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“How did you…?” I start, but I’m interrupted when a man steps into the doorway. When Cleo doesn’t raise her weapon, I grab the gun and point it at him.
“He’s on our side,” Cleo says, moving the taser out of my reach. “He let us out.”
“I work for Vladimir,” says the man.
“He’s telling the truth,” Sasha says.
The guy enters. He’s tall and well-built, with white blonde hair and eyes the color of a clear blue sky. “My name is Dominic. You can call me Dom. Vladimir knows you’re here. He and the Demon Dawgs are on their way, but we have to get you off the ship.”
“Where are Maxim and the other guards?” I ask, following him out the door and down the passage.
“He thinks Cleo is on her way to the cargo hold. He’s worried she’ll destroy his cars. We should have enough time to escape.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: DIXIE
The drive to the port takes only ten minutes, but feels like hours. Knowing someone is onboard looking out for Delphine and the others relieves some of the stress, but he’s only one man. I don’t know how many men Maxim has with him, but I’m guessing he has at least four and likely more. I still don’t understand how this happened. Why did Irish turn on us? Has he been a traitor all this time? Was he involved in Mikel’s first escape?
Thinking about Mikel, I call Pirate.
“Yo,” he answers.
“You and Jack okay?”
“Yeah, we’re good. No one has attacked the clubhouse, if that’s what you’re worried about. Still can’t believe Irish sold us out.”
“What about Mikel? Is he still locked up?”
“Yeah, Jack went to check on him after we heard what Irish did. He’s still unconscious. Whatever is going on here, he isn’t involved. At least not directly. But we’re on guard in case it is a distraction. Levi recovered enough to drive the SUV to the port. He’ll meet you there to give the women a ride back.”
“What happened to Levi?” I ask.
“Oh, right. Irish attacked him. Lured him out of the SUV with some story about seeing a guy go behind the building. When Levi went with him to check it out, Irish tried to knock him out. Levi got a shot off, but Irish incapacitated him before he could do much more. It was enough to get the guy’s attention and bring them back to the SUVs.”
“Did they get the women out of the warehouse?”
Pirate pauses. “No. When the guys got inside, all the women were dead. Their throats cut. The guards were gone, too. We found bodies of two men who were likely paying customers.”
“Fuck!” I shout. The sound of my bike drowning out my shout. Or at least I thought it did. The woman driving the mini van next to me is giving me a dubious look. “Think they got wind we were coming?”
“Maybe. With Mikel unreachable, they may have figured we were coming for them.
“But to kill all the women. That makes little sense.”
“Easily replaced,” Pirate mutters. “Cheaper than transporting them to a different location. I’m trying to track anyone who went near the building over the past week. Maybe we can figure out who’s involved and where they went.”
“Good plan,” I say before ending the call. I arrive at the port and park next to Vladimir. He’s out of his car by the time I reach him.
“Should we wait for the others?” I ask, just as I hear several Harleys in the distance. I can see their headlights coming in our direction along with the headlights of three vehicles.
My brothers park and join us, while Levi parks the SUV nearby and waits inside. The other two vehicles park on either side of our SUV. Four men dressed in tactical black clothing pile out of the first vehicle, but no one exits the second.
“What’s the plan?” I ask Hex with a glance toward Vladimir. I’m uncertain which one of them is running the show, but I know we have to move fast. The ship should sail soon and we’ll miss our opportunity.
“I’ll go on board and get the women,” Vladimir says. “If he sees anyone else, he may kill them and the women before we can rescue them.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be dead?” Hex asks. “Why did Dixie go through with faking your murder if you’re just going to expose the lie a few minutes later? I thought you needed to drop out of sight?”
Before Vladimir can respond, Lake gets our attention and points toward the ship. Coming down the gangplank are six figures. One belongs to someone I recognize instantly. “That’s them,” I say, rushing forward with the rest close behind.
