Page 56 of Royal Sons MC

King was feeling restless or rather worried. "Let's head out. I'm going to be the one to talk to her. Keys, I want to hear it first if you find out anything else. I want all the weapons loaded in the cages and ready for tonight. That drive-by means they're on to us or have a clue of who we are. If they're suspicious, they might cut bait with Ayesha's sister or move her before we have a chance of grabbing her." King's eyes met each one of them, landing on Traeger last. "What do you think? Is it too dangerous to go in there during the day?"

He thought of all the things that could go wrong during daylight and what Ayesha would do if they couldn't get her sister back. The images of how his little sister looked when he'd found her threatened to send him into a rage. He shoved those memories to the back of his mind with his iron will.

"Based on our intel from Keys, I say we wait until just before the sun sets. They'll expect us to hit when it's fully dark." Traeger looked away before coming back to stare at King.

King nodded. "Sounds solid."

"You've got that expression I've seen before in your eyes. I don't trust that look, brother," Duke muttered, slamming a gun down on the table.

Traeger shrugged. "Good, I don't want you to like how I look."

King gave him a narrow-eyed stare. "Don't do anything stupid, or I'll sick Dog on you and make him be your buddy for the day."

"You can try." Traeger grinned, giving King a salute.

"Fuck, man, don't be stupid," King growled.

"I'm never stupid," he reassured the others.

A short time later, King pulled up to the small house where Ayesha and her sister lived, surprised to find the neighborhood relatively quiet for mid-morning. He drove around the block several times, checking to see if anyone out of the ordinary stood out, like a car or homeless person who didn't fit in. Going off of Duke's input, he went down the alley, shutting his bike off several houses and coasting the rest of the way to her yard. Dogs barking would usually alert neighbors that someone, or something, was out and about. King wondered if Ayesha was on the lookout even as he rolled to a stop behind her house. The small yard in the back had a short fence, nothing most people couldn't jump over. "Shit, even a five-year-old could hop over this," he growled, pushing the bike along the side of her house. When he made it to the front, he was beginning to think she wasn't home, or she really needed to step up her security. He put the kickstand down on the bike at her garage door, opened one of the saddlebags, and pulled out a leather backpack he kept inside before walking up to the front door.

The sun beat down on his back, yet he felt a little prickle of unease as he stood exposed on her small porch, waiting for her to answer. He knocked twice after ringing the doorbell. Through the thick door, he heard shuffling. A feminine gasp had him smiling.

"What're you doing here?" Ayesha asked without opening the door.

King gave a dry chuckle. "Open the door and find out. Make it quick. I think your neighbors are about to call the cops on me." It was only a half-joke as he looked back and watched the curtains across the street flick back in place. Hollywood and Bug were probably laughing their asses off right about now, watching him stand on a woman's porch asking to be let in. If he'd been the big bad wolf, he'd have huffed and puffed and blew the fucking house in.

The locks disengaging heralded her, opening the door. She looked around his frame, grabbing King by the arm. Her voice was almost frantic—"Get in here before they come out and want to talk or something drastic." Ayesha slammed the door behind them, not allowing him to say anything.

He blinked a couple times to acclimate his eyes to the difference in lighting from outdoors to inside. "Nice place," he remarked, meaning it. Her home was exactly as he'd imagined. Small, yet homey and clean. He walked over to the nearest surface and looked at one of the pictures, recognizing Ayesha instantly. She had her arm around a younger girl who looked very much like her; both were in swimsuits, a pair of cut-off jean shorts just this shy of decent and wore Mickey Mouse ears. "Cute. This is your sister, I presume? She's cute. Looks like you."

Ayesha snatched the picture frame up and held it to her chest. "Yes. Tiana wanted to go to Florida to Disney World for her fifteenth birthday. We'd been to Disneyland, of course, but the Florida trip was special," she whispered, her voice cracking as she traced the photo with her finger.

"I've never been to either." He shrugged his shoulders, his leather cut creaking loudly. "Listen, I need to talk to you about your sister. Can we sit down?" He held his hand out toward the couch.

Dark eyes filled with tears had him closing the distance she'd put between them when she'd taken the photo away. "We know who took Tiana, and we know where she's at. Now, please sit down so I can explain a little." His brothers didn't think he had it in him to be gentle. However, looking into the melted chocolate eyes of this little woman, King knew he'd do just about anything to ease her fears and keep her from pain. Shit, he'd just met her, but he wanted to see her smile, hear her laugh, wanted to know what she looked like when she came. The last thought had him shaking his head and turning away. His eyes locked on another photo, this one of Ayesha and a man.

"That was me and my husband." Ayesha adjusted the framed image on the shelf.

King looked a little closer, narrowing his eyes. "Your last name is Cappes?" he asked, but he already knew it was, thanks to Keys.

"I took my maiden name back after...after Carlos died. I didn't want—or rather, I didn't need the Leglamos name attached to me or Tiana. Carlos wasn't like the rest of his family, or so I thought. They were. Never mind. They don't matter. Now, what did you find out?" She looked up into his eyes, her own so trusting, so full of innocence.

How the fuck could she have that much purity in her after being married to scum like the Leglamos family? They were connected to his sister's kidnapping, though he'd never been able to prove it, or else they'd all be buried if they were lucky. Although she said Carlos wasn't like the others, King didn't think there was any way her husband couldn't have been involved with the'Family'business. A family like that wouldn't allow one of theirs to not be a part of every facet of it.

He pulled his phone out, sending a text to Keys and Duke, letting them know of the new info. How Keys hadn't found the marriage connection between Ayesha and a family with human trafficking connections, he didn't know. Still, he'd bet his Harley that would be corrected within the hour or less.

"Ayesha, are you aware of what kind of family business your late husband's family ran?" he asked, watching for any signs of deceit.

She shook her head and went into the kitchen. "Would you like a cup of coffee?" she hollered.

King lifted his Yeti cup, which was still half full. "I'm good," he said. What did you know about his family?"

"What does Tiana being taken by Rico have to do with my...late husband's family?" she asked, exasperation making her voice raspy.

He could tell she'd been crying and had probably done so most of the night. Had she been his woman, she'd have slept in bed with him, and he would've made sure she was too tired to do anything except fall asleep. Shit, he needed to get his mind off of fucking her. "Fuck it. You're a big girl, so I'm removing the kid gloves." His phone buzzed in his pocket. "Hold that thought." He raised his finger in the air when she opened her mouth.

"Whatcha got for me, Keys?"

---