Chapter One
Bianca
6 weeks ago
“Just take it and go.” Bianca was now past being gentle and was pushing her sister towards the rental car she had picked up that morning.
“I don't know if I can do this, B!” Maggie forced out while unsuccessfully trying to hold back a sob.
Bianca could see her precious sister, Maggie, was about to have a complete meltdown and they simply didn't have time for that. She took her sister’s arms in her hands and squeezed to get her attention. Bianca desperately needed her to focus if they were going to pull this off. The plan wouldn’t allow for a second attempt. It was now or never. Her sister’s tear drenched eyes met hers. It made her want to breakdown as well but she had to be strong enough for both of them right now. Urgency was pulling at her gut. She had to stop herself from continually checking the time and scanning the area around them. This was her only family and she had to save them.
Maggie was her best friend. Only a year older than herself, they had stuck together through everything. Maggie had never brushed her off, abandoned her or treated her like an annoying little sister, which Bianca knew she was at times growing up. Maggie had been popular since the moment she stepped into school. She radiated goodness and everyone was drawn to it. She was always surrounded by friends, yet she never let Bianca be pushed to the back of the crowd. And now for the first time they had to separate. They'd always been together. Through seven foster homes, one group home and four different schools they'd stuck with each other. They had never let anyone come between them. That was until now.
It was four years ago that everything changed. The man who they believed was their salvation from their increasingly stagnant lives, strode into the diner they were both working at. Bianca was the kitchen assistant and was rarely out front with the customers, but even she felt Dane’s presence as he walked through the diner door. She couldn't stop herself from stretching towards the service hatch to see what was going on and who was able to make the usually rowdy diner crowd almost silent. Dane had a commanding presence. He seemed untouchable and both men and women were drawn to him. Men tried to impress him, while the women fawned all over his sculpted frame, forest green eyes and designer clothes. He was quick with a smile and jokes. He made everyone feel valued and as if they held his attention.
Dane’s eyes had latched onto Maggie as soon as he walked in. Who’s wouldn't? Maggie’s tall, slender figure, pretty face with striking, bright blue eyes and cascading blonde locks always caught men’s attention. Bianca had always been entertained by some of the lengths men would go to to get her to interact with them. Some were pretty smooth and slick, however most of the time they were mumbling and nervous, asking random questions in the hope of striking up a conversation. Either way it made for good viewing. Maggie used to argue that they were just being nice or friendly – she never saw her own value, which definitely added to her overall appeal.
Bianca had watched on and off for the rest of her shift as Maggie served Dane, blushing and giggling at whatever he was saying to her. That same night she listened as her sister told her almost word for word of their entire exchange. She had never seen her sister smile so wide and swoon so much over a simple conversation. Then she sat for two hours while Maggie emptied her wardrobe trying to find the perfect date outfit.
The next day she’d helped Maggie get ready for her date with Dane and had made sure she was picture perfect. She could recall praying to whoever may be listening that her sister would steal Dane’s heart and give her a much deserved happily ever after.
Now, she just wished she could take that prayer back.
Bianca let her gaze turn to the sweet little boy bundled up in the back seat of the rented car. She could feel her heart tearing in half at the prospect of not seeing or speaking to him everyday. Part of her was selfish as she’d tried everything she could to try and hide them nearby. It wasn’t to be and she kept reminding herself that her missing them both was not a good enough reason to risk them staying where Dane might reach them. This was about Brandon and Maggie’s safety and she needed to remember that. There was no room for selfishness in this situation. Bianca had to let them go even though every part of her didn't want to.
“You know you need to get yourself and Brandon away from him, Mags. This is the only option. You know that.” She stressed, keeping her tone stern. Time was running out and if her sister didn't leave soon their whole plan would be jeopardised. She didn't want to imagine what would happen if they were caught. Life was already hell, yet she was sure Dane could make it a lot worse. “Now, get in that car and you drive that precious boy far away and you start living the life you both deserve. I'll find you when I can.”
