Chapter 14
Josie
My body was still trying to recover from complete sensory overload as I lay there in his arms. I was in a state of pure bliss, and I couldn’t imagine any place I’d rather be. I looked over at him, amazed at just how beautiful he was. There was no doubt I was attracted to the man. That was a given, but then any woman in her right mind would be attracted to all those rippling muscles and gorgeous face. And good lord, those eyes – his eyes were what dreams were made of. But it was more than just his looks I was drawn to. He was brilliant and charming in a way you wouldn’t expect from a biker, and he was thoughtful and loving, even when he wasn’t trying to be, like the day he took me to the farm. He knew I needed a break and took time out of his day to make me feel better. I loved that he was protective, not just with me but with everyone he cared about. Michael Davis had stolen my heart, but I couldn’t tell him that, at least not yet. For now, I’d just consider him my sugary sweet.
He pulled me closer and gave me a tight squeeze as he chuckled. “I’m nobody’s MoonPie, Josie.”
“If you say so.” Remembering an odd sensation I’d felt when we made love, I quickly lifted the blanket. My eyes slowly traveled below his waist, and then I spotted it: a silver stud stared right back at me, making me inhale quickly. Yep, he was pierced. My face burned with the heat of embarrassment as I mumbled, “Oh my god.”
A low rumble of laughter vibrated through his chest. “You got something on your mind, sweetheart?”
“You have a piercing… on your…. I mean, I thought you were pierced down there, but I wasn’t sure. Everything was moving kind of fast, you know, and uh, um… Damn.”
“It’s just a piercing. Nothing to get all worked up about.”
When I finally realized I was still peering under the blanket like an idiot, I dropped the covers and fell back onto the bed. I was beyond embarrassed as I told him, “Yep, you’re definitely a MoonPie.”
“I’ve already told you, I’m nobody’s MoonPie, baby. Trust me on that.”
Thinking about cookies made my stomach growl. I looked over at the clock and couldn’t believe it was already after six. “I’m starving.”
“You wanna get a shower and then go grab a bite to eat?” Without answering, I eased up out of the bed and reached for my bathing suit. When I started to slip it back on, Big laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“What part of starving didn’t you understand?” Once I had my suit back on, I leaned over the bed and kissed him lightly on the lips. “I’ll be back in half an hour.”
“I’ll be ready.”
I rushed out the door and up the elevator. For the first time in weeks, I felt good, really good, and I wanted to share it with Tristen. I wanted to tell her about everything, from the ride to the farm and all the things we’d done to get her back, but most of all, I wanted to tell her how very much I missed her. Just as I stepped into my room, I heard the faint sound of my cell phone ringing. I’d left it charging by the bed since I wasn’t expecting any calls. When I looked down at the screen, I didn’t recognize the number. I quickly answered, and my heart stopped when I heard the voice on the other end of the line.
“Josie?”
“Amanda?” My heart almost leapt out of my chest. “Is that you?”
“I only have a minute, Josie. I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am. I wish I could’ve done something…” Her voice was strained like she was on the brink of crying.
Remembering everything Big had told me about not tipping anyone off, I asked, “Done something about what? What’s going on Amanda? Do you know where Tristen is?”
“You should know… she’ll have everything she’s ever wanted and more. These men are very wealthy.” She took a deep breath. “They’ll be good to her. Victor promised.”
I felt my stomach twist into a knot when I realized Amanda knew everything. She knew the Calaveras had my sister, and they were planning to auction her off. Damn. I had to know if she knew something we didn’t, so I pushed, “I don’t understand, Amanda. What men?”
“There are men who don’t have time to date. They’re good guys, but they’re too busy with their careers, so… they…”
“So, they what, Amanda?”
“They pay a great deal of money to find the right girl. Tristen will make someone very happy, and she will have a life we only dream of.”
Anger surged through me. There was no way Amanda was buying the load of bullshit she was throwing at me. “Is this something Tristen wanted to do, Amanda? Or was she forced into it?”
“She’ll have nice clothes and fancy jewelry. And…”
“Just stop,” I cut her off. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done, Amanda? You’re talking about sex trafficking! There’s no telling what these men will do to her! They’ll force her to do all kinds of horrific things. God knows what! You got my sister involved in a nightmare, not some stupid dream!”
“No, Victor promised,” she muttered.
“Victor is a damned liar.”
“I’m so sorry, Josie, but I didn’t have a choice,” she muttered. “I… didn’t want any of this to happen.”
“Then, why? Why didn’t you try to stop it?”
“Because of Lisa,” she sobbed.
I felt absolutely no pity for this girl; only absolute anger. “What about Lisa? What did she do this time?”
“She’s been seeing Victor for almost a year. She’s in pretty deep with him. I think she actually loves the guy.”
“And?”
“Well, he… he’d gotten a new shipment in, and she was trying to help him get it transported to their warehouse downtown. It would’ve been fine, but she got pulled over by the cops and her stash got confiscated.”
