Jamie Begley - Tainted

“Jesus,” Kaden said, still thankful that Redman had returned this morning with Ax when the money had cleared his account.

All the men stood around the bus, listening as Alec explained the tenuous situation.

“They’ve put the women in the rehab center in protective custody, but are leaving them there. None of them are talking; they’re too afraid of this Digger to give evidence.”

“What about Sawyer?” Kaden asked. “Should we turn her over to the FBI?” He still remembered Redman’s final words when Ax was returned that morning.

“You better keep that bitch under control. Any escape attempts and I’ll either blow her brains out or take her back. Either way, she won’t be around to play those games you kept your other bitches playing.”

Alec’s voice drew him back to the present. “They want us to keep doing what we’re doing. They’ve placed an undercover agent in with my security, and they’re keeping us under surveillance. The FBI are hoping that this Digger will make a move on Sawyer and they can finally get some evidence on him.”

“Why not just get Sawyer to testify? She doesn’t seem the type to be afraid to testify.” She would probably demand to testify if given the chance.

“The problem is that she can’t testify against Digger because she’s never seen him. He’s the one they want. Arresting Redman, would slow the operation down, not eliminate it and find the missing women.”

The only choice was to keep Sawyer, if there was any chance to find the other women. Kaden sighed; they weren’t going to be able to leave this problem behind. They were going to have to stick it out.

“I’ll tell Sawyer that…” Kaden began.

“She can’t know. The FBI says if she is taken, despite their efforts, that she could be forced to tell them what she knows, and Digger and his men will disappear. They say the least she knows, the better, for her own safety.”

Kaden didn’t agree, especially if it would take that accusing look out of her eyes. He also didn’t think they were taking Sawyer’s safety seriously if they were more concerned with arresting Digger.

“So what’s the problem you’re talking about?” Kaden asked Alec.

“Another reason they don’t want us to tell Sawyer is her connection to another man named King. They think that was the original reason she was kidnapped.”

“How does she know this King?” The fragile woman appeared to have a few secrets.

“No one knows. Digger is trying to move into King’s territory and Digger intends to use Sawyer against him, but no one knows how. As far as the FBI can find, they didn’t even know each other. The only thing that tied King to her is a protection order he put out years ago for her and her friend, Vida.”

“Can this become anymore of a clusterfuck?” Kaden said angrily, getting to his feet to move around the bus. As large as it was, he was starting to feel smothered in the confining space, surrounded by the listening band members.

“I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I thought I was saving everyone from the press. Instead, everyone’s in danger. I didn’t know the women were from a slave ring. I thought they were just doing it for the money.” R.J. sat at the table, drinking a glass of whiskey, his face pale.

“You should have learned by now that it never works out when you interfere,” Kaden said angrily, before asking Alec about Sawyer’s friend.

“Does Vida know that she’s in danger?”

Alec nodded his head. “She’s a smart girl. She went to King for protection. The FBI thinks she’s safe and are watching her also.”

“They want to take both Digger and King down using those girls, don’t they?” Kaden questioned.

“Yes,” Alec answered.

“Fuck.”

“What are we going to do?” Ax asked. He was sitting at the table with R.J., but had a bottle of whiskey, and Kaden couldn’t blame him. If not for his own self-imposed ban against alcohol, he would have the whole bottle in front of him by now.

“The only thing we can do is what the FBI wants us to do. Keep Sawyer safe until they can arrest this Digger,” Kaden stated, coming to the same conclusion he’d seen in Alec’s eyes.

“She’s not going to be happy about that,” D-mon said, nodding to the bedroom door.

“She might hate us, but she’ll be alive,” Kaden said grimly.

Kaden heated several of the premade meals for the men in the microwave. When it was done, he made a plate for Sawyer and picked up a beer and bottled water, taking everything to the bedroom at the back of the bus. It was his when they were on tour, but they had locked her up inside to keep her from distracting the driver while the bus was moving.

Alec unlocked the door for him before going to make himself a plate of food. Kaden went into the dark bedroom where he saw Sawyer curled up on the bed, still in the same clothes she had been wearing when he had found her in the hotel room. The hoodie had been thrown to the floor.

