Chapter Three
Kailani could feelthe heat of the man named Trigger”s stare. The other man, who was in the back with Tiana, was no less intimidating, but for some reason, he did nothing for her. Oh, she had no doubt he was every bit as dangerous, maybe more so, but her mind and body didn”t scream for her to let him take over. Good god, here she was on the run with a young girl from her brother and father, basically with the clothes on her back, yet she was lusting after a man she”d just met. Yep, she”d lost it. Or could it be Stockholm Syndrome or something similar to that?
Trigger snapped his fingers in her face, drawing her attention to his large, scarred, tattooed hands. Shit, he really was all kinds of wrong for her. Of course, the men her brother planned to sell her off to were even more wrong. No, scratch that, they were worse.
At least this gorgeous specimen was sex on a stick instead of the men her brother offered her up to.
”Are you deaf, stupid, or stalling for time? Because I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, I”ll shoot every motherfucker who sticks his face in through that door. After that, I”ll make sure you suffer a worse fate than death.”
She couldn”t help it—the thought of suffering worse than she had made her laugh. ”You”ve no clue what I”ve suffered, but trust me, I have no love for my brother or any of his men. But to answer your question, he”s probably already figured out I helped her escape. I mean, the rope ladder hanging out my bedroom window was probably a dead giveaway, don”t you think?” she asked, staring straight ahead, ignoring how her heart pounded. It was easy to admit to this stranger the bald facts, or almost the facts. Her innocence had been stripped away from her, like her clothing, when she”d been only a little older than the young girl in the backseat.
The day she”d turned eighteen, she learned she had to earn her keep or else. Kailani would”ve chosen to leave, but that wasn”t an option given to her. From that day on, she suffered horrors and had every one of her teenage dreams shattered like the finest China. Her dreams gone. Her nightmares were filled with horrors. Kailani worried she”d never escape. She realized monsters were real and that they didn”t just come out at night but were those who were men she”d known her entire life, men she called family.
Fingers snapping in her face brought her back to the present. She took a deep, shuddering breath. ”I suggest if anyone gets in your way, you run them over because you can bet your ass they”ll do the same to you, Mr. Trigger.” She sat back, pulling the seatbelt over her chest.
She didn”t offer any more advice. The big man beside her could do his worst. She”d lived through what no girl should and was still here. If she survived tonight, she”d start a new life where no boogie men were under the bed, where brothers and fathers weren”t willing to sell their loved ones to the highest bidders. After tonight, if she made it out alive, she would run as far and fast as she could and be free. Just the thought of being able to do what she wanted, when she wanted, without consequences, was enough to make her reckless. She waited, holding her breath while the garage door opened, praying like she”d never done that the men her family hired to keep her prisoner hadn”t already figured out she was halfway gone. What they didn”t know was she wasn”t going back alive. Kailani could taste freedom, and it would be outside this fake paradise or six feet under. Either way, she was done being the Trevino Whore.
”Buckle up back there. We could be in for a bumpy ride,” Trigger warned.
TRAEGER DIDN”T KNOWwhat demons were chasing the sexy little woman next to him, but he knew a trauma victim when he saw one, and Kailani”s face showed horrors on every perfect line. She couldn”t be more than in her early twenties, but he knew she”d been through hell and then some. If he”d have to guess, he”d say her brother wasn”t good to her. Traeger would wager a bet her brother did his damndest to ensure she was really good to his friends and colleagues. The last thought had him gripping the leather steering wheel tightly with his right hand. ”I”ll make sure you”ve got a safety net when we get out of here,” he promised.
The door opened almost soundlessly, the lights all over the property had been shut off thanks to Keys, which was probably making Rico and his band of fucktards shit their Armani pants, but Traeger could care less. Once he had the two women safely ensconced somewhere, he planned to come back and visit the little shit. He had an idea of what Kailani”s life had been like, and the fact the Trevino men allowed it made his blood boil.
”Our boys have set up a distraction on the other side of the estate. We”ve got a clear shot if we go now,” King ordered.
Traeger shot out of the garage. The small car had more power than expected. He kept the lights off, not wanting to alert anyone to their escape. Using what he remembered from their trek, he navigated the drive, barely missing the giant statues along the path. Nobody uttered a word until they hit the end of the driveway. Thank fuck, the gates stood wide open, and still, there wasn”t a sign of anyone trying to stop them. Traeger never liked the idea of things coming easily to them, but he wouldn”t look a gift horse in the mouth. With the car at a steady thirty, which was fast for exiting a private drive, he hit the road, jerking the wheel to the left just as the first bullet pinged the back fender. ”Get your head down,” he ordered, pushing Kailani”s head toward her knees.
King shot out the back window, returning fire as Traeger concentrated on the road, ensuring they didn”t have any roadblocks to contend with. The calm way Kailani held herself, he knew she was a ride-or-die chick. His hand went to the back of her head. The dark stands were like silk beneath his palm. ”I”ll keep you safe,” he said, making it a vow.
She looked at him sideways, the bright green eyes shocking in the darkness. ”I”ll keep myself safe, thanks. Just get us as far away from there as possible, then pull over. I”m sure you guys have someone ready to pick the three of you up, yes?”
Her calm question had every one of his caveman instincts ready to deny her, but the little whimper from the back made him glance in the rearview mirror. ”What”s up, little girl?”
”What”s going on?”
