Carri came awake in phases. First, she felt the dry cotton feeling in her mouth. Then she felt the sting on her cheek and remembered what happened right before she was drugged to sleep. She tried to move her hands, but they were held tightly behind her back. There was also something on her feet, making it impossible for her to move around. Shit.

She kept her eyes closed and listened. She needed to figure out what was going on; then she heard them, all of them, her father, her mother, James, and Val. They were arguing about something. When her mind finally came on line, and she figured out they were arguing about Val marking her and the buyers wouldn’t be happy about that, she wanted to puke. What fucked up genes she came from. Hell, she knew her dad was involved, but her mother? The woman was never sober after three o’clock in the afternoon.

It should have surprised her they were planning on selling her ass, but it didn’t. These people were sociopaths. She must have made a noise because she was yanked up by her hair.

“Why hello, Father, fancy meeting you here. Have you had a good day? Mine, well, it’s been pretty shitty, but as soon as the RBMC gets here, I’m sure it will perk right back up.”

“Now, Carrington, you disappoint me. Right about now that gang of bike scum are being led to the federal penitentiary on charges of gun and drug running, so I wouldn’t be expecting any of them to be running to your rescue for say about ten to twenty years. As for you, I have big plans for you. I’m going to sell you off to the highest bidder, so I can finally be rid of you, once and for all. I knew adopting you was a mistake from the moment we brought you home, but your mother felt we needed to present a more family-type appearance for business purposes. You know it’s always business first.”

The dick released her hair and Carri fell to the ground with a thump; she would have some bruises from hell after this. There was a part of her scared out of her mind, but there was another part which knew Link would come to save her, she just needed to buy him some time to get here. That might be a wish and a prayer stuck together, but she was going with it until she had to give it up. Maneuvering around until she could sit on her butt Carri addressed her mother next.

“How nice to see you, Mother, I would have expected you to be knee deep in the bottle by this time of day. This must be a pretty big payday if you to have sobered up enough to be present.” Carri expected her mother to charge her, what she didn’t expect was her father to stop the woman.

“Sallie Mae, you know we’re already going to get a reduced rate because of the damage Valerie caused, don’t add to it. She’s only trying to irritate you.”

“So that’s the plan, you’re going to sell me? You do realize I’m a pretty well-known lawyer who will be missed by a few people? How are you planning on covering that up? You know, to feed my curiosity.”

“Carrington, didn’t you know the stresses of your job caused you to run for home? We had no choice, but to set you up in a nice little facility to combat your depression. Unfortunately, dear, you won’t be winning that battle in a couple of months. The facility will make an announcement that you gave up and killed yourself.”

“That was my idea, by the way,” Val preened. “Of course, you’ll never see any facility, but your new master’s dungeon. I’ve been making inquiries, spreading your picture around. I wanted to ensure the right people were interested in you. I’ve picked a few who are well known for their sadistic qualities; nothing but the best for you, Carrington.”

Carri didn’t even address Val; there was no need, the woman was nuts. Worse than her parents and that was saying something.

“And what about you James, how do you fit into this little plan of theirs?”

James walked to her and crouched down in front of her and smiled, “See that’s where you have it wrong, this plan is and has always been mine. You coming here messed it up a little, but it seems we found a way around that.”

“So, you’re telling me you’re the mastermind behind all of this? And what is this anyway, a trafficking ring? What? Tell me, since soon I won’t be around to get all the details, as your wife so nicely put it.”

“I always said you were too naïve for your own good. You thought your Dad was behind the guns and the drugs, but that was me. When an associate brought me a proposal I couldn’t refuse, I jumped on it. It served two purposes you see; your father has the money, and I have the connections, it was easy. Even your little stunt back when you were a teenager was only a small problem. Since the business was essentially mine, it continued to run as smoothly as before.

“When good old Dad there started killing off the women I provided him with, I needed to replenish the stock, but the RBMC was getting in my way. A few trumped-up charges and they would have been too busy to pay attention, but you ruined that didn’t you, Carrington? I told you that one day, rooting for the underdog would cause you problems; looks like that day is now. You should have listened. I kept warning you, but I could never get through that thick skull of yours.”

James stood up when a door slammed. A man Carri had never seen before, walked through door, first shaking her father’s hand and then going to James to do the same.

