Moving to You, page 22
part #1 of Rolling Thunder Series
"So Kayden, are you hungry?"
Quickly shaking her head the two men laughed.
"You will be."
The one with the mark along his face, Scar he'd been called, laughed and slapped the other one on the shoulder. "I've got a salami she can have right here." He cupped his crotch and she had to bite the inside of her cheek not to show disgust.
"See her eyes Scar? She's thinking about your salami."
Chortling, the gross devil unzipped his dirty jeans and pulled his dick out. Wiggling it back and forth at her as he moved closer to the bed, she tried to ignore his crude display and kept her eyes on the dark one.
He leaned down, so close his hot breath fanned across her face, "You want to see mine? I'll happily give it to you Kayden Leathers. All you have to do is ask me nicely."
Slowly shaking her head no, he chuckled, "You'll get hungry enough to ask soon." Over his shoulder he barked, "Put your cock away dumbass."
"Destry, just let her suck it little bit. I've been hard all morning thinking about it."
His name is Destry. She didn't recall ever hearing his name before.
"Not right now. Go on out and park your fat ass in front of that television."
Kayden's eyes followed Scar as he left the room and she sucked in a light breath when she saw her phone sticking up from his back pocket. No mistaking the KCC on the case. Joci had been doodling one night while they sat around talking and came up with the logo. JT immediately ordered a case for her phone with her new logo on it and she so proudly put it on her phone the second she opened the package.
She needed to get her phone from him. Trouble was, she knew what she'd have to do to get it. She was strong, but was she that strong?
A while after the truck pulled away Kayden knew she had to do something. Wriggling her fingers into her boot she pulled and tugged to remove her knife from her boot. Once she had it out, she grasped the sheath between her teeth and pulled her sweet little knife from its holder. Laying the knife aside to tuck the case under what served as a pillow, she sat up a bit higher, making sure to bend her legs so the knife could hide within easy reach. Imagining all horrible scenarios that could happen if this went bad, she tried to plan the best place to hide it and the quickest place for her to grab it at a moments notice.
Taking a few fortifying breathes, she clanged the headboard against the wall to get Scar's attention.
"Knock it off you fucking bitch." He yelled from the living room. Clearly he didn't want to have to get off his ass to come in by her, she should almost feel grateful.
"I have to go to the bathroom." She called out.
"Tough." She heard muttering but it didn't seem to come closer to the door. Training her ears she tried making out any other noises. The walls seemed thin enough but not so thin that she could even make out what television show he was watching, unless the volume was incredibly low to listen for Destry coming back.
After enough time had passed she rattled the headboard again and got the same response.
"Please Scar, I have to go to the bathroom." There, maybe the please would help.
Keys rattled and his ugly face filled the crack in the door. "I'm not allowed to let you out for any reason so you need to shut the fuck up or my dick will be your gag. Got it?"
Tires crunched again outside and Scar quickly pulled the door closed and turned the locks. Her heart beat increased as she now had her knife out and if things turned out badly, they'd find it and possibly use it on her.
Quickly tucking it under her pillow she tried perching herself on top of the pillow to conceal it as much as possible.
The squeak of the door opened and sound of food bags being opened filled the silence. She could smell the fast food and her stomach growled. She wasn't hungry enough to beg or...do anything else for that matter, to eat, so she'd sit here quietly and think of a way out of here.
56
"Hey dad." JT stood from the table as he heard his father's voice on the other end. He'd have to tell them eventually about all of this, but he'd hoped to wait until he had something more to tell. Just his luck his dad called him now.
"What the hell is going on out there?" His father's tone was clipped and worried.
"Dad." His voice broke again and he took a deep breath.
"I just got a call from someone who said he was a Devil and that they had Kayden. They want a million dollars to release her."
"So that's what they're after - money. I was more worried they wanted to punish her than anything."
"JT, what the hell happened?"
Just as he started telling his dad what happened the kids came running upstairs asking for food. JT glanced at Payton who motioned for him to step outside on the deck to finish his call.
"I'm here right now with Duncan and Payton and he might have someone who can help us. We can't trust the cops and I don't have anyone else here to turn to. We've got to pray that Blaze is willing to help."
"Right. Fuck." His dad let out a long breath. He could see him pulling at his hair as they spoke, the frustration and worry written all over his body language.
"What did they tell you about the money and how to deliver it?"
"They said I needed to pull it together by tomorrow at noon. They'd call me back to give me instructions. I've already had Tommy scan the number and it's a burner."
His Uncle Tommy was a cop and a good one. Then the thought hit him. "Dad, does Uncle Tommy have any contacts out here? Maybe a cop that isn't dirty?"
"He's combing through his contacts and he's asking the guys at the station for recommendations too. It all takes time. And, I told the son-of-a-bitch I wouldn't give him anything without proof that Kayden is alright."
"Did he agree?" His stomach twisted at the thought that she might be hurt. That they were raping her now nearly sent him mad with rage.
"He didn't commit one way or the other. Tommy says its good they want money, the profilers say that means they consider her valuable, at least for now, so we have to make them believe we're agreeable to their terms so they believe she's valuable too."
