She looks at me first, and then behind me to where Ice Man still stands like a statue. When her eyes meet his, her expression matches his. It’s full of sadness and pain from losing her brother. But I can also tell that she doesn’t blame him, for which I’m glad. She could have been angry and taken it out on him, being that he was Kane’s leader. I know a lot of people who would have done just that. But not Mikayla.

  “Hey,” she whispers, which seems to break Ice Man out of his frozen state. He offers her a small smile, and she answers with one of her own.

  Opening the door wider, I invite her inside and lead her to the living room, where she sits on the couch. She hasn’t taken her eyes off of Ice Man, and he’s looking at everything but her it seems.

  Sitting across from her as Ice Man stands off to the side, I wait to see how this is going to play out. Ready to be there for him if he needs me, but to otherwise remain in the background.

  “Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice,” Mikayla starts, before pulling out an envelope from her purse. Looking down it at, she continues, “I hadn’t been able to go through any of Jon—I mean Kane’s stuff until recently. I was just trying to get used to the fact that he was really gone, and I couldn’t make myself sit down and do it until about a week ago.”

  Ice Man finally thaws a little and takes a seat next to her. “I’m so fuckin’ sorry, Mikayla. I should have done a better job of making sure that asshole Rex was taken care of. I’m sorry.” He finishes the last part on barely a whisper.

  The scene before me breaks my heart, for both of them. I know what it feels like to lose a piece of your family, and I know what it feels like to fail someone you think of as family.

  Mikayla smiles through her tears and takes Ice Man’s hand with the one that isn’t holding the envelope. “It’s not your fault, and I don’t blame you. The blame goes on Rex and his men, no one else. There was nothing else you could have done. Please, you need to know that, and let this go. Forgive yourself and move on. That’s what my brother would have wanted for you.”

  I can’t help but take her words directed at Ice Man to heart. I still feel responsible for what happened with Angel, but Mikayla is right. This is all on Georgie, and the only thing I can do now is let go of the anger I hold toward myself and focus everything I have on getting my girl back.

  “I’m not sure if I can, but I’ll try,” Ice Man says after a few moments. Mikayla looks like she wants to say more on that subject, but she’s smart enough to take what she can get. This is something he’s going to have to work through himself, and it’s not going to happen overnight. I need to remember that for myself when I feel the shame start to take hold of me again.

  “That’s all I ask,” she says, then looks back down at the envelope. “Anyway, I went through the boxes I got from the club and found some papers. They led me to a safety deposit box. Inside, I found an account number. I had no idea what it was when I first saw it and didn’t really think much of it. I went through the rest of his stuff and took care of what was needed. As you can probably guess, my parents didn’t help much, as they were too busy doing interviews on TV about how they lost their only son in a gang war.” At this, she laughs without humor, and it’s enough to show how she really feels about her parents. “After that was all done, I went back to the bank to figure out what was going on with that account so I could figure out what to do with it. But when I got a look at the amount, I was shocked.”

  I wait for her to continue, not sure I’m following everything she’s saying. But Ice Man seems to know exactly what is going on here. “He’d been saving to open his own business. When we first met, it was at the repair shop I worked at, fixing bikes. He was a natural and wanted to have his own shop one day where he’d be able to create his own motorcycles and sell them. I had told him that I’d go in on it with him. I don’t know how to build a bike from scratch, but I could repair them, fix any problems with my eyes closed. We were almost there too. All we needed was the perfect place.”

  “I never knew that,” Mikayla says after a few seconds of silence.

  “We didn’t tell anyone of our plans, just in case we weren’t able to do it.”

  “You both would have been very successful. Sounds like you had it all planned out.”

  Ice Man nods a few times, looking off into space. Maybe he’s picturing what could have been, or maybe he’s just picturing himself anywhere but here. “Yeah, well, I guess it doesn’t matter now. After Kane…well, after everything happened, I used most of the money I had for my side on his club burial and to live off while I’m here.” Ice Man gets up, frustrated. “I don’t even know what I’m doing here, Mikayla. I mean, I’m the president of my club, and yet one of my brothers dies and I run off because I couldn’t handle that I lost him—my brother and my best friend.”

