Master
LEAVING TALEAH SLEEPING in bed this morning so I could get back to the clubhouse before the sun even rose in the sky was torture. Link got a call about another trafficking ring and called me in. From what he was told, it involves someone from the same group as before. One of the men escaped somehow and has been biding his time to rebuild what he lost when Link’s group went in and dismantled it all at the auction. I didn’t wake Taleah up as I dressed and left, leaving a note on the stand next to her side of the bed so she knows what’s going on. While I didn’t go into detail about what’s going on because I can’t, I let her know I had club business and would call her when I could. That if she needed me, she could call at any time and I’d answer. I might not be able to go to her, but I’ll do what I can to help.
We had church so Link could give us the details and I know this is hitting him hard because it’s going to be horrible for Annistyn if she learns what’s going on. She’s in a good place in her life now. This is the last thing she needs to deal with, but her past is coming back with a vengeance. Link informed us the group is smaller than before. The one who escaped somehow is the leader this time and has about five guys under him. They take care of everything and are overworked. They’re kidnapping the women and girls, holding them in some kind of warehouse, and making sure the victims are all drugged, beaten, and watched so no one gets to them. The leader is paranoid after the raid on the auction and taking no chances. I mean, he’s taking achance simply by pulling the same shit again, but we’ll see what I can find on him.
Now, I’m locked away in my office digging up as much dirt on this new group as I can. The leader’s name is Benjamin Sutton. He’s a middle aged man with no family and spent his youth between foster homes and a juvenile detention center. Ben is a horrible person and his charges even from a young age are vile. Animal cruelty, destruction of property, theft, assault, you name it and he’s got a charge for it. Now, his crimes are even worse and he’s been charged with rape, attempted murder, and several other crimes I don’t even want to think about. Somehow, he manages to get away with every single charge and hasn’t spent time in prison for any of the major crimes he’s been accused of committing.
After discovering his name and basic information, I start putting together the names of the other guys working with him this time. Most of them are low-level offenders who can’t seem to keep a job and also have no family they can speak of. Two of the guys have children they don’t take care of or pay child support for. They simply vanished from their lives and have hooked up with Ben. The other three men are essentially ghosts who I’m having a hard time finding any information on. I might have to bring my friend in on this job to gain what I need so we can finally end this once and for all.
As I start to put the files together on each of the men, I realize Ben isn’t the true leader of this shit. He’s simply a pawn and someone else is pulling the strings. I start to dig into all of Ben’s contacts and find something very interesting. I know one of his contacts and it doesn’t take me long to connect the dots. This asshole is someone the government has been after for a long time and I know for a fact is already sitting in jail. Now, I have found the information to ensure he never sees the light ofday as a free man for the rest of his life. I’m practically bouncing in my seat when Count enters my room and takes a seat next to me.
“What’s got you so excited?” he questions me as I point to the monitor in front of me and he reads the section I’m pointing out. “Holy fuck! You hit the fuckin’ jackpot, Master. What do you need me to do to help?”
“You can start puttin’ these files together. You know how I do everythin’ so we have the information when it’s time for church. I know Reckless wants to meet again in a few hours. I’m still tryin’ to figure out who these three men are because I can’t find much of anythin’ on them,” I tell him as he looks at me for a few minutes.
“What’s different about you, Master? You seem lighter than you were a few days ago,” he asks me, his voice low as if someone else is in the room with us.
“Taleah went to Bhodi’s grave last weekend. She told me I didn’t have to go with her, but I did. It’s the first time I’ve been to the cemetery since the day he was buried and I watched Taleah break down completely in front of everyone there to say their final goodbyes to him. That was the last time I saw her before we left for boot camp. I still feel guilty because if I had been at the party with them, he might still be alive today. Livin’ the life he was meant to and here with us in the clubhouse. Instead, he drowned in a fuckin’ pool. Before he turned nineteen years old. If I hadn’t pushed him away, things might be different. Taleah made me realize that we can’t go back and change the horrible mistakes we made in the past. Bhodi was my best friend and he lost his life in a senseless accident. Now, I have to live my life in honor of him and make a million memories like he would want me to. So, I’m gonna live my life as if each day were the last and move forward with Taleah,” I tell him, saying Bhodi’s nameout loud to a person who didn’t get the chance to know him. It feels weird when I’ve refused to say it for so long, but also good because I’m talking about him.
“Good. Taleah’s good for you, Master. I’m glad she got you to go. I know he was your best friend and I won’t ever take his place in your life. What I’ll do is stand by your side and make sure you do live to honor the time you did have with him. I’ll support you no matter what and be there when you fuck everythin’ up again. I won’t let you push everyone away because that’s not how you truly live life. Taleah won’t let you hide away from memories of Bhodi any longer either. Promise me I’ll get to stand at your side when you marry her. I know none of us can be your best man. That spot will always be reserved for Bhodi even if he’s not here to fill that role. I’ll stand right next to where he would,” Count says and I turn to look at him because this is the man he is. Always there when we need him and knowing the right thing to say in any given situation. At least when it comes to the rest of us. Not so much when it comes to his own life.
“You got it. Wouldn’t dream of gettin’ married without you by my side, Count. You’re the best man I know next to Bhodi. You remind me of him in certain ways,” I tell him as we both get back to work.
Count and I worked for hours in my office. He put together all the files while I continued digging for information. The intel I have is solid and my hacker friend got back to me with the information on the three men I couldn’t find. The names they gave Ben are fake and it’s why I couldn’t find anything on my end for them. I wish I could say they were working undercover, but they’re not. They just don’t want Ben to have their real names because they don’t trust him.
A knock on my door sounds and I call out for them to enter my room. Count is the only one who ever just walks in. That might have to stop if Taleah starts coming around more often. Especially when I’m working.
