10. Sienna

10

SIENNA

Today started out so good.

I woke up with my body pleasantly throbbing from the workout Lash put on me last night. I wasn't concerned that he slipped out sometime in the middle of the night. I'm sure he had things to do. In fact, he told me that he was going to have to leave and go to the meeting that was set up with the other group.

When I got out of my bed with a new pep in my step, I was surprised to see that Lash had done exactly what he promised he would. My door was fixed with a new lock and even a deadbolt—something I didn't have before.

The key was left on the table on top of a sheet of paper with his number in case I needed to get in contact with him.

As much as I didn't want to admit it, Lash was becoming the type of man I could really see myself falling for. He was a bit too possessive for me, but even that flaw was growing on me. The one thing I can count on when it comes to him is the fact that he's going to give me the truth and give it to me straight.

So when he showed up at my door, walking in using his own key, I knew it had something to do with the meeting he had the night before—something to do with Max and Lia.

He held me as I cried when he explained to me that I was right. They did go off with those Hands of Hell bastards, and instead of just sending them on their way when they were finished, they drugged Max and Lia and basically sold them off to some asshole named Fisher.

They were forced into sex trafficking.

I know most people don't seem to care about the strippers or the women that walk the streets at night, but they are people too. To have them discarded like this breaks my heart.

Lash promised that he would do everything he could to find out more information about this Fisher guy and where exactly he might have taken the girls, but I wasn't just going to sit on my fucking thumbs and wait for someone to do the work for me. No, that's just not the kind of person I am.

Now that I've got a lead on where they might be, I need to do some searching of my own.

***

I was barely able to finish my work, once again too distracted by what was going on to focus on medical billing or listening to my boss deliver snide comments through interoffice email. There were real life-and-death things happening in my world—something I'm sure the group of people I worked with would never understand.

No one understood. Not the police, not the community, no one.

I wasn't a stripper, but I connected with these girls. So much so that I'm sure they'll trust me with any secret information that they might have. If anyone is going to know about this Fisher character, it'll be someone in that club or someone who works the block like Max and Lia used to. I just have to convince them that it'll be worth it to give me the information.

The minute it was dark enough, I packed up my backpack and headed straight for the strip club. I stopped a few times along the way to hand-deliver some supplies to the few people who were still out looking to panhandle. None of them dared to start up any small talk; I guess I must look how I feel—on edge. I simply passed off the supplies and continued on my way.

I stepped up to the roped-off area in front of the strip club, and Prince smiled wide when he saw me.

"Hey, Si-Si. You having a good night?" he asked as he removed the rope and waited for me to step in. Usually, I just give him a generic response and make my way inside, but tonight I had questions to ask him. Out of everyone, Prince knows who comes and goes in this place; maybe he's seen someone.

"Hey, I've actually wanted to ask you about something." I smiled up at the big bouncer and hoped my charm was pulsing through.

"Yeah? What's up?" he questioned.

I took a quick look around just to make sure no one was around to hear my conversation. The last thing I wanted was to bring any trouble in Prince's direction.

"I don't know if you've heard, but Max and Lia have gone missing."

His eyebrows furrowed. "I don't know anyone named Max or Lia," he shook his head.

"No, they weren't strippers, but they worked the block out here. I'm sure you've seen them." I pointed to the corner where Max and Lia usually set up shop.

This jogged Prince's memory. "Ah, yeah. That's too bad. I hope they find them." He shrugged. That was usually the amount of sympathy I got from anyone when I told them two young girls in their line of work had gone missing. But today, I wasn't going to let up.

"Yeah, well, I think I may have a lead on that. Do you know anyone by the name of Fisher?"

Even in the dim light in front of the club, I can see Prince's expression change. He's not smiling at me anymore; in fact, he looks downright pissed off. I don't know who this Fisher asshole is, but I'm sure that Prince knows.

"I don't know anyone named Fisher," Prince bristles.

"Prince, you know me. You know I wouldn't be asking if it were for something?—"

Prince cuts me off before I can give him any more of an explanation. "Sienna, I don't know what the hell you're trying to get involved in, but maybe you need to stop turning over rocks. You're not going to like what you find. Like I said, I don't know anyone named Fisher. You going to come in or not? I've got a job to do."

I snap my mouth shut. It's not lost on me that there's no one else around for him to usher into the club. He's giving me a warning. I'm not going to listen, but I won't force him to talk to me. I don't have the brawn for that. Prince could toss me out of here like a rag doll, and I really need to get inside to talk to the other girls.

"Sorry, you're right." I smile and walk by him into the club.

The music is bumping through the area, and I gag once again as the same smell of vomit assaults my nose. I place a hand over my mouth and nose and rush to the back where the main employee lounge is. The place is still packed. I don't know how these guys can sit in here and not be disgusted by the stench. I guess it doesn't matter when it comes to watching tits and ass.

"Sienna, baby!" One of the girls calls out to me, and I give her a tight smile. I don't know her well enough to ask her any questions. I move on, trying to find someone I have a better relationship with. I see Zephrina at her station, putting on her makeup for her next show.

