Page 18 of Babe's Bounty
“Min?” Babe shouts.
“That wasn’t me. Hold on.”
I descend the remaining steps and find myself in a hallway. Solid wooden doors align each side. I see a light coming from the open door at the end of the hallway. Keeping myself close to the wall, I shuffle across the stone floor until I hear a man speak.
“You’ve broken her jaw,” one man snarls. “Now we won’t get anything out of her. Fuck, she’s useless. We’ll have to grab another.”
“What do you want us to do with her?” comes another voice.
“I don’t give a fuck. Just kill her and dump her body somewhere.” I frown when I realize I recognize the voice speaking, but I can’t place it. That’s so damn frustrating. But I can’t focus on that right now. I need to see if I can rescue the woman. There are at least two men inside with her. I might be able to take them, but I don’t like my odds if there are more.
“We’re leaving. Let me know if you grab someone else from the medical center. This time, don’t fucking touch her face until we have the answers we need.” Says the familiar voice.
“We can’t keep kidnapping women from the medical center and hope we find someone who knows something. The cops aren’t that stupid. I’m putting a guy on the inside. He can find us someone who knows something.”
“Whatever you have to do, do it. I need to know what happened to the fucking doctors who ran that place.”
“We’ll take care of it. Benjamin, take her somewhere and drop her from a height. Maybe the cops will think she got her broken bones and bruises from the fall.”
His voice is getting louder, which means he’s getting closer. I don’t have time to rush back upstairs without being seen. Trying the door nearest me, I breathe a sigh of relief when it silently opens. Slipping inside, I close it, leaving just a small sliver so I can see the hallway. Four men pass by, but I can’t make out their features. Three of the four men are around the same height and weight. The fourth is several inches taller and bulkier. I hear three taps through my headphones and know that Babe wants an update. Not wanting to speak out loud, I tap three times on my mic to let Babe know I’m fine. I know he wants a verbal confirmation, but he’ll just have to wait. That won’t make him happy, but I’m certain my next move will piss him off more.
I carefully open the door, but a soft moan coming from the corner has me freezing. Taking out my phone, I turn on the flashlight and cast a light over the body lying on a mattress. I hear a woman whimper.
“Shh, I won’t hurt you,” I say as I squat down next to her and brush her hair away from her face. Even beneath the dirt and the bruising, I can tell she’s young. I don’t see any restraints as I pull the blanket off her to reveal a naked girl with small breasts and few curves.
I shift to pull off the rest of the blanket, but she grabs my arm.
“Don’t leave me.”
“I won’t. Can you stand up?”
“I’ll try,” she says. I help her into a sitting position. She winces, but doesn’t give up. “What’s your name?”
“Min. What’s yours?”
“Kristi.”
“What’s going on?” Babe asks through my headphones. “Who are you talking to?”
“There’s a girl down here. She’s hurt. I’m helping her escape. There’s another woman I need to help, too.”
“What the fuck? Min, you can’t do it on your own. I’ll come help you.”
“No,” I tell him. “They’ll catch you. I have an idea. I’ll shout out if I need the calvary.”
“Fuck,” Babe says and I can tell he’s considering ignoring my request, but he relents. “Okay, I’ll wait for your signal. Just be careful.”
Kristi wraps herself in the blanket before taking my arm. We cross to the door and listen. I can hear a man grunting as he passes by the door. Carefully, I open the door and peek outside. A man’s walking away from us. He has a wrapped bundle slung over his shoulder and I’m certain it’s the woman. Kristi trembles next to me as we wait at the bottom of the steps. He doesn’t look back before stepping through the door. I grab it before it shuts closed. I listen until I can no longer hear his grunts before leading Kristi into the room. Taking a chance, I open the exit door and see him loading the woman into the back of the SUV.
That’s when I make my move. Leaving Kristi leaning against the wall, I close the distance between us and use my momentum to leap on his back so we both land inside the SUV. Wrapping my arms and legs around him, I cut off his oxygen until he passes out. Sliding out of the SUV, I swing his legs inside and close the door. Turning to where I left Kristi, who is no longer where I left her.
Before I can panic, I hear a car door open and shut. Leaning forward, I see Kristi sitting in the front seat. Shaking my head, I rush to the driver’s side and open the door. That’s when I realize I don’t have the keys. However, we’re in luck. The electric starter only needs the fob. It must be in the asshole’s pocket. Taking a deep breath, I start the car and drive out of the parking lot.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: BABE
Watching Min walk into the enemy camp was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. My mind and heart scream for me to stop her, but knowing she’d kick my ass keeps me from following through. However, I have a death grip on the handlebars as I watch her disappear. After taking several calming breaths, reason kicks in. Min can take care of herself. Hell, she’s probably a better fighter than I am, although I’d never admit it to her or anyone. Where I rely on strength and my brothers to take down an enemy, Min’s only ever relied upon herself.
Putting my faith in her intelligence and skill, I drive down the street and around the corner before pulling into the club’s garage. Business is good. Cars occupy all three bays. When I enter, I nod at Scorch, who’s bent under the hood of a metallic blue classic Mustang. Torque has a minivan up on a lift. I can only see a pair of boots sticking out from under an older model sedan. Scorch pops his head out long enough to point me to his office.