Page 79 of Royal Sons MC

“Damn right, you will.” He tilted his head, groaning as he recognized the sound of soft footfalls. “Hold that thought, Little Dove, your sister is coming, which means neither of us will be.”

The little vixen laughed. “That is such a bad play on words.”

“Ayesha, your phone has been ringing and ringing.” Tiana held her phone out.

SHE SHOOK HER HEAD, happiness making her steps lighter. “Here, let me see who it is.” She didn’t know who’d be calling her since she didn’t have any appointments at her salon, having called and canceled them once Tiana had gone missing. Her manager ran the salon when she wasn't there, leaving the stylists to handle their booths, which meant her business could run efficiently whether she was there or not.

Seeing her salon manager’s number on the screen, she frowned. Instead of listening to the voicemail, she hit redial.

“Jesus, Ayesha, why didn’t you answer the phone? Oh, never mind. It’s not like it would’ve saved anything. The salon is gone.” Carly Jo’s words made Ayesha freeze in place.

“Carly Jo, what do you mean? What’s gone?” A shop didn’t just disappear. For crying out loud, this wasn’t the Twilight Zone.

King snapped his fingers and held out his hand. “Put her on speakerphone.”

Her hand shook as she tried to do as he’d said. Her fingers fumbled as she tried.

“Here, let me.” King took the phone, stabbing the appropriate button. Once he made sure it was picked up, he gave her the phone back. “Hi, Carly. Can you explain what’s happened?” he asked.

“I went to the salon to open like I do every day. I noticed a vehicle pulling out from behind the shops, which is odd since Twisted Ink and High Maintenance employees are the only ones who usually park back there. I was just easing into a space when there was a huge boom. I mean, it was so loud it shook my car. Ayesha, if I’d been there just minutes earlier—” She stopped talking. Her sob filled the air.

Ayesha looked at Tiana and King. “I’ll be there in a couple hours. Are the cops and firemen still there?”

Carly Jo sniffed. A man speaking in the background could be heard. “Yes, they’re all here. They think there was some kind of chemical explosion or something we did to cause it. Ayesha, I swear I didn’t leave anything turned on that would do that. None of the stylists did, either. I checked before leaving last night.”

She met King’s knowing look, biting her lip. “Of course you didn’t. Listen, I’m just glad nobody was hurt. Please give whoever is in charge my number and let them know I’ll be there as soon as possible. I’m a couple hours away.” She didn’t say where she was since King had shaken his head when she’d mentioned time earlier.

“I called the other stylists to let them know. You’ll have to handle the insurance and stuff. I’m really sorry, Ayesha. I know this is a terrible time for you.” Carly Jo coughed as if something had caught in her throat. “Listen, I need to go. All this smoke is making me sick. Call me when you get close.”

Her eyes burned from the tears she held back. No way was it an accident or the fault of one of her stylists. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that Rico had blown her salon up somehow. The burning question was why he would do such a thing.

“You realize it’s a trap, right?”

The deep voice had her spinning, her body moving automatically in front of her sister’s.

“Oh, you got a protector,” the man said, nodding.

“Cosmo, you realize I could kill you where you stand for coming in uninvited, right?”

Ayesha looked at the man named Cosmo, jumping to King to gauge his mood. Each man ended their statement with the word right, confusing her. Were they friends or not?

“We all gotta meet our maker someday.” Cosmo shrugged. “I brought your boy and his girl home. Ps. You’re welcome.” He gave a bow.

King shook his head, grunting. “Come here,” he ordered.

“Are we gonna hug it out?” Cosmo asked, but he walked up to King, each man giving the other a back pounding, their arms around the other in what men deemed a hug.

Ayesha winced at the loud slaps they gave one another. “Um, I hate to break up your bromance, but I need to go.”

Cosmo sighed. “A protector, but not very bright. Such a shame.”

“I can still kill you, fucker,” King warned.

“Try to refrain yourself since you’re gonna need me ‘til Traeger recovers enough to do his job. It was only a flesh wound, but he’ll still need to baby it a little. Luckily, it was his left arm. Not that it slowed him down much at the time.”

“Can I shoot him?” Tiana asked.

The man, whom Ayesha wasn’t sure was sane or not, tilted his head to the side as if contemplating Tiana’s question. “I will teach her to shoot.”

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