Storm (Sinning Cobras MC #1) - Colbie Kay Page 0,44
her voice. “I can’t believe this is happening. That you’re really here. You both have grown up and are beautiful. If you weren’t dead, where have you been all these years?”
Storm jumps right in, “What exactly do you know about the day your daughters went missing?”
“I left for work early that morning, just like any other day. The girls usually either rode with Miguel or walked to the bus stop right down the street. I got a call from the school saying the girls hadn’t made it there, and they were checking to see if they were sick. I immediately left work and went home. I called Miguel, and when he got here, I was a mess. I walked for blocks, knocking on doors, but the neighbors were either at work, or no one had seen them. Miguel called the police, and when they came, they made a missing person's report. About a year later, Miguel said the police had found the bodies of two girls fitting their description. He said it would be too hard on me to identify the bodies, so he would do it. The first year, I was barely surviving. I couldn’t eat or sleep. I couldn’t make myself get out of bed. By the second year, I started seeing a doctor who put me on medication, and I started attending group meetings for parents who had lost their children. Day by day, I began to grow stronger and finally realized that my marriage was over. Miguel was barely here anymore, and in the divorce, I kept the house because this is what I had left of my babies.”
Ace questions, “Have you seen or heard from Miguel since the divorce?”
Mom shakes her head. “No.”
“Did you know Miguel is a higher up in the Mexican cartel and is affiliated with the mafia?”
Mom’s brows knit. “What? No! He told me that he was the CEO of a company that imports and exports goods to other countries.” She shakes her head slowly in disbelief. Wait until she hears the rest.
“This is going to be hard for you to hear, but you deserve the truth about what really happened to your daughters.” Storm sighs heavily before continuing, “Miguel is the one who took your daughters. For years, he had them locked in a cell before he started raping them and taking them to parties for other people to do the same. He was going to sell them when they escaped and fled to Kansas, where they have been living with us for the past two years.”
Mom’s hand flies to her mouth, and the other clutches her shirt around her stomach. “I’m going to be sick. Please tell me that’s not true.”
I bite my lip nervously. “It’s true. Miguel is the leader of a sex trafficking ring here in Colorado.”
“Mom,” Chapel calls her to get her attention. “A few months before we escaped, a new girl was brought into our cell. Her name was Belle, and she was only eight.”
“Oh my god!” Mom jumps from her seat and runs down the hall, covering her mouth.
The four of us stay silent until she returns minutes later, wiping her mouth. “I’m sorry.”
I smile, trying to ease her like Kayla does for me. “I know this is hard for you to hear. It’s taken us a long time to be able to even talk about what happened to us. Miguel told us you were dead, too. When we escaped, we were so scared to stay in Colorado, we fled to Kansas, but if we had known you were alive...” Tears fall down my cheeks.
Chapel scoots closer to me and takes my hand in hers. “He is a monster.”
Mom drops to her knees in front of Chapel and me. “I am so sorry. This is all my fault for bringing him into our lives.”
My lip quivers as I try to reassure her. “It’s not your fault. You had no idea who he really was. All we can do now is try and move forward. I would really like to get to know who you are now.”
“Me too,” Chapel says, crying herself.
Mom reaches out, taking one hand from each of us. “I would love to get to know my girls and make up for lost time.”
Storm’s phone dings. He pulls it out of his pocket and looks at the text before nodding toward Ace. “There’s a couple prospects outside. We have to go take care of some shit. Stay here and stay inside.”
“Okay.” An uneasy and