Fighting for Flight by JB Salsbury (best books for students to read .txt) 📗

Blake’s expression sours with disapproval. “Yeah, Milena. Open up for the enormous scary guy beating the shit out of your door.” He tacks an eye roll onto his sarcasm.

Shit. He’s right, but we’re running out of time. Dominick has my girl, and she could be getting farther away with every minute that passes. They could be in fucking Mexico by now.

After leaving the arena, we went straight to Raven’s place. We let ourselves in with the spare key I kept after having her door replaced. It didn’t take long for us to find what we were looking for. Who knew an old bank statement would mean more than the Title belt. Finding that felt like winning the lottery and being the first man on the moon all wrapped up into one. The address on that statement led us here.

Milena. She’s our only hope. If this doesn’t work, I don’t know what else to do but go to the police. And if Dominick finds out, which he will with all the moles he’s got planted in the department, Raven’s as good as dead.

Resolve thickens my blood and brings my fist back to the door. I hold it back and breathe. Calm. Just one minute of her time is all I need. I flex my fist and knock lightly.

Nothing.

I swear to shit if she doesn’t open this motherfucking door, I will bust the fucker down and drag her ass out. Ah, hell. So much for calm.

“Milena, it’s Jonah. I’m. . . ” I squint against the vicious buzz pounding in my head. “He’s taken her. Do you know where he would have gone with her?” My forehead rests against the door. “I need to find her tonight. Just, please, open the door.” Seconds of silence feel like hours. What am I going to do?

A click of a lock jolts me back. The door cracks open. Milena’s eyes are cautious as she peers out just beneath the protective chain. My breath catches in my throat. She looks so much like Raven. I rub my chest to squelch the burn.

“He took her?” Her voice is soft and carries the hint of a Latin accent.

“Yes. From the arena.”

She stares through me with unfocused eyes.

“I need to know where he might have taken her. Anywhere you think he might be. Addresses would be great, but a general vicinity is fine too.”

She blinks and meets my eyes. “Come in.”

The door closes enough to unhook the chain and opens slowly. I walk in with Blake at my heels. Milena’s eyes widen when she sees I’m not alone.

Before I can introduce Blake, he’s in her space.

“I’m Blake.” He extends his hand to her. She places her small hand in his, but locks eyes on me. I nod.

Her shoulders drop along with her eyes. “Milena.” Her apprehension isn’t unexpected. I imagine working for a man like Dominick hasn’t instilled much trust in men.

“We’re going to need your help in getting our girl back. You up for that?” Blake must’ve come to the same conclusion, his voice the equivalent of kid gloves.

“Mm-hm.” She nods and Blake releases her hand.

As crude as he can be, the guy has a side that evokes trust, especially in women.

“Please, sit down.” She motions to a couch in the living room. We head in, but I’m too antsy to sit.

I survey my surroundings, surprised by the lack of hominess. The house I grew up in has family photos all over the place, along with knickknacks picked up from family vacations and trophies won by my sister or me. This place feels more like the waiting room of a doctor’s office than a home. Cheap, decorative art hangs on the walls, matching throw pillows arranged on a couch that looks like it’s never been sat on. And Raven grew up here? My chest cramps.

“Milena, I know you don’t know me.”

She backs into the couch and sits, her hands obsessively picking at the hem of her sweater.

“But, I’m in love with your daughter. I need to get to her. I can’t call the police—”

“No.” Her eyes focus on me, her one word confirming that the police won’t do shit.

“Right. You’re the only one who can help me. Please.”

She stares across the room. I turn to Blake. He points to his watch. We’re running out of time. Milena has retreated into herself, looking like the photo Raven took of her the day she left home.

I squat to her eye level. This woman has caused the girl I love more pain than I can stomach. I see-saw between wanting to scream at her and wanting to worship at her feet. She holds the key to my future.

“Look, I know you and Raven have . . . issues. And I don’t know what you’ve been through or why you did the things you did. But I know your daughter. She doesn’t want this life. If you feel anything for her, if you care for her at all, then please help me.”

Her gaze swings to mine. “There is a place. In the mountains. He takes some of the girls there after . . .” She looks to her lap. “Girls in my profession sometimes get pregnant. He takes them there to have the procedure done and for recovery.”

My stomach lurches. That sick-ass motherfucker! These girls, scared out of their minds, he takes to a non-medical facility so some hack doctor can scrape out their insides. I rub my head to numb the buzz that roars between my ears.

“It’s where she was born.” Her voice is just a hair above a whisper. But the words ring like they came from a bullhorn. “The cabin. He’ll take her there.” Her eyes bore into mine with an intensity that I can’t argue.

“Where is it? Do you have an address? Name of a town?” The questions roll from my head in rapid fire.

She jumps to her feet and heads to the kitchen. Seconds later, she returns with a piece of paper