Chapter Four
THE BEAUTIFUL BEDROOM brought tears to Kelsie’s eyes.
When Brenna asked—ordered—her to stay at the women’s shelter, she and her colleagues had developed what greeted her today was nothing like she’d envisioned. Her mind had conjured an ample space with bunkbeds or multiple cots, little privacy, and minimal comfort. She only agreed because Brenna promised they weren’t officially operational yet, and she’d be the only guest—client.
Her snap judgment couldn’t have been further from accurate. The main areas of the shelter—living room, kitchen, recreation room, and quiet area—were in the process of being furnished and decorated, as were the other bedrooms. It appeared Brenna had worked her tail off to finish this room in the few days Kelsie spent recovering in the hospital.
She’d call the design modern, cozy comfort if she had to put a name to the style. A queen-sized bed rested against the center of the far wall. It had an inviting white comforter with fluffy white pillows and a fuzzy light teal blanket folded across the foot. A natural wood nightstand had been placed to the right of the bed, and a matching dresser sat along the right wall. The walls were painted a soothing gray that would easily match most accents. A large macramé wall hanging adorned the space above the headboard, but the rest of the walls were bare.
The room put her at ease from the moment she stepped foot inside. She inhaled, and a fresh, citrusy scent tickled her senses. The cleansing aroma came from the oil diffuser on the nightstand.
“What do you think?”
Brenna’s question, asked with a nervous quiver, made Kelsie jump. She swallowed around a lump in her throat. “What do I think?” She chuckled. “Well, I’m a little embarrassed about how far off I was when I imagined this place. Brenna, this is incredible. It’s been a long time since I’ve stayed anywhere this nice.”
She’d meant it as a compliment, but the words made Brenna frown.
Thankfully, she didn’t press the issue and ask why the hell that was.
“Thank you.” Brenna pressed a hand to her chest. “I have put my heart and soul into the design of this place, and I can’t wait until it’s finished. Will it bother you if I’m working in the common areas most days?”
Snorting, Kelsie shook her head. “Not at all.” Even if it did, she’d suck it up and deal. This woman was offering her free lodging and gorgeous accommodations at that. She could have marching band practice right outside Kelsie’s door every day, and she wouldn’t utter a complaint. “Maybe I could even help you if you ever need it.”
Brenna’s face lit up, causing an internal twist of guilt in Kelsie’s gut. She hadn’t tried hard to be friendly since being reunited with Brenna, and seeing how much joy her offer of assistance had brought made her feel like an ungrateful heel.
At least she could recognize the mistake and reconcile it going forward.
“I would love that so much.”
She didn’t detect an ounce of ingenuity in Brenna’s words.
“As long as you’re not pushing yourself too hard while you’re recovering.”
Heat rushed to Kelsie’s face. “I’m okay. Uh, the wound isn’t too bad,” she said, lifting her arm. The bulky bandage had been replaced with a smaller one she could remove in two days. “I only needed a few stitches. They mostly kept me to make sure I wasn’t a risk to myself.” She stared at the floor, cheeks burning. “I don’t want to die,” she whispered.
“I know.” Brenna took her hand. “I hold no judgment, Kelsie. I was with you in that damn cell. Our brains do a lot to protect us, but there’s only so much we can take.”
Kelsie gave her a tight smile. For now, she’d let Brenna go on thinking the kidnapping was what sent her over the edge.
“Well, I can leave you to get settled.”
“That’s okay,” Kelsie rushed to say. “I don’t mind if you stay.” Lying in a hospital bed for three days gave her way too much time to think and stew in her own company. At least with Brenna in the room, her mind stood a chance of being distracted.
“You sure?”
“Definitely.”
“Great.” Brenna plopped down on the edge of the bed as Kelsie carried her duffle bag to the dresser.
She started to unload the few items she had. Neither of them spoke, and before long, the silence was so thick and charged it weighed her down. Did Brenna feel it too? Was she as uncomfortable, or was Kelsie the only one suffering from social ineptitude?
“So, did you, uh, end up going back to work after…” Brenna winced as she trailed off.
So, she wasn’t the only one. God, she should have let Brenna leave. This was so damn awkward. Her entire sentence should have been, “So, did you go back to work after we were rescued from human traffickers, and you fled the hospital without saying goodbye?”
