Kenzie tugged Emmy closer and whispered, "Can you hide the car for me, please?"
"Why? What's wrong?" Emmy whispered back.
"I stole it."
Emmy gaped at her with wide eyes, but the shocked look was quickly replaced with a frown of concern. "I bet you had a good reason for stealing. Who are you running from, Kenzie? Who hurt you?"
"I did, but if they find the car then they'll find me. They're not going to like that I've foiled their plans." Kenzie released Emmy's hand and tried to sit up, but using arms that way hurt her ribs and she groaned.
"Can I help you?" Emmy asked.
She nodded gratefully, and Emmy helped her into a half-seated, half-reclining position with a stack of pillows behind her shoulders. Kenzie was glad to see that all the men had left the room, including the doctor.
When she caught movement in her periphery, she tensed, expecting to see the men entering the room again, but she relaxed when two women came in. One she remembered meeting the previous night.
"Why is it so dark in here?" The other woman asked as she strolled over to the window and tugged the blind up. She turned and smiled at Kenzie. "Hi, Kenzie, I'm Dusty, and you've already met Pixie, haven't you?"
"Yeah."
"Are you feeling better at all, Kenzie?" Pixie asked.
"Some," she answered and then looked at Emmy again. "I have to leave. I can't let them find me."
"Calm down, Kenzie." Emmy pushed a chair closer to the bed and sat down. The other women did the same.
"We can help you," Dusty said. "Just tell us what you want us to do and consider it done."
"I don't know you." Kenzie swiped angrily at the tears on her face and then moaned with pain. She was so scared she'd forgotten about her injuries. How that was even possible she wasn't sure. Her whole body hurt, but she'd let panic take hold.
"You're right," Pixie said. "You don't know us."
"Let's remedy that, ladies," Emmy said as she gazed questioningly at the two other women. "I'll start."
Kenzie frowned and watched Emmy as she drew in a deep breath. "I used to work in a top-notch hotel in Houston, Texas. I overhead one of the other employees planning to bomb the place and take out the politicians who were supposed to arrive for a convention. Long story short, I hid, called the cops, and thwarted their plans. The perps were imprisoned, but I wasn't safe. The asshole pulling the strings was still at large, so I ran. I ended up here, met my mates, and fell in love. My men and the others in town rescued me and saved my life. I've never been happier, and I wouldn't change a thing."
Did she say mates? Kenzie mentally shrugged and figured that was a word she used for the men in her life. "I'm glad you're safe," she said.
"Me, too." Emmy looked expectantly at Pixie.
"I was running for my life, too," Pixie began. "I used to work in a hospital and was best friends with one of the nurses. She'd asked me to feed her fish because she was going away for the weekend and I agreed. We lived in the same building. Anyway, I entered her apartment and saw her doctor boyfriend kneeling on the floor behind the coffee table." Pixie paused when tears welled, and a sob escaped. "I didn't know what he was doing but if I had, I might have been able to save my friend." She wiped the tears from beneath her eyes and inhaled deeply. "That bastard was killing her. Her foot came into view and when I realized what the fucker was doing, I ran. When I got to the police station, I nearly peed my pants. Standing behind the desk was a carbon copy of the guy who'd just killed my friend. I ran again. I landed in Ambrose, met Tatum, Rex, and Shaffer, and fell in love. My mates and the men in this town also saved my life. If I had to do everything over again, I wouldn't change anything, because I might never have met the men of my heart."
Kenzie blinked back tears of sorrow. Her fear had receded, and she felt a deep sympathy for both Emmy and Pixie. She had a feeling she was going to feel the same toward Dusty once she heard the other woman's story. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thanks," Pixie whispered shakily and then gazed at Dusty.
"My step-brother was in debt and planned to hand me over to the leader of the Tucson Hells Angels biker gang. He had plans for me to work my asshole brother's debt off by spreading my legs," Dusty explained.
"Oh my God." Kenzie covered her mouth with horror.
Dusty nodded and swallowed before continuing. "There was no use going to the police because I'd seen the bastard handing money to a couple of dirty cops. I was lucky to overhear their conversation and plans, so I packed a few things, grabbed some cash, and took off. I bus-hopped for a few months, working for cash anywhere I could, and ended up here, in Ambrose.
"Broden, Archer, and Airen took me in when I nearly died from a life-threatening food allergy. My mates and the other men in town saved me when those assholes found me. They saved my life more than once. I fell deeply in love with them and have never been happier." Dusty rubbed a hand over her pregnant belly. "The men in this town are retired soldiers and they are so protective of those weaker than they are, sometimes too much so, but they are all good, honorable men."
Why do all three of these women use the word mate to describe their men? What's up with that?
"Who are you running from, Kenzie? Who hurt you?" Emmy asked in a soft, caring voice.
Kenzie's breath hitched, and the tears stung the back of her eyes again. She glanced toward the open doorway and sighed when she didn't see any of the men hovering nearby. Had they left? She didn't remember hearing the door opening or closing. Surely if they were still out in the other room she'd have heard something to indicate they were there. The rustling of clothes, the clearing of a throat, or some such noise. Convinced the men were gone, she sucked in a breath and decided to go for broke. These three women had gone a long way to gaining her trust. They were reaching out to her and she couldn't ignore that, or their offer of help. There wasn't anything they could do to keep the asshole or his goon from following her, but she might feel better if she unloaded the weight on her shoulders.
"My father sold me to a pimp."
"What?" Emmy gasped.
"Fucking asshole," Pixie nearly shouted.
"Son of a bitch," Dusty snarled.
She couldn't believe that these women were angry on her behalf, but it felt nice that they cared about her wellbeing.
"Tell us the rest," Pixie ordered angrily.
When Pixie gazed at her with concern, she knew the woman wasn't angry at her, but at her father. Seeing the three women's ire chased the fear in her heart away and she began to get angry, too.
"I'd been looking after that asshole for nearly ten years," Kenzie said. "My mom died from pneumonia just after I turned thirteen. She made me promise to look after my dad. I worked hard at school trying to keep my grades up, and after school I took on any job I could to help pay all the bills. I'd planned to go to college but that dream slowly dwindled. By the time I was a senior, I was barely passing because I was too exhausted to study."
"Why?" Dusty asked. "Why were you so exhausted?"
"My dad started drinking about six months after my mom passed." Kenzie pushed her emotions aside and although she realized she was speaking in a monotone, it was the only way she could get through this without breaking down. "At first, he'd only drink at night and on the weekends, but then it was every night and during the day. His boss caught him drinking on the job and he was fired. I was fifteen by this time and was going to school and working in a café washing dishes, as well as stocking shelves at the local supermarket.
"He'd go into a rage if I was late getting his dinner ready or if there were dishes left in the sink. I don't think it mattered what the infraction was, he was just downright angry and mean all the time."
"He took his anger out on you?" Emmy clasped Kenzie's hand in hers.
Kenzie nodded. "He did. The first time was a slap across the face, but it quickly escalated from there. He used to punch and kick me wherever he could land a blow. One time I had to stay home for a whole week from school and work because he'd taken a belt to my back." The anger and pain roared into her heart and soul. She felt as if her heart was being ripped from her chest. The tears welled and flowed but she was too lost in the horrid memories to wipe them away. "He used the buckle and tine on my bare skin and ripped my flesh open." She sniffed and took the wad of tissues Dusty handed to her.