by Elle Boon
He’d texted King before they’d come in asking for permission to bring Kailani into the room with him. Since he had an ulterior motive for allowing her in, he agreed. “I’m guessing from the relaxed way you came strolling in, your time was well spent.” King couldn’t help but give his friend shit.
A sly grin split Traeger’s lips. “Don’t be jealous, brother. So, what did you want to ask Kailani? And remember, she’s mine.” The warning was aimed at Keys. Although he was smart as fuck, computers were his thing, but he tended to forget humans had feelings.
“Got it, Trigger. I will not offend your ole lady.” Keys saluted Traeger, clearing his throat before he continued in a respectful tone. “Ma’am, I wanted to show you a couple pictures and see if you’ve ever…been to the establishments. We don’t need details of what err, went on, just whatever you can tell us about the place itself and maybe the owners.” Keys took a drink from his glass, coughing as the liquid went down wrong.
“First of all, Keys? Can I call you that?” She waited for him to nod. “Good. Now, you don’t call me ma’am since I’m most assuredly not older than you. Second, I will look at whatever you have, and trust me, nothing you can throw at me will make me blush. Third, don’t get your hopes up thinking I have the knowledge you seek. Most the time, I was taken in a blacked out vehicle to whatever residence requested me. I wasn’t given freedom to do as I pleased when I was there. Although I wasn’t locked in a cage, there was a measure of security around me at all times.” She held her hand out toward the tablet.
King looked toward Traeger, waiting for him to agree. Traeger gave a brief nod, but his jaw was clenched so tightly King worried his friend was going to chip a tooth. He put his hand over the device before she could pull it to her. “Kailani, I want you to know that we will never ask of you anything we wouldn’t ask of our own women.” And that was the truth. He pictured Ayesha in this woman’s shoes, and although he hated the thought, if it saved one victim from the shit his sister had suffered, the obvious atrocities Kailani had gone through, he would allow it. He’d hate it, but he’d allow it.
“You have to understand this isn’t just a game for these people. There are men and even women who do this. Human trafficking is huge business, and garners them a lot of money as well as pleasure.” She reached for the tablet again. This time King gave it to her.
Slowly she flipped through the images, her head moving back and forth as she looked over each one. King didn’t think she was going to recognize any of the homes or men, until a gasp had them all leaning forward.
“Where is this?” She pointed at the house that they’d referred to as the Starship Enterprise.
Keys pulled up the image on his phone. “Holy fucking shit,” he swore.
“What?” King and Duke asked at the same time.
“How have we never seen that place? It’s literally within a half hour from here to Santa Monica.” He lifted his phone, showing them what he’d found.
“Do you recognize it?” Traeger asked, his voice dangerously low.
“Traeger,” King warned.
Traeger held his hand up. The injured one with ease, showing no sign of pain. “Answer me, Kailani.”
She nodded. “Not exactly recognize the outside, but I recognize it. I…remember because it was talked about. I didn’t get to see it when I was taken there, but I heard those same words. The men—they all like to brag about things. He, the owner of the place talked about the planning and took pride in calling it his version of Starship on Steroids. They joked that the drugs underground was much better than what they could get anywhere in the world.” She shivered and closed her eyes.
“We don’t need those details, baby. Can you remember anything about the layout of the place?” Traeger pulled her into his body as he spoke.
“There were several different elevators. The one we came in on was unmanned, which isn’t shocking. Can’t really have a bodyguard inside an elevator that the public might see. However, further inside when I was taken to the lower level, that elevator had a guard outside and one inside. Now you want to talk state-of-the-art, that one leveled up. We’re talking retinal scanner and everything. The guard was only there to make sure the money men weren’t harmed, I guess.” She shrugged.
“Can you remember how many levels there were?” King asked.
Kailani took a deep breath, leaning into Traeger and his rubbing hand. King had never felt jealous of other men and their show of affection with their ole ladies, but he wanted to find Ayesha and do some dirty damn things with her.