  Seeing that this might be the best time for me to step in, I stand as well, but I don’t move toward him, knowing he probably needs his space. I’ll give him that, but I’m not going to let him feel like he’s doing something wrong. “Look, man. Yeah, you are the president, but that don’t mean you can’t take some time to yourself. What happened hit you to the core, and it should. He was your brother. And ain’t no one blaming you for takin’ this time. And if they do, then they’ll have to deal with me.”

  I don’t know if I said the right thing, but I just want him to know I got his back, just like he’s had mine.

  “He’s right, Ice Man. There is nothing wrong with you needing a break from everything, president or not,” Mikayla adds.

  He doesn’t say anything back, but he does nod a little, so hopefully he heard us and will take what we said to heart. Plus, I’ve spoken to Rack, Ice Man’s VP, and it sounds like everything is running smoothly. The only thing they have going on right now is the deal with the cartel, and that’s already set up with who’s running that deal. Ice Man wasn’t a part of the runs, so everything is good.

  None of us say anything else for a while. I sit back down, Mikayla just stares at her hands, and Ice Man just stands there looking at his feet. But it’s a comfortable silence, healing even. But finally, it’s time to get down to what this is really all about.

  “So, what was it that you wanted to give me?” Ice Man asks, though he does seem a little hesitant.

  “Oh. Well, I had to withdraw all the money in his account since my name wasn’t on there, but I was listed as the one to get everything he had. Which, may I add, my parents are pissed about, but let’s not get into that.”

  Now he looks confused. But I am too. I have no idea what she’s getting at or why she had to come all the way here to tell him that.

  “Well, that’s great. I know Kane would want you to do something nice with it. Maybe take a trip somewhere. I hear Paris is nice this time of year,” Ice Man suggests.

  “Oh, ah, no. I think you got this all wrong. I mean, yeah, maybe he would want that for me, but not with this,” she says, holding up the envelope again, which I’m starting to think has an ass load of cash in it. “I think he’d want you to have it. And now that I know what the money was for, I believe that now more than ever. He’d want you to open up the shop you both dreamed about.”

  Wow. I didn’t see that coming, and by the looks of it, neither did Ice Man. He looks like a fish out of water with his mouth gaping wide open. It’s almost comical.

  Finally, he breaks out of his shock. “What? Hell no. I’m not taking that.”

  “Look. I know it’s a lot of money, and yeah, maybe I should keep it. But I don’t need the money, and quite frankly, I don’t want it. Especially now. So, please take it. Take it and open up the shop, or hell, you could even use it for something else. Just please, please take it, because I know this is what he would rather happen to it.”

  Shaking his head, he backs up. “I’m sorry, Mikayla. I just can’t. It doesn’t feel right.”

  Sighing, she looks down at the money once more. “If you don’t want to open the shop or use it for yourself, then you can use it for the club. A club Jonathan was proud to be a part of. With you. Our home life sucked. Our parents were never around, and even when they were, they never showed us the love and attention parents should give their kids. For the longest time, it was only him and me, the two of us against the world. Until he met you and joined the club. The club was his life, and it’s only right that the money he had goes to you. Please, just take it.”

  She holds out the money again, and this time, Ice Man takes it. He’s hesitant, but he reaches out to receive her gift. I have no idea what he’ll do—actually open up the shop he and Kane talked about or use it for something else—but I hope it’s the former. Maybe it’ll do him good and finally let him put all of this behind him.

  “Well,” Mikayla says with a smile on her face. “I really should get going. I have to get back so Thor doesn’t worry.” Standing up, she moves toward Ice Man and takes him in her arms for a hug. I hear her whisper something to him, but I can’t make out the words. Ice Man nods once before she pulls away.

