Lake’s Legacy (Demon Dawgs MC: New Orleans #3)

Chapter Twenty-Eight Olivia

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: OLIVIA

I watch in horror as the young woman we saw taking the tour of obstetrics gets out of the car to greet the two men. When I move to open the door, Levi stops me.

“Hold on, let’s see what happens.”

“You know what’s going to happen. They’re going to kidnap that girl. We have to stop them.”

“No, we need to follow them and figure out where they’re hiding,” Jack says.

“But…”

“Olivia, think about it. Even if we grab these two, we don’t know how many more are out there. Besides, these two may lead us to your friend. We need to know where they’re hiding,” Levi explains.

“I know, but she’s going to be so scared,” I say as Annette clutches my hand.

We all watch as the men grab the woman, tie her up, and toss her into the back of the van. Annette’s grip on my hand tightens. I feel so useless as I imagine how terrified the woman must be. Tears stream down my cheeks. When the van pulls away from the curb, Jack waits for them to turn the corner before pulling out to follow them.

About twenty minutes later, Jack pulls over as the white van pulls into a boarded-up mechanic's garage. The building has four bays and a reception area.

“This must be where they’re hold up,” Levi says. “Should we call Hex?”

“Probably. Let me get out and look around. If I’m not back in ten minutes, call Hex. If they leave, follow them.”

Jack hops out and races across the street. He ducks behind the abandoned building next door to the garage. We don’t see him again until he returns to the driver’s seat. “There are three men inside. I didn’t see the girl. She might still be in the van.” He takes out his phone and calls Hex.

He gives Hex a rundown of what we witnessed, ending the call after giving him our location.

“He’s sending reinforcements. Once they get here, we’ll drive the women back to the clubhouse.”

“We aren’t leaving,” I tell Jack, ignoring the furious expression on Levi’s face. “You need us here to help the woman. She’s going to be terrified. Think a bunch of bikers will make her feel safe?”

“Olivia…” Levi starts, but Jack holds up his hand to stop him.

“Don’t bother. It isn’t our call. Let Hex and the others make the decision. For now, they’re both safe in here. I’ll watch the rear to ensure they don’t sneak out the back.”

“Why don’t we just call the police?” Annette asks.

Levi and Jack have a conversation without words. Since they seem unwilling to answer, I take charge.

“We don’t know if we can trust the police,” I tell her. She frowns at me as I continue. “These guys are extorting money from several businesses in New Orleans. A woman who owned a bakery went to the cops and demanded they do something about the men. However, instead of arresting the men, the men kidnapped her and burned down her bakery. The cops said she burned the place down to collect the insurance. They ignored the eyewitness statement of someone who saw the men kidnap her and start the fire. If we call the cops, how do we know if the cops who come can be trusted?”

Jack gave me a quick nod before climbing out of the SUV and taking the path he had taken earlier.

We wait in silence. I’m staring at the building, wishing to see through the walls. When both passenger doors fly open, and two men slide in. Annette lets out a squeak while I jolt. However, the familiar scent of leather and wood calms me. Wrapping my arms around Lake, I relax into him. All my stress melts away knowing he’s here.

“I take it Jack’s watching the rear?” Hex asks from the front seat.

Levi nods. “He’s been texting me. I let him know you’re here. What’s the plan?”

“Why don’t you drive the women back to the clubhouse, then come back.”

“No,” I saw, leaning forward, only to have Lake pull me back against him.

“You’ll both be safer at the clubhouse,” Lake says. “Toff is there, too.”

“We can help,” I protest. “The woman they kidnapped will trust us before she trusts you. We can take care of her while you take care of the assholes who kidnapped her.”

“She has a point,” Hex says. “Cleo and Skylar were a great help when we rescued those kids.”

“Okay, but you both stay in the SUV with Levi until we call for you,” Lake demands.

“Of course.”

When the guys don’t get out, I turn a questioning look towards Lake. “It thought you guys were going in?”

Lake chuckles. “We are. We need to wait until it gets dark.”

“They could be hurting her,” I remind them.

“They aren’t,” Levi responds. “Jack’s close enough to see and hear what’s happening inside.”

“Do you have a first aid kit in here?” Annette asks.

“Yeah,” Lake says, reaching over the seat to lift the floor. Inside is a cavity filled with blankets and a duffle bag. He pulls the bag out and plops it on my lap.

“What else do you have back there?” I ask as Annette searches through the bag, and Lake hands me a blanket.

“You don’t want to know,” he replies.

“Okay, let’s go,” Hex says, opening his door. Lake kisses me before following his President.

It isn’t completely dark outside. I can still see a sliver of light from the setting sun, but most of the area is in shadow. The guys quickly disappear from view. I brace myself for the sound of gunshots, but the night remains eerily quiet. With my eyes locked on the building, the sound of the car door opening has me jolting again. I glance at Levi, who is stepping out of the SUV.

“Let’s go,” he says as he opens my door.

“Go where?” Annette asks.

He gives us a questioning look. “I thought you two wanted to go inside to help the nurse they kidnapped?”

“Is it all over?” I ask in surprise. “I didn’t hear anything.”

“Were you expecting a war?” Levi asks with a smirk.

“Well, yeah. Maybe not a big one, but I expected to hear gunfire.”

“They didn’t need it. They caught the bastards unaware.”

Annette and I climb out of the SUV. She’s carrying the duffle bag with the supplies while I have the blanket.

“We’re going to need more blankets,” Levi says. “Hex said there are more victims.”

Annette and I follow him to the rear of the SUV. He opens it and pulls out a stack of blankets. I spot a locked box tucked further back in the cavity. It doesn’t take a genius to realize the box likely contains guns and ammo.

Levi takes the blankets and the duffle bag before leading us across the street. We step into the shop to hear the sound of male cussing and women weeping. Levi leads us through the empty lobby into the garage. There, we see three men zip-tied and kneeling on the floor. They’re cussing at Abra, who stands over them. The prisoners threaten him and the rest of the club with everything from assassination to lynching. Abra ignores them. He focuses on his brothers as they lift two pregnant women out of the service pit.

Annette and I rush to wrap blankets around the two women shivering in the unheated garage. Pirate is helping the third woman, whom we spotted at the hospital, climb out of the pit.

“My name is Annette. I’m a doctor. This is Olivia. She’s a nurse. Are you in any pain or have any injuries?”

“I’m Letitia,” the oldest of the three women responds. “They didn’t hurt us.”

“But I wouldn’t say no to some food and water,” the second pregnant woman says. “My name is Jasmine.”

“Levi, go grab some Gatorade and protein bars from the SUV. That will suffice until we can get you to a hospital,” Hex says. “How long have you been here?”

“I’ve been here two days,” Letitia says. “They brought Jasmine yesterday.”

“Excuse me,” the woman we saw kidnapped interrupts. “Why haven’t the police and ambulance arrived yet? They should be here by now.”

“They aren’t coming,” Hex tells her.

“Why not? You need to call them immediately.”

“No cops,” Hex says, causing her head to snap in his direction.

“What? Why not? They can’t get away with this.”

“They won’t,” Hex says.

She narrows her eyes at Hex, but we hear Jack shout out for help before she can respond. Jack calls for me in a voice strangled with emotion. I rush back into the waiting room and through a door into what used to be an office. Now, it’s a makeshift bedroom with a mattress on the floor. Laying naked on the bed with blood covering her legs and face is a fourth woman. We don’t need a rape kit to tell us what we already know. Those fuckers used this poor woman as their fuck toy.

“Oh my god,” the woman next to me hisses.