“Please come with us.” Maggie pleaded. Bianca wished with everything inside her that she could.
“You know I can't do that. I need to stay here to tell Dane a load of bullshit and send him in the wrong direction when he searches for you. You know that. If I'm here at least I can know how he reacts, what he's planning and try to head him off. This won't be forever. If I stay here I'll know when it's safe for you both again. If I don't we'll both be living the rest of our lives in the shadows and looking over our shoulders. Brandon deserves better than that and so do you. Now go.” She walked her sister to the driver’s side door and opened it for her.
Bianca let a few tears slip from her eyes as her sister shuffled into the driver’s seat and closed the door. She tried to keep her face as stoic as possible, knowing that if she looked too upset Maggie would abandon the plan to stay with her.
As the car pulled away she felt part of her heart break off and follow them, leaving her with a hollow feeling in her chest. She was going to miss them both terribly. She stood on the sidewalk until the car was completely out of sight and then quickly made her way to hers that she'd parked just outside of the town centre.
Dane had banned Bianca from their house a few weeks ago and so she didn't want her car to tip off anyone who may monitoring it or maybe watching the house for him. It wouldn’t be unlike Dane to have put some sort of tracker on her car, he was a complete control freak. She hadn’t let Maggie pack anything she used regularly, including her handbags or shoes for fear that Dane would have them tagged.
God, she really needed this plan to work. She knew she couldn't live with herself if anything ever happened to her family. She drove the streets for a few hours, killing time, going to places she regularly visited. If Dane was watching, she was just having a normal day.
She was amazed she hadn’t crashed as she was paying very little attention to her surroundings. Her mind was busy going over every minute detail of her plan, trying to convince herself that she had covered all the bases. She was positive she’d missed something or not contemplated all the possibilities of how Dane might react. She didn’t think like Dane. Heavens knew what a paranoid, devious mind would come up with when faced with your wife and son gone. At last she felt like she’d been out and about for long enough and returned home.
As she pulled into the parking space for her condo, Bianca felt a small sense of accomplishment. They'd done it. They'd finally done it. Her sister and nephew were now on their way to being out of reach of that monster. She spent the rest of the day clinging to her cell phone waiting for the inevitable call from Dane, peering through her windows and reciting in her head over and over what she would say when he did call.
When midnight approached she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and guessed that Dane’s business trip must have been unexpectedly extended. That more than worked in their favour. The tension riding every muscle in her body finally dissipated and she let herself relax and fell into a deep sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Bianca had no idea how much time had passed when she was woken by a large, rough hand covering her mouth while another grasped her hair, wrenching her head up from her pillow. Pure panic and fear swamped every part of her body as she tried to scream and struggle against her captor to no avail. She bit into the palm of his hand with all her strength. She felt the skin break and the hand was torn away. She inhaled, then screamed as loudly as she could. Surely, her neighbours would hear and try to help or at least call the cops.
The man holding her laughed, “Scream all you want to girly. Ain’t no one gonna help you when they see that we’re Riot.”
His hand came back over her mouth, this time squeezing and pushing much harder than last time. She heard more people in her apartment but couldn’t see them through the dark. She could only see the huge outline of the man crouched over her. His size dwarfed hers and terror had her fighting even harder. Her hands clawed at the ones holding her, she dug her nails deep into bare skin wanting to cause some more pain. She kicked her legs hard and tried bucking her body hoping to dislodge the man holding her captive. Her effort was in vain as a hard knock to her head ceased her struggles and pulled her into unconsciousness.
*****
Bianca struggled to open her eyes, they felt crusty and swollen. Her headache was almost blinding and the small amount of light let in by her barely open eyes made it throb even worse. She tenderly ran trembling fingers over her head and found the large lump above her ear that was throbbing in time with her heartbeat. Every part of her body felt sore and bruised. Her insides felt tight and they churned. She stopped trying to move for a few minutes and let her body go limp. She was exhausted and she’d barely even moved.
