Free Prizefight: The Hell Raiders MC Goes MMA by Aden Lowe
Authors: Aden Lowe
all."
"I get that." I paused, trying to think of a gentle way to get her to tell me. Since I'd taken her from him, her problems were now mine. "Look, if I'm going to help you get out of that, I need to know a little. Don't worry about details. Just the general facts."
Dark eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them away with determination. "Okay, don't say I didn't warn you." She went on to tell me about her mother getting sick, about surviving on the kindness of strangers, and then Royse. "That was my last resort. I looked for work, everywhere. But no one hires a seventeen-year-old high school dropout. The shelters here only take in men. They'd have to have better space and stuff for women and kids, and they just don't. So, I did what I had to do. And I'm still doing it."
As she spoke, my heart broke a little for her. My earlier thought about how my sister could have ended up in a similar situation was right on the mark. "Now tell me about those bruises."
"I was going to get out of the life. Make a new start. I found a real job, at a store, but I had to keep working for him for another two weeks, until I got my first paycheck." She paused and shook her head. "I don't know how, but he must have found out. He sent me on three bad dates in the last week, and the last one was going to kill me. Then last night."
I stayed quiet and ate a little. Definitely not what I was supposed to have, but these were extreme circumstances. "Okay, here's what's going to happen. You're going to disappear. You'll stay at my place until we make other arrangements."
A stubborn tilt of her head served as my only warning. "I can't. Royse has my mom. If I don't go back, he'll have her killed. If he hasn't already."
Well shit. That put a new monkey wrench in the works. By now, Stella would have passed on what I told him at the trestle, and Kellen would have taken other steps to stop Royse's interference with Raiders business. Most likely violent steps. Which would put Elena's mother in even greater danger.
"If you're finished eating, we'll go back to my place, and I'll call some friends and have them find your mom."
She grabbed the tray from the next table and started piling our trash on it. "Let's go."
As we rode, I tried to think more than one step ahead. Royse would have men looking for us both, at least until I made things clear to him, so we had to stay out of sight. I needed to get in touch with Luke and tell him to lay low for a while, too, just in case they decided to go after him in order to get to me.
The parking garage had a rarely used, and mostly unknown, rear access, and I chose to go in that way, just in case Royse had someone watching my place. The tight alley leading to that entrance presented no problems with my bike, but for a car it would have been nearly impossible.
We made it upstairs and I paused to arm the alarm system I'd installed as an added precaution. The building's security would keep out, or at least slow down, most people, but I didn't know what kind of skills Royse's men had. No need to take unnecessary chances.
A hot shower sounded great, but I couldn't yet. Too much shit to take care of. Elena would probably like one, though. "If you'd like a shower, I can probably find a T-shirt and some drawstring shorts for you. Doubt I have anything else that wouldn't fall off of you."
"I need to be doing something to find my mom." The worry on her face struck a chord in me.
The need to reassure her and offer comfort came from nowhere, blindsiding me. "Let me work on that for now. You won't be any good to her when we find her if you're hurting and exhausted." I led her to the bathroom. "Get started, I'll find those clothes for you."
She nodded and went to follow orders, while I started the search for something for her to wear. Memory of the last time she'd been in my apartment tugged at my cock, and the temptation to not find the clothes failed to surprise me. I wouldn't mind if she just stayed naked, but she
"I get that." I paused, trying to think of a gentle way to get her to tell me. Since I'd taken her from him, her problems were now mine. "Look, if I'm going to help you get out of that, I need to know a little. Don't worry about details. Just the general facts."
Dark eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them away with determination. "Okay, don't say I didn't warn you." She went on to tell me about her mother getting sick, about surviving on the kindness of strangers, and then Royse. "That was my last resort. I looked for work, everywhere. But no one hires a seventeen-year-old high school dropout. The shelters here only take in men. They'd have to have better space and stuff for women and kids, and they just don't. So, I did what I had to do. And I'm still doing it."
As she spoke, my heart broke a little for her. My earlier thought about how my sister could have ended up in a similar situation was right on the mark. "Now tell me about those bruises."
"I was going to get out of the life. Make a new start. I found a real job, at a store, but I had to keep working for him for another two weeks, until I got my first paycheck." She paused and shook her head. "I don't know how, but he must have found out. He sent me on three bad dates in the last week, and the last one was going to kill me. Then last night."
I stayed quiet and ate a little. Definitely not what I was supposed to have, but these were extreme circumstances. "Okay, here's what's going to happen. You're going to disappear. You'll stay at my place until we make other arrangements."
A stubborn tilt of her head served as my only warning. "I can't. Royse has my mom. If I don't go back, he'll have her killed. If he hasn't already."
Well shit. That put a new monkey wrench in the works. By now, Stella would have passed on what I told him at the trestle, and Kellen would have taken other steps to stop Royse's interference with Raiders business. Most likely violent steps. Which would put Elena's mother in even greater danger.
"If you're finished eating, we'll go back to my place, and I'll call some friends and have them find your mom."
She grabbed the tray from the next table and started piling our trash on it. "Let's go."
As we rode, I tried to think more than one step ahead. Royse would have men looking for us both, at least until I made things clear to him, so we had to stay out of sight. I needed to get in touch with Luke and tell him to lay low for a while, too, just in case they decided to go after him in order to get to me.
The parking garage had a rarely used, and mostly unknown, rear access, and I chose to go in that way, just in case Royse had someone watching my place. The tight alley leading to that entrance presented no problems with my bike, but for a car it would have been nearly impossible.
We made it upstairs and I paused to arm the alarm system I'd installed as an added precaution. The building's security would keep out, or at least slow down, most people, but I didn't know what kind of skills Royse's men had. No need to take unnecessary chances.
A hot shower sounded great, but I couldn't yet. Too much shit to take care of. Elena would probably like one, though. "If you'd like a shower, I can probably find a T-shirt and some drawstring shorts for you. Doubt I have anything else that wouldn't fall off of you."
"I need to be doing something to find my mom." The worry on her face struck a chord in me.
The need to reassure her and offer comfort came from nowhere, blindsiding me. "Let me work on that for now. You won't be any good to her when we find her if you're hurting and exhausted." I led her to the bathroom. "Get started, I'll find those clothes for you."
She nodded and went to follow orders, while I started the search for something for her to wear. Memory of the last time she'd been in my apartment tugged at my cock, and the temptation to not find the clothes failed to surprise me. I wouldn't mind if she just stayed naked, but she