Kaden managed to set the food down on the desk before turning on the light.

“Why are you sitting here in the dark?”

She didn’t answer him; she merely laid her cheek down on her knees as she silently watched him. Kaden shoved his hands into his jean’s pockets, staring at the woman sitting on his bed.

“You’ll feel better if you take a shower and change your clothes.” Again he tried unsuccessfully to interact with the silent woman. His guilty conscience wouldn’t let him talk harshly with her, but it was going against his grain to pacify a woman who was ignoring him. Usually, he just told them what to do, and they jumped, wanting to make him happy. Even the few women he had been with after he had stepped out of the limelight had wanted to please him.

“You can’t escape if you don’t keep your strength up.” Her golden eyes stared at him before she angrily climbed off the bed, moving toward the desk and pulling the chair out. She then ignored him as she started to eat the food. Opening the water, she took a long drink.

Kaden was wary to say anything in case she would stop eating. Unable to prevent himself, though, he took a seat on the bottom edge of the bed. “How did Redman kidnap you?”

She swallowed a bite of food in her mouth before answering his question. “H—he came into the restaurant I was working at; several of the workers knew him. He asked me out a couple of times, but I turned him down. Then he offered me dinner at a five star restaurant I couldn’t afford, so finally I said y—yes.” Her lips twisted in self-disgust. “We left my apartment and that’s the last thing I remember until I woke up in that r—room with the women.

“I—I would have still been there if Redman hadn’t needed one more woman for you and your friends, and the other women were in too bad of shape, physically.”

The disgust she made no effort to hide had him getting to his feet. “We didn’t hire those women. Our tour manager screwed up, but neither me nor the guys in the band knew the women weren’t willing.”

“Oh, they were willing. The drugs Rick gave them made sure of that.”

Kaden winced at her words. “I know you’re angry, Sawyer, and I can’t blame you. I can only assure you we mean you no harm.” Standing up, seeing she was finished, he took her plate and the beer bottle she hadn’t touched. “The other women are safe, and as soon as Alec thinks it’s safe to release you, we will.”

“What about my friend, Vida?”

“She’s still not answering her phone,” Kaden lied. Alec had said that she was under King’s protection now, and the FBI thought that the women shouldn’t be able to talk. They didn’t want Vida running before they had a case against King. Both women were being used as pawns and Kaden had a feeling one or both of them were going to end up hurt.

Sawyer searched his eyes, but Kaden was an experienced liar and knew how to hide the truth from a woman. Going to the door, he opened it before her next words had him unexpectedly turning back.

“You’re lying.”

Her perceptive response had him startled. “Take a shower, Sawyer. Get changed.” He refused to acknowledge that he hadn’t told the whole truth.

“Go fuck yourself,” she said, throwing the half full water bottle at his head, which made him almost drop the plate and beer bottle he was holding.

Seeing the temper the woman was capable of, his dominant blood stirred, wanting to tame her; however, he forced down the desire, giving her a hard stare that more than one woman knew to be wary of. Kaden had never found pleasure in getting submission from someone naturally submissive. Instead, he thrived on the challenge of obtaining submission from a strong woman who gave in to his demands, wanting the pleasure he could give her.

“I’m trying to be a nice guy here, Sawyer. Under the circumstances, I can understand your anger, but if you use physical violence against me again, don’t expect me to stand still and take it without consequences.” Kaden let his words hang in the air as he went out the door, closing and locking it behind him.

Sawyer stood backstage in the VIP room. Kaden had let her out of the bus to watch the concert they were to perform. She didn’t even know which city they were in, since she the bus’s movements had lulled her to sleep last night.

The large room was filled with the band members as they waited to be called to the stage, Sawyer presumed. She had expected them to change their clothes for their performances, but they hadn’t, staying in their casual jeans and t-shirts instead.

The room was filled with different bottles of liquor, water and sodas, while food trays sat around as they each took their turn snacking on the vast array available to them. Sawyer, having worked in several restaurants that catered, knew the money that went into fixing the table with their smorgasbord of luxury items.