As minutes slowly passed Bianca took in where she was. She was no longer in her condo, that was obvious by the smell alone. Stagnant air with stale cigarette smoke invaded her nostrils. She forced her body to cooperate and sat up looking for a window to let in some fresh air only to find there wasn’t one. It was a single room with a gross looking bed, toilet and sink. No sheets. No pillows. No comfort at all. Her chest tightened as her situation dawned on her. She tried to regulate her breathing but a sob crept up and she couldn’t hold in her feelings any longer. Wrapping her arms around her bent legs attempting to hold herself together, she cried and rocked herself with her eyes tight shut.
Of course she knew what this was about and who was behind it. She'd known Dane had some questionable business acquaintances but never contemplated that they extended beyond that. Bianca wanted to kick herself. She should have thought of this as a possibility. Stupidly she hadn't. She'd allowed herself to forget that the man was void of any humanity.
Having no idea who now held her life in their hands, she tried to prepare herself to expect the worst. She didn’t try to imagine the horrors she might soon face. Dane wanted information and as long as she kept schtum Maggie and Brandon would be safe. She pictured her nephew and sister and firmed in her mind that she wouldn't talk, no matter what. She'd never willing or knowingly put her sister in danger and whatever they did to her could never be as bad as what Dane would do to her sister if he ever got hold of Maggie again.
She'd threatened to leave him once and his response was to hit her until she was black and blue and could hardly move. Of course, he didn’t hurt her bad enough that she couldn’t cook, clean and do his laundry. God forbid, she couldn’t perform her ‘wifely duties.’ Bianca had always suspected that Dane would force himself on Maggie. She knew Maggie wouldn’t be receptive to him of her own accord or welcome his bullish advances. She refused to admit it when she’d asked and Maggie always denied it, probably because she was afraid of what Bianca would do - she’d sure as hell have tried to kill the bastard.
The first time he’d hit her, Brandon was only fourteen months old and Maggie was terrified that Dane would soon turn violent towards their son. He hadn’t but then last week Maggie found bruises on Brandon’s arms in the shape of hands and one large bruise on his back, it looked like he'd been kicked. It was what finally tipped her over the edge. She knew from experience that the violence would only get worse.
Bianca had been begging Maggie to leave Dane for months. She had come close to doing it a couple of times but always ended up backing out at the last minute. One afternoon Dane had returned home early and had overheard her phone call pleading with Maggie to see sense. Dane took his hand to her again and banned them from communicating. Maggie was forced to sneak in quick phone calls from her car when she saw Dane leave the house. She didn’t ever want to risk going to the house in case Dane returned unexpectedly.
Other times Maggie would ring Bianca’s cell and hang up before she answered, leaving no trace of her activities on the phone bill. Then Bianca would call back, blocking her number, so they could talk. Bianca knew it would be up to her to rescue her sister and nephew when the time came, so she set about making a plan. The last thing she would do was ruin it now.
The way she'd planned their escape would mean that in little over two days she'd have no idea where Maggie and Brandon were headed. The first two days were planned so that Maggie could put the greatest amount of distance between her and Dane. After that, they were to keep their movements as random as possible to make them harder to follow. Any information Bianca had after the two days had passed would be irrelevant and worthless. She just had to keep herself together and not crack, regardless how bad things got.
The only thing Bianca would know with certainty was the new names Maggie and Brandon were going to adopt when they had finally settled somewhere. That way she could find them someday. Until then her sister would be moving from motel to motel across the country.
She had planned the first part of the route herself, keeping her sister zigzagging from Virginia across the neighbouring states until she reached Illinois. That was where Bianca had been sending money to a rented PO Box that Maggie would empty when she got there. She had sold everything she had of value and had maxed out all her credit cards to give them everything she could. There wasn't a price she wouldn't pay for her family’s safety.
