Page 26 of Regret

“Why don’t you go try to take a nap. We’re all here with the girls and you need the rest,” she says, with Playboy nodding his agreement behind her.

“No. I still have a ton of work to do. Just needed a few minutes to myself away from the books,” I say, looking at my friend and seeing the sympathy filling her eyes.

“If you need us, we’re all here, Savannah. Don’t try to get through this shit on your own. It’s been a long time since you’ve had to fight alone and I don’t want to see you go back to that mentality,” Playboy tells me, his voice softer than normal as he remembers when I first came to the club with my sisters when they rescued us from that trailer. “And don’t forget you didn’t bring shit to the club. This is on Conrad and his father, not you and the girls. The only other one who can be blamed for what’s goin’ on now is your mother.”

“I know. It just feels as if I had left the club a long time ago, none of you would be dealing with this shit now,” I tell him, blinking my eyes rapidly in an attempt to keep them open and not fall asleep where I’m standing.

“We’d still be dealin’ with it because we always knew we’d go after the assholes at the top of this traffickin’ ring, Savannah. It was just a matter of time before we went after them because the kidnappin’ rate is goin’ back up and we know it’s because of them,” he informs me of a new piece of information that Zach hasn’t given me at this point.

Nodding my head, I tell them both that I’ll see them later and head for the kitchen. I can’t have coffee to stay awake, but I am hungry. Heading for the refrigerator, I see the three Phantom girls in the kitchen, putting lunch together for everyone.

“Did you want a sandwich?” one of them asks me, her voice not as nasally and grating as I first thought.

“No, thank you,” I tell her with a smile on my face. “I want to have some more of the roast we had for dinner last night if there’s any left.”

“I think there’s a decent amount left. Potatoes, rolls, and the green bean casserole too,” one of the other girls informs me as I open the refrigerator and search for the food I want.

I find everything I’m looking for after thanking the girls and pull it out to sit on the counter so I can make myself a plate. Putting it in the microwave to heat up, I put the food back and wait while watching them make lunch. The girls work well together and have a line going to prepare a variety of sandwiches for everyone. They know everyone likes something different and will give them options instead of just having the same kind for everyone. I’ve seen some club girls over the years who don’t give a fuck and just throw something together and it doesn’t matter if everyone gets what they prefer or like. Those girls don’t last long in the club because they’re only out for themselves and no one else.

At the same time, I know these girls tried to give Annabell a hard time when she first got here. It’s expected at this point, but Annabell is my friend and I want to hate them for their disrespect. They’re making it really hard to do that though. What I’ve seen over the last few weeks since I’ve been here is that they’re helpful, don’t go after the men who are taken, and have been spending time with the kids so the men and women can do what they need to do. They kind of remind me of Summer from the Wild Kings when she was a club girl for that club. She’s no longer a club girl and is an ol’ lady of Dozer. Plus, she helps a lot of clubs out with the team she put together of women who don’t mind getting their hands dirty and take care of women the club can’t touch.

Grabbing my plate when the microwave finishes, I head for the common room so I can sit down and eat before going back in to attempt to work. Choosing a table no one else is sitting at, I watch as Vault rushes from his office and straight for the front door of the clubhouse. Playboy, Killer, Slim, and a few other guys race after him without him saying a word to anyone. I have no clue what the hell is going on now, but fear fills me and dread coils in my gut. The feeling that this has to do with Conrad fills me and I know I have to remain in my seat where I am because I can’t get in the way of what the guys are doing no matter how desperate I am to learn whatever has happened today.

Taking the first bite of my lunch, I turn as the clubhouse door opens again. Zach is standing just inside the door as everyone turns to stare at him. He rushes from the door straight to Miracle and pulls her from her chair into his arms. Tears fill my eyes because this is the only confirmation I need to know Conrad has done something and it doesn’t involve me. This is about my baby sister and something he’s done to her. Standing from my seat, I move so fast the chair slams to the floor beneath me and Zach looks over with Miracle still in his arms.

I watch as he whispers something to her before letting her get back to work as he makes his way over to me. Zach grabs my hand and laces our fingers together before leading me from the room. He takes me to my office and closes the door behind us before making sure it’s locked. I don’t take my eyes off of my husband as he starts to pace the small room I’ve been given to use.

“Zach, you’re really scaring me. What happened?” I finally ask him when I can find my voice again.

“Love, it’s not good. Fox, Kingston, and I were workin’ on settin’ up the alarm system for that new client I told you about. Well, I learned why he wanted the absolute best system we had when I overheard him on the phone with someone,” Zach starts, his voice hard and cold as I take in his body that’s shaking so hard from the rage filling him. “He fuckin’ bought Miracle, Savannah. Conrad sold her again to this stupid fuck. I listened as he told Conrad he’d pick her up himself since they’re in the same town and he knows where the school is. He doesn’t know we’ve taken them out of school at this point. No one does and that works in our favor.

“Fox pretended we’d help him pick whoever he bought up because we were retrieval specialists. That’s how we got his folder on the person he bought. I was so consumed with rage and I wanted to gut him right there. Instead, we called Vault and told him we were bringin’ him in. We’ll question him to get all the information he has on the fucker we’re after and then Fox, Kingston, and Buzz can hopefully do somethin’ to locate Conrad and we’ll get the fuck rid of him once and for all,” he informs me, his voice the hardest I’ve ever heard it before and I’m ready to go down and gut this fucker right along with him.

