Page 38

“You ready to do this?” I ask her, and she nods, standing up a little taller and, as always, I’m amazed by the strength these women show. She steps out onto the porch and closes the door behind her, not bothering to lock it. Chance steps out in front of her, and I follow behind as we walk over to the truck. She glances around nervously in each direction again and again like her man is going to come storming the castle any second.

“We’ve got a guy watching him at his office, Darlin’,” I tell her, and she peeks back at me. “You’re safe.”

She lets out a long breath and nods. “Thank you.”

My phone buzzes, and I pull it out.

Kodiak:

He just left the office. Following.

I glance up, and Chance looks over his shoulder at me, letting me know he got the same message, and Jenny picks up on it immediately.

“What? What’s going on?” The pure terror in her voice nearly kills me but we won’t let anything happen to her.

“Jenny, focus for me, okay?” I ask, and she nods.

“Your old man just left his office but we’ve got a guy following him, and we’ll be long gone by the time he gets here if this is where he’s going,” I assure her, and she nods, her gaze nervously flicking from our faces to the road in front of us.

“All right, let’s get in the truck. We got places to be,” Chance says and helps her in the truck. She slides to the middle seat as I climb behind the wheel, and Chance climbs in on the other side. Just as I’m about to pull away, my phone buzzes again.

Kodiak:

He’s going to the house. 5 mins out.

I shove my phone back in my pocket and start the truck, pulling away from the curb and taking off down the street. I drive a little faster than usual, wanting to get as much distance between her and her man as I can. I look over, and she has tears streaming down her face as she rubs her stomach with her hand.

“Hey, whoa, are you okay?” I ask, and Chance rubs her shoulder. She sobs harder, and I contemplate pulling over for a second.

“Thank you,” she gasps just as I’m looking for a spot to stop, and I look over at her again. “You saved our lives.”

I look back to the road, my eyes burning, but I force it back down as I head toward Emma and Nix’s house. After everything Emma went through, she wanted to help us with what we do. Obviously, we couldn’t let her do any of the rescue part, and Nix would skin our hides if we even thought about it, but Blaze loved the idea of bringing girls there every so often while we found other accommodations for them. It’s safe, and they get to see a success story. It gives them hope and makes them strong enough to keep going when they feel like giving up and going back to the devil they know.

When we pull up to the house, Nix steps out, his arms crossed over his chest. Jenny looks over to us, a little nervous.

“That’s Nix, he’s Blaze’s son. His wife, Emma, was in the same situation as you not so long ago. You’re safe here. I promise,” I tell her, and she nods, looking back to the house just as Emma steps out. I climb out while Chance helps Jenny and brings her around to my side.

“Hey, little mama,” I say, and she smiles at me as she walks over and wraps her arms around my middle. “How are those babies doing?”

“Sleeping, finally.”

“Aren’t you supposed to nap when they do?”

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. “You know, I would if I didn’t have a constant rotation of bikers coming through here.”

“You want us to stop comin’?” I ask, already knowing the answer. Emma loves having all of us around even if she likes to give us a hard time.

“Don’t you dare.”

“Em, this is Jenny,” Chance says, and Jenny shakes like a leaf in front of her.

“Hey, Sweetie, I’m Emma. It’s really nice to meet you.”

Jenny just nods, quiet as she looks around at all of us. Emma steps up to her and places her hands on her arms. “You see the man over there?” Emma asks, pointing to Nix, and Jenny nods.

“That is the most amazing man on the planet, and you already know that these guys are pretty great, too. No one is going to hurt you ever again. You’re safe here. You hear me?” Emma asks, looking her right in the eye, and after a few silent moments, she nods and starts crying again.

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay,” Emma coos, hugging her tight for a moment before she grabs her shoulders and pushes her away a little. She looks her in the eye and smiles. “You’ve got this, Honey. You’re going to be okay. Say it with me.”