”Well, it goes something like this. You whistled for a cab, and when it came near, the license plate wasn”t fresh, and the dice you rolled wasn”t your lucky number,” King muttered.
”Did you just make a joke?” Traeger asked, steering the little car onto the highway.
”Whoa, why aren”t you pulling over?” Kailani asked, seeming to ignore King. ”And in case you didn”t notice, this isn”t a cab.”
King grunted, but Traeger didn”t take his eyes off the road. Even at this time of night, the California traffic was busy, and her little car had enough to get up and go. Traeger knew they could outrun most vehicles. ”This got the V8 engine?” he asked.
Kailani nodded. ”Yes. It”s a nine-speed auto. It”s supposed to go from zero to sixty in under five seconds.” She looked out the side window.
”Well, we”re about to find out,” Traeger muttered.
King met his gaze in the rearview mirror. Without words, he let the President of the MC know they had a tail gaining on them. Traeger would do his best to lose them on the highway. ”Digger, where are you, man?” he asked, knowing the brother could hear him through their earpiece.
”I got eyes on you and that tail. Ps. Can I have that ride you”re in if you don”t damage it too badly?” Digger asked, eagerness ringing in his tone.
”Brother, you”re a shit, this little number is spoken for. Now, how ”bout you give a little assist with the fucker on my ass?” he grunted, seeing the two black SUVs coming up behind them.
”Oh, shit, that”s Rico or his men. If you pull over, he might be more lenient on you,” Kailani whispered.
Traeger chuckled. The thought of pulling over and letting any man go easy on him made him want to pull over and show the woman next to him just how easy he”d go on the fucker. If not for the fact he had two women”s lives to consider, he”d do just that. ”One day, you”ll see just how much fun I can and will have with that little shit you call brother, but not tonight. We”ll get that one to safety tonight, and then you and I will figure out where to put you.” He wanted to say under him but knew it was too soon. Hell, from the knowledge he”d seen in her eyes, Traeger wasn”t sure when would be a good time for her. It was just his luck. The woman who tripped all his triggers had been through hell and then some.
RICO BANGED HIS FISTon the dash as his sister”s vehicle swerved in and out of traffic. He knew there was no way she was driving and wondered who the hell she”d fucked into helping her. He let out a little growl, thinking of the tempting little vixen he”d spent the last six months wooing. She”d have been the perfect little virgin who would”ve garnered him a sweet little bonus on the market. Of course, that would be after he taught her how to please a man. Oh sure, she”d not be worth nearly as much since Rico planned to take her ass, but he”d save her virginity for one of his clients. However, she”d be fucked in every other way and used in so many different ways by him. She”ll be a perfect fuck doll for her buyer. Of course, she”d have not known that was why he wasn”t fucking that sweet little pussy. Not until it was too late, not until he”d made her his little plaything, begging for whatever he gave her. By the time he”s through with her, she”d have loved everything he gave her. Or rather, she”ll be in love with the little bits of white lines and X he doled out to keep her complicit. Rico knew how to make the little whores complacent. That was, except his little whore of a sister. ”Stupid bitch. I”d have sold her off long ago if it weren”t for my father. By now, she”d have died from drugs, suicide, or a customer,” he muttered.
The man driving gave him a sidelong glance, but Rico noticed he adjusted his dick. Yeah, his sister made most of the men in his employ hard. He”d also have wanted her if she”d not been his sister. She was a beautiful woman. Instead, he hated her because he couldn”t have her.
”If you don”t catch up to that fucker, you”ll wish you were dead,” he warned his driver.
Nobody liked to disappoint him. He ensured everyone knew what would happen if they did. He enjoyed instilling fear in those around him. His father was a man who”d done so when he”d seen the results Rico got when he did. Now, Ricardo Sr. had also begun using the same techniques. Instead of ”Like father like son,” it was ”Like son like father,” which Rico thought was a significant improvement. When the old man finally kicked the bucket, Rico had a lot of other things he planned to improve, one being his sister”s position in the family.
He heard the sound of screeching metal, the noise bringing him out of his thoughts in time to see the lead vehicle in front of him hit the guardrail before flipping onto its side, then spinning out of control and hitting several other cars.
”Hold on, Rico, I...I mean, sir,” the command was yelled by his driver as they began swerving, working to miss the other vehicles that were slamming on brakes. They barely missed colliding with other cars on the highway.
Rico, who never wore a seatbelt, slammed into the windshield as their SUV was hit by a truck before it was hit again by another vehicle. He swore in his native tongue, then switched to English as warmth flowed down his forehead into his eyes, and he knew without having to look through the busted-out window that his sister and his plaything were gone, along with thousands of dollars. ”Fucking bitch will pay,” he promised.
”Maybe she was forced,” the idiot suggested.
Rico sat up, dusting off broken glass from his five-figure suit. He glared at the idiot, wishing he could shoot the fucker then and there. ”Did you or did you not hear Alessandro say he saw her and Tiana escaping out the window, not being forced? Don”t say another word, or so help me, I”ll blow your fucking brains all over what”s left of the windshield,” he growled, dialing for another vehicle to pick them up.
”Yes, boss.” The familiar tone had him grunting out a terse order, knowing they”d follow his orders without question. Now, he had to wait until one of his men came, but until then, he pulled up the vehicle”s tracking device, watching his muy estupida hermana drive away. ”You can run, but you can”t hide, Hermana.”