Pacing across the deck and back he felt like a caged cat. He needed to do something but had nothing to do and sitting around waiting was the equivalent to little needles in his eyes.
"Okay. Thanks Dad. I'll let you know if we make any progress here. If they call again, let me know."
"I will. They're putting a trace on my phone so we can hopefully pinpoint where they're calling from. I'm not sure how sophisticated these guys are and our best bet is they're shooting from the hip here, saw an opportunity and took it without a lot of thought. That means they'll fuck up sooner rather than later."
Crouching down and resting his forehead on his knees, he worked to suck enough air into his lungs. Wrapping his free hand around his nape he hung on to the hope that Kayden was safe and not being abused. His beautiful soon to be wife and the mother of that sweet little girl inside the house was his whole world. Everything he'd ever wanted and didn't even know it until he met her.
"I hope so."
"JT, you're strong and so is Kayden. Look at all she's been through, she'll make it out just fine."
"She's had a nervous break down in the past dad, after everything else, this might send her right over the edge again."
"Now she has Dakota and you to be strong for. You have no idea how strong that makes a person."
Lifting his head he watched a bird land on the deck rail and chirp out to its friends. The brown feathers ruffled then smoothed then rippled into something undistinguishable as tears filled his eyes.
"JT. You need to stay strong. Do you need me or the boys to come out there? Say the word. Both boys are sitting here now and are willing to fly out at a moment's notice."
He swiped at the tears that tracked down his cheeks. He felt so alone here and lost as to what to do. His brothers would be able to set him on the right track, but he didn't want to disrupt their lives in all of this, they had weddings to plan and Gunnar's was going to be a father. If anything happened to them, he'd never be able to forgive himself.
"I don't want to ask any of you to drop everything to come out here."
"JT, Gunnar and I are on a plane today." Ryder yelled at the phone from somewhere in the room. "Tell us where to find you, we'll be there tonight if we have to charter a plane."
He sucked in a big breath. Words wouldn't come out of his mouth and he simply didn't know what to say but he wanted them here so bad. "You guys..."
"Nope, we're coming." Gunnar yelled across the room to him. "See you in a while."
Rustling was heard and his dad came back on the line, "We love you. We love all of you and we'll all do everything we can to bring your girl home son."
"JT, why are you sad?" Dakota stepped out onto the deck, the worry on her sweet little face heartbreaking.
"I gotta go dad. Love you. All of you."
Ending the call he reached out to scoop Dakota up in his arms. He sat with her on his lap, his legs extended out in front of him as he leaned against the railing of the deck. He held her close then whispered, "I've got to tell you what's going on Dakota. But you need to know, we're doing everything we can to make it all right. Okay?"
"Okay. Is it my mommy?"
Swallowing the heavy lump that rose up in his throat he nodded then whispered. "Yeah. It's about mommy."
57
His heart broke as Dakota's little arms wrapped around his neck and squeezed. Her tears dampened the front of his t-shirt but he didn't care. He sat with her, rubbing her back and whispering in her ear that he was going to find her momma and bring her home. He sure hoped he could keep that promise.
"JT?" Duncan stepped from the sliding doors, his gait still slowed from the bullet he took just over three weeks ago in the shoulder. His eyes questioned whether everything was okay.
"It's okay." He tried reassuring both Dakota and Duncan at the same time, hoping that saying it out loud would make it come true.
"I have some...a development." He turned to step inside, paused and twisted slightly, "But take your time, she needs you."
Dakota leaned back to look at him, her eyes red rimmed, her lips still quivering. "What's a devilment?"
God help him, he chuckled at her innocent flub. "Development." Smoothing her blonde curls away from her eyes and tucking the unruly silk strands behind her ear he continued. "It means he needs to tell me something. He has a friend who might be able to help us find your momma. So, if you think you're okay now, I'd like to go and see if his friend can help. Can you go and play with Chance and Ruby for a bit more?"
"Yeah. Will you be here when I'm done playing?"
He squeezed her to his chest and kissed the top of her head. "If I have to go anywhere, I'll tell you first. And Payton and Duncan said we can stay here tonight, so if you're okay with that, that's what we'll do."
"Yeah, I like staying here."
"Okay." He picked her up and stood her along side him, then stood himself. Taking her hand, he walked into the house to find Payton making sandwiches for the kids.
"Kota, honey, do you want grape or peach jelly on your sandwich?"
"Peach!"
Payton scrambled around getting sandwiches set up on plates, cut in quarters, sip cups filled with milk and corn chips on their plates. The kids giggled when they saw the chips fall on their plates. Payton, so good at keeping the kids rallied, called out, "Okay, so special occasion today. We get to spend a bit more time with Kota and JT, so you guys can eat in the living room and I pulled up the Secret Life of Dogs on the television, so you can watch that while you eat. Deal?"
The kids squealed and ran into the living room, chattering and excited. Payton glanced back at her husband as she rounded the corner, a grin on her face.
