Chapter Four
Kailani kept her lipssealed as the man named Trigger, or Traeger as she'd heard the other man call him, expertly drove them away from the massive pile-up behind them. She'd watched as both the vehicles belonging to her family were involved in the crash. The first vehicle flipping over had her biting her lip, stifling the cry of fear for them. She quickly pushed away the concern as memories of the times they'd been allowed to taunt and touch her, knowing they'd gleefully do it again and again if they could. The second vehicle, the one more than likely carrying her brother, wasn't nearly as damaged, but it sustained enough hits that it came to a crashing halt, making her exhale and relax for the first time since they'd begun the crazy ride out of the estate. "Are your men okay?" she asked.
"Digger and Coal are fine. They started that shitshow," King answered.
The other men's names gave her a bit of a pause, but in her experience, she'd learned the men in organized crime never used their real names, and these two men were not Boy Scouts. "Do you belong to a cartel, or..." she trailed off, waiting for the shoe to drop. If she remembered one thing, it was never thinking you were free without consequences. She may have left the frying pan, but had she just landed into the fire?
Traeger momentarily took his eyes off the road, pinning her with his heated stare. "You think we are like them, like your family?"
She took a deep breath, his insult hitting home. "It's a legitimate question. You were on our property skulking around and then kidnapped us, sort of."
King laughed, the sound loud from the backseat. "She's got a point, but we're nothing like them. We're the good guys. We came for her. You just got lucky."
"What do you mean you came for me?" Tiana asked, her voice sounding so young and naïve.
Kailani turned slightly in her seat, looking backward to see how the younger girl was holding up. "I think he means your family hired them to rescue you and just in time, too."
Tiana shook her head; the movement nearly had her crashing into King.. "Whoa, chill out. What's got you bugging out like a crackhead?" King asked.
"Wow, you're the sensitive one, right?" Kailani asked, unable to keep her snort contained as she reached for Tiana's hand. "Don't freak out on us now. They came for you because someone cared enough to find you. Right?" She gave the tattooed badass, which probably scared everyone except her, a glare she'd perfected. He only shrugged, giving her back a glare of his own.
"Your sister barged into my club, and I just happened to be in the mood to play rescuer to her little sister."
Traeger coughed, the words indecipherable, but Kailani was sure he'd said something about getting into the sister's pants.
"Alright, enough of the small talk. I hate to break up this little party, but more than likely, my brother has some extraction on its way and a tracker on my car. I had planned to ditch this one and pick up the one I'd bought, so you should probably get us off the highway and get in with your friends. I'll hail a cab, and we can call it good. Yes?" Kailani looked over at Traeger, shocked to see his jaw tightened as if her words pissed him off.
"Digger, we're going to take the next exit. You and Coal see any tails?" he said out loud, but she couldn't hear any response. Seconds ticked by as he listened, then he spoke again. "No, we'll split up. King and Tiana will go with you. I'll go the other direction with the sister." He didn't leave any room for discussion.
"Wait, no, that's not how this is going down. I have a plan that doesn't involve taking a behemoth of a man along with me. Besides, I can blend. You totally can't." Kailani pointed out.
"Trust me, they'll follow one or the other of us. If we're in Kailani's car, they'll follow that one, not the one you and Tiana take. I think she's the target, not his sister. I can handle the brother, and once he sees the girl's gone, he and I'll talk."
Kailani smacked his arm. "You think you'll be able to talk with him?" She hit his arm again. "Do you know what he will do to you, to me? He'll have his men beat you until you can't fight anymore, and then he'll talk with you. Only then will he have fun, and then he'll get what he wants from you through any means necessary. Some drugs will allow him to get you to talk and do what he wants you to do. Anything, Mr. Trigger. After Rico decides he's gotten what he wants, he'll do the same with me, only worse. So, how about we not do that? Why don't you and your band of merry men go about your business and forget all about me? You take the girl and do your saving thing while I do what I'd planned, and that's get as far away from here as I possibly can. I never want to face my brother or father and their men ever again."
TRAEGER KEPT HIS EYESon the road, thinking about what Kailani said. He'd known she'd suffered abuse; it had been written all over her face. However, he hadn't considered just how much or what kind of depravity the men in her family had subjected her to. Now, she'd given him a glimpse of what it was and wanted to slam on the brakes and go back to the estate, find both Trevino men, and kill them, slowly. "My name is Traeger, not Mr. Trigger," he informed her, working to keep the anger out of his voice. "We'll rendezvous with our brothers and ditch your car from there. Where exactly is your other one?" Traeger wanted to know everything about the sexy little woman next to him. Knowledge was power.
Kailani gave him the location of a familiar parking lot. He would've chosen it if he were in her shoes. "Digger, we're ditching this car at the next off-ramp."
She ran her eyes over him, the look one of interest but not wholly sexual. Oh, he was sure she found him not totally off-putting, but Traeger had the distinct feeling she was sizing him up to see if he had any weaknesses. He could've reassured her that his only weakness was...well, he couldn't come up with one off the bat, but surely he had one or two.
Digger drove in front of them with Coal behind, both vehicles carrying other MC brothers in case shit went sideways.
"Your sister is worried about you. Wanna give her a ring?" King asked from the backseat.
"She really sent you guys after me? How...I mean, she's just a hair stylist," Tiana cried.
King grunted. "Yeah, well, she's a pretty fucking awesome stylist who has friends in low places. So, you want to make that call or wait till we get back up north?"
The sound of sniffling filled the car, but Traeger ignored it as he followed the lead vehicle, watching for any signs they might've been followed. With each minute that passed, Kailani's shoulders stiffened in the leather seat. He wanted to pull her to him and tell her he’d take care of her, but fuck, that wasn’t him or his job.
The vehicle might cost over a hundred and fifty grand, but she didn't seem as upset about leaving it as she was about them keeping her with them.
"You realize I'm not letting you go off on your own, don't you?" he asked wanting to clarify she understood how things would go down.
The Trevinos couldn't continue their reign of shit. Even though the Royal Sons weren't choirboys by any stretch of the imagination, nobody could say they ever made anyone do anything they didn't want. Well, if they wanted to be part of the MC, they had rules to follow, hoops to jump and loyalty to prove. However, at the end, they got brothers for life. A cut to wear that let everyone know who they were and always had a place to call home. They never had to worry if someone had their backs as long as they were a brother. Fuck with one, you fucked with them all. Follow the rules, and all was good.