Page 39 of Kiwi

Piper

Waking up, the first thing I notice is I have a blinding headache. The second is I'm surrounded by darkness. I blink a few times to make sure my eyes are open, and my head is not playing tricks on me. Wherever I am, it is pitch black. Not being able to see what's around me causes my breathing to pick up and echo off the walls that surround me, and I start to panic.

"Hey," a small voice calls out, and I try desperately to see where it's coming from.

"You need to calm down before you pass out."

"Who are you? Where am I? Where is Jia?" my questions come out in a strangled cry.

"My name is Lelani, and if your friend is the girl who was put in here with you, she is right beside you. She must still be passed out. Those guys probably gave her something."

Sticking my hands out in front of me, I feel around on the floor until I connect with a body. Whoever this person is, they are not moving. I hold my breath as I move my hands up until I touch her hair. It's long and soft. I feel around her face, and like before, it's cool to the touch and sweaty. "Jia?" I nudge. "Jia?" I call out again.

This time she lets out a moan. "Piper?"

I breathe a sigh of relief when I recognize her voice.

"Piper, I don't feel so good. And how come we're in the dark? Where are we? I can't see you." Jia begins to panic as she tries to sit up. "Piper, what's going on?"

Suddenly Jia lurches forward and begins to vomit all over the front of my jeans. It reeks of alcohol, and I try not to gag. Without being able to see, I do my best to hold her hair away from her face. Once she is done, I help hold her up with one hand while sticking the other out in front of me, looking for a place to let her lay down away from where she just vomited. "Come on, Jia. Lay down."

"Your friend will probably start feeling better now that she has thrown up whatever was in her system," Lelani tells me.

"Do you know where we are, Lelani?"

"No. But the walls and the floor are metal, so I'm almost certain we are not in the house. And you said it was dark and that you couldn't see anything. Also, when you were brought here with your friend, the door that was closed sounded heavy. It also sounded like it was locked with one of those levers. My guess is we are in a metal shed or some sort of storage building."

Just as I am about to respond to Lelani, a loud clicking noise followed by a burst of light floods the room as the door opens, revealing the man with the neck tattoo and beside him is another guy pulling on the arm of a struggling woman.

"Let me go!" she screeches as she claws at his face. The guy snarls just before he rears back and punches the woman across her left cheek.

"Shut the fuck up, bitch." Then hauls her up and tosses her inside what I can now see is one of those mobile storage units. There's a company logo and a telephone number on the inside of the door. The woman lands with a thud and crab crawls away from her assailant until her back hits the solid wall. She has tears and mascara running down her face and a noticeable bruise forming on her cheekbone.

Three more men step into view; each of them has a woman clutched in their grasps—all three-look like the one who is currently huddled in a corner sobbing. The three women look to be in their early/mid-twenties, and all three are dressed as if they were going to a club or party. The man points his gun and motions for the women to climb in. With terrified looks, they do without protest.

With a nod, the men leave the same time another guy with thinning hair and a round stomach walks up joining the group. "Time to roll out. What are we going to do about the blind bitch?" he asks, nodding toward a woman sitting six feet to my right. She has fiery red hair, a long blue flowy dress on, and looks to be in her mid-twenties…Lelani. Is she blind?

Neck tattoo shrugs. "That asshole Derrick said he was going to bring us a prize, he failed to mention the girl is blind. We'll let the boss decide what he wants to do with her. In the meantime, I want you to find Derrick. If the fucker thinks this makes us square, he better think again. One body doesn't wipe away his debt."

It's pretty clear what's going on here. Growing up in an MC, I am not immune to the bad shit that happens in the world. My dad shielded a lot from me, but he taught me a lot too. And the way these assholes are talking about Lelani or any woman like they are pieces of expendable property has me seeing red. My hands ball up into fists. I also remember the pepper spray I have tucked into the band of my jeans. I contemplate making a move but decide now is not the time. Especially when I see that neck tattoo has a gun in his hand. My eyes cut to his weapon then up to his face. He's looking at me with a smirk on his face.

Returning a smirk of my own, I tell him, "You have no idea what you've done."

"Oh, yeah. And what are you going to do about it?"

"I won't have to do anything, asshole."

Jia, who has her head laying in my lap, whimpers when she notices neck tattoo guy becoming irritated with me.

"What the fuck does that mean, bitch?"

I hold the guys gaze and keep my smirk firmly planted on my face even though I'm terrified on the inside. "You'll find out soon enough."

The man stares me down, his knuckles turning white around the gun in his hand.

His friend nudges him. "Leave it alone, Boz. The bitch is just running her trap. We need to get on the road."

Before slamming the door,enclosing us in darkness yet again, Boz, as his buddy called him, delivers one last bone-chilling look with his dark eyes. A look that leaves me with chills.