Jamie Begley - Tainted

The door opened, and men began pouring into the room. Sawyer took a step back before she realized that these were the extra security that Alec had been talking about. He talked with them and Kaden while she took a seat on one of the empty chairs.

Her stomach grumbled and the women turned to stare at her. Blushing, she crossed her arms over her stomach, hoping to silence the embarrassing noise.

Kaden was watching her, and at her revealing movement, he turned his attention to Sin.

“Call and have some food and drinks sent up here.” Sin nodded, catching the cell phone that Kaden tossed toward him. The men talked for what seemed like forever to her tense nerves, but Sawyer reminded herself to be patient. She already had decided to ask who brought up the food for help.

Her plans were derailed when one of Alec’s men went to the door, wheeling in the trolley filled with food himself, leaving the server outside in the hallway.

As the women and men descended on the food cart, Sawyer’s stomach lurched at the aroma coming from it, but she couldn’t bring herself to eat while she was so worried about Vida and wanting to call for help.

Finally, when the men finished talking, Alec and his security team left with grim faces.

Sawyer watched as Kaden walked over to the food cart where he placed several sandwiches on a plate and grabbed a bottled water before walking over, handing it to her.

“Eat,” he ordered. She started to argue with him, but her grumbling stomach refused to cooperate. Embarrassed, she reached out and took the plate from his hand.

“So what have you and Alec decided?” Sawyer asked, before taking a bite of the thick sandwich.

Kaden sat down on the chair facing hers.

“Alec is going to find a safe place for the women to stay. Two of Alec’s security detail that used to be on the police force are going to get in touch with their ex-bosses and bring them in quietly so as not to alarm Redman and whoever his boss is. We’re going to hang tight until we hear back from Alec.”

“In other words, you’re not going to do a damn thing. None of this wait-and-see attitude is going to prevent them from going after my friend.” Sawyer had to force herself to take another bite. His words making her appetite dwindle.

“Alec is tracing the number you dialed and is going to keep trying it. If we don’t get in touch with her soon, then we’ll send one of our men to where she is to get her out of town.”

Sawyer ate the sandwich, enjoying the taste despite herself. The thick sandwich was filled with a flavorful meat that had her reaching for another one. After she finished it and drank half her bottled water, she sat, debating her next move.

Alec returned and asked the women to follow him after a quiet conversation with Kaden. The women meekly followed him out of the hotel room.

“Where is he taking them?” Sawyer asked, concerned for their safety.

Kaden returned his attention to her. ‘’He’s taking them to a private rehab home not far from here. They’ll be checked out and given help to get rid of the drugs Redman has kept in their systems.

Rehab houses were known for their discretion and silence dealing with wealthy clients. These women weren’t being given their freedom, but exchanging it for a more luxurious prison.

“Why aren’t you trying to send me with them?” she asked suspiciously.

“Because Redman wants you; he doesn’t want them.”

His words had what little color the food had given her disappearing again. Did that mean he had decided to give her back to Rick? The door had been unintentionally left open after the last woman had left the suite.

“I need to go to the restroom.” Nonchalantly, she rose to her feet.

“Fine.” Kaden was motioned to Sin’s and R.J.’s side after he’d dismissed her.

Sawyer turned toward the bathroom, and before anyone could react, she ran for the door. She saw the elevator door was closed, so seeing the exit sign and hearing running steps and yells from behind her, she went for the exit.

Her movements were slow after being chained to a bed for several weeks, but she managed to make it to the door. Her hands touched the knob, frantically turning the handle and barreling through the door only to find herself almost knocked off her feet when she ran into one of Alec’s men coming up the stairs. His hands went to her waist, barely managing to keep them from both going headfirst down the steps.

“Jesus,” Kaden said, his arm going to her waist and pulling them both back to safety.

The security man released her with a sharp word while Kaden gripped her arm, forcing her struggling body back into the hotel room. The band members and R.J. all gave her angry stares at her attempt to escape.

Kaden didn’t stop escorting her down the hallway where he opened the bedroom door, then pushed her in before she could stop him, shutting and locking the door before she could react.

“S—s—son of a b—bitch!” Sawyer turned and began hitting the door with her fists, yelling to be let out. Trying the door handle, she realized the lock was strong, and she wasn’t going to be able to break out anytime soon. Pounding on the door, she continued to yell for help, hoping fruitlessly that someone would hear and come to her aid. When her voice gave out, and her burning fists couldn’t take it anymore, she slid down the door, sitting on the floor and leaning back against the door for support.

“I’m sorry,” she heard Kaden mutter from the other side of the door, before his footsteps sounded, leading away from the door.

She was being held captive again, losing her freedom before she actually had regained it. A self-mocking laugh escaped her lips. As always, freedom was just beyond her reach.

“Kaden you should see the turkey Mom bought. It’s so big it won’t fit in the oven.”

“How many pounds?” Kaden asked Grace, watching Tatiana trying on the lingerie they had spent the morning shopping for.

“At least twenty-four. I don’t know how she’s going to make it fit in the oven.” Her soft laughter came through the phone with a slight edge to the sound. “I thought you would have been on your way. You said you were leaving yesterday.”