“Reckless is ready for church. You got anythin’ more to give us?” Link asks, stepping just in the door and looking between Count and me.
“Yeah. We got a lot of information. More than what I thought we’d find,” I say, grabbing the files from Count as he picks up my laptop and we follow Link to church.
Everyone is already there waiting for us when we enter and take our seats.
“Church in session,” Reckless says, slamming the gavel on the table in front of him. “As you all know, there’s another traffickin’ ring that’s been started and Link was called about it. Master, what have you discovered this time?”
“The leader’s name is Benjamin Sutton. He’s the one who escaped when Link broke it up the last time at the auction. Five guys work under him. They’re tasked with each kidnappin’, keepin’ the victims locked up, and everythin’ else. These three are usin’ fake names, but they’re fuckin’ monsters. I thought Ben was bad with all of his previous charges, but he’s innocent compared to this trio. They gave the fake names because they don’t trust Ben. I wouldn’t either. The other two guys are low-level offenders with petty shit that never really involved hurtin’ another person. They’ve got kids they don’t pay for or see. Sperm donors and nothin’ more than that.
“As I was diggin’ up information, I started to wonder why Ben has never faced jail time for a crime he’s committed over the last several years when he was in and out of juvenile detention centers from a young age. He hooked up with the lastperson I would have expected to see—Mr. Bond. TJ’s father is the leader of this entire thing. He was the contact person for the ring Link broke up as well. Every move bein’ made is directed by him and no one else. Mr. Bond doesn’t use phones or email to communicate with Ben. They were meetin’ in person at one of the casinos. Both men would sit at the same table and enjoy casual conversation until the table cleared out and then they’d conduct business. Now, Ben is on his own and he’s makin’ stupid decisions. That’s why Mr. Bond wants to be out of jail so damn bad. His entire plan is about to implode and he can’t put a stop to it,” I inform everyone around the table as Link’s face turns an alarming shade of red.
“Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me!” he explodes, standing so fast from his seat it crashes into the wall behind him. “All this shit is run by that fuckin’ monster? So, Annistyn and Taleah are connected in a way. Do we know if Taleah was ever on the list of victims to be kidnapped?”
“She was. When TJ and her broke up, she was almost abducted three times. Mr. Bond couldn’t stand her because she was sweet and pure. TJ wasn’t able to break her the way he expected to happen because Bhodi and I made sure she had a backbone and stood up for herself when we weren’t there to protect her. It took until she was in college for her to be that way, but he couldn’t destroy her which made Mr. Bond want to get his hands on her even more. He was prepared to break her himself while TJ watched so he knew what to do in the future,” I tell the table as rage fills me once again because the thought of anyone taking Taleah for their personal amusement makes me want to go to the jail and spend some time with Mr. Bond. I want to break him the way he thought he’d break my girl.
“Fuck,” Reckless whispers as Link takes his seat again and everyone continues to look at me for information.
“Ben is runnin’ everythin’ the exact same way. There’s gonna be an auction and it’s once again an invitation only event. They’re keepin’ the guest list extremely small this time because it means less risk. We won’t be able to go in the same way Link did. We’re gonna have to come up with an entirely different game plan for this one. Maybe bring in some more men to help us out. We all know the Phantom Bastards and Wild Kings will be here in a heartbeat to help us end this shit,” I explain as Reckless leans back to think how to handle this.
“Okay. I’ll call my grandpa and dad to see what they want to do. If they have shit goin’ on, I’ll make the call to Grim, Gage, and Venom. I know we can also call in members of the Fallen Brethren MC. Savage is a member there. He’s Cage and Joker’s son with Skylar. Their daughter Reagan is also married to a member of the club. Dad also has two other clubs he might be able to bring in dependin’ on how many guys we actually need,” he says and I know that’s a ton of manpower if that many clubs come together for one job.
“When’s the auction? How much time do we have to put plans in place and figure this shit out?” Link questions me and I can see the lingering rage beneath the surface because this situation is very personal for the two of us. More so him than me because my girl managed to escape being kidnapped during each attempt and Annistyn wasn’t that lucky since she was sold.
“The auction is in three weeks. I can try to get an invitation, but no one from here will be able to go in. I have a feelin’ Mr. Bond knows all about our club and has researched us extensively before he was arrested. We might have to use one of the club’s your dad knows to go there while we remain behind the scenes,” I say while looking at Reckless. “That doesn’t give us much time to find the warehouse because the auction will take place there. Ben doesn’t want to move the victims unlessit’s absolutely necessary. I’m gonna have to say somethin’ to Taleah about this shit. She deserves to know the truth about her kidnappin’ attempts even if I keep the rest of it from her.”
“You tell her what you feel she needs to know, Master. Link, you’re gonna have to talk to Annistyn about this situation because if we bring more girls back here to help, she’ll realize what’s goin’ on before anyone else in the clubhouse. I don’t want her to end up backslidin’ because of this shit. If she knows now, she can plan extra sessions with her therapist to help deal with the situation,” Reckless says as Link leans forward in his seat and rests his elbows on the table in front of him.
“I’ll talk to her today. Master, if you need us, let me know. Annistyn will have no problem helpin’ Taleah talk through whatever she’s feelin’ because of this shit. They can go to the ranch together if that’s what they need to do,” Link offers as Reckless begins to hand out orders of what he wants everyone to do.
“I’m headin’ back to Taleah’s. Might talk to her about stayin’ on the compound for now because Mr. Bond does still want revenge against her for TJ. I’m not fuckin’ losin’ her because of the prick,” I say as several of the guys nod in response because they know Mr. Bond is becoming desperate knowing he can’t do anything to handle the shit storm Ben is turning this situation into.
