Page 21 of Link (Dragon Riders MC 1)
I whipped around on him. “One more outburst from you after I give a command and I’ll have your leather cut. Got it?”
Sly glared at me, but he nodded. “Got it.”
“Good. Joanna?”
“Yes?”
“Follow me.”
We made our way back into my office, and the walk alone made Joanna winded. She was tired. She obviously didn’t get any kind of sleep. And that made me worried about what she was about to tell me. I ushered her inside and peered down the hallway, seeing the guy’s shadows gather at the door leading back into the bar. They were curious, and I didn’t blame them. I was just as curious.
Which was why I quickly shut my office door and turned to face Joanna.
“Talk. Now,” I said.
She wasted no time filling me in. “Two weeks ago, my sister—who I’m a bit estranged from right now—showed up at my office damn near midnight with bruises on her face.”
“When exactly did this happen?”
“After I left the bar the last time. I ended up at work and got some things done. Then, she showed up.”
“You said you two were estranged?”
“That’s not the point.”
“Everything’s the point. Gather your thoughts and talk to me.”
Joanna closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath before she leaned against my desk.
“Hope came to me with bruises on her face. Ligature marks around her neck. The last I heard, she was in California with some guy. But apparently they broke up and she stole from him. It was a whole big thing.”
“What does this have to do with the motel?”
Her eyes opened. “Do you know anyone by the name of Skeleton?”
I blinked. “Uh, yeah. A bit. He’s the president of—”
“The Golden Jags. So, they really are a bike club in town?”
I nodded. “Yes. A ruthless one, too.”
“They’re trafficking women and using them for sex. That’s what the motel’s used for.”
I girded myself. “You better have some serious shit to back that up, Joanna.”
“I do. My sister. That’s why she came to me. In California, she met Skeleton in a bar. They went on a bike trip after he sweet-talked her into a life of luxury and roped her into signing a contract. She’s his property. She’s a sex doll to him. And according to her, she’s been servicing men in a hotel room assigned to her for the past year.”
I ran my hand through my hair. “Fucking hell. Can she prove any of this?”
She shook her head. “Just her testimony. And I’ve had a devil of a time getting my hands on the contract she signed. All she wants is out, and I figured some fun little legality proceedings might help me. But I’m getting nowhere.”
“And you won’t with Skeleton. Shit doesn’t sway him. Ever.”
She scoffed. “So I’m finding out.”
“Why come to me, then?”
“Why not? It’s obvious you’re part of a crew as well. Do you guys work with them or something?”
“No. If anything, the other crews in the area distance themselves from the Jags as much as they can. They’ve been bad news. Always have been, always will be.”
“Is there any way you can help my sister? Any way a-a-at all?”
I hated how weak and desperate her voice sounded asking me that question. The small break ached my heart in ways I’d never felt before. But what she was asking—especially as a lawyer—could put her career in jeopardy.
“You’re aware that you’re asking someone outside of the law to do something not quite legal, even though you’re a lawyer. Right?” I asked.
Joanna nodded. “I have no other options. I’ve spoken to the police. I’ve exhausted my connections over the past couple of weeks. And I have nothing to show for it.”
“Where’s your sister now?”
“She’s at my place right now. But she keeps insisting that she has to go back, Link. She keeps insisting she has to go, otherwise he’ll come for her and kill her. And I can’t send my sister back to that nasty motel so she can go back to doing God-knows-what with who-knows-who. I have to do something. Please. Help me. I’ll do anything. Pay anything you want.”
I didn’t know what happened inside me, but something popped. Maybe it was the way she begged. Or the way she looked up at me with those big, brown eyes of hers. But I took one stride for her and wrapped my arm around her waist. I pulled her into my body and dipped my lips, crashing them against hers. And even though her body stiffened, it didn’t take two strokes of my tongue before she melted into me.
Fisting my leather jacket in all the ways I remembered her doing.
I cloaked my arms around her back. I picked her up, setting her on the edge of my desk. I reached down and rolled her pencil skirt up her thighs as her legs parted for me. Welcoming me into the fold of her comfort. Her head tilted off to the side. She trembled as my clothed pelvis seated itself against her panties. And as I sucked on her lower lip, I pulled away. Letting my forehead rest against her own.