But she had no doubt Brenna already knew that answer. During the time they’d spent together terrified in captivity, she’d shared about her job shampooing hair at a luxury salon in Tampa. She’d loved everything about working in the upscale establishment. Kelsie might not have let herself dream too big, but what she had was her own, and the fact that she’d managed to hold onto it for years without her family snatching it away was a major win.
“Um, no, I didn’t.” Sadness washed over her. She missed her job and missed being useful and functional more than words could say. “I wasn’t really in the healthiest headspace to go back to work.”
Understatement of the century.
Her coworkers would have been shocked to the moon to witness her having a panic attack the first time a man came into the salon.
“And I had some other personal things going on…”
Don’t go there.
She snapped her jaw closed and forced a smile. Never had she slipped up and revealed too much about herself to anyone, and now she’d almost done it with one question from Brenna. Maybe those drugs they’d given her hadn’t worn off.
“Anyway, the short answer is no. I haven’t worked in a while. That’s one of the things I’m hoping to focus on in the immediate future.” Even if the idea of putting herself back out in the world made her break out in hives.
Brenna stood and walked over to the dresser. She placed her hands on Kelsie’s shoulders and forced her to stop stuffing clothes in drawers. With no choice but to meet Brenna’s gaze, Kelsie did just that.
“Look, Kelsie, Harper is a social worker, so she’s probably the one who should be doing this, but I’m here now. I get that you’re not keen on talking about the details of your life, but clearly, things aren’t great.”
The knee-jerk instinct to jump in and deny hit hard, but Kelsie clenched her jaw to keep from interrupting. Things weren’t great, and refuting the claim would be foolish and a lame attempt to save face.
“I want you to know we’re here for you. Me, the other women, and all the men in the club. No matter what kind of help you might need, we can offer it.”
What exactly was she getting at? Kelsie sensed a strong subtext in her offer.
“Thank you,” she said on reflex. “But I’m—”
Brenna shook her head. “Not yet. Let me finish. We’re a group of misfits here. Each of us has come to the club on the back of serious trauma or struggle, and somehow, we’ve become the closest family. Whether you’re battling to heal from what happened when you were kidnapped or whether it is something else, we can help. No problem is too big for this club to handle. We aren’t afraid to do whatever it takes to help and protect our own. And I mean whatever it takes.”
Brenna held Kelsie’s gaze, bold as could be. Was she offering the club’s less-than-legal services? After being discharged from the hospital the first time, Kelsie researched the Hell’s Handlers MC as much as she could. Unfortunately, most of what she’d found seemed to be unsubstantiated rumors. The people she’d met were nothing like the media reported, but then she hadn’t exactly been in the frame of mind to notice details.
Still, it’d been so long since Kelsie had anyone in her corner that she didn’t know how to let people in. Where did she begin explaining her life and story, especially when she hadn’t begun to process what happened to her and Brenna a couple of months ago?
“I—”
Brenna held up a hand. “Hold on. I know you’re going to say you don’t need help or I shouldn’t worry, so don’t say anything yet.” She gripped Kelsie’s upper arms with gentle hands and compassion in her expression. “Sit with the offer and know it’s out there and available anytime you want to take it.”
Her throat thickened. Pressure and warmth expanded through her chest. “I—” She’d do it. She’d take Brenna’s advice and let the offer marinate. “Thank you. I don’t have better words than that right now, but thank you. So much.”
Brenna nodded once, then smiled. “You’re welcome. Now, let’s move on to more exciting topics.” She raised an eyebrow. “I was at the hospital when Ty had his ass literally thrown out by security for sneaking into your room.”
Her jaw dropped. “What?” The nurse had something about security’s involvement, but Kelsie had no idea it’d been that dramatic. “Thrown out? I thought they just asked him to leave.”
Brenna pressed her lips together but couldn’t completely disguise her smirk. “Oh, no, they escorted him to the exit and stood there all official as they made sure he rode away. Then I heard he had Pulse pull some strings or something to get him back in before you were awake and could approve the visit. You remember Pulse? He’s a nurse.”
“I think I remember him.” Turning, Kelsie resumed setting her belongings in the dresser. “Um, yeah, Ty was there when I woke up.”
“Interesting.” Brenna drew out the word to last almost five seconds.
“It’s really not.” He’d been an ass to her anyway. “He only talked to me for a few minutes and just visited the one time.”
“Hmm.” Brenna tapped a finger against her unglossed lips.
Laughing, Kelsie shut the dresser drawer. “What’s that mean?”
