One of the bikers came behind her, placing a dog collar around her neck. Riley struggled, thinking he meant to strangle her, but stopped when another held a knife to Tara’s throat.
Kenny continued, “You’ll be wearing my collar because you’re my bitch. You see, your father struck a deal with me. I get to keep you, and he gets to take your sister.”
Riley panicked and held on to Tara for dear life. “Dad, don’t do this. I’ll go wherever you want, tell Kenny you changed your mind,” she begged.
“It’s too late,” her father said as he weaved his way over to Tara and jerked her mother’s necklace from her throat, making her cry out. “I put a tracker on this to keep tabs on you. When you started getting rid of things, I knew you’d never part with this. Your mom loved it more than anything I gave her. Then, you gave it to this bitch to wear. She doesn’t deserve to even touch it,” he yelled as he shoved the necklace in his pants’ pocket.
“Did you know I heard her screaming from the field? Itstill haunts me at night how she called my name. When I got to her, the cowboys pulled you out, and they dug your mother’s body from the corn. I want you to know how she suffered, how she used her last dying breath to say my name before she died. I don’t want you to scream for me. I want you to feel the weight of the corn crushing you little by little until you can’t breathe, can’t cry out for help, and I’ll watch from above to ensure you feel what your mom felt when she died.”
“No,” Riley screamed as one of the bikers held her down as her dad dragged Tara from the clubhouse. She fought and twisted, screaming Tara’s name.
“Shut her up,” Kenny commanded, and one of the bikers punched her, sending her to the floor. Riley saw stars as she tried to sit up. Kenny knelt in front of her and held her chin. “We’re gonna have a little fun tonight. My buddies will film it and send it to Garrett. Make sure you scream as you did now because I want him to hear the pain. Maybe then, he’ll change his mind about the money.” Kenny rose and turned toward Stitch and Blade. “Take her to my room. Get the camera set up?—”
Bam. Bam. Two shots were fired from a darkened corner, and Kenny clutched his gut as blood poured from his stomach. The scent in the air turned coppery as the red fluid leaked between his fingers. Riley’s ears rang, and everything went in slow motion. Kenny’s gaze went to the back of the room, where Bernice held a gun. She waved it back and forth, threatening to shoot anyone who came near her. The men backed up, disgusting Kenny as he bled on the floor.
“You fucking bitch,” he muttered as he fell to his knees. “Kill her,” he ordered.
Pandemonium broke out as Bernice shot another bikerwho tried to stop her. Kenny grabbed at Riley, but she shoved him backward onto the floor.
“Get her,” he called weakly. Nobody heard him due to Bernice’s screeching.
Seeing a chance to escape, Riley raced to Rachel’s truck and started the engine as two of the bikers held guns on her. She ducked, put the truck in gear, and stepped on the gas as they fired at her. She felt the thud of their bodies under the wheels as she dashed toward the entrance. More gunfire erupted, blowing out the windshield and barely missing her.
Riley glanced behind her before turning onto the main road. Where did her dad take Tara? Her heart thudded in her chest as she racked her brains, recalling his rambling speech.
She took several breaths, trying to calm down as she trembled. Then, an idea hit her. Her father must’ve taken Tara to the new grain mill. She recalled the ad announcing it would open soon. They ran a demonstration on grain bin rescues for the local ranchers, using the latest equipment. She pressed harder on the pedal, praying she made it on time.
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
Garrett sat in on his first meeting with the team. In three weeks, the traffickers planned to hold an auction near Denver. New information pointed to Caroline, Jameson’s friend, being there. Julio went over the latest numbers.
“They have twenty women and sixteen men. We have the FBI’s full cooperation on this one, thanks to Rebecca,” Julio reported. “They’ll cover us as we enter, and they’ll take the prisoners. The survivors will come here. Dr. Greene will return next week. She can handle any medical care needed.”
“All the mansions have a similar setup,” Rebecca explained to Garrett. “They keep the survivors underground. If it’s not equipped, they’ll keep them in a box truck. If we’re lucky, we can get to the survivors before the raid. If not, we’ll wait until they bid, then stop them as they leave. We do it quietly and efficiently. This way, the ring leader’s unaware and continues on to the next city to pick up his new shipment.”
“Why don’t we nab them?” he asked, unable to believe they let the ringleader go.
The men all gazed at Rebecca. “If we do, we miss the opportunity to rescue more people. We want to save as many as we can. Until this ringleader catches on, we’ll continue using him,” she explained. “Eventually, we’ll nab them, or they turn on each other. In those cases, I say they get what they deserve.” Rebecca’s phone rang, and she held up her finger.
“Hello, Amy,” she greeted. Her expression changed as she listened to the frantic woman and gestured to Julio. Matthew and Jameson rose and went to the weapons room, pulling out guns and ammunition.
“Don’t worry. We’re on our way,” she said, hanging up the phone.
“Two bikers kidnapped Tara five minutes ago. Riley followed them in Rachel’s truck,” she said, checking her weapon. “I’ll call it in on our way.”
Garrett saw red as he took the weapons Jameson handed him, then jumped into his truck. Rebecca, Matthew, and Julio followed them.
His nostrils flared as he tried to breathe. He knew Kenny was capable of murder. Garrett’s warning hadn’t fazed the asshole. This time, he planned to send the message home.
“You have to calm down,” Jameson advised him. “If we go in guns blazing, Riley and Tara might get hurt in the crossfire.”
“I’m killing him with my bare hands,” Garrett growled. “I told him to stay away from them.”
They turned on the road to the clubhouse while Julio dropped Matthew off to head toward the back of the property.
“What the hell?” Jameson muttered as they noticed the bodies at the gate. They stopped the truck, grabbed theirweapons, and entered the clubhouse, clearing the way as they went.
Garrett breached the clubhouse first, yelling, “Put your hands up.”
