Chapter 10

Chapter 10BellaIwoke up to find Forge’s side of the bed cold. Yesterday was the one-month mark since coming to this rustic cabin by a scenic river. I loved everything about being here with Forge, but I still couldn’t believe my grandma was gone. Sometimes I wanted to share the details of this wonderful new life of mine with her. My therapist was helping me work though the stages of grief and I felt like I was finally coming to terms with the loss.After my grandma died, Marco had at least shown some kindness and allowed me to attend her funeral—accompanied by one of his men. Standing at her gravesite in the drizzling rain next to man I didn’t know had been a poignant reminder that my family tree had always been thin. I hoped that if she was looking down from above, she could tell I’d finally found that happiness I’d always longed for.I rolled over and pulled the blankets up around me as memories of the last few weeks rose in my mind. We’d been practicing with his rifle, going for hikes, and we’d even explored the underground bunker. We swam in the river, and I didn’t want to get back out again, there was something about being in the water that made me feel carefree once more.This was the first time since I was a child that someone was looking after me instead of vice versa. Forge was attentive, protective, and seemed to derive enjoyment from making me smile. At first, I had been baffled by his kindness and generosity, but then I came to understand from talking with some of the other wives that he’d always been like that, and it wasn’t an act.I was intelligent enough to know that this couldn’t last forever. Forge and I were two ships passing in the night, after this I would return to LA, and he would be four hours away in Griffinsford. Even if we weren’t from two entirely different walks of life, the distance would be too much. However, I was determined to enjoy it while I could. So, I got up, showered, dressed for the day, and headed downstairs to see if Forge needed help with breakfast.Instead of being greeted by the scent of coffee and bacon coming from the kitchen, I heard excited voices whispering. I hesitated in the doorway when I saw Storm and a bunch of other Dark Slayers gathered around the table.As if he were able to sense my presence, Forge turned to look at me over his shoulder.“Should I come back later?” I asked timidly.Forge gestured for me to come to him. “No. Come in, because what we’re talking about concerns to you.”I walked into the room and sat in the chair beside where he was standing.Storm announced, “We have good news to report today, Bella. We caught your old bosses.”My mouth dropped open in surprise. “Really? How did you get the drop on them?”“They were holed up in a five-star hotel, three towns over in Pattersfield. They ended up getting into a spat with another guest. Although the police weren’t called, the situation ended up on our radar because a local newspaper reported on the incident. The headline was Old Men Duke It Out Over Hot Tub.”I let out a relieved breath, almost laughing. “Wow! So does that mean the Russo brothers and I are safe?”“That’s exactly what that means.”“For how long? I mean, how much of a head start do I get before you have to let them go?”Forge squatted down to look me in the eye. “What the hell makes you think we’re letting them go?”I glanced between him and his club president. “I…I just assumed that you couldn’t hold him forever.”Forge responded, “We’re not cops. You do know that, don’t you, Bella?”I nodded. “But it’s not like you have a jail, and if you did, locking them up indefinitely is going to take a lot of manpower and resources.”A deep, dark voice drifted across the room from the doorway. “Don’t you worry about those assholes, doll. We’ll tuck them away safe and sound.”When I just gaped at Diego, he clarified, “We’ll tuck them away six feet under.”My mouth snapped shut for a brief second and then I asked, “What about the women he had cutting drugs?”Diego’s eyebrows shot up. “What about them?”“Don’t you think we should try to wheedle information out of them on what happened to those women?”“Why in God’s name would I do that?”I stood and used some of the newfound assertiveness Forge had encouraged me to develop. “They were being trafficked for their skillset. I want to make sure they’re freed.”Diego moved aside just as his brothers stepped into the room. He shot Nicco an annoyed look. “Did you hear that shit?”“Yeah, I did.” Turning to me, Nicco smiled politely. “Tell me about the women, Bella.”“They were Puerto Rican. They were forced to repackage drugs wearing nothing but a thong.”Understanding clicked onto Nicco’s face. “I know exactly who you’re talking about. They aren’t being trafficked, they work for one of the Hispanic gangs. The Haveros take on odd jobs, and one is cutting drugs. I’ve used them before and they ain’t cheap. I’m not going to say the women get a fair cut of what the Haveros charge, but most of them are hitched to club members.”