Page 27 of Link (Dragon Riders MC 1)
The guys’ jaws dropped open. Including Sly’s.
“You’re fucking kidding me,” Bowser said.
Ash leaned forward. “You mean to tell me those assholes are taking our women and using them as fucking sex dolls?”
Sly sighed. “How do we help?”
My eyes whipped over to him. “What?”
He shrugged. “How do we help?”
I blinked. “Out of all the men at this table, I expected you to be the last to hop on board.”
“I mean, when it comes down to it, you’ve got a girl being held against her will. That’s right up our alley. You got any proof of this, though?”
I nodded. “Both her sister and Joanna could name Skeleton by name. Joanna even described his voice to me. His countenance.”
Bowser’s jaw dropped open. “She’s actually talked to the man?”
I snickered. “She tried calling the motel in question and got him to pick up the phone. She thought a bit of lawyer-speak would intimidate the man.”
Sly chuckled. “Bet she got a rude awakening.”
I clicked my tongue. “To say the least.”
Ash jumped in. “Where’s her sister now?”
“In an undisclosed location. Joanna won’t tell me anything else until she knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that we’re going to help her.”
Bowser nodded. “I admire her gumption.”
Sly grinned. “And her want to take care of family.”
I sighed. “This woman has been through hell at the hands of these assholes. And we’ve gone at the Jags for less than this. I told Joanna I’d help her. That’s already on the table. The question is whether or not this entire crew’s going to help her. That’s what this meeting is about.”
Ash leaned back. “And if we agree? What happens next?”
I licked my lips. “I told her you and I would need to have a sit-down meeting with Hope. Not just to get information, but to try and pick through what’s actually true and what she only perceives as true. Hope has agreed to that, if it’s just us two.”
Sly furrowed his brow. “Why just you two?”
“Because that’s what Joanna prepared her sister with. And right now, her sister is about as jumpy as it gets.”
Bowser sighed. “Understood. Though, I don’t like it.”
Sly picked up his beer. “Yeah. If we’re going to help her, eventually she’s going to come into contact with all of us.”
I reached for another beer. “Exactly. Which is what I’m going to tell her at this meeting with her, myself, and Ash. You know, once we vote on it.”
The guys looked around at one another before I stood.
“All in favor of helping Hope, raise your bottle.”
And when all of my men—including Sly—rose their beers, I slammed mine down onto the table.
“Meeting is adjourned. Our new job is at hand. Ash.”
He stood. “Yep?”
“I need to see you in the back room.”
“Sure thing, Boss.”
I abandoned my beer and walked with Ash into the stockroom of the bar. I knew the guys would already get to work doing what they did best. Recon. Figuring out the landscape of this motel. Digging around town and using their contacts to try and figure out if anyone else had family members go missing. Preferably of the female persuasion. We weren’t new to this game. Everyone had a role, and they knew how to play it.
But this meeting thing was new for Ash and myself.
Because usually, he was the only one who did these.
“So, what do you think?” I asked.
He followed me into the stockroom and closed the door behind him.
“I think, given your familiarity with Joanna, Hope will be more willing to meet with me if I come with you.”
I nodded. “That was my train of thought, yes.”
“We’re going to need some serious firepower to go at them, though. Especially with all the rumors of them at least purchasing illegal weaponry.”
“That’s one of the things I wanted to speak with you about. You’re the one who locks down our weapons in our armory. Do you think we’ve got the firepower to do something like this?”
“Depends on what ‘this’ is.”
I leaned against the wall. “Worst case scenario, we get Hope out, and only Hope out. But best case scenario?”
He nodded. “We liberate the motel.”
“Exactly.”
He grinned. “You always plan for the big picture, don’t you?”
“Has it ever done us wrong in the past?”
“Not one damn bit.”
“So, with what we’ve got now, you think we can make a go at them like that?”
He considered my question. “There are a few things we could use if we’re going to attempt something as grand as that. But I’ve got ways of getting them.”
“Ash.”
He held up his hands. “Not underground marketing or anything. I’m not about to rope us into that kind of shit. But trust me. There are only a couple of things I can think of that would help us with this, and one of those things can be borrowed from a friend of mine. You leave it to me, Boss. I’ll get it done.”
