Beautiful Trouble (Trouble, Tennessee 1)

“Yes,” Doc replied.

She gasped and her hand trembled as she covered her mouth. “Oh no.” Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. “You have to protect him. He’s no match for Tabor McCoy. You can look at him and tell.”

“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” Mac told her.

“Or a clown by his laughter,” Doc said. “Markie is a sharpshooter and one of our best. He was trained by SEALs just like the rest of us but the difference is, Markie had something to prove and he also had his own life to protect.”

“Why did he have to protect himself?”

“Markie’s gay and has faced a bit of inexcusable condemnation,” Mac explained.

“Did anyone see him shoot Tony?”

Mac and Nicholas stared at one another. Trevor said, “Everyone.”

“No!

You have to do something! You don’t understand. They will kill him!”

Doc stood in front of her with his hands on her knees. “Honey, you need to listen to me. Markie isn’t in danger. You’re working yourself up and right now, you need to try and stay calm. A lot has happened today and we don’t want you upset. Do you want me to give you a sedative?”

She shook her head rapidly. “They gave me something at the hospital. I don’t want to be doped up.”

Nicholas wasn’t surprised there. Most of the women who came to Trouble couldn’t stand drugs. They were terrified for their lives. The last thing they wanted was something to help them sleep. They feared they’d never wake up.

Nicholas motioned for Doc and they met in the hall. “Will she be okay?”

“I’ll go ahead and run some tests here. We’ll all feel better if I check her out and that will buy you some time, too.”

“What for?”

“You need to talk to Draegan. We need to take her to the cottages tonight. I don’t want her sleeping alone in the dorms. She won’t feel safe there and she shouldn’t be alone tonight, not after a beating like what she endured.”

“Did he—” Nicholas couldn’t bring himself to ask.

Doc frowned. “According to what she told Draegan at the hospital, he tried to have sex with her but couldn’t get an erection. He’d been drinking for over twenty-four hours and became enraged when he couldn’t get it up. That’s why she was beaten so severely.”

Nicholas took a deep breath and fought to contain that angry beast. “I’ll talk to Draegan. You run the tests. Don’t leave her, Doc. Make sure someone stays with her at all times.”

“She’s a fighter, Nicholas. She has some emotional scars, but she’s strong and she’s a survivor.” He patted him on the back. “A few weeks with us and she’ll be good as new.”

* * * *

“We have to follow protocol here,” Allister said, leaning over Draegan’s desk. “There is a specific reason we have rules in place, Draegan! It’s for the safety of the new arrivals and to protect those living here!”

“You’re one to talk about rules!” Draegan dragged his hand over the top of his head. “Remind me of how you followed them when Ellie came here.”

“That’s different.”

“How’s it different?” Nicholas asked, pissed because he was there in the office with the McCalls when he could’ve been down the hall with Sable.

“It just is,” Allister snapped.

“It’s not any different,” Nicholas assured him.

“Oh really?” Allister’s cocky attitude rolled to the fore. “You knew Sable all your life, did you?”

“That’s not what I meant.”