"Okay, take your time. We weren't planning on leaving for another thirty minutes."
Completely stripped, Kenna hurried to take a quick shower to wash the remnants of the nightmare away. She knew she'd have to do something soon about the situation. So far, she'd penned a note and had given it to her parents’ estate attorney for safekeeping. Soon, but not now, she'd have to start gathering her evidence.
Kenna blasted her hair with the hairdryer and deftly put it into a French twist while it was still somewhat damp. March in Kentucky was hit or miss on the weather. It would be spring one day and winter the next. Opening the window and sticking her head out, she discovered a nice spring day. So she pulled out a jungle-green wrap dress and dug around her trunk for her brown, high-heeled sandals. Twenty minutes later, dressed and with at least some make-up on, she hurried down the stairs and met June on the porch.
Looking around the patio, she noticed they were missing someone. "Where is Julius?"
"Oh, he hitched a ride this morning with one of our friends. He wanted to see this one horse have its early morning workout. He's debating whether to buy it or pass on it."
Kenna opened the passenger door and slid in beside June. June kept up a steady stream of conversation on the drive to Keeneland. Kenna was sure she was caught up on all the gossip, who did what, and who said what for the entire sale. So much so that she could likely pass as being a regular horse person by dropping a couple lines such as, "Can you believe he tried to pass that horse off as yearling? You know him, he tries it every couple of years," and so on.
Walking into the paddock area, the sale seemed busier. There were more people milling around and certain passageways were shoulder to shoulder with people. As Kenna and June tried to slide through the crowd by the railing surrounding the sales pit, Kenna saw some men dressed in black suits approach. Everything from the shiny black shoes to the reflective dark sunglasses screamed hired guns. They couldn't have found her. Not here, not so fast. She looked in every direction but was walled in by the crowd. Just as she was getting ready to push her way back toward the exit, the lead man walked by her as if she weren't there, although it would be more accurate to say he walked through her. Kenna felt the man's shoulder hit hers, which spun her back with such force that she stepped backwards and stumbled into a man along the rail. She reached out to steady herself and found herself being saved from landing ass first on the brick walkway by a very handsome and well-groomed man. His arm reached out and caught her around the waist as she was falling back.
"Are you okay?" His accent was heavy and obviously Middle Eastern. Kenna took a breath, relieved not to have landed on her bottom, more relieved he didn't seem to want to kill her. "Please let me apologize for my man running into you. A beautiful woman like you should never have to put up with such vulgar behavior. Please, let me assure you it will never happen again." With a nod to a dapper man standing slightly behind his shoulder, the man immediately left and approached the offender. Quiet words in a language she didn't understand were had. The offender's head hung low as he nodded finally.
"Thank you for making sure I didn't take a tumble. But I'm all right now. You can release me." He dropped his arm from her waist and stepped back to allow her some room to stand upright and straighten her dress. "Again, I appreciate your help very much. Thank you." She took a step forward but was stopped by a hand laid gently on her forearm.
"Madam, it would please me greatly if you allowed me to make up for this unfortunate accident by taking you out to dinner tonight. Please, allow me to introduce myself. I am Sheik Mohtadi Ali Rahman. But, please, call me Mo."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mo. I'm McKenna Mason. And this is my friend June Kranski." She gestured to June who was approaching them.
"It's all my pleasure to meet such beautiful women." Mo tipped his head slightly, allowing Kenna to study him.
He was thin, but from what she could tell from his arm when he caught her, very well muscled, more like a marathon runner’s than the thick muscles Will had. His skin was a handsome shade of light brown and his slightly long, wavy hair was slicked straight back. He didn't have a beard, more like a five-o'clock shadow. When he raised his head and looked at Kenna, she observed his black eyebrows and amber-colored eyes. He was very handsome. But more than that, he gave off the friendliest of airs.
"Please, allow me the honor of escorting you to dinner tonight."
"That is very kind of you, Your Highness?" June questioned him.
"Mo, please," he said with another slight bow of his head.