Page 41 of Royal Sons MC

Traeger shrugged. “It’ll dry. Come on, let’s go out and let Mother Nature soothe our souls. There’s water in a cooler calling our names.” He stood up and offered her his hand.

Kailani knew this man was dangerous, but not once did she stop to think about denying his request. Her hand settled in his as he waited for her. She scooted off the side of the bed, her bare feet hitting the cool tile floor.

“You want your shoes?” Traeger asked.

She looked down to see he was barefoot and shook her head. Why, seeing his big feet made butterflies dance in her stomach. She had no clue, but she’d take that over the fear she’d felt in her dreams.

Chapter Seven

Traeger wanted to findevery motherfucker who’d touched Kailani and kill them slowly. No, he wanted to keep them alive, find out what they'd done to her, and then brutalize them daily and make them go through the same things, only ten times worse. When she'd cried out, he’d rushed to her room, not surprised to find it locked but slightly surprised to see she’d put a chair in front of the door. None of that deterred him as she'd screamed. His first thought was someone had gotten in while he’d been out by the water and ran like the hounds of hell were chasing him. However, finding a broken Kailani twisting in the bed, crying, and fighting as if she were being tortured.

Traeger had to breathe in and out and count to ten before approaching the bed. Only then was he able to untwist her from the bedding and call out to her in a voice that didn’t sound guttural. Fuck, he wasn’t cut out to be a babysitter, but he’d be damned if anyone else was allowed to hurt one more hair on her head.

“It’s nice out here,” she whispered.

He brushed off one of the chairs, ensuring no sand had blown onto it. “Take a seat. I didn’t bring any fancy water, just plain bottled stuff.”

She laughed. “If you mean sparkling, that’s good. I'm not too fond of that kind. I do, however, like flavored water, but plain is good too.” She held out her hand, their fingers brushing.

“Good to know.” He twisted the cap off before giving it to her, then grabbed one for himself. “Cheers,” he said, tipping it toward her.

Kailani took a drink, staring out at the ocean instead of at him. Minutes passed with neither of them speaking. “My brother and father are monsters.”

Traeger sat his water down, turning to face her. “I figured that out.”

She didn’t look at him or say anything for another long minute. “When I was sixteen, my mother died. Until then, we were a happy family, or maybe I just thought we were. My mama was the most Bonita mama in the world. Then, one day, she didn’t come home from shopping. The car she was in was blown up. It tore my padre up, made him into a monster. My hermano, Rico, he had to take over. I...I didn’t see my father for two years. On my eighteenth birthday, Rico and my father planned a surprise party. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected. I didn’t have a lot of friends because...of who mi familia is, but I wasn’t expecting a houseful of my father and brother’s associates.” She shuddered.

He didn’t need her to continue her story, but she clearly needed it, so he let her.

“You need to know what, or rather who, you’re protecting. I’m not some innocent damsel in distress, Traeger. My birthday was not what I expected, but it became my life for the next five years. I never knew if I closed my eyes at night if I’d wake up to find one of mi padre’s or hermano’s associates on top of me,” she choked out.

“You don’t have to go on, Kailani,” he said.

She shook her head. “I’d been reading a book that I’d been waiting to read forever. Summer had just started, which I normally don’t look forward to because I...well, I don’t have a lot of friends, so I get lonely. But I was looking forward to going off to college the following school year.” She took a shuddering breath. “I really wanted to go to New York, but my father would never allow me to go so far away. However, I got accepted at the University of Southern California, which was the next best thing since it gave me hope I’d be free one day.”

Traeger let her talk, keeping his body relaxed, although he wanted to scoop her into his arms.

---