Chapter Twenty-Eight
Paco stared at Sandy as she sat tied to a metal chair, her eyes bulging. Dave sat slumped over in the chair next to her, his face cut and bleeding.
“Let’s try this again,” Paco gritted as he pushed away from the concrete wall. Chains and Army leaned against a long, metal table while War, Bull Dog, and Sniper smoked joints in the corner of the basement room. “What the fuck is Erik’s last name, and how do I get a hold of him?”
“If I tell you, will you let us go?” Sandy asked feebly.
“You got a better chance of leaving this room if you talk.” Paco took out a hunting knife and ran the flat side of the blade over the side of her face.
“Don’t tell him shit,” Dave growled. “He’s not going to let us go.”
Like lightning, Paco’s fist punched his face, and Dave’s head tipped back.
“I thought you were a trucker. That’s what Bobby told us,” Sandy said as she looked at her husband.
“Shouldn’t believe what that fucking scumbag tells you. How do I get a hold of Erik?”
“He has a cell phone, but he won’t pick up unless he recognizes the number.”
“How does he get johns for the women?”
“He puts ads in an internet newspaper—Backstreet.”
Paco looked at Chains who was already tapping the name into his iPad.
“Found it. The site is for employment, houses for rent and sale, and… here it is—the adult section.” He handed Paco the tablet.
Reading the section given to him, numerous names and phone numbers appeared on the left side, and very suggestive photos with names and phone numbers were on the right. Shoving the screen in front of Sandy’s face, he asked her if she recognized Erik’s ads. She looked at them and nodded.
“Which ones?”
Sandy glanced over at her husband again, who still had his head back with his eyes shut. “He made me do this,” she said in a low voice. “I never would’ve done this to Chelsea or any woman, but he threatened and beat me. He got me hooked on coke. I love Chelsea. I never would’ve done this to her. I swear.”
“I’m not gonna repeat myself again. Which ones?”
“You’ll let me go, right? I mean, I’m cooperating with you. I didn’t argue or anything. Not like Dave did. I swear he forced me. Bobby and Erik threatened to kill me if I didn’t do what they wanted. Erik had seen Chelsea at a high school basketball game. She was a cheerleader, and he wanted her real bad. He told Tyler to make a play for her. He did.” Sandy kept rambling on, “Did you know that was the only reason he went out with her? He knew what was going to happen to her. I had no choice.”
Paco grabbed her hair and pulled it hard, making her cry out. He slammed the tablet into her face. “I told you I don’t like repeating myself.”
“Okay… okay,” she sniveled. “The sixth one down on the page. The one that says, ‘Ready to play… are you? Looking for the girl next door?’ That’s his ad. And the next two under it.”
Paco looked at the ad and saw the woman’s age listed at twenty-three. He looked at her pictures and shook his head. “She’s not more than fifteen or sixteen,” he gritted, showing the screen to Chains and Army. They grumbled in agreement.
“That’s fucked,” Sniper said as he came over to take a look. “You want us to take care of these two?”
“No! Please. I helped you out. You promised.”
“I didn’t promise shit!” Paco yelled as he walked toward the stairs.
“Show some mercy. Please,” she sobbed.
Paco turned around and in four long strides he was back in front of her. Again, he yanked her head back by her hair and leaned over real close. “I’ll show you the same fucking mercy you showed Chelsea. She was your blood for fuck’s sake! How the hell do you do that to your family? She loved and trusted you. You’re nothing but a selfish, cold-hearted cunt.” He kicked the chair out from under her and she toppled onto the concrete floor, the metal legs crashing down on her.
“Gut them like the pigs they are,” he said as he left the room. Army followed after him as Paco ascended the stairs.
“You want me to go with you when you snuff out this fucker?”
“Yeah. I want to make sure he gets what’s coming to him. I’ll give him a call and tell him we want two girls for us. Let’s buy a burner phone and get this shit over with.”
On the way back from the store, Army opened up the box and took out the phone. “Is Chelsea coming back with us?”
Paco gripped the steering wheel, his gaze fixed on the road. “No.”
“Really? I thought you guys had something going there.”
“Her life was interrupted. She needs to find out who she is.”
“She seemed like she had her head on straight. Are you sure you’re not going to regret this?”
I already do. “I’m doing this for her. Did you get the phone to work?”
“Yeah.”
“Then call the asshole and make the arrangements for tonight. Tell him we want three hours with the women at a motel.”
“Here we go,” Army said, tapping in the number then bringing the phone to his ear.
The Ambassador Motel sat off the freeway and was one of several motels that lined the frontage road. Paco and Army had arrived a few hours before and sat across the street waiting for Erik to show up with the two girls. They didn’t want to take any chances with the security cameras, so they parked the car by the curb. At nine thirty, a yellow mustang rolled into the lot and parked in front of the third building. A stocky man of medium height got out of the car then pulled two women out. One of them looked like she was resisting him, and Paco saw him backhand her before pulling her hair and dragging her to the metal stairs. The three of them disappeared into one of the rooms. It was torture for Paco to sit and wait in the car before confronting Erik, but he knew if he let his emotions get the better of him, costly mistakes could very well be made.
