The guard laughed as though she had said something funny.
“Suit yourself but if you refuse to shower and shampoo your hair, we’re supposed to bathe you ourselves—not that I’d mind that.
” He looked her up and down, and she felt sick to her stomach.
“And if you’re a good girl, we will give you dinner tonight.
” She had been living on bread, water, and occasionally a banana or apple.
They gave her those when they said that she was being a good girl, and up until now, she had behaved out of fear of what the Vipers would do to her.
She wanted to tell him to go to hell, but the thought of him or any other biker bathing her wasn’t one she could allow.
She’d follow their rules for a bit longer, but there was no way that she’d let any man besides Reacher touch her.
She’d figure out a way to kill herself before she let that happen.
“I’ll be back in an hour, honey, and we can get you all cleaned up.
” She watched as the biker walked away, and Brandi sat back on the floor.
She hated that she had no control. It was one of her biggest fears—giving up control of her life to someone else.
That was what happened with Jarrod, and when she left him, she vowed that she’d never let it happen again.
She lost herself for so long by staying married to him, and she wouldn’t let the woman she had become go again.
Her only hope was for a kind man to purchase her, and then, maybe she’d be able to reason with him.
If not—she’d find a way to end things for him or herself.
Reacher
Reacher was going out of his mind not knowing how his woman was or where she was.
The only thing that any of the Bastards knew was that the Vipers had her, and he had a pretty good idea of how to find her.
If Hurricane was right, his boss was in on the whole thing.
He’d just have to persuade his boss, Tom, to tell him where Brandi was.
Not taking backup to his meeting with Tom might have been a big mistake, but he wanted his boss to think that everything was normal, and to do that, he needed to leave Hurricane and the other guys behind.
If Tom was working with the Vipers and had Brandi, he’d rip him apart, and there would be no one there to stop him.
He walked into warehouse number two and found it empty. His guys were working over in the third warehouse. That’s why he asked Tom to meet him in the second one. He wanted privacy for their conversation.
Tom was standing in the back corner of the almost empty warehouse.
“It’s looking good in here, Reacher,” Tom said.
He always blew smoke up Reacher’s ass, as though that would throw him off track from finding out the truth.
He had done enough snooping around the warehouses over the past few weeks to know for sure that Tom was guilty as hell.
Reacher walked to the back to face the man who possibly had his woman. He wanted to look him in the eyes when he tried to lie to Reacher. Then, he’d tear him apart—just before he called Hurricane to bring him the Bastards.
“Let’s cut to the chase, Tom,” Reacher insisted.
His boss crossed his arms over his chest, staring him down. “Okay, what do you want me to cut to the chase to?”
“Where is my woman and the other women that you’re holding in one of the warehouses?” Reacher asked.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Tom lied. He could tell by the smirk on the guy's face that there was something he was hiding.
“I know that you’re involved with the Vipers, Tom,” Reacher said. He was going to have to bluff his way through this next part because he honestly had no proof.
“I’m sorry, the who?” Tom asked. “Did you say Vipers?”
“Yes, you know what I’m talking about, so stop acting as though you don’t,” he growled. “You’ve had my woman for a week now, and I want to know where she is.”
“You’re too late, Reacher,” Tom insisted, “even if I told you where she is, you wouldn’t be able to make it across town in time.” Across town? Hurricane had intel that the women were being held in one of the warehouses, but if that was the case, why would Brandi be across town?
“She’s probably someone else’s property by now,” Tom spat.
He pulled a gun from his jacket pocket, pointing it at Reacher.
“You’re too late.” Maybe he wouldn’t be able to get across town in time, but Hurricane and the guys would be able to.
He just had to figure out what to do about the gun that Tom had pointed at him.
Reacher was pretty sure that he wouldn’t be able to help Brandi if he had a hole in his gut.
“You really fucked things up, Reacher,” Tom spat. “You and your club stuck your noses into Viper business where they didn’t belong, and now, you’re going to pay the price.”
“What price is that?” Reacher asked.
“I hate to do this, I really do, but I’m going to have to get rid of you.
It’s a shame because I liked you, and you’ve done a really good job at cleaning up the Viper’s mess out of my warehouses.
