looks scary, but he’s a big softy.” Her eyes go back to Jax, looking him over. He is imposing; at a little over six feet, his body is honed from workouts and training, and his dark hair is buzzed close to his skull. And next to Ellie, he looks like a giant.
“Swear on my life I won’t hurt you, or let anyone hurt you ever again,” he tells her, and I watch his eyes go soft in a way I have never seen before, not from him. Ellie swallows then hands him the two-by-four. He drops it to the ground then takes her hands, making her cry out, causing anger to flood his features. “I won’t hurt you, but your hands are in bad shape,” he explains then looks at me. “You hurt?”
“No.” I shake my head and Wes’s arms wrap tighter around me.
“I’m going to put Ellie in my truck and look her over while I wait for Uncle Nico to get here,” Jax says, and I watch, stunned as he swings Ellie up into his arms and carries her off to his truck.
“That was so weird,” I mutter, looking at where Jax is standing in front of the open door of his truck, with Ellie in front of him. “How did you find me?” I ask Wes, and his eyes sweep over me again before his mouth lands on mine, kissing me so deep that when he pulls his mouth from mine, I have unconsciously wrapped myself around him.
“The place these guys were turning into a tattoo shop is about an hour from here. When we got inside, we found they left a computer, and the computer was hooked up to that guy’s cell phone. We did a backwards trace and it lead us here.”
“That’s pretty smart,” I mutter.
“That’s all Harlen; he’s good at that kind of shit.” He says and I wiggle out of his arms when the guys walk over, I give them each a hug, telling them thank you before getting pulled back by the loop of my jeans into Wes’ side, where I stay when Uncle Nico pulls up along with ten other cop cars. Ellie stays with me, and we both answer as many questions as we can, most of which we have no answers to.