A little before ten o’clock, he and Army got out of the car, pulled their hoodies down low over their faces, crossed the street, and walked upstairs. They knocked on the door, and a deep voice told them to come in.
When they entered the room, the same stocky man they’d seen earlier stood near the dresser, a black briefcase in his hand. A blonde girl of about fifteen, dressed in skimpy lingerie, sat in one of the chairs next to the window while another blonde of about the same age, wearing a skirt that showed the underside of her butt cheeks and a too small top, sat on the bed. Both girls had their eyes cast downward.
He glanced quickly at their gloved hands then took a step back. “Gentlemen. This is Sasha”—he pointed to the teen in the chair, then directed their attention to the girl on the bed—“and this is Gemini.” He snapped open the briefcase and took out a ledger. “You want three hours of … anything goes … with the two women. That’ll cost you three hundred sixty dollars. Credit card?”
“Cash,” Paco said.
A broad smile spread over his face. “Even better.” As he took out a receipt book, Paco pictured a terrified Chelsea cowering in the corner as the dirtbag in front of her beat her. Rage seared his nerves, and he clenched his fists and took a couple of steps toward him.
“Have the chicks take a shower,” Army said.
Erik looked up, surprise etched on his face. “They’re clean. I made sure they took one before they came.”
“If they don’t do it, the deal’s off.” Army crossed his arms and his biceps bulged.
Erik shook his head. “You’re the customers. If you want them to take a shower, they can.” He turned to them. “Get in the shower. Now.” Fear laced the girls’ eyes as they hurried into the bathroom, never once looking at Paco or Army. “Once you pay, I’ll leave you alone with your dates.”
“Only a pussy forces a girl to have sex for money,” Army said.
Erik closed the briefcase and his hand began to slip inside his leather jacket. Paco jumped forward and grabbed his hand, bending it back until the sex trafficker cried out. “Don’t even think it, fucker. Go ahead and hit me, or do you just like hitting women?”
“Are you guys cops?”
“You’re gonna wish we were.” Paco slammed his fist full force into his face. Erik cried out. “That’s for the two women in the bathroom.” Paco jerked his head toward the TV and Army switched it on, turning the volume up. Paco bent Erik’s head down then brought his knee up, smashing Erik’s face.
The man groaned. “Do you want money? Take it.”
“I want retribution for what you did to Chelsea and all the other women, you sick motherfucker.” Another punch, that time to the belly.
“I don’t even know a Chelsea. This is a misunderstanding,” he sputtered.
“Misty, you asshole. You fucking stole her dignity! You forced her to do things she did not want to do—fucked up things that she was scared, ashamed, and appalled to be doing. You made her live in hell twenty-four seven. You fucking raped her!”
Army and Paco jumped on him like animals attacking prey. Paco hit his head into the wall so hard the cheap paintings shook. They pulverized him, leaving him in a heap on the beige carpet in his own blood and excrement.
Paco went over to the bathroom door and knocked softly. There was no answer. He knocked again. “Open up. We’re not gonna hurt you,” he said. Once again, he pulled the hoodie low over his head, shadowing his face. Army had done the same and walked over to switch off all the lights but one dim lamp.
The door slowly opened, and the two girls glanced over to Erik’s body then back to him. “Please don’t hurt us. He forced us to be here. We just want to go home.” Sasha’s voice hitched.
Paco handed them two hundred dollars each. “Go call your families and get out of here.” The women opened the closet, grabbed their jackets, and dashed out of the room. “Let’s get the fuck outta here.”
Paco and Army left the room and crossed the street to their waiting SUV. They drove in silence until they reached the Twisted Warrior’s clubhouse. Chains, Sniper, and Jacko were waiting out front. Chains slipped into the back seat, and Sniper and Jacko came over to the driver’s side.
Paco bumped fists with them. “Thanks for your help. Whenever you’re in Alina, you’ve got a place to crash. If you have trouble with all this, let me know.”
“There won’t be any trouble. Everything’s been taken care of. Have a safe ride back, and we’ll see you at Sturgis this summer.”
“Fuck, yeah,” Chains said.
“Can’t wait for August to get here,” Army added.
“It’s time to get home. See you at Sturgis,” Paco said, putting the car in Drive.
As he left the city limits, emptiness filled him but he pushed it down. Chelsea’s captivating eyes invaded his mind, her soft laughter filled his ears, her quiet strength pulled at his heart, and he almost turned around. But he didn’t.
He merged onto the highway and headed back to Alina, leaving his heart in Findlay.