Page 131 of Fought and Freed

“Yes, I am.” She pulled back her shoulders. “A twelve-year-old girl needs us.”

He lowered his head and took a deep breath. “This way.”

He led her upstairs and to the right, where he stopped in front of a door and looked her in the eyes. “Stay strong, and don’t let them bully you.”

With his warning delivered, he opened the door.

Maddy followed Harry into the room, which held a long table in the center surrounded by leather chairs.

“What is this, Harry? You bring us a puttana to play with?” said a deep voice.

Laughter rose from the other men around the table.

“Watch your mouth, Jayden,” Harry snapped.

Another guy stood, walked over to Maddy, bent, and smelled her. “Are you sure she’s not a puttana? She smells like she is.”

“Sit down, you fool, before you get stabbed. Do you have any idea who that is?” a gravelly voice demanded.

He smirked at the speaker. “No. Should I?”

“Take your seat, Zack,” Harry commanded. “Gentleman, let me introduce you to Maddy Walsh, but the name she was born with was Mia Moretti.”

There were some gasps while others just stared.

Maddy strode to the head of the table, figuring that’s where Lucca would sit. “I called this meeting—”

“Wait a minute, you called this meeting?” A tall guy with a beard stood and pointed at Harry. “You said Lucca called us in.”

Everyone started talking, ignoring Maddy.

Angry, she pounded her fist on the table. “If you children would shut up for a minute,” she roared, staring at each person, “I’d tell you I was the one who told Harry to summon you here.”

“Did she just call us children?” someone growled.

“That’s the bitch who got Jude kicked out,” another said, his eyes narrowing on Maddy.

“Jude deserved it,” scoffed a man she remembered from the fight. “She got one over on him, and he got bent. He was stupid enough to go after her, so he deserved to get kicked out.”

“She came down to the Crawford Boy’s Auto Garage looking for Viper,” added a big guy. “She’s cool.”

Maddy remembered him from her visit and smiled at Tank.

A cane slammed down on the ground, and a strong voice barked out, “I have an idea! How about you all shut up and see what she has to say?”

There was some grumbling, but they settled down.

“Thank you.” Maddy dipped her head toward him before looking at the rest of the men. “I’m sorry to deceive you by saying my brother called the meeting. I’m not sure how much Lucca has told you about me, so let me give you some of my background.”

She explained Wings of Refuge and how she met Ryan, not knowing who he was to her, then how she met Mike and who he really was. How he followed her here and what he did to her.

“While in rehab, I met Grant, and we became friends. I found out today that Mike sent him to befriend me. Mike killed his parents and kidnapped his sister, Kelly, a twelve-year-old girl.” Maddy paused to let that settle in. “He tried to use this child to force Grant to do whatever he had planned for me, and when Grant refused, he paid for it.”

Maddy took a steadying breath. “He’s now in the hospital in a coma. Mike beat the shit out of him and used him as a guinea pig for his new drug cocktail, just like he did me. I want Mike found alive. He’s mine to deal with.”

“Lucca never told us what all you had been through,” rasped one of the older guys. “He just told us he’d found you. You must be a Moretti to survive all that. What do you need us to do?”

“You’re searching for Mike, but that needs to become your top priority. A twelve-year-old girl’s life depends on it,” she said. “Don’t worry about Lucca or Uncle Sal. I’ll take care of them. If you find anything, call Harry or me.”

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