“Yeah, well, something’s come up. We’re not going to be able to come. Tatiana’s parents are throwing a fit that she’s not coming home for Thanksgiving, so we’re going to have to go there. It’s important to them since we just got engaged. Mom will understand.”

“Kaden, she’s been cooking for the last two days.” Disappointment filled her voice, which he ignored as Tatiana struck a pose in her new, red lace camisole. She hadn’t bothered to put on the flimsy bottoms.

“I’ll make it up to her. We’ll spend a few extra days at Christmas. I have to go, Grace. Tell everyone, hi.”

Smiling, Tatiana took the phone away as her arms circled his neck, disconnecting the call.

Kaden sat on the leather chair, looking out the tinted tour bus window, watching the scenery as they drove toward their next concert venue. The silence in the forty-five-foot bus was strained.

His return to the band was turning out to be one fucked up mess. They had spent the previous day trying to figure a way out of the mess they had found themselves in, while Sawyer had tried to contact her friend with no success. Each time he had gone into the bedroom to give her the phone, her look of reproach had him regretting his decision not to go to the police. It was only his faith in Alec’s ability to handle the situation that had him keeping the woman contained.

Alec took the chair next to his. “We have a problem.”

“No shit. Which problem are you talking about? A pimp threatening us, the fact that we’ve kidnapped Sawyer or the failure to notify the police about a crime?” Kaden said sarcastically.

“The police know, or rather the FBI. One of my men has a contact in the FBI. He told them what happened. Kaden, if it wasn’t for your quick thinking none of us would be here today. Redman works for a highly dangerous man named Digger, who has been running a sex ring for years. The FBI has been building a case to arrest him, but they haven’t been able to locate where he keeps the women. It seems that he has a way of making them disappear, and they don’t show back up again; at least, not alive.” Alec’s grim visage showed the extreme danger they were all in.

“Jesus,” Kaden said, still thankful that Redman had returned this morning with Ax when the money had cleared his account.

All the men stood around the bus, listening as Alec explained the tenuous situation.

“They’ve put the women in the rehab center in protective custody, but are leaving them there. None of them are talking; they’re too afraid of this Digger to give evidence.”

“What about Sawyer?” Kaden asked. “Should we turn her over to the FBI?” He still remembered Redman’s final words when Ax was returned that morning.

“You better keep that bitch under control. Any escape attempts and I’ll either blow her brains out or take her back. Either way, she won’t be around to play those games you kept your other bitches playing.”

Alec’s voice drew him back to the present. “They want us to keep doing what we’re doing. They’ve placed an undercover agent in with my security, and they’re keeping us under surveillance. The FBI are hoping that this Digger will make a move on Sawyer and they can finally get some evidence on him.”

“Why not just get Sawyer to testify? She doesn’t seem the type to be afraid to testify.” She would probably demand to testify if given the chance.

“The problem is that she can’t testify against Digger because she’s never seen him. He’s the one they want. Arresting Redman, would slow the operation down, not eliminate it and find the missing women.”

The only choice was to keep Sawyer, if there was any chance to find the other women. Kaden sighed; they weren’t going to be able to leave this problem behind. They were going to have to stick it out.

“I’ll tell Sawyer that…” Kaden began.

“She can’t know. The FBI says if she is taken, despite their efforts, that she could be forced to tell them what she knows, and Digger and his men will disappear. They say the least she knows, the better, for her own safety.”

Kaden didn’t agree, especially if it would take that accusing look out of her eyes. He also didn’t think they were taking Sawyer’s safety seriously if they were more concerned with arresting Digger.

“So what’s the problem you’re talking about?” Kaden asked Alec.

“Another reason they don’t want us to tell Sawyer is her connection to another man named King. They think that was the original reason she was kidnapped.”

“How does she know this King?” The fragile woman appeared to have a few secrets.

“No one knows. Digger is trying to move into King’s territory and Digger intends to use Sawyer against him, but no one knows how. As far as the FBI can find, they didn’t even know each other. The only thing that tied King to her is a protection order he put out years ago for her and her friend, Vida.”

“Can this become anymore of a clusterfuck?” Kaden said angrily, getting to his feet to move around the bus. As large as it was, he was starting to feel smothered in the confining space, surrounded by the listening band members.

“I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I thought I was saving everyone from the press. Instead, everyone’s in danger. I didn’t know the women were from a slave ring. I thought they were just doing it for the money.” R.J. sat at the table, drinking a glass of whiskey, his face pale.

“You should have learned by now that it never works out when you interfere,” Kaden said angrily, before asking Alec about Sawyer’s friend.

“Does Vida know that she’s in danger?”

Alec nodded his head. “She’s a smart girl. She went to King for protection. The FBI thinks she’s safe and are watching her also.”

“They want to take both Digger and King down using those girls, don’t they?” Kaden questioned.

“Yes,” Alec answered.

“Fuck.”

“What are we going to do?” Ax asked. He was sitting at the table with R.J., but had a bottle of whiskey, and Kaden couldn’t blame him. If not for his own self-imposed ban against alcohol, he would have the whole bottle in front of him by now.

“The only thing we can do is what the FBI wants us to do. Keep Sawyer safe until they can arrest this Digger,” Kaden stated, coming to the same conclusion he’d seen in Alec’s eyes.