Shaking my head from all the questions running through my mind, I step back from her and turn, only to find the whole club watching us. I don’t have time to acknowledge the concern on their faces before I zero back in on Bell.

“Bell, can you grab the medical kit.” Bell nods then moves to the kitchen.

“Tell me what happened.” I look back to Mackenzie, needing to know everything before we can figure out how much shit we’re in. Her eyes fly to mine before flicking back to the others.

“You can talk in front of them, darlin’. You’re safe here.” I try to encourage her, but I can already see her walls going up.

“Beau.” My name is delivered in a plea and just like that, it’s as if the last eighteen months haven’t passed and I’m back in our safe house breaking all my rules.

The truth is I barely know Mackenzie. I met her one night on a pickup in the next town over in Redwick. She was messed up so bad we had to deviate from the usual routine and get her into a hospital. Little did we know her fucking asshole husband was none other than Chad Morre, son to Mayor Morre. Chad and his father have done everything in their power to find Mackenzie, even going to the extremes of hurting our own.

“Okay, darlin’, come on.” I place my hand on the small of her back and motion her to the living room. She relaxes noticeably before moving over to the sofa. Nix hangs back near the bar as the rest of the group move out, heading either into the kitchen or out to the patio.

“Nix is gonna stay. This is his club,” I tell her how it is and watch her flick her gaze back to him. I can see she wants to argue, but there isn’t anything she can say that will change my mind. Nix won’t leave and I don’t want him to. We just became an open target now she’s back. We need all the information we can get.

“Just start from the beginning. What’s happened since I saw you last?” I ask when she settles on the edge of the sofa and fidgets, her hands in her lap.

“Well, after staying with Larry and Mary for the week, I was moved on to Phoenix.”

Larry and Mary were the couple I dropped her off to. It was her first safe drop out of Redwick and the last time I saw her.

“I stayed in a women’s shelter for six weeks in Phoenix until I healed properly.” She runs her finger along a faint scar on the inside of her arm. Anger boils inside of me hating she has a constant reminder of what her husband did to her.

“Once I was able to do everyday things I left there, ended up in Ohio. Found a nice small town and settled down.” Bell comes back into the room and opens the kit, setting it up on the coffee table. I offer her a slight nod and then wait till she leaves us alone.

“You found your safe place.” I reach forward into the first-aid kit and pull out some sterile wipes.

“It wasn’t home, but I tried to make it so.” I show her the wipe and motion to her lip, a silent question for permission to use it on her. She nods before twisting her head slightly and offering me better access. It looks like she’s attempted to clean it up, but didn’t do a very good job.

“I had a job, a nice apartment, and everything had been quiet.” She flinches when I gently wipe at her lip, but quickly recovers. “I don’t know how he found me. I’ve been so careful.” She shakes her head, berating herself.

“So what happened?” I drop the wipe and reach for a sterile strip. She waits for me to place the small strip over the cut on her lip before answering.

“I came home two nights ago and he was there in my bed.” Her hands start to shake in her lap. Without thinking, I reach forward and place my hand over them. It soothes her a little, but not much. “He had a gun, said he had been looking all over for me.” My grip tightens in reflex as the vision plays out in my mind.

Motherfucker is gonna burn for this.

“How’d you get away?” Nix steps forward, not as patient as me, and takes a seat across from us. Mackenzie holds his stare briefly before answering.

“Ahhh, I’ve been taking some classes.” Her eyes flick up to mine, unsure and maybe a little shy about her admission.

“Classes?” I push, wondering how far she really has come the last year and a half. Right now she’s scared and coming out of her skin, but she’s clearly been trying to better her life.

“Self-defense. I wanted to be prepared.” A sense of pride––I’m not sure where it comes from—fills me knowing she’s been looking after herself and staying ready.

“Good girl.” Her eyes soften a little at my encouragement, and the start of a smile pulls at the corner of my mouth, but I stop myself before giving her anything more. “You lay him out?” I already know the answer, but I want to hear her say it.

“Ah, yeah,” is all she says before diverting her eyes. I look to Nix and watch his brow dip in question, before giving me his something-isn’t-adding-up look.

“What happened then?” I push a little harder trying to connect the dots.

“We wrestled a little. He got a few hits in.” She points to her face “And then I just kind of grabbed my bag I had stashed for an emergency and got out of there.” Her voice drops low and her eyes fall to her lap.

“And Chad? Were you followed?” We really don’t need this fucker back on our doorstep. The last time we dealt with the cockhead didn’t end well.

“No, I made sure.” I don’t really know how she can be sure, but I don’t question her.