  Then, turning toward me, she says, “Torq, thank you for—” she stops mid-sentence when she moved to look at me, but something caught her eye. “Oh,” she gasps and puts her hand over her mouth.

  The back of my neck starts to prickle, and I get a bad feeling. Standing up, I make my way toward her as Ice Man wraps his arm around her. “What’s wrong, Mikayla. Are you okay?” he asks, concern etching his face.

  She doesn’t answer right away, and when I get to her side and look at what she’s staring at wide eyed, the feeling in the pit of my stomach grows.

  “I know her,” she whispers, a tear slipping down her face.

  “What? How do you know Angel?” Ice Man asks before I’m able to question the same thing.

  “I, uh. Well, I don’t know her. But I’ve seen her before. She was there, Ice Man,” she says as she looks toward him, now seeming more urgent. “Before you and my brother showed up to save me, she was there.”

  The blood in my veins starts to boil, the rage that has barely been behind the surface now bubbling up. “Where?” I say between gritted teeth. And when Mikayla looks at me, she visibly jumps back. I know I can look scary on a normal day, but now, I’m sure I look like the devil himself.

  “Uh, in California. The house I was being held in before I was supposed to go to auction. She arrived around the same time as I did, except she wasn’t there long.” She’s quiet for a moment, then says five words that I will remember for the rest of my life. “I’m sorry, she was sold.”

  “No!” I yell, turning around and flipping the table over. I can’t contain the anger and pain that is flooding through my body right now. I destroy everything in my path—the coffee table, the kitchen table, I kick at the couch and throw the chairs. But it’s still not enough to quell the feelings erupting inside of me.

  In the back of my mind and over the sounds of the havoc I’m causing, I faintly hear Mikayla scream. But I can’t stop. I did this. I let her be taken. I’m the reason she was sold on the black market as a sex slave and is suffering unimaginable things right now. Me. It’s all my fault.

  “Torq,” Ice Man calls to me, but I don’t stop. I punch the wall repeatedly, over and over again, hoping that the pain in my hand will overshadow my heart. I wait for it, but it never comes. The pain is too strong.

  “Hey. Hey!” he yells this time, and when I don’t answer or show any signs of stopping, he places himself in my path. But I can’t be stopped. And instead of hitting the wall, I hit him in the face. It doesn’t keep him down for long, though. Instead, he rears back and matches me, landing a solid hit to my temple which is enough to stall my rampage.

  “Ya done?” he asks, out of breath. Finally, able to see straight again, I notice the blood coming out of his nose, but I can also feel my own blood spilling down my face.

  Nodding, my whole-body slumps, and I almost fall to the ground. I hear whimpers from behind me. Fuck, Mikayla. I probably scared the shit out of her.

  Unable to hold myself up anymore, I let myself fall and allow the all the pain I feel to come out. I’m ashamed of the sounds coming out of my mouth right now, but they can’t be stopped. Tears leak out of my eyes and mix with the blood, but I don’t wipe it away. It’s payment for the pain I’ve caused the woman I’ve come to care for more than anything in this world.

  Following me down, Ice Man kneels in front of me. “We’ll get her back, brother. This is the information we’ve been waiting for.” He sounds hopeful, like this narrows down the search, but it doesn’t. There are thousands of men out there that buy slaves, both here in the US and overseas. This little bread crumb doesn’t guarantee that we’ll find her. But I nod anyway, unable to find words.

  Standing up, he takes Mikayla in his arms and thanks her. She has no idea about the bomb she just dropped, but in the back of my head, I promise myself to thank her personally when I’m capable of it.

  Next, he leads her back over to the couch and asks her to tell him everything she remembers—about where she saw her, how she looked, was she there when Angel was sold, does she know who bought her. Anything she can give us that will help narrow this down.

  I tune most of it out, trying to wrap my head around this new information. But I also make plans. I know a few people who have dealt with skin dealers. I can reach out to them and see what information they have.