“I remember we came in through an underground garage. So we came up through an elevator. That one was clearly the public one. At that point we…mingled with the guests for a couple hours. On this level.” She pointed at the image on the screen. “I remember thinking how easy it would be to take a running leap off the edge and just end it all. The only reason I didn’t was the other girl with me was frightened, and I thought I could protect her,” she spat.
King filled in the blanks as did the other men. “When you were taken to the other elevator, I’m assuming you didn’t take any stairs from this level beforehand?” He waited until she shook her head. “So, we got two levels above this one that we see. How many levels were on the elevator, or did you see any numbers?”
“The number three was lit up, so I know that we were on level 3. The numbers on the wall were like every other elevator with eight being the largest, but there was a B and a G.”
“Shit, so there are a possible ten levels. So the thirty thousand square feet could be a lot more.” Duke stood up. “Anyone need a refill?”
“We came in the garage, but it wasn’t huge. Maybe twenty cars could fit in there at the same time. As for the basement, I’m not sure what’s there, maybe the electrical rooms and stuff.”
“I’m going to ask you one question, and it’s a little personal. I don’t want details. I just need to know about one of the eight floors. When you were down on the first floor, was it broken up into rooms, or…” he trailed off, not knowing what to say.
She took a deep breath. “Stepping off the elevator you’re greeted with a foyer. There you’ll see a desk where the guest can decide what he or she wants. They can get a private room, many already set up beforehand, or they can take their toy to the open gathering where they can do what they please. It’s a free for all, King. There are no rules for them down there.”
“I want to kill them all.” Traeger’s tone was guttural, yet his touch didn’t change on Kailani. King wasn’t sure how the man held such restraint.
“Did you recognize any of the others?” Keys asked.
After Kailani went through the other images, King was impatient to get back to Ayesha. He’d pulled up the surveillance cameras inside his house, telling himself it was just to make sure they were doing okay, but in truth, it was to reassure himself she was still there.
“Do you want Tiana to come and hang out with me and Kailani for a while?” Traeger asked when they finished.
King raised one of his brows. “Am I that transparent?”
Traeger chuckled. “Nah, I just know you. Besides, you’ve only looked at your phone a half dozen times. I’m sure it wasn’t to look at your guest.”
He shoved his phone back into his pocket, raising his middle finger to his nose and scratched. “Oh shit, my bad.”
“Hey, you should be nice to the man who just offered to be your wingman.” Traeger lifted his arm when Kailani returned from the bathroom, the action seeming natural.
“Let’s go up to my house and see how they’re doing. I’m not sure if Ayesha will let her sister out of her sight, just yet.” King was the last to walk out of the room, making sure everything was locked down. “Hold up, I’m going to make sure Kailani shut the bathroom light off.” He strolled to the back of the room, opened the door to the restroom. Once satisfied all was good, he walked back out.
“I’m housetrained you know,” Kailani said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Is that so?” King asked, not liking being questioned, especially by an ole lady.
“Shit man, she doesn’t know the rules.” Traeger put her behind him.
King shook his head. “Oh, she knows rules. Ain’t that right? Why you pushing me, girl?” He crossed his own arms, the sudden quiet around them didn’t faze him, but from the way Traeger tensed, he could tell this wasn’t going to go the way he’d planned.
“Yo, Traeger, you can handle this shit, or King can. What’s it to be?” Duke asked, coming to stand next to King.
“I’m sorry. My mouth ran off without me stopping to think of the consequences. It won’t happen again.” Kailani turned pleading eyes up at him.
King ignored her, staring Traeger down. “Your move, brother.”
“Shit. Right here, right now?”
He nodded, answering Traeger’s questions.
“How many?” he asked King.
“There’s five syllables in what she said that was disrespectful.” He looked around the room filled with his MC brothers. “Five times three should suffice. What say you, brothers?” King yelled.
Several ‘Hell yeah’ were met with ‘More’, but he lifted his chin in a short jerk, silencing them. “Either you can do it, or Duke can. What’s it to be?”