“Are you sure, Nicco?” Maybe I was naïve, but I couldn’t imagine why anyone would willingly do that sort of work.“Did you see one with a gold nose ring?”When I nodded, he explained, “Her name is Alejandra. She’s hitched to their gang leader and they have a kid together. Her job is to supervise the other women.”“I remember she was telling the others what to do and teaching one of the younger girls how to use the scale.”“You’re a good woman, Bella,” Nicco said. “You know, if you’d told us what was going on, we could have gotten you out of there.”I wrapped my arms around my stomach, feeling some kind of way about hearing that. “All I knew was that you were all mafia. I didn’t know who I could trust, and Mr. Lombardo already threatened to give me cement shoes to go with my pretty gowns if I ever got out of line.”“We’ll remind him of that when his time comes,” Diego promised darkly.That felt like finally getting closure, like I could finally put this whole ugly mess behind me without looking over my shoulder. I got up and gave Nicco a hug. “Thanks for everything. I appreciate it.”Diego moved forward and gave me a brief hug as well. “You’re welcome, Bella. Trust us to take care of this situation.”“I’m really grateful for the opportunity to get to know the three of you even a little bit. Your kindness was part of what kept me going when I was spiraling.”I motioned Lucas over and gave him the world’s briefest hug. Then he placed something in my hand.“It’s my phone! How did you guys get ahold of this?”“We decided to have a little talk with Marco. Then we gathered up all your belongings for you. They’re in a couple of boxes on the front porch,” Nicco explained.I held the phone containing all my photos—those treasured memories of my grandmother before she got sick, and before I ended up in captivity. I thought I’d lost them all forever. “I don’t know how to thank you.”Nicco smiled at me. “Don’t mention it, Bella. It was the least we could do.”Diego leaned forward and asked, “Are we thumbs up or down on Marco?”Just when I thought Diego couldn’t do anything else to really shock me, he had casually asked for my vote on killing another human being. “Marco saved me from being beaten and sexually assaulted when I first arrived. Sometimes I felt like he was the only thing standing between me, Mr. Lombardo and his father. He forced me to work in their nightclub and took away my freedom, but he also protected me, saw that I got paid a marginal salary for my work and that my grandmother was taken care of. If you’re sure he’s not connected in all this then I don’t think he deserves to die—but I don’t want him to track me down and force me into anything either.”Diego sighed. “That’s a thumbs up. I hate that.”For the first time ever, Lucas spoke in my presence. “She made her decision. We’ll respect it.”Both Diego and Nicco slowly turned their heads to stare at their brother. It seemed as though the two of them couldn’t have been more surprised if the clock on the wall started talking.Storm took the opportunity to step forward and take control of the situation. “Did you bring a van to put them in? We’ve got them in a storage shed out back.”A chill ran up my spine at the realization that both of them were so close. I must have turned pale because Forge slid his arms around me. “It would probably be better to get them and get the hell outta here with them.”Diego glared at Forge. Before he could say anything, Storm interjected. “We can take them to the clubhouse if you want to talk to them. We have a space for that, nice and soundproofed too.”Nicco replied, “We’ll just take them and amscray for now. No sense putting off the inevitable.”The bikers filed out the back door and led the brothers down a path I knew led to an older log building.Forge stayed behind with me. When he turned me around in his arms to look at my face, I tried to smile. “Sorry. I didn’t realize you would be so spooked at learning those assholes were close.”“I can’t believe I had such an emotional reaction.”“Unfortunately, that’s the way trauma works. It’s like a ninja that sneaks up on you sometimes when you least expect it the.”We made some coffee and went out on the porch to get some fresh air. We had been outside about ten minutes, when they brought my former bosses back up the path. They looked like they had been roughed up.When Mr. Lombardo caught sight of me, his normally sour face morphed into an expression of absolute rage. He tried to step out of line and head in my direction, but Lucas was on him in a heartbeat. He slapped him hard on the back of the head and shoved him back in line. The older man stumbled forward in a daze.That’s when Mr. Morelli saw me. His expression blanked out, as though he’d seen a ghost. I remembered all the times he smiled and complimented me, how he’d kept his partner from hurting me. Then I remembered the part of the recording where he offered to let his friend have his filthy way with me. Any positive regard I once had for him evaporated in an instant.I sipped my coffee as they loaded the two men into a panel van with no side windows. Images of them wearing matching tuxes and drinking champagne danced through my mind. Oh, how the mighty have fallen, I mused to myself. I hated everything to do with these mobsters and hoped never to end up back in LA again for as long as I lived. That’s one thing I had decided, while I wanted to sing, I no longer had any illusions of making it big in the City of Angels.