“Agent Raimes, right on time. Do you have your buyer ready?”

Agent Raimes, whoever he was, walked over to Carri and looked her over like the leech he was. The lust she saw in his eyes made her already churning stomach rebel. The man grabbed her chin, held up his phone, and took a picture.

“The buyer will either confirm or decline delivery within moments. The other drivers should be here for the shipment momentarily. Do you have what we agreed on?”

Carri watched James grab a briefcase from Val and hand it over to the Agent. His phone beeped, and he looked down at it. “It was a pleasure doing business with you, the client has declined delivery. Better luck next time.”

Several things happened at once. James screamed, “What the hell?” Val went after the agent, only to be thrown to her ass, and there was a loud crash from somewhere in the building. Carri crawled the best she could to get the hell out of the way of whatever was going down. She was already vulnerable, being tied up without the use of her legs or arms, but, hell, elbows and knees did the trick. She was able to move behind a crate before anyone noticed her.

That crash turned into pops, and Carri knew it was gun fire, she just hoped it was coming from the good guys. James ran past her hiding spot with Val on his heels, and Carri was able to shoot her legs out and trip the woman. Getting on her knees, she waited while Val tried to straighten herself and head butted her for all she was worth. Damn, she’d hit her hard enough almost to knock out her own damn self.

She watched as Tuck and Link charged into the room from one side, Jinx from the other. Whisk and Crash were coming from the back. They all had their guns out and were fighting back Agent Raimes and her Father who both had guns. Carri couldn’t help it, she smiled for all she was worth. This was her man, and those other men were her family. The woman screeching like a banshee wasn’t her mother, but a person who she happened to know. She deserved whatever she got, so did her supposed father. It was a relief to know she’d been adopted. At least she wouldn’t be carrying on any of their tainted genes to her own children. Children she planned to have with Link one day.

Link spotted her and left the others to take care of Raimes and her parents. He noticed Val on the ground, unconscious and raised his eyebrow.

“What, I couldn’t let you have all the fun, now could I? She deserved it.”

“I see that, but that nice little goose egg isn’t something I like to see on my woman. What the hell, Carrington, you were supposed to stay at the Clubhouse where I knew you were safe.”

“About that, I did stay at the Clubhouse. I even told Crank about the phone call from Addy’s phone. Shit, Addy, is she alright, did they get her?”

“Calm down, Babe. Addy’s fine and at the Clubhouse where she was supposed to be.”

“Link, James got away. He was here. He’s the person behind all of this. He set up the drugs and guns, then decided to add women to the mix. You have to go after him. He was here a minute ago.”

“We’ll get James, but right now, we’re going to get you out of here. You’re going to need to talk to a few people about what happened, but we can do that back home. I want to get some ice on that head of yours and strip you down, so I know for myself you’re okay.”

“Umm, Link, that all sounds great, but do you think you could maybe untie me first? These ropes are starting to chafe a bit, and I would kind of like the ability to use my arms and legs.”

Link looked down at the ropes and the position Carri was in and bit his bottom lip.

“LINK!” Carri screamed.

“Oh, alright, but we might need to talk about this later. Having you all tied up, preferably in bed, has all kinds of potential, don’t you think?”

“Ahh, maybe later, Link, but when and if that happens, the ropes will be silk, and I’ll be naked without a potential head injury, deal? Now, please, untie me already.”

Link untied her, but he didn’t let her walk, instead picked her up, cradling her to his body.

“I know you’re going to tell me to put you down, but I’m not going to do it, so deal, Carri,” Link said, kissing her. “I need to feel you safe in my arms, more than I need to breathe.”

Carri wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him forward, “If you must,” then she kissed him back. Whisk, Tuck, and Jinx made a couple of catcalls, but Carri didn’t care, she had her man right where she wanted him, close to her heart.

“Are you okay, babe?”

“Yeah, Link, I think I’m better than okay. Take me home.”

“And where would that be, Carri, where is home?”

“Home is right here in your arms, Link, but for tonight, let’s head back to the Clubhouse, our home for now.

 

The End.

 

 

Crank and Cathy’s story coming soon!

Keep on turning the pages for a preview of Jackson: NAC & The Holly Group