Traeger moved his arm a bit stiffly. “I got it.” His head lowered; he murmured worlds to her that were too low for the rest of them to hear.
“I ain’t got all day. Let’s get this over with.” King waved his arm for Traeger and Kailani to move through the crowd. Fuck, he hated the fact that his chance at a little alone time was now being taken away.
Fifteen minutes later, Traeger and a stoic Kailani stood next to him outside the clubhouse. “I’ve got some new leads I’m gonna track down. You need anything else from me?” Keys asked, coming to stand next to King.
“Let me know if you hear any talk about Ayesha or Tiana. I’m gonna keep them off the radar for as long as possible.” King stepped away from the group.
“You think Little Bit likes pizza?” Traeger asked, rubbing his stomach.
Kailani rolled her eyes. “Where do you put it?”
Their words stopped him in his tracks. “You still taking T with you?” Not that they were leaving the property, but giving him and Ayesha a little alone time, where he didn’t need to worry about her sister coming in was like a gift.
“What, you thought because Traeger had to discipline me for my outburst I’d sulk and pay you back by not letting Tiana come with us? Come on, King, I’m not a two year old throwing a temper tantrum. Besides, I’d like to spend a little time with the girl.” Kailani met his stare with her own.
“Good to know. And just so you and I are on the same page, fifteen was letting you off easy,” he said.
Ayesha and Tiana watched two movies, both had leading men her sister said were on her DTFN list, which after Ayesha found out what that meant, she decided her sister was going to join a convent. “Nope, not gonna happen. Where do you guys come up with that shit?”
“Sksksk,” Tiana muttered.
Ayesha eyed her sister. “Do what now?”
Tiana giggled. “And and i oop anoop anioop.” She grabbed a pillow to cover her face.
“Is this that VSCO girl thing? Because, if it is, I’m putting my foot down on that one.” One of the stylists at her salon was very much a VSCO girl, going so far as bringing a real turtle into the salon and saying she had saved it from death. Ayesha had allowed her to keep it there that day, but demanded she take her pet home with her and not bring it back again. Save the turtles be damned. She wasn’t having them in her salon. The memory of her beloved business made her grimace. “Do you still want one of those fifty dollar flasks?” she asked, changing the subject.
Tiana shrugged. “No, those are pretty stupid. I’m sorry I was such an idiot. I’ve cost you so much.”
They both turned as the door opened to see King and two other people in the doorway.
Tiana jumped up, her squeal of happiness surprising Ayesha. “It’s you. Ayesha, this is the woman who saved me.” She grabbed the woman, tugging her further into the room.
“Hi, you must be her sister. I’m Kailani.” She stood with Tiana, staring at Ayesha.
“I owe you…we owe you so much,” Ayesha cried, her arms going around Kailani’s shoulders. At first the other woman held herself still, her body frozen within Ayesha’s embrace. Tiana’s arms joined her sister’s her clear appreciation for what Kailani had done for her pouring out of the two women. Seconds passed, making Ayesha aware Kailani was stiff in their embrace, but slowly her arms lifted, hugging them back, hugging them as hard if not harder. She wasn’t sure who was sobbing more, her, Tiana, or Kailani. In all honesty, it didn’t matter because it felt too damn good to release the heartache, the fear she’d felt when she’d realized Tiana had been taken, and this woman, this courageous woman had risked her life to save a stranger, even though it had cost her more than her old life. It had cost her everything, her father, her home, her way of life. However, from what Ayesha knew, the bastard deserved worse than what he’d gotten.
“Alright, ladies, break it up. I can’t handle all the waterworks. It hurts my heart,” King said, putting his hand on Ayesha’s back.
And just like that, her own heart flipped over. The big bad biker had a heart of gold, he just didn’t know it, or show it.
She lifted her head, meeting his gaze. Seeing his compassion stamped on his too handsome features, she wanted to turn into him and have him wrap her up in his arms. No, she wanted to have him take control of her and tell her what he wanted. Of course, that would mean Tiana wasn’t in the room, or preferably the same house. However, she didn’t see that happening anytime soon.