“Zach, we can’t let them get their hands on my girls. I will do whatever it takes to protect them. Even if it means giving myself up so Conrad and his father don’t come after them. I know they’d have a good life with you and you’d keep them safe. You’d have everyone in the club to help you raise them,” I state, tears filling my eyes at the thought of leaving everyone I love behind because of a desperate man who’s so fucking vile I wish someone would take him out permanently.

“You’re not goin’ anywhere, Love. The girls and I need you here with us. I’m gonna go down right now and find out everythin’ I can from the fucker and then we’ll make plans. I think Fox or Kingston got his phone so we’ll have that and can see what they can find from that. Savannah, I’m fuckin’ serious, don’t do anythin’ you’ll regret. The girls won’t understand that you’re doin’ somethin’ to protect them. They’ll see it as you givin’ up on them and nothin’ more than that,” Zach says, pulling me into his arms and holding me tight as I let his words sink in.

Rationally, I know he’s right. It doesn’t mean I have to like what he’s saying. The girls wouldn’t understand that I’d sacrifice myself to protect them. If anything, they’d see me going with Conrad as running from them and it would be a betrayal I wouldn’t be able to come back from in their eyes. Especially Ava who knows more about what’s going on than the other two. What I need to do is let the guys handle this situation the best way they see fit and do everything I can to stay with my sisters and husband. Especially with the news I still have yet to share with Zach. There just hasn’t been a good time to tell him. Not with everything we’ve had going on and with the lack of sleep I’ve been getting.

“Okay, Zach. I won’t do anything stupid. You go take care of things and find out what you can from this asshole. Hurt him for me, baby. I want him to fucking bleed for thinking he can buy my sister. I don’t even care if it were one of the girls. He’s a sick fuck for thinking he could buy another person and strip them of their humanity for his own gain and pleasure,” I tell him, clutching his shirt in my fists and holding him tight.

Zach pulls back just enough to lean down and kiss me before leading me back to the common room so I can finish my lunch and then wait for the guys to take care of the man I have no doubt is already in the basement. I might not know much about club business, but I do know the guys won’t hesitate to step up and deal with any threat against the club, their family, or anyone with ties to the club. The basement has been designed specifically for that purpose. I only know that because I saw the plans Vault had drawn up for the clubhouse before it got built.

With one last kiss, Zach leaves me in the common room. Annabell, Shy, and Gwen join me at my table and don’t say a word as I push my food around the plate more than I eat it. I’ve lost my appetite even though I know I have to eat for the baby. Right now, I couldn’t stomach a bite of food knowing the man who bought one of my sisters is so close. Court, Killer, and Boy Scout remain up here with us and surround my sisters as the rest of the kids eat their lunch and talk amongst themselves. I want to cry, but I won’t let myself break right now. My sisters don’t deserve to see that when they’re already so nervous and scared about what’s going on. They might not show it to everyone, but I know them better than anyone but Zach and can see what they try to hide from everyone else.

Chapter Nineteen

Valor

LEAVING SAVANNAH IN the common room to eat her lunch, I make my way to the basement leaving a few guys up with my family. Everyone else is already downstairs and waiting on me to find out what other information this stupid fucker has on Conrad, his father, or anyone else involved with the trafficking ring. I don’t give a fuck if we have to dismantle the entire organization from the ground up to the very top in order to make sure Conrad sits in prison until we’re ready to end his fucking life. He’ll know what it’s like to suffer and be someone else’s bitch the same way he plans on making every single woman, kid, and man he sells to another person. There’s no other description for what Conrad and his father do with every sale they make.

These sick fucks kidnap others in order to make money from the sale of them. None of the people involved in this are good and I want to beat the fuck out of every one of them. However, that won’t bring the families justice. We’ve gotten some of the victims they’ve kidnapped back and where they belong or we’ve relocated them where they can start their lives over again. I make my way through the basement where the cells are located and strip out of my tee-shirt and cut so I can take care of business and make this fucker realize exactly what he’s done. Not only has he bought someone who didn’t consent to being with him, but he also fucked with my family and I will never let that go.

“You ready for this, Son?” Slim asks me the second I walk into the cell and spot everyone leaning against the walls as they wait for me.

“I’m more than ready for this. The fucker here in this room bought my daughter Miracle. She’s barely a fuckin’ teenager and had no say in this fucked up situation. He’s so eager to get his hands on my girl that he was plannin’ on goin’ to her school to steal her from the buildin’ she’s supposed to be safe in when she’s not home with us,” I tell everyone as my eyes lock on the fucker chained up in front of me.

He's already been stripped down to his underwear and I can see bruises already forming on his body. It looks as if someone already got their hands dirty and I’m not gonna say a fucking word about it. I’ll get my hands dirty and end his life. He dies by my hands and everyone standing around me knows that. My girl is the one he wants and that makes him my target. I’m not gonna regret ending this fuckers life because he’ll just buy someone else if we let him go and continue living his life as a free man.

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