She's a beautiful woman who got mixed up with the wrong man and got hooked on drugs. The last she told me, she was getting clean, but every time I see her, I notice a few new tracks on her arms. She does a great job at covering them up with makeup, but the lights in here expose everything.

"Zephrina, hey." I wave at her, and she nods at me through the mirror. She doesn't stop applying her eyeliner. I walk up behind her and kneel slightly so I'm level with her face in the mirror. I want to see her reaction when I say the name. If it's the same reaction Prince gave me outside, I know I'm on the right track.

"Listen, I don't mean to bother you before you go back on set, but I wanted to ask you a question."

"Go on. You know I got you, Mother Teresa," she jokes with me, and I have a hard time returning the sentiment.

"Great. I know you heard about Max and Lia going missing. I think I have a lead on where they might be; I just need to find out where someone is." I look at her reflection hopefully. I'm praying that since they knew Max and Lia, the girls in here will be more open in giving me information.

She nods her head for me to continue.

"I'm working with one of the biker clubs in the area, and they were able to figure out that Max and Lia were taken by someone named Fisher. Do you know who that is?"

It's like déjà vu. Instantly, her face drops, and she lets the eyeliner fall from her hands.

"What the fuck is this? Are you a cop or something?" She turns in her seat to glare at me.

"What? No. You know I'm not a cop." I stand up straight, disturbed by her sudden shift in temper.

"Bullshit. I don't know shit about you besides that you come in here and give shit away for free. Don't no one give anything away for free. We all in here to work for what we get." Zephrina snaps at me, and I raise my hands to show her I'm not a threat. This isn't going how I thought it would.

"Zephrina, I'm not here to start any trouble; I just want to help Max and Lia. That's all I want."

"For what? You don't know them either. They owe you some money or something? You trying to take over their strip? What do you want with them?" She shouts at me, and now everyone in the back room has stopped what they are doing and is looking at the two of us.

That's about as much verbal abuse as I'm going to take. I'm here to help. "Z, this is the last time I'm going to tell you. I don't want to sit from any of you but to help you in any way that I can. I do know Max and Lia. I know about their struggles and their wants. They know about me. I see them every day. Just because that's not enough for you to care doesn't mean it's not enough for me. I just hope that if some shit happens to you one day, there's still people around that give a damn about you the way I do. Now, do you have anything to say about Fisher or not?" I cross my arms over my chest and glare at her. I can see her brain moving, but she looks away from me and crosses her own arms over her chest. "I don't know anyone by that name. Sorry." She shrugs, and I roll my eyes at her.

Why the hell are these women so scared to do what's right?

I walk away from her and go to sit in the back of the room. It's not my usual spot, but I need a moment to cool down from what's just happened. Everyone starts to murmur, and after a few seconds, things go back to the way they were—people getting dressed and counting their money while others walk out to entertain the crowd outside.

I place my hand on the side of my face and look down at the floor. If the girls in here aren't going to give me any information, I'm not sure where else I can look. I can beat the streets a little more, and worst case, I can go to the cops to see if they're willing to part with any information, but I'm sure they won't be.

I take a deep breath and lift my head up, ready to figure out the next steps when I see Uni walking over to me. She was the one who alerted me to the fact that Max and Lia were missing in the first place.

"You know you shouldn't really rile up the girls. They'll turn on you fast." She chuckles and takes a seat next to me.

"Yeah, tell me about it." I look in the direction where Zephrina was sitting and am relieved to see that she's already walked out for her set.

"There's a lot of bad things that go on around here, you know. Most of the girls just mind their business because they don't want the same shit to happen to them. You can't be surprised if no one will tell you anything." Uni shrugs, and I shake my head.

"That's crap. How the hell is anything supposed to change if no one will take a stand? Whoever did this to Max and Lia is just going to keep on doing it. No one is going to stop them because no one is willing to say anything." I blow a breath out of my nose. I'm just getting more and more frustrated.

"I feel you. I wish it weren't the case, but that's just how it is around here." Uni tells me and stands up. She looks to the door, and I realize the song is about to change; she must be up next.

"Anyway, I have to go."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later."

She leans forward to hug me. I'm shocked, mostly because we don't usually hug, but I accept the affection anyway. Maybe she sees that I really need it.

She lingers for a second, and when she pulls back, she grabs my hand. My heart stills as I feel a piece of paper being slipped against my palm. It's the smoothest pass-off I've ever been involved in.

I don't bring any attention to the fact, just nod my head and watch her walk out of the room. I wait a second before getting up myself and walking out the door. I don't stop to talk to anyone, just beeline right out of the club.

When I'm in the frigid night air, away from any peering eyes, I quickly unravel the note and look down at it.

"Fisher throws parties every other Friday. At least one girl goes missing. The next one is this week." There's an address, and finally, it feels like I'm getting somewhere.

So much for waiting for Lash to find out some information for me. I'm going to do this. Even if it means I have to do this on my own.