We have other needs for the spaces now that we’ve branched out in our enterprises.
” Reacher caught movement out of the corner of his eye and realized that they weren’t alone.
He just hoped like hell that whoever was lurking in the shadows was on his side, because if not, he’d never see Brandi again.
“So, the Vipers were dumping chemicals in your warehouses, and now, you’re letting them use them to traffic women. Since you’re going to get rid of me, how about telling me where you’re hiding them.”
“Not around here,” Tom said, his smile mean. “You see, I own a few other warehouses about a mile down the river from here. The Vipers are using them to hold the women that are awaiting auction.” Hurricane walked out of the shadows and two other men flanked his sides—Beast and Renegade.
“Thanks for the info, jackass,” Hurricane growled. He pushed his gun into Tom’s back and the guy’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. Reacher would have found the whole scene comical if he wasn’t in a hurry to find Brandi and the other women.
“Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in my warehouse?” Tom asked. The idiot didn’t put his gun down and Hurricane shoved his into Tom’s back, practically making him take a step or two towards Reacher.
“Hey,” Reacher grumbled. “How about we take the gun, and then shove him in my direction?”
“Sorry,” Hurricane said, “guys.” One word from their club’s Prez had Beast and Renegade taking Tom’s gun from him and handcuffing him to the metal stair railing.
“You’ll be okay, Tom,” Hurricane soothed, “we’ve already called the cops.”
“They have Brandi at a different location,” Reacher said.
“I know, man. That’s why we came down here—to tell you that she’s being auctioned off at the Viper’s Den,” Hurricane said.
“Shit,” Reacher shouted, “we need to get over there.”
“Don’t worry, man,” Hurricane said, “Yonkers and a few of the guys went over there to get Brandi out. They’ll buy her if they have to in order to avoid a war with the Vipers.
They have no idea who Yonkers is and I’m betting they won’t think twice about selling her to him.
I’ve made sure that he has enough cash.”
“What about the other women?” Reacher asked.
“The cops are on their way to the Viper’s Den and here. With what Tom just told you, we’ll find the others soon.”
“Thanks, man,” Reacher breathed. “I don’t know what I’d do without you guys.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” Hurricane insisted, “Yonker’s is going to meet us back at Hurricane’s House with your girl and then, we’re going to sit down and talk about what to do next.”
“What do you mean?” Reacher asked. “Isn’t this all over?”
“Not by a long shot,” Tom spat, “the Vipers won’t stop until they find you, Reacher and they’ll do more than just take your woman next time. I told you—you pissed them off and they won’t be so kind next time.”
“Unfortunately, he’s right,” Hurricane said, “but we can go over everything when we get to the bar. Ryder is meeting us there too.” Reacher knew that if Ryder had flown up from Huntsville, then things would have been worse than he thought they were.
“Ryder is here?” Reacher asked.
“Yes,” Hurricane said, “once the Vipers figure out that Yonkers is part of the Royal Bastards and that we have Brandi back, an all-out war will start. Ryder will get you both someplace safe.” Reacher knew that Hurricane had things all worked out to keep him and Brandi safe, but the idea of leaving his new home in Yonkers, NY wasn’t one that he wanted to entertain.
He was pretty sure that Brandi would feel the same way about leaving Gloria, but he’d do anything to keep her safe—even give up the only place that had ever felt like home to him.
Reacher walked into the bar and Brandi practically flew across the room and into his arms. “Thank God you’re okay, honey,” he breathed into her hair.
“They kept me in a cage,” she sobbed, “and sold me off like I was livestock.”
“I know, baby,” he said, holding her tightly against his body. If he had his way, he’d never let Brandi go again.
“I’m so sorry that I went with them. I thought that they were Royal Bastards.
They said that something had happened to you down at the warehouses and that I was supposed to go with them.
They said that they were sent to bring me to you,” she sobbed.
He looked across the room at Hurricane, noticing that his Prez looked about ready to burn the entire Viper’s Den to the ground. Honestly, Reacher felt the same way.
“You guys got here fast,” Ryder said, walking into the bar from Hurricane’s office. “I talked to Savage, and he’s got everything set for Reacher and Brandi.”
“What is set for us?” Brandi asked Reacher.