“What does any of that have to do with Tristen?”
“She had to find a way to make that money back or they were going to kill her.”
“And what about Victor?”
She cleared her throat and tried to remain calm. “He tried to fix it, but they blamed everything on Lisa. Said it was her fault for not being careful.”
“You can’t make my sister pay the consequences for your sister’s mistake!”
“I don’t have a choice. It’s going to be fine… They will make sure she gets a good guy. He promised. I’ve gotta go. They can’t know I contacted you. Just trust me… It will be okay.”
“Amanda wait! Just tell me where she is!” I listened but got no response. “Amanda!”
Shit! I threw the phone down on the bed and screamed. I was louder than I’d intended, and two of Nitro’s guys came crashing through my door. When they found me standing there completely unharmed, one of them asked, “Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. I thought I saw a spider, but it was just a shadow.” I motioned them towards the door. “You can go. I’m all good.”
Once they were gone, I closed the door and headed into the bathroom. I stepped into the shower with my mind still focused on my conversation with Amanda. The tightness in my chest grew more intense as I went over and over everything she’d told me. It was like she almost believed the lies, liked she needed them to be true, but I could hear it in her voice: deep down, she knew the truth. She was exchanging Tristen’s life for her sister’s, plain and simple. By the time I got out of the shower, I was more determined than ever to find Tristen. I was ready for it all to be over. I was tired of being scared, tired of worrying if I would ever see my sister again, and I would do whatever it took to make it stop.
I dug through my bag and grabbed a pair of jeans and a black sweater. After I finished getting dressed and fixing my hair, I headed back down to Mike’s room. I knocked on the door, and as soon as he opened it, I charged inside.
“I think we should go find Amanda.” I reached for my phone and held it in front of him. “I’ve got her address in my contacts. We’ll go over there, get her to tell us where they are keeping Tristen, and then we can—”
“Whoa. Slow down,” he said as he walked over to me and placed his hands on my shoulders.
“This will work. I can get her to tell me—”
“No, Josie. We aren’t going to Amanda. We aren’t going anywhere. We’re gonna stick to the plan, and by this time tomorrow, we will be on a plane headed home with your sister. You just need to be patient.”
I groaned as I plopped down on the edge of the bed and said, “Okay.”
“What brought all this on?” He looked down at me with concern.
“Amanda just called me.” I saw the veins in his neck start to bulge, so I continued. “She just confirmed everything we already knew. I never let on that I knew what she was talking about, so she blabbed everything. She told me Victor took Tristen to settle some debt Lisa had with the cartel.”
“Tristen never stood a chance.”
“Nope. And Amanda tried to convince me that she was actually doing Tristen some kind of favor by doing this.” I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. “She said she’d have a life like we only dreamed of. Crazy, right?”
“I’m sure she was just trying to make you feel better.”
“No, she was trying to make herself feel better. I didn’t buy any of it and I let her know I wasn’t falling for her lies.” I huffed. “I’m sorry. I’m just so ready for all of this to be over.”
He sat down beside me and slipped his arm around my waist. I leaned into him as he said, “It will be, soon. You’ll see.”
“I really hope so.”
“You still up for dinner?” He smiled.
“How about something easy? Like a burger or something?” I suggested.
He stood up and reached for my hand. “Burger sounds good.”
After we drove out to some little burger joint, he took me for a drive around, showing me some of the hot spots in town. I knew what he was doing. I didn’t have to say the words for him to know how worried I was about Tristen and everything that could happen at that auction. He could sense it, and instead of trying to convince me that everything would be okay, he was trying to distract me from my thoughts.
It was working, until he got a text message.
I had no idea who’d sent it or what it said, but his mood quickly changed from easygoing and carefree to tense and intimidating. Without saying a word, he drove us back to the hotel and led me up to my room. Before he turned to leave, I looked up at him and smiled. “I had a really good time tonight… and earlier.”
“Had a good time myself, but then, I always do when I’m with you.” I felt my heart flutter at his words. He leaned towards me and lightly kissed me. “I’ve got some things to tend to, but if you need me, just let me know.”
“I will.”
“Get some rest. I’ll check on you later tonight.”
He started back towards the elevator and I waited until he stepped inside. I watched as the doors slowly started to close. Something was up. It was written all over his face when he read that text message. I wondered if something had happened with Tristen, if there was some hitch he decided to keep from me, and I considered trying to find out for myself what was going on. I thought about trying to hack into his phone to find the message or possibly following him when he left my room, but something told me to leave it. Something in my gut told me I could trust Mike. Whatever was going on, I knew in my heart that he’d take care of it. I liked that feeling of security I felt whenever I thought about him. Thinking back on my mother and that cliff, I couldn’t help but wonder how something that felt so good could be so wrong. I was beginning to think I just didn’t care. I had to stop lying to myself. Pretending he wasn’t getting to me was becoming harder by the minute. He’s just too damn irresistible. I want him, and I can’t keep pretending that I don’t.