  The time passes, and I remain on the floor watching the two on the couch but unable to engage. But when Mikayla mentions something about another club and that they may have some information on the business, a man named Rex—the main guy who kidnapped and tried to sell Mikayla—ran and maybe would have some papers of his customers, my ears perk up.

  “Can you get in contact with them? Ask them to give us what they have?” I ask, pulling myself off the floor for the first time since my breakdown.

  “Yeah, of course. I’ll call Thor now,” she answers, eager to help.

  Ice Man turns toward me as Mikayla gets up to make the call. “If I would have known she was there when we rescued Mikayla, I would have done more to figure out who had her. I was so close and had no idea.”

  I can tell he’s beating himself up over this, but he shouldn’t. Like he said, he had no idea, and he was too busy trying to handle everything that went down. I can’t blame him. “Don’t even go there, man. Let’s just take this lead and run with it. Hopefully Mikayla will be able to get us something we can use.”

  Ten minutes later, Mikayla is back with a smile on her face. “He’s getting everything they have now. He’ll call when he’s ready.”

  So now, I guess it’s just a waiting game. Which I guess would be good. That’ll give me time to get to the clubhouse and fill Bear in on what’s going on. With any luck, we’ll hit the road tonight with a solid lead.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Torq

  Sitting at the clubhouse, we go through all the papers Mikayla was able to get for us through another club. The man who kidnapped her was named Rex and held one of the largest sex slave operations on the West Coast. And he wasn’t picky about his buyers, either. They ranged from higher ups in world government to cracked out pimps.

  There were a lot of possibilities to sort through, but thanks to the help of Ice Man’s club and Mikayla’s memory, we think we found the right group of men that has Angel.

  They are a group of about a dozen men from Oklahoma and have only one location we could find out about in Griggs. It’s a large building that used to be a lucrative motel, but with the rising gang activity in the area, it was closed, and no one snatched it up to restore it to its former glory. Well, no one except the men that use it to store the girls they buy.

  They don’t pimp out the girls they buy, and there really is no reason they purchase so many at a time besides the fact that they’re just sick men who love to torment women. They deserve the fate that is coming to them.

  We just have to pray they still have her and didn’t sell her off again. Ice Man assures me that they wouldn’t have sold her again. Men like these keep them until they are all used up. Hearing that didn’t make me feel any better. It pissed me off more if anything. But I can’t think about that. I just need to keep doing what I’ve been doing, keeping busy with plans and finding her. I don’t want to imagine what’s happening to her.

  Over the last few days, we made plans for Ice Man’s crew to meet us in Keyes, Oklahoma, which is close enough to Griggs that we feel good about setting up base there but far enough away to not draw attention to ourselves. It took hours of planning with them over the phone, but we had to be careful considering we were expecting about twenty girls to be there as well. This wasn’t something we could just go in with guns blazing and torch the place.

  Scenarios were gone over, and every possible thing that could go wrong was thought about. This would be tricky. But we decided the best thing to do would be to try and get as many of the men outside as possible. We just couldn’t think of a good enough way to do that besides doing something none of us were happy about.

  “I don’t like this. Too many things could go wrong,” Ice Man says as we sit at the bar in the clubhouse. It’s just him, Bear, Cross, and myself. The rest of the men are taking care of getting the weapons ready and mapping out our trip.

  “None of us do, man. But what else could we do?” I ask, frustrated just like him about using Amy as a way in.

  Amy had come over soon after my destruction at Angel’s apartment. At first she freaked, but once we told her what we had just found out, I honestly thought she would add to the chaos that surrounded us. But she didn’t. Instead, she sat down and said she wanted to help in any way she could.

  We never use women to get what we want, but aside from going in loaded up with ammo, we didn’t see another option that would keep Angel and the other girls inside safe. So, we had decided to use someone—we weren’t sure who yet—as bait, but Amy wasn’t having that. She had barged in, fiery red hair and eyes blazing, telling us that she would act as the bait and distraction…though we still had to determine how to go about doing that.