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“Well, the entire crew ended up dead aside from him, so guessing he ratted them out to the club to save his ass. But that was when he left for New Mexico. He had a group of women and girls that he was working on at the time as well as my mom and me. He took us all with him. I think he had some grand plan to become this big shot in human trafficking, but the cartels already have that territory covered. The cartel took all but three of us. Me, Mom and one other woman, Lucy.”
My voice cracked saying her name. I missed her almost as much as I missed my Mom. Cujo’s palm slid up and down my thigh and I lowered my hands to lift his between them, running my fingers over the calluses and scars that marred his skin. While keeping my gaze locked on our hands, I kept talking.
“We headed north to Vegas. I was three years old. He pimped out Mom and Lucy so that meant I spent a lot of time with him. He mostly sat me in front of a TV or locked me out in the yard. It was one of those days that I was outside that I shifted for the first time.” Another shudder ran down my spine. “I was climbing this huge tree, way higher than I should have. I slipped and fell. My ocelot rose up and took over. In my feline form, I landed safely on the grass, unharmed. But Kevin must have been watching because within seconds he was there, splashing this horrible smelling liquid over me. It forced me back to my human form and before I could catch my breath, he slapped the bracelets on.” I shook my head, trying to remove the memories of that day. “We’d been in Vegas about two years when Lucy died. Guess the downside to controlling people with drugs is the risk that they’ll use them to end their life.” I shrugged and pulling one hand free of his, dashed the tears from my cheeks. “With her gone, he started pimping me out.” His hand curled around mine tighter, and I glanced over to see he’d gripped the steering wheel so tightly with the other, his knuckles were white. Realizing he was close to losing his shit again, I rushed to finish. “It was ten years later when Mom died. Same as Lucy, she overdosed. After that, Kevin moved us to Timber Cove. I looked older than I was, and he’d gotten false paperwork before we left Vegas and used that to prove I was an adult when he put me to work in the new area. We lived outside of Timber Cove, and he’d cycle me through several towns around the area. You know the rest.”
Silence filled the cab as I waited for his response. I dashed more tears as I took a shaky inhale. He didn’t take his hand from mine, which I took as a sign he wasn’t totally disgusted by me now. When he rolled to a stop at a traffic light, I looked over at him to find he was staring at me.
“That motherfucking bastard will get what’s coming to him. I promise you, he’llneverlay another fucking hand on you again. You’ll never have to sell your body to survive. That hell is over. You’re mine and I’ll always take care of you, make sure you have everything you need. You understand me?”
I nodded. “I hear you. It’s just hard to believe, you know? After so long of having nothing good, I don’t know how to accept this.” I waved a hand between the two of us.
He leaned over and pressed a kiss to my lips before he had to focus back on driving as the light changed.
“I get it. I was locked up and experimented on for twenty-six years. So, yeah, I fucking get it. But we’re both free now and I vow to you, we’re gonna enjoy it. Somehow, we’ll learn how to live free and we’ll have a good life.”
Tears ran down my cheeks again, but this time they were of happiness. Of hope. Because I wanted desperately to believe my mate’s words, but until I knew Kevin was dead, I couldn’t believe my freedom would last.
Daniela
I paced the shadows of the parking lot outside the Iron Hammers MC clubhouse while I waited. I could go inside. I was welcome to, but if I went inside, I’d get drawn into conversations and if I lost track of time, I might miss the arrival of the newest club members. It was vital I catch them before Joaquin attempted to get them inside.
The two prospects guarding the gate kept glancing my way, I made them nervous. I had that effect on most people, human and supernatural alike. Many believed I painted my face and neck, but I didn’t. The markings that covered patches of my skin all over my body were the markings of my kind. We were born with them and in times gone by, we’d had to cover up with either clothing and masks or heavy makeup in order to venture out into society.
The Iron Hammers MC, with all their various shifters, were more understanding than most and I could show them my face without fear of what they’d do to me. After all, it had been this club that had rescued me four years ago and brought me here to the safety of Galveston. While I made them nervous, it wasn’t the way that most of my face except for around my left eye was marked with black and white to look like a skull, the way a neon blue-green shimmered around my right eye that caused it. Nope, it was my ability to see into the past and the future that had these men on their toes. Which I understood completely. No one liked others knowing their deepest secrets. Most of the time I didn’t like knowing them, but my talent wasn’t something I could turn on and off with a switch. It came when it pleased, gifting me with often unwanted snippets of the nightmares those around me have lived through. Although, even if I did have a switch to turn them off, I wouldn’t. Together with this club of Viking bikers, my visions had led to many humans and shifters being saved from traffickers and abuse. It was an honorable use for my skills, something I was proud to help with.
But the Iron Hammers MC hadn’t always been this beacon of light. Before Joaquin and his kin came to clean the place out, the club had been neck-deep in trafficking. They gathered women and girls whenever they could, getting them hooked on drugs and using their bodies before selling them to an even worse fate. It was that past that had me pacing this parking lot.
I’d had several visions about Lily-Rose and her mate, Cujo, over the past month. It was the reason I’d sent Joaquin with a team over to northern California last week. Both shifters had suffered so much trauma in their short lives, they deserved to have some love and peace now and I knew Galveston was the right place for them. The Iron Hammers would be better with Cujo among them, too. His skills would be a welcome addition to the raids they went on to save others.
My thoughts were cut short when the sound of Harleys filled the air. I slid deeper into the shadows of the building as the bikes rolled through the gate followed by a sleek, black SUV. Once all the vehicles were shut off, I stepped out into the light and Joaquin turned to me.
“You come with good or bad news?”
I smiled up at the big Alpha. “I’ve come to welcome the newest additions to our pack.”
He grunted, knowing me well enough to know there was more to it, but also knowing I wouldn’t reveal a damn thing before I was ready to.
“Well, let’s get you introduced then.”
With a nod, I followed behind him over to the SUV where Cujo was helping his mate out of the vehicle. She was a petite little thing. Long, blonde hair and slender curves that made me think of a doll. My heart warmed at the care Cujo was taking with her, the mate-bond already shining bright between the two. Lily-Rose was still fragile and didn’t yet trust her newfound freedom, but I knew in time she would. Cujo would guard and protect her while she stretched her wings and blossomed into the woman she was always destined to be.
But first, she’d need a little of my help.
Chapter Nine
Cujo
Ididn’t dare ask her anything else as we continued our drive to the clubhouse. I was barely keeping my fury under wraps at it was. If she told me any more of the hell she’d lived through, I was likely to completely lose it and turn wolf. I knew that just like she didn’t fully believe Joaquin, she didn’t fully trust my word yet either. But I’d show her. She would always be protected from here on out.
We followed the bikes into the yard of the clubhouse. The fear and tension radiating off Lily-Rose increased ten-fold when the gate rolled shut behind us. I needed both hands to get my rig parked, but as soon as I had things sorted, I reached over to retake her hand in mine.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. You’re safe. I’ll protect you.”
She looked into my eyes and the fear in her gaze gutted me. I never wanted to see that look in her steel-blue irises again.
“Okay.”
At her whispered word, I released her and got out, rushing around to her side to be there before she could exit on her own. I was helping her down when I sensed someone approaching. On alert, I turned and moved to stand in front of her at the same time. With her anxiety and fear so high, my wolf was on high alert, needing to take care of whatever it was scaring our mate.
