Chapter One
Kailani Trevino’s heart banged against her chest as she watched her brother enter their home with a girl who couldn’t be much older than legal. Sweat trickled down her temple at the fear she could see stamped on the young girl’s face, fear Kailani had felt almost every night since she’d turned eighteen. God, she hated her screwed up family, especially her brother.
“It’s okay, my pet, you have nothing to worry about. I told you I’d take care of you, and that’s exactly what I plan to do, Tiana.” Rico Trevino ran his hand down the young girl’s cheek, his tone one that was used to soothing, then deceiving those he pretended to care about.
Hidden in the corner behind the screen, Kailani tried to make herself as small as she could, barely allowing herself to breathe, not wanting to draw the attention of her brother or the men with him. She took another shallow breath, hoping they’d pass through the foyer quickly, giving her a chance to make her escape and maybe find a way to rescue the young girl. Of course, she wasn’t holding out any hope she could accomplish the latter, but the former was important as it could mean the difference between her comfort, or pain.
“Can I call my sister to let her know where I’m at? I seem to have lost my phone,” Tiana asked in a small voice. Kailani wondered how long she’d been with Rico and what atrocities she’d already suffered. She let her eyes sweep over the other girl’s tall slender frame, checking to see if she had any visible injuries. From what she could tell, Rico hadn’t had his brand of fun, yet. She shivered at the images of what was to come for Tiana, making up her mind she would do all she could to save her, even if it meant a punishment for herself. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t already suffered a lot in her twenty-three years, and if Rico had any say, she’d go through a lot more once their father let him have the reins.
“You boys go take a load off. I’m going to show Tiana to her suite, then I’ll be down. I need to check in with my father,” he sneered the last bit, a habit Kailani had noticed more often lately.
“Sure thing, boss, let us know if you need any...help.”
She nearly launched herself out of the hiding spot at Grecco’s words, knowing his help would come in the form of him helping himself to young Tiana’s body. Over her dead body would that sadistic prick touch another girl if she could help it.
“I think I can handle this one. For now.” Rico laughed. His lips touched Tiana’s temple as he murmured something she couldn’t hear, then their footsteps became quieter the farther they went into the house.
“How long you think he’ll keep that one to himself?” Thomason asked.
Kailani wanted all the men with her brother to choke on their cocks, after she removed them from their bodies with a rusty knife, but Thomason especially.
“Screw you, Thomason, you get last this time,” Grecco muttered.
Whatever the other men said, she couldn’t catch, thankfully, since she was sure they were talking about their past atrocities they’d done to the women her brother tricked into going with him. Her father was a bad man who sold drugs and guns, but he hadn’t dabbled in humans until the last ten years, not until her mother was killed. Even then, she didn’t think he knew what her brother and the others did. A tear fell from her eye before she could pull the memory back of her mama, putting it into the box she kept all the bad things that had happened in her life. Soon, she was going to need to get a new box as that one seemed to be filling up. A laugh almost slipped out, but she slapped her hand over her mouth, hysteria at her situation becoming more the norm with each passing day. Her biggest fear was waking and no longer fighting.
Once she was sure the coast was clear, she eased out of the hiding spot, placing the grate back over the hole. With a quick glance around, she made her way up the stairs, being sure to skip over the ones she knew squeaked, heading toward her bedroom, which was on the opposite side of the estate from where Rico would be taking the girl. She needed to grab her go bag, the one she’d packed several months back, and hoped to hell she could get herself and Tiana out without notice.
TRAEGER MET THE STARE of his club President as King paced the clubhouse. “Brother, you’re gonna wear a hole in the floorboards if you don’t chill.”
In all the time he’d known King Royal, he’d never seen him so agitated. “That woman,” he sighed, running his hand through his hair. King glanced back toward his home that sat toward the front of the property.
The woman in question was a feisty little thing named Ayesha, who’d shown up just as King had learned his little brother Luke, who had committed suicide not too long ago, had done so because he feared King and his other brother Duke, Luke’s twin, wouldn’t accept the fact he was gay. The news would’ve rocked anyone, but the two brothers hadn’t had time to do much thinking since another bombshell was dropped, and she seemed to get King’s cock in a twist. Of course, Traeger wasn’t going to open his mouth and lose a tooth or two. Nope, his job was to enforce the rules of the club, back up his President and Duke. And, if it was called for, he’d lend an ear. “What did Duke find out?” he asked. King had let the woman leave after interrogating her for a couple hours but had her followed with a couple club members, Duke being one of them. Traeger stayed behind to watch King’s back.
“Between Keys and Duke, we have a good idea of who has her sister. Now, I need to go see Ayesha and get her to agree to stay the fuck out of it and let us handle what’s about to go down.”
Traeger wanted to laugh, but again, he liked his teeth, thank you very much. Instead, he nodded, waiting to hear what King wanted from him. When the silence stretched, he still did what he did best; he waited. He was an ex-Navy SEAL. He could wait a long damn time.
A heavy sigh escaped King, then he turned with a frown. “Let’s go. I’m going to need you and your skill set, brother. I think shit’s going to go sideways, and when it does, I’m probably going to need a good shot.” King turned and headed for the door, knowing Traeger had his back.
Well fuck, his skills weren’t just riding his custom Harley and drinking beer. He was an expert with just about any weapon that shot bullets, or had a sharp edge, but he could also end a person’s life with his hands or feet. Of course, King knew this. “Shit, P, am I gonna need some gloves for this one?”
King looked over his shoulder, a grim look on his handsome harsh face, nodding. “I think we all might,” he said.
Traeger took a deep breath. “I’ll meet you at your place in twenty.” He didn’t wait for an acknowledgement of his statement. If shit was going down that might or might not cost his life, he had a few things he needed to set in motion, mainly getting shit organized...just in case.
Twenty minutes later, he was sitting on his Harley outside King’s place, his black jeans and black shirt topped with a black leather jacket and chaps, his cut laying over his lap. “We going in with our colors or no?” he asked King.
The other man stood on his porch, wearing similar clothes, his own cut slung over his shoulder. “Put it in your saddle bag. This shit is liable to go south on us.”
The sound of several other bikes pulling in had him eyeing the road where he could see his brothers rolling up. “What about your girl?” he asked King.