“Doesn’t mean shit, Tide. These are a whole new breed of traffickers. They’re out for money, and I’m not talkin’ dollars like the others. They’re in it for big money.”
“Who the hell would have wanted her taken?” I ask, more to myself than to them. It doesn’t make sense. Mylah trains dogs and stays to herself. There’s no one out there who would want to hurt her.
“Whoever it was has money,” Ruger adds. I nod my head. He’s right. Whoever it was paid the fucking traffickers to take her, sell her. That has to be big money.
“Do the guys know where I am?” I ask, looking between the two of them.
“Yeah. I let Patch know what was happenin’. He was about to bid on your ass too, but that would have been a little suspicious.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“They’re waitin’ on you to come home, though. Been a rough few days,” Mayhem says.
“Sure as fuck has. Can you get a hold of Mystic for me?”
“Yeah. He’ll find your girl.” I sure as hell hope so. There’s a knot in my stomach from missing her.
“You ready to go home, Tide?” I nod my head. As ready as I’ll ever be. I shove off the chair and stand, finishing off my cigarette before following Ruger out of the basement. We walk up the steps, and I see a few other guys, some I know, some I don’t. We fist-bump anyway, and I say my thanks for what they did for me. Then I follow Ruger out the door where the bikes are.
“You can take that one,” he says, nodding toward one of them.
“You sure? I’m sure the guys can come pick me up.”
“It’s just for show anyway.”
“What do you have goin’ on over here?”
“Same shit as you, I would assume. Missin’ person. We agreed to help find her. I think she’s in deep, though. We’ve been runnin’ around like crazy,” he says as he blows smoke into the air.
“No shit? You need help?”
“No. We got this. You focus on your girl. If you need help, let us know,” he says. I nod my head as he passes me a set of keys and smirks.
“Been good to see you, though, Tide. Been too long, brother.”
“I agree there. We need to get together more often.”
“Sure as hell do. I’ll let the guys know,” he says as I nod.
“I appreciate this.”
“No problem, brother. It’s what we do.” He pulls me into a hug before slapping a hand on my back. He tells me where I am andhow to get back home. Then I turn and grab the helmet off the bike and slide it on my head before climbing on. I rev it up and give one last nod to Ruger before taking off.
I’m only about an hour away from Savannah. And that’s a whole hour I have to think about what happened. A whole hour to think about her.
Chapter 14
Mylah
I’ve gone from freezing with Tide to sweating here. I’m in a dark room with a bed, and that’s it. The only light comes from the window, but since the sun has gone down, there’s nothing. It’s black. And I’m scared.
I haven’t seen anyone since I was brought in here. Maybe I should be happy about that. Maybe not. Whoever bought me hasn’t shown up, and I can only imagine why. There’s too many bad thoughts that linger in my head. Nothing good can come from this.
Fear. That’s not something I’ve ever known. I’ve never had anything to fear. Fear wasn’t an option in my line of work. I had to be the best. And I strive to do that every day. My heart breaks a little in my chest when I think about Bella and all the dogs. I miss them. It sounds strange to miss an animal the way you’d miss a human, but I do.
And Tide. God, how I miss Tide already. I miss him just being here with me. Knowing that I wasn’t alone. But that’s all changed. I am alone.
I turn my head and try to release some of the tension in my neck and shoulders, but it does little good. Creaks come from the hallway, and then the door is opened slightly. I slink back against the wall as I wait for whoever is about to enter the room.
