I hated leaving Mila in the state she was in, but I need to find Ava. I'm not sure how they got tipped off to the fact that the feds were waiting to arrest them. I suppose they haven’t gone this many years doing what they’ve been doing, not to know how to keep a step ahead of the law in some form or fashion, but kidnapping their granddaughter is desperate and low.

I don’t know what their endgame is by taking Ava, but without a doubt, I know what ours would be if it weren’t for the fact the law is out looking for them as well. In a matter of minutes, this town will be on lockdown. The Kings may be a sorted bunch, but one thing you don’t fuck with is family- our family. The feds tried pushing their weight around, but they should know demanding a bunch of bikers to stay out of it was not going to fly. They have their way of doing things, and we have ours. All of us have a common goal, and that’s finding Mila's daughter.

After searching with the rest of the guys and coming up empty, I decided coming back to my place and doing some digging would turn up a clue to where they might have gone after leaving the preschool, but it hasn’t done a damn bit of good.

"Fuck!" I roar slamming my laptop closed. Prez has several of the guys on the roads looking for the car they were last seen in while I try to trace down their whereabouts by looking up any recent credit card activity. I've found nothing. Nothing because all known accounts belonging to the Vaughns were frozen. Where the fuck could they have gone with no financial means to get there? I get up and pace the floors. I stop and let my head fall back and look up at the ceiling letting out a frustrated breath. Fuckin' think, I chastise myself.

Deciding to get back on my bike, I turn around to grab my key from the top of my desk. I pause a moment to stare at a picture of my brother and I standing side by side. The photo was taken the day I earned my cut and sitting to the right of the frame- Ava's teddy bear. The one she gave me to hold on to, hoping it would make me feel better. Picking the toy up, I study it. A moment of clarity hits me. I can't explain it, but I just know where she is. With the bear in hand, I get to my bike as quick as I can. Before I turn the engine over, I tuck her teddy securely inside the bike's left side saddlebag.

Fifteen minutes later I cut my engine and let my bike coast, stopping two houses down from Mila's Grams. With all the chaos, no one thought to come here including me. As soon as I swing my leg over, getting off, I hear a vehicle pulling up behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I watch Officer Jenkins stop and open his car door. Shit. I should have known they'd have someone with a badge try and follow us around.

Apparently waiting for me to let him in why I'm here, I decided to clue him in. Only because I don’t want to take the chance on fuckin' anything up. "If my hunch is correct," I lift my hand and point towards the house, "They have Ava in there."

"I need to call it in," He informs me.

He can do what he wants, but I'm not waiting to find out. I turn my back to him walking towards the house.

"Mr. Carter," he calls out. Pausing, I give him a chance to finish.

"Remember, there may be a four-year-old child in there, so act accordingly."

I'll take whatever measures are needed to make sure she is and stays safe. I don’t say a word. While Officer Jenkins mumbles a god damnit and calls in our location over the police radio, I keep walking.

Intent on answers, I carefully make my way to the front door with a purpose. Checking the knob, I turn it. Surprisingly, it isn't locked. Not taking the risk of Ava seeing me with a gun, I keep it inside my cut. She was just taken by two people she has never met before. By desperate people—people who even though she is their own flesh and blood have proven family means nothing to them.

Slowly, I make my way inside. Not wanting any surprises to spring up behind me, I close the door. Upon glancing around the living room, there are no signs anyone has been here since yesterday, so I cautiously take my time crossing the room. That’s when I hear it. A soft little giggle. Ava's little laugh is coming from down the hall. The further I get down the short hallway, the clearer the sound gets. Stopping right outside Ava's bedroom door; Just before grabbing the handle and listen.

Holding my breath, I open the door. Sitting on her bed next to Mila's mother is Ava. Bouncing off the bed with excitement as if nothing is wrong, Ava skips towards me and I scoop her up into my awaiting arms. She may not be anything to me by blood, but I feel she is every bit mine and I will protect her. While I hug her, Mila's mother watches on with a muted stare. As if she's longing for something that’s just within her reach but she can't touch it. The distant sounds of sirens fill the air alerting both of us to the nearby presence of the police.

"She is a sweet little girl," Mrs. Vaughn murmurs.

I narrow my eyes at her. "Where's your husband?" I ask her.

She drops her shoulder and turns her head to peer out the window to her right. "Took off."

"Why? Why her daughter?" I ask her.

Dropping her gaze to her lap, she wrings her hands together. "We stayed here last night. No money, nowhere to go, and just before court this morning Robert said he would be right back. When he returned, he had Ava with him. I know I'm a lot of things, Mr. Carter. I know I haven't been a good mother, but he wanted to use her as a bargaining chip, and I couldn’t go along with it. So, he left. Took the car and left us here." She looks at Ava who I still have in my arms. I can tell she wants to say more when we hear the blaring sirens outside the house and the sound of multiple car doors slamming. I recognize a voice belonging to Officer Jenkins making his presence known as he enters the home. I continue to keep my eyes fixed on Mrs. Vaughn and listen as the officers' weighty feet approach the bedroom from behind me.

"Carter," Jenkins states in an even tone. Most likely so he doesn’t alarm and upset Ava. "I'll take it from here. Her mother is waiting outside."

Before I leave the room, I speak one more time to Mila's mother. Lowering my voice, I tell her, "You will never lay eyes on these two again."

As I'm emerging from the hall and entering the living room, Mila breaks past the other officer standing near the front door. When she sees I have Ava safe and unharmed with her little arms draped around my neck, she loses it all over again. Desperately trying to hold her emotions in, she reaches for her daughter and I place her into her momma's arms. I watch on as they embrace one another. Pulling both into me, I hold them.

"Babe," I lift Mila's chin, and she looks up meeting my eyes, "They'll be leading your mother out soon. You wanna take off?" I ask her while running my fingers through her hair, pushing the few fallen pieces from around her face, as I peer down at her.

"Take us home," she tells me.

The three of us walk outside to find an awaiting Bella standing next to her car. Tears start to stream down her face the moment she lays eyes on Mila holding Ava. Quickly wiping them away she smiles as we approach. "Bella, take them home. Give me a minute, and I'll be right behind you on my bike." I inform her. I wait until all three of them are safely inside the car and buckled in before retrieving my bike a couple of houses down.

When I pass Agent Holden, the federal agent in charge of the whole investigation of the Vaughns, he stops me with and extends his hand. "Thank you," he acknowledges and shakes my hand. I give him a firm nod in response before we both go our separate ways.

My phone ringing in my pocket causes my pace to slow as I dig it out. Looking at the lit-up screen, I see Gabriel's number and swipe to answer. "What you got, brother?"

"We found the father thirty minutes outside of town. His dumb ass ran out of gas and had nowhere to go. What do you want done with him, brother?" Gabriel's utters.

He kidnapped a little girl. My family. Knowing we may get some fallback from the decision I'm about to make, I'm sure my other brother would agree he has a little justice coming to him. "Rough him up a little. Nothing major. He needs to be turned over to the authorities alive and in one piece," I tell Gabriel, but silence hangs in the air instead of a response. I smirk knowing I soiled his plans to have a little fun. The man is as loyal to his family as they come. Gabriel takes shit like this personal. "Sorry, brother. Not this time."

"You got it." His gruff voice says before hanging up. The motherfucker picked the wrong town and the wrong family to mess with. He is damn lucky only to be receiving a busted lip or some bruised ribs. In any other circumstance, he would have a date with death.

Getting on my bike, I roll up behind Bella's car to bring up the rear, and we head home.