“So, I was hoping you wouldn’t mind if Tiana came to Traeger’s place with us. We’re going to make homemade pizza and chill. You can order the stuff King said you needed for your stay here while we’re gone.” Kailani blinked innocently at her.
Tiana touched her arm. “If you want to come with us you can.”
King stepped up closer to her, letting her feel his hardness against her ass. “Oh, it’s okay, T, I have a lot to do. You go ahead. If you need me you can call me.” They’d already replaced her cell phone thanks to Keys. Not that she was allowed to call anyone other than Ayesha or a couple other numbers that had been programmed into it.”
“Got it, for all the good it does me. I can’t even get on social media,” she whined.
King cleared his throat in a way that Ayesha knew without seeing his face wasn’t good. Tiana’s face turned red; her muttered apology was met with silence.
“Sorry, I know it’s for my safety and yours. Can we go?” Tiana asked.
“Tiana, do you have any clue what awaited you?” King asked.
“King,” Ayesha warned.
“No, she needs to know.” Kailani turned Tiana toward her. “Tiana, I know you think you have it all figured out, but you don’t. The things that would’ve been done to you, you’d never have recovered from them. You’d have begged for drugs just to escape reality. Don’t shake your head. I’ve seen girls and boys just like you go in looking like they just left Homeroom. The time I next saw them, and believe me, I saw them again, they looked like they were ten years older, and not a single one of them remembered me. Hell, I don’t think they could remember their own names. The first time I saw an obituary with a Jane Doe in it of a girl I’d met only a year before, I vomited. That girl was sixteen, just like you. She died of an overdose, or so they called it, but nobody knew who she was. I remember her telling me her name was Haley. Not Jane Doe, but Haley. Haley never got a funeral. Her parents didn’t get to see their daughter alive again.”
“If you survived, what makes you think I wouldn’t have too?” Tiana asked, her chin high.
Kailani laughed. “Because I was the daughter of one of those bastards. I had a purpose. I was a bargaining tool. He had to keep up some appearances. You were my brother’s next
toy, kid. I lost count of how many girls and boys came through the door. What I learned was to keep my head down, and to plan for a time to get out. When I saw him bring you in, I’d overheard a conversation that moved my timeline up. My usefulness had ended.” She shrugged.
Traeger pulled her to his chest, giving her a hug. “Little Bit, you got lucky once. Don’t look a gift horse in the face. So, you coming with us or not? I’m starving.”
Tiana took a deep breath. “Is it okay?” she asked King and Ayesha.
“It’s alright with me, but I’d like for you not to speak about what could’ve happened to her without me being there. I know that sounds stupid but—” she stopped speaking.
“No more deep shit going down. We’re going to make pizza and maybe watch a movie. No chick flicks, though.”
Ayesha almost warned Traeger about Tiana’s VSCO shit, but thought the man needed a little schooling in teenage girl.
“I’m not sure what that look is about, but my hand is twitching to see if your ass turns a nice shade of red,” he warned.
She shivered at his whispered words that were said at her ear.
“We’ll get out of your hair. I’ll call before we return.” Traeger winked, ushering Kailani and Tiana out in front of him.
Once everyone was gone except King and her, she felt shy. “Um, what did you want to talk about?”
King punched the code into the security panel. “Would you like to see my personal space?” He held his hand out to her.
“Is this where I have two choices, kind of like take the red pill or the blue one in The Matrix?” She placed her hand in his, knowing nothing he said would turn her away.
“I do like your choice in movies, but no, nothing so mind scrambling. Well, I don’t think so at least. Your choice, though. We can stay up here and watch a movie, or we can go downstairs.”
Chapter Thirteen
Ayesha tried to keep her hand from trembling in his. “I’ll take option B, please.”
King tugged her into his arms. “I’m glad you said that. Not that I don’t like movies, but that’s the last thing on my mind. Come on,” he said, leading her to the back of the house and toward a door she’d seen in the kitchen but hadn’t thought to ask about.