“Yes, I have, and I owe it all to you and my brothers. I wouldn’t even have been alive if it wasn’t for you,” I reiterated, and Elwood nodded his head. I could feel my heart beating wildly in my chest. What did that nod mean? He took in a deep breath, and I could see him looking into the eyes of Commando and Girth, for a sign of approval. I didn’t have to look at them to know what they were thinking.
“All right, we’ll go in,” he said, and the bar erupted in a cheer.
I found myself grinning too, a wave of relief had washed over my face. Ever since Commando and I had walked into that warehouse and seen the fighting ring, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. The only thing that mattered to me now was rescuing those kids out of there, giving them a chance the way Elwood had given me.
This time it wasn’t going to be easy. Elwood had saved me from a low scale gang. Whereas now, we were going to be up against a full-fledged MC. And the Black Skulls and us weren’t exactly on friendly terms.
I felt Commando’s hand slap down on my shoulder and then squeeze.
“You did it, brother,” he said, and I turned to my brothers and found them smiling.
“You convinced Elwood,” Slade said, and I nodded my head. This was just the beginning.
Chapter 4
Valentina
They sat me down in the front row. Not that there were any rows. Just plastic chairs dotted around the fighting ring. I could have been the only female in that warehouse, either way; I hadn’t looked. All I knew was that I was in an abandoned warehouse, surrounded by big men with tattoos and in leather jackets.
It wasn’t only the Muerte Viviente guys who were there; I could see that the bulk of the crowd around me were from an MC. The Black Skulls? I was trying to not st
are at the patch on their jackets.
They had driven me from the motel room to this warehouse, with my wrists bound again. They wanted me to see what they could do to other people, to instill fear in me. To make sure that I didn’t try running away.
The three Muerte Viviente guys stood around me, and I looked ahead, breathing hard, sweat trickling down my forehead. I could see the kids being prepared to be thrown into the ring. I knew what was going to happen. I hadn’t seen a fight like this before, but I had heard of it. I knew Jesus used to be one of these kids; he was forced by Papi into doing exactly this. It made my stomach turn.
“Valentina…you are as beautiful as always,” I heard a voice behind me, and I whipped around in my chair to look. It was Juan. He looked older now. I knew him well when I was growing up. He used to be one of the teenagers in the fighting ring like Jesus, but apparently, he had taken over the gang since Papi fell sick.
“Juan, what are you doing to me!” I screeched, but my voice was drowned by the loud music and other people’s voices. Some of the biker guys turned to look in our direction, but they were not going to help me. The only reason they had even looked at me earlier was because I was a woman. I was nothing but a walking-talking pair of tits and a pussy to them.
“Calm yourself, sweetheart, you know exactly what is happening to you,” Juan walked around in front of me, and then reached out to stroke my hair. I yanked myself away from him, my chair toppled a little, and one of the guys pushed me forward again. They all laughed, including Juan.
“Your Papi owes us money, he borrowed more than he could repay,” Juan said, with the smile still on his face.
“He’s sick!” I screamed at him, trying to spit the words out but it didn’t affect Juan. He just smiled and stepped back.
The fight was about to start behind him; the kids had been led on to the ring. A bell went off somewhere, and everyone turned to pay attention. I was breathing hard through my nose as Juan came over to stand beside me. He placed a hand on my shoulder. A slimy cold hand that turned my body to ice. He was going to use me. He was going to hurt me. I knew he was.
I gasped, crying out in terror when I saw the kids lunge at each other. They couldn’t have been older than fifteen…sixteen maybe, and they weren’t wearing gloves, they didn’t even look like they had eaten in days. I heard Juan laugh, and the others clapped and cheered as the boys took punches.
I was screaming, even though I couldn’t hear my own voice. I saw the blood pouring down the kid's foreheads, wounds slashing open on their bodies as they tried to knock each other out. The kid who won the fight would be the one getting food tonight, and a paycheck worth a few bucks. Both of them were as desperate for blood. It was natural human instinct, fight to survive.
My throat ran dry; I couldn’t scream anymore.
That was when I realized that my wrists weren’t tied anymore. One of the men had untied me at some point, confident that I wouldn’t be able to escape in a place like this, surrounded by hundreds of my enemies.
Trying to even my breath, I gulped, and my eyes fell on the cell phone sticking out of Juan’s pocket. His crotch was at level with my face as he stood beside me. I looked up at him; Juan was grinning manically at the ring, cheering on for the kid he had placed his bets on. None of them were staring at me anymore.
I reached for the cell phone, repeating Papi’s phone number over and over again in my head. All I needed to do was warn him. To let him know that I was kidnapped and that they were going to come for him.
When my hands touched the phone, I looked up at Juan again. He hadn’t noticed. I tried to slide it out, and he still hadn’t moved. I was so close if I could have it for just a few seconds. Just enough to send a text.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing!” one of the other guys had seen me. I felt all the blood drain from my face.
I screamed when he grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me back in my chair. Juan was alerted now, and he glared at me with his nostrils flaring.
“Valentina, that was a big mistake, my girl,” he said and grabbed my shoulders and lifted me off the chair. I screamed and struggled in his grip as he plonked me down forcefully on the ground.