“I don’t know. He seems protective of you and interested in you. I kinda wondered if maybe there was something there.”
With a snort, Kelsie shook her head. “The only thing there is his judgment. He had some choice words to say about… what I did.”
Brenna’s mouth opened and closed once. “Was he an ass?”
“Oh yeah. Big time.” Remembering how he’d called her stupid raised her hackles all over again. “I think he views me as some dumb kid he needs to set on the right path or something absurd like that.”
“Wow.” Brenna frowned. “I totally misread that situation.”
“Yeah.”
She hadn”t lived under the thumb of a parental figure in a long time and had no desire to revisit those days. Tyler could take his opinions and reprimands and shove them where the sun didn’t shine.
“Well, damn. Men suck sometimes.” She clapped once. “Okay, we need to lighten the mood. The televisions I ordered for this place won’t be delivered for a few more days, but how about we order a pizza and watch a movie on my laptop? Or maybe some trashy reality TV.”
As tempting as the offer was, she didn’t want Brenna to feel like it was her job to entertain and feed her. “You don’t need to babysit me, Bren. You have a man and a baby.”
Waving away the concern, she said, “Lock is working, and Brooke stole Caleb. She hadn’t watched him in a while and demanded time with the little guy. I think they’re at the playground right now. I haven’t had lunch, and you’ve been eating hospital food for three days. Pizza would hit the spot. Whaddya say?”
Which was worse, guilt over being a burden or guilt over sounding ungrateful? “That sounds perfect, Bren. Thanks.” She could offer to contribute to the bill, but would it raise more questions? Brenna probably assumed she was broke, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to care or expect Kelsie to pitch in financially. She’d pay them all back one day, but today wasn’t that day.
“Yay. I’ll go order it. Take your time unpacking, and when you’re ready, meet me on the couch. We’ll be the first to lounge on it. The store delivered it an hour ago.”
“Okay, sounds good. I shouldn’t be too long.”
Brenna walked right into her personal space. “I’m so glad you’re here, Kelsie. And I can’t wait for you to meet the rest of the gals.” Brenna hugged her before heading out into the hallway and pulling the door shut behind her.
Alone in the charming room, Kelsie did a slow spin, taking it all in again. She inhaled the fresh scent and then sat on the edge of the bed. After a quick bounce test, she shook her head. If she hadn’t been so stubborn, she could have come here after the first hospital stay after the Handlers rescued Brenna and her from hell. Maybe she’d be further along in her recovery from the trauma. Maybe she’d be happy. Maybe she wouldn’t have tried to take the most drastic of steps to end her pain.
Her brother still would have contacted her, no doubt. Someone at the hospital leaked a picture and a watered-down version of her story to the press, resulting in brief news coverage of the human trafficking ring broken up in western Florida. From there, it’d been easy for her family to track her down and contact her, ending years of hard work to remain off their radar. That’s what had set her off, not the recent trauma, which said something about how much she loathed her family because the trauma fucked with her head in a major way.
Raised in an infamous family of smooth con artists and dangerous men, she’d left home the second she turned eighteen, never intending to return.
Lorenzo’s calls and threats hadn’t changed her mind.
But they’d changed the rest of her life.
Could the Handlers help? Were they powerful enough to scare her family into forgetting she existed?
Maybe they were, but it didn’t matter. She’d never dragged anyone else into her toxic drama before, and she wouldn’t start now. Kelsie had been handling her problems alone since her teenage years, and she could keep it that way.
Her healing forearm throbbed as though reminding her just how big a lie that was.
“Shit,” she whispered, dragging the hand on her uninjured arm through her hair.
She needed help. Being on her own worked when her family couldn’t find her. Now that they knew where she was, it was only a matter of time before they showed up and tried to force her back to a life she hated—a life that would kill her in spirit, at the very least. Worst case, she’d end up six feet under for real.
Even though she loathed the idea of revealing her family’s shameful secrets, what kind of monster would she be if she didn’t warn the Handlers of what could be coming for them by associating with her?
Maybe she’d get lucky, and her family lost the scent of her trail when she landed in the hospital a second time.
You never get lucky.
“Shit,” she whispered again. Sighing, she stood. None of this would be solved today while her stomach rumbled and the sweetest woman in the world waited to hang out with her. Today, she’d enjoy the comfort of human connection.
Tomorrow, she’d plan.