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“Let’s get you cleaned up. This might sting a bit.”
“I can handle it,” Hope mumbled.
With painstakingly careful movements, Kat dabbed the dried blood from Hope’s upper lip and down the side of her face, where her head wound had been trickling for long enough to cake it on thickly. If Tione were the type to faint at the sight of blood, he’d be a goner, but true to her word, Hope didn’t make a sound. Before long, the water in the bucket had turned red and her face was clean.
Kat turned his way. “Tee.”
He jumped to attention. “Yeah?”
“Can you fix Hope a hot meal? We need to take a look under her jacket and take some photos, and I doubt she’ll agree to that with you looming in the corner.”
“Yeah, sure. Be back in ten.” Leaving Pixie with the women, he went to the kitchen and grabbed a portion of pumpkin soup from the freezer. He doubted Hope would be capable of eating anything that involved much chewing. He heated the soup, cut fresh bread and slathered the slices with butter, then poured enough soup into a bowl for two average-sized meals. He suspected she might need a good feed.
When he returned to the bedroom, Hope’s outer layers had been stripped off, and she was propped up in bed wearing a t-shirt he recognized as one of Kat’s. She took the bowl from him, and he noticed bruises up her forearms, as though she’d been trying to ward her attacker off. Hot fury knifed through him. Whatever she was involved in, it wasn’t right for someone so slender and helpless to be victimized like that.
“I think she has a broken rib,” Kat said. “Maybe several.”
His jaw clenched. No wonder she’d been in pain when he landed on top of her. But what had happened? A car accident, or was something more sinister at play?
“Thank you for the soup,” Hope said, but didn’t meet his eyes. “It’s very kind of you to make me a meal at this time of night. I’m sorry for causing a fuss.”
He shrugged, a little uncomfortable with her gratitude after he’d contributed to her pain. “No problem.”
She took the spoon between shaking fingers and tried to ladle the soup into her mouth. When it became apparent she couldn’t manage it, she ripped a chunk off the bread and dunked it.
Tione turned to Kat. “She can’t stay here. Something serious has happened to her. We should take her to hospital. She needs more care than you can give.”
Kat sighed. “You’re probably right, but we can let her sleep and take her in the morning. There’s not much anyone can do about busted ribs. Trust me, I know.”
“What if there’s more damage than we can see? We need to call the police.”
“No.” Hope, who’d been eating ravenously, now spoke. She dropped the bread and put the bowl down. Her uninjured eye was wide, her skin pale. “No, no, no, no, no. I don’t need a hospital—except for the ribs, I feel okay—and I won’t talk to the police. Not under any circumstances.” She started to ease the covers back and swing toward the edge of the bed, her face crinkled with effort. “If you don’t want me here, I can go. Don’t call them, just let me get my things and I’ll get out of your hair.”
If Tione had been suspicious of her before, this cemented it. Kat, however, was not of the same opinion.
“Hold on, slow down. No one said we don’t want you here, honey.” She sat on the end of the bed and gestured for Hope to get comfortable again. Or at least, as comfortable as she could be. “If you don’t want the police involved, that’s okay. We won’t force you into anything.”
Hope’s shoulders were stiff, her expression wary. She didn’t trust them. That was all right with him. He didn’t trust her, either. What kind of person turned up in the middle of the night, black and blue, and insisted no one call the authorities? Someone who was in trouble with those very authorities, that’s who.
“Tee?”
He grunted. “Yeah.”
“You can head back to bed now. I’ve got this.”
He was reluctant to leave, but her tone brooked no challenge. “Fine.” He scooped Pixie into his arms and, instead of returning to his cabin, went to the room Kat shared with Sterling, where he rapped on the bedroom door. “Sterling, wake up.”
Kat’s boyfriend groaned. “What?”
“I need to talk to you.”
“Now?”
Tione didn’t reply, and after a moment, a light appeared beneath the door and it opened. Sterling wore gray track pants and a blue t-shirt. His blond hair was tousled, his jaw stubbly, eyes bleary.
“This better be good.”
“It is. I caught a woman trying to get into the lodge. She’s beat up pretty badly. Kat is with her at the moment, but the girl refuses to talk to the police or go to hospital. I don’t trust her, and I think she lied about her name.”