After Maggie had emptied the box she would have enough to start over someplace new. And now it was up to Bianca to make sure she had the time to get there in one piece. Sure, she was terrified of what she was about to face and if the abduction was any indication of times to come, she knew she most likely had an arduous and painful few days ahead of her. Nevertheless, she was determined not to let her sister down. No matter what.
Six weeks later
Bianca now looked back on that first room with fond nostalgia as she crawled to lay on a piss stained mattress, trying so hard not to whimper out loud after being thrown back in her cell. She didn’t want to turn the men’s attention back to her. All her energy was taken up doing that one small task.
Her body was battered and her spirit decimated. There seemed to be no end in sight to her pain and humiliation. She'd spent the last six weeks being punched, whipped and verbally abused by Dane’s hired heavies, Riot MC. She had never even heard of the club before she was taken and now she knew too much for a lifetime. The only light left in her life was the pride in herself. She hadn't cracked, hadn't given in, no matter what was done to her. The only peace she got was from the knowledge that her sister and nephew were safe. She knew they had to be as she was under no illusion that Dane or her captors wouldn't hesitate to throw it in her face if they'd been found. As long as she was miserable, her sister was safe and that was all that mattered now.
She tried to clear her mind and became aware that Smoke, one of the Riot MC brothers and her personal nightmare, was taunting someone, and for a change it wasn't her. As she heard him walking away she strained to hear who he'd been talking to but couldn't make much out over the buzzing in her own ears. She hadn’t heard a friendly voice in what seemed like forever. There were no guarantees that the person next to her would be friendly or even pleasant but at least they were on the same side for now.
She tried to relax but tensed again as she heard a soft, quiet voice calling out to her. Bianca couldn't prevent a loud weep from escaping her as she recognised the voice of another woman.
“Hello? Are you okay?” The voice was hesitant yet confident and its smooth tone was a balm to her ears that had become accustomed to wickedness.
She couldn't answer right away; her mind was in turmoil. It was so overwhelming to hear a kind voice after so long, yet her temporary relief was tainted as she began to fret inevitably hearing that voice become tortured and distressed. It was bound to happen if the owner was at the start of a journey similar to hers.
She wanted to reach out, be reassuring, but she couldn't think of a single thing to say. Did she lie? Was this a trap to get her to trust someone and spill her secrets? How do you even start to describe what terrors may be coming their way? She couldn't even be reassuring as there was nothing beyond hellish existence to be found behind these bars.
She couldn't even be certain how long she'd been here. She knew it was weeks but didn’t know how many. No natural light penetrated the corridor in front of her and anytime she was taken out she was blindfolded. She could only guess as to the time of day. She wanted to laugh at how naive she was to think that Dane would give up trying to break her after only a couple of days.
"Can you hear me?" Surety and concern echoed from the voice this time.
She needed to answer. Even if this was a trap, she didn’t care anymore. She couldn’t pass up the chance to talk to someone who wasn’t one of the bastards she saw everyday. The voice was calm and soothing. She forced her own voice past her scream-damaged throat.
“Ye…ye…yes.” God, is that how she sounded now – gruff and defeated.
“Do you know where we are?”
Bianca hated to hear the small amount of optimism in the woman’s voice. She didn't know and even if she did, it would be no help to them.
“N…n…no. I came here in a truck, blindfolded. I've never seen the outside of this place.”
There was silence for a while and Bianca was sure the woman was wallowing in her own despair. Finally, the woman spoke again.
“I'm Nicole, by the way.”
“Bianca,” she croaked out in reply.
It was nice to put a name to the voice. She stayed quiet, waiting to see if Nicole said anything else, while all the time praying that she didn't ask any more questions. She had no good answers to give. After a few minutes Nicole was still silent. Bianca guessed she was trying to get a handle on her own situation, making a fruitless plan. Her body’s new aches and pains made themselves known and with zero energy to endure them, she let herself drift off feeling more secure knowing she had some company nearby.