by Becca Van
Aiguo Lei was even nastier than Decha was. In fact, he made Decha look like a helpless little mouse. Lei had moved to America years ago to attend college and had loved the freedom and the country so much, he’d stayed. Lei had attained a degree in business and had made a name for himself, but it was the illegal pies he had his fingers in that had given him his renowned name. Lei was the head of the northern half of the American branch to the Triad, or Chinese Mafia, and was very bad news. If the fucker found out the woman he wanted to complete his collection was missing, their lives would be over.
“How the fuck did she get away?” Decha Hong combed his fingers through his hair. “She was out cold and too injured. Did someone help her?”
Feng shook his head. “They guys have been searching all night and day. One of the idiots left his keys in the ignition. She stole his car while we were all dealing with the other shipment of women.”
“Shit!” Decha thumped a fist onto the desk. “Please tell me you didn’t send that photo of the slut to Lei?”
Feng swallowed nervously. “I can’t.”
“Fuck! I want every available resource out searching for that cunt. How long do we have?” Decha asked.
“A couple of weeks at most,” Feng replied. “The Triad leader wanted me to send another photo of the bitch once the swelling had gone down and she’d healed up some.”
Aiguo sighed with relief. “That’s something at least.” He rubbed his chin as he thought. “We try and find the cunt, but if we can’t, I want you to snatch another woman off the street who looks similar to the bitch. Lei won’t know about the substitute since she was so injured.”
Feng nodded to placate his boss and while he knew he should have told the man paying him the big bucks that wouldn’t work, he kept his mouth shut. His contact in the Triad had asked him all about the bitch and he’d answered. He had no doubt that the leader’s man had already done a background search on the cunt and found photos of her on social media sites. He should have kept her identity a secret instead of passing over her credentials and how Decha had gotten his hands on her. He was going to put every man they could spare on looking for that slut. He’d also make sure he had a means of escape set in place because if the shit hit the fan—and it was highly likely it would—he needed to get away fast. There was no way he was going to end up getting killed when he was just following orders. If anyone was going down, it wouldn’t be him.
“Search for the car,” Decha ordered. “There is no way she hasn’t left a trail behind, especially with all the CCTV’s and digital tracks people leave. Get Jung to set up alerts on the bitch. I want her back here by the end of the week.”
Feng nodded again, spun on his heel, and hurried out of the office. He’d do everything he could to find the woman, and in between time, he’d start emptying his bank accounts and acquiring false documentation. If things didn’t pan out, he was going to head to Australia and start over.
* * * *
Kenzie was still in pain the next time she opened her eyes, but at least she wasn’t feeling sick to her stomach, and she thought the fever she’d had was gone. When she forced her eyelids open, she was glad that she could see more and suspected some of the swelling had gone down, too. She didn’t realize the neck brace had been removed until she turned her head without any hindrance. She was surprised to see three men sitting in chairs against the wall, with their heads leaning against the plaster. They looked as if they were sound asleep.
One of the men wore a patch over his right eye, and there was some scarring she could see that wasn’t covered by the patch. He was a big man. In fact, they all were. Their tall, muscular bodies dwarfed the chairs they were sleeping in. They all had black hair and from what she could remember from earlier, they also all had blue eyes. There were a lot of similarities that made her suspect they were brothers or cousins, but they weren’t identical. At least she didn’t think so. The man in the middle had burn scars on his forearms and the one on his other side looked as if he’d been involved in a knife fight and come out the loser. A frisson of fear skated up her spine as goose bumps raced over her skin. Even though the men were damaged, they were also handsome, and she gasped when her breasts swelled and her nipples hardened. She quickly turned her head away from them.
After glancing toward the covered window and seeing no light seeping in along the sides she suspected it was nighttime, but she had no real way to gauge. For all she knew, it was the middle of the day and there could be security screens on the outside of the window blocking any sunlight from coming in.
She gasped and jerked when a deep voice spoke, then cringed as her ribs protested.
“How are you feeling, Kenzie?”
She turned her gaze toward the foot of the bed to find the doctor hovering over her and making notes on a chart. “Better than I did.”
He glanced up and met her gaze. “I’m glad to hear that. I’ve wrapped your ribs, but it’s going to take weeks before they’re healed properly. Is there anyone I can call for you?”
“No,” she whispered in reply and tried to keep the tears burning her eyes at bay when she thought of her alcoholic father and how he’d sold her like she was a possession and not a living, breathing human being with feelings. “There’s no one. How long have I been here?”
“About six hours.”
“Kenzie, you’re awake!” the man with the patch blurted out loudly. The other two guys stirred and sat up straighter in their seats.
“This is Jayson, Jenson, and Jordan Cannon,” Broden pointed at each man as he said their name. “Jayson found you passed out in your car and called me.”
“Thank you,” Kenzie said.
Jayson rose, picked up his chair, and carried it closer to the bed. She was shocked when he clasped her hand in his. “You’re welcome, honey. How are you feeling? Are you in a lot of pain? Is there anything I can get you? Are you hungry?”