Duncan looked at him and shook his head. "I told her she'd never get the kids to eat that peach jelly and all three of them asked for it today. I should know better by now not to argue with her on that stuff."
Chuckling a bit he sobered quickly. "What do you have?"
"Blaze will meet us in about an hour. I've told him what I know and he wanted to check things out for himself, then we'll go to his apartment in town."
"How do you know you can trust this guy?" His heart hammered so fast right now he felt dizzy. If this worked, they could get Kayden back sooner rather than later. He didn't want her to be in their hands for any longer than need be.
"Look, JT. I went to school with Blaze and he isn't like the rest of the Devils. He wants the club to go legit. Once Boon was shot he thought he had the Presidency sewed up. He has a plan to get them working at real jobs setting up a garage on the grounds and actually bringing in legitimate money. He even procured items needed to get the garage going. Local businesses are willing to help him out if they can stop the outlaws from disrupting things like they have been. But..."
Payton came back into the kitchen and began making them some lunch. "Keep going Duncan, you can fill me in on the rest later."
He shook his head, "But Destry wants the presidency too and he doesn't give two shits about going legit. His bet is that it's Destry who organized Kayden's kidnapping."
JT stared at Duncan for a long time. He genuinely seemed like he trusted Blaze and really who else did they have at this point? Crooked cops and outlaws?
Nodding he said, "Thank you Duncan for helping with this. If you can trust Blaze, I'll need to trust him too."
Payton turned from the counter and food she was working on, "Blaze is different JT. He's just a guy who wanted to ride. He dated one of the club member's sister for a couple of years and that's how he got sucked in to the club. He's largely kept himself out of the bad stuff." She stirred the chicken salad she was preparing. "Plus, he always liked Kayden. When she was with Rog, they hung out a bit, so he won't want her to get hurt. There's that too."
"How much did he like her?" He had to know this.
"A lot. Like a sister." She giggled. "A hot sister." She glanced over her shoulder at him, a little smile on her face. "Men see her JT. She's gorgeous. But, the best part about that is she doesn't think that way. She's always just been focused on Kota and Kayden's Concealed Carry getting off the ground."
Bringing plates to the table she looked him in the eye, "You changed that for her. Now she thinks about Kota, You and then KCC."
Duncan's phone rang. His brows shot up into his sandy hair, "Blaze, what did you find out?"
58
The low murmur's could be heard through the door and though she couldn't make out what they were saying, she could hear the new voice was one she hadn't heard before. Not sure if she should be happy about that or not, the "devil you know" a weird sort of comfort, she sent up a silent prayer that this person was friendly.
Keys sounded in the door and she held her breath at who was coming in. The door opened and she turned and locked eyes with a new face. Tall, about six foot two, reddish brown hair pulled into a ponytail, this new devil simply stared at her. A full sleeve of tattoos on his right arm depicted a pinup doll, a devil's red face with flames shooting from its eyes and the Dakota Devils logo among other things not as easy to discern and his left arm held a skull with a snake coming from its eyes. So death, devils and women. Great.
When her eyes met his it seemed he didn't even blink. In the dim light she could see his were blue and clear and surprisingly gentle compared to the rest of him. He swallowed before he said anything and she wondered fleetingly if he was nervous.
"You eat anything today?"
She squirmed though she tried to hide it. "Yes." Swallowing she continued. "I had some breakfast. Before..."
He nodded. "Scar touch you?"
She shook her head, eyes darting to Scar then back to the big man standing in front of her.
He turned to look at Scar then. "She's valuable right now, so you make sure you don't touch her. Got it?"
"You aren't the President Blaze, you can't order me around."
Blaze. She vaguely remembered Blaze from a few years ago. He'd come into the bar when she was first dating Rog. He was probably the club's backup in case she didn't want to be with Rog. Now that she knew the club only wanted her bar and the land it sat on, she didn't believe a word any of them said.
"I'm going to be, of that you can be sure. And I can tell you one thing, if you fuck this up, when I'm President, there won't be much left of you after the guys are finished showing you how pissed they are that you screwed them all out of a lot on jack. Got it?"
Scar sneered but he didn't bark back like she thought he was going to. Her mind grappled with the fact that two men wanted to be President of the Devils. This was good news for her. She hoped. They had an in-house duel going on for the presidency and she was their claim to fame. They wouldn't harm her, at least until they got their money, so she had a bit of time to try and get out of here.
Blaze caught her gaze in his, his lips clamped together and formed a straight line and without another word, he stepped from the room. She followed his retreating back with her eyes, and spotted a bowl sitting on a table in front of the sofa. It was her dad's bowl. Same chip in the top, same green color as the one he used to use for his snacks in the evening. Scar scowled at her before closing the door and she closed her eyes and let out a long breath.
Once her eyes adjusted again to the darkness she tried looking at the room to see if there was anything else that looked to be from her dad. Had he been here? Stayed here? Was this one of his hidden spots the cops had told her about? That was great news if that were the case, the cops were still trying to locate everything her father had been involved in. They could find her. If they weren't too late.