“You look pensive, Bella. If there is anything you want to talk about, I’m a good listener.”“Just thinking about strange life is. One minute they’re strong, powerful, and at the top of their game. The next, they’re being herded like lambs to the slaughter.” I gulped, thinking about the fate that the Russo brothers had in store for them.“Better than the alternative, they’d be looking for your replacement and another woman would suffer your fate.”I nodded. It was still a lot to process.Reaching over, I pulled one of the boxes closer and dug around inside. It was full of slinky gowns, all neatly folded to save space.Forge leaned over to have a look. “Pretty,” he commented.Closing the lid on the box, I responded, “For me, they’re just reminders of a year and a half that I want to forget. Maybe I’ll donate them. Or sell them and donate the profits to a charity that helps trafficked women?”“That’s a good idea, I can understand you wouldn’t want reminders.” Forge sat his coffee down and lifted the second box, putting it on top of the first so I could get inside more easily.I opened it and dug through it. “Most of my belongings are in storage. After my grandma ended up in a nursing home, I sold her home to help pay for the things she needed and I was living in a cheap motel until I found my feet.”“I could send a couple of prospects to bring your stuff from the storage unit here,” Forge suggested.“I would need to rent an apartment in order to have some place to put everything,” I sighed. At the moment I was jobless and homeless.“Or maybe you could leave it all in storage and move into the clubhouse with me for a while? Give yourself enough time to figure out what you want to do with your life.”“Do you think Storm would approve of that?”“Yeah. I’ve had my own suite there for a while now. It’s in the basement, but I have a bedroom, bathroom, and living room. It’s more than adequate for two people.”“I’d love to have more time with you, but I don’t want to be an imposition.”Forge leaned over and kissed me hard on the lips. “Don’t worry, you won’t be.”When he sat back down, I opened my purse and rummaged through my wallet. “Thank God, all my money and credit cards are still intact. I’m going to eventually need new clothing. I can’t keep wearing everyone else’s clothes forever.”“I’ll be happy to take you shopping the first chance I get. Or if you drive, you’re welcome to borrow my car. It’s nothing spectacular, but it’ll get you back and forth to town whenever you want.”I gazed into his dark eyes and wondered what kind of woman would end up with him in the end. Probably someone smart, educated, and sure of herself. And that sure didn’t sound like me at the moment.His generous offer warmed me from the inside out, making me feel special and wanted for the first time in forever. “Thank you, Forge. If no one objects, I just might do that.”“Good,” he responded with relief. “I’ve been going stir crazy around this cabin.”Before I could answer, a half dozen throaty motorcycle engines roared to life, along with the ones belonging to the four prospects that had been guarding the cabin.Storm shouted, “We’re heading back to the clubhouse. You two coming?”Forge stood up. “We’ll be along in a bit, after I clean up and lock the place down.”As they head off down the dirt track, following the Russo brothers in their van of death, Forge picked up my boxes and carried them inside. We straightened up, cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen so it was nice for whoever used the cabin after us. Forge put a small duffle bag filled with my stuff in the compartment of his bike. We eagerly strapped on our helmets and headed for the clubhouse.Riding on the back of his bike was my happy place. Something about being snuggled up to his big warm body felt right. I hung on for dear life as he snaked his bike around curve after curve and the wind whipped around us. There was no way for him to hear me over the roar of his engine, so I didn’t even try to talk to him. There was peace in knowing that we could just exist in the same space without having to fill every moment with meaningless chatter.The ride passed all too quickly for my liking. When we pulled into the clubhouse parking lot, the place was abuzz with brothers, their old ladies, and several small children. I don’t know what I was expecting, maybe some ramshackle building filled with rough bikers, but instead it looked like a smart sports bar or recreational club, with a commercial garage attached to it. I could see what Forge liked so much about this place and these people.