She opened her mouth to answer but with the pain meds still coursing through her system, she couldn’t keep up with everything he’d asked in rapid-fire succession and quickly closed her mouth again.
“Give her a chance to answer a question before you ask another, Jay.” Jordan stood, grabbed his chair, and then carried it around to the other side of the bed. Jenson shoved to his feet, picked up his seat, and then put it down next to Jayson.
Even though she couldn’t help being attracted to the three handsome men, she was also very wary. All she’d ever experienced with the opposite sex was disappointment and pain. She was still in pain and didn’t like having them so close to her. Her heart slammed so hard against her ribs it hurt, and even though she was panting shallowly, she couldn’t seem to fill her lungs with enough air. Sweat formed under her arms and between her breasts, but she shivered.
Jayson squeezed her hand to draw her attention. When she noticed he was frowning with concern, she realized he’d seen her reaction. “Take as deep a breath as you can and hold it for the count of five, honey, then release it slowly and inhale again.”
Kenzie whimpered and shook her head, all the while trying to tug her hand from his. She glanced toward the end of the bed for the doctor, but he must have left the room while her attention had been on the three men.
Jayson released her hand, stood, nudged his seat out of the way, and backed up. Jordan and Jenson did the same and she sighed with relief. She didn’t like feeling crowded by men, especially after what her father had done to her for years on end.
“Do I scare you because of this?” Jayson pointed to his eye patch.
She frowned and wondered what the hell he was talking about, but a light flicked on when she realized he and his brothers had misconstrued her reaction because they had scars. Anger surged, chasing away her fear and anxiety. If her ribs hadn’t still been aching so much, she would have surged upright and crossed her arms beneath her breasts and scowled at him. Kenzie couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. She had scars on her back and the back of her legs, although, to be fair, these men wo
“No, you don’t scare me because of your scars,” she answered angrily. “I don’t give a shit about the marks on a person’s body. It’s what’s inside that counts. I’ve never judged someone by their outer shell, but you obviously do.”
“I think you need to apologize, Jay,” a tall, dark-haired woman said as she entered the room. She glanced at the huge man who followed behind her. “Hi, Kenzie, I’m Emmy. I thought I’d come and see how you’re doing.”
Kenzie nodded and tried to smile but she couldn’t seem to drag her gaze away from the big, handsome brute of a man who stood in the doorway. He was watching Emmy with a smile on his face and lust in his eyes. She wasn’t attracted to him, but she could see how much he loved the other woman. Before her mom had died and her dad had started drinking, she’d dreamed about a man looking at her like that, dreamed about having someone to love and who loved her in return. Those dreams had slowly dwindled each time her father had beaten her. They’d been childish and now that she was older, more mature, she knew that there was no such thing as a happy-ever-after.
Her parents had fought constantly, and her mom had been so unhappy. She had no idea why she stayed married to that asshole. He’d been so cold toward her mother. Kenzie suspected her mom had accepted the marriage proposal because of lack of money and hope that she could make a relationship with the prick work. It hadn’t been a happy home and while they’d argued constantly, it had been all she’d known. Then the asshole had turned his anger on her.
She pushed thoughts aside and tried to remember what the other woman had asked. After dragging her eyes from the other guy, she met Emmy’s gaze. “I’m okay.”
“That’s Jett. He’s one of my husbands.” Emmy said as she walked closer to the bed.
One of her husbands? How many did she have? Where the hell am I? What have I stumbled into?
She gave the big man a tremulous smile, but quickly turned back to Emmy when she spun around with her back toward Kenzie.
“I think y’all should leave for a while.”
Although Emmy wasn’t facing her, it wasn’t hard for her to figure out the other woman had crossed her arms over her chest. “Kenzie needs to rest. Why don’t you go and get something to eat and send Pixie and Dusty over?”
“Dusty’s already on her way,” Dr. Higgins said as he entered the room. “I have no doubt that she’s bringing the other ma…women with her.”
Kenzie ignored the byplay between the people and stared at the huge doctor, practically willing him to turn toward her. He must have felt her gaze on him because when he glanced her way, he quirked an eyebrow in query.
“When can I leave?”
The doctor looked at the three scarred brothers before meeting her gaze again. The urge to look at them again was strong, but she quashed the craving and tried to keep her face in an expressionless mask. All three of those men were potently handsome with their dark, brooding looks. Add in their delectable wild, musky scents and she was fighting her body’s desirous responses as well as the yearning to get closer to them. That had never happened to her before and she wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“Not for at least a couple of weeks,” the doctor answered. “If you move around too much or do anything too strenuous, you could end up breaking those ribs all the way through. If that happens you’ll be in danger of puncturing a lung, and you could die.”
Kenzie closed her eyes and sighed with weariness. She didn’t want to hang around in Ambrose. It was way too close to Bismarck, her fake father, and the bastard he’d sold her to.
She gasped with terror when she remembered the car she’d stolen. “Where’s the car?”
“Calm down, Kenzie. You have no need to be scared.” Emmy clasped her hand in hers and squeezed it. “All the guys in this town served in the military and would die to protect someone weaker than them, or in trouble.”
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.
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