“Where the fuck is Holly?” I growled.
“They took her.”
Red mist clouded my eyes, and I whirled, sucking in air, trying to breathe. Trying to focus.
“That your truck that went off the pass the other day?”
Slowly, I turned, eying the third guy. “How’d you know about that?”
He shrugged, half smiling. “Like I said, this is our mountain.”
“The fuck does that even mean?” I spat back.
He chuckled. “It means what I said. We live here, this is ours. We protect what’s ours, and we know everything that goes on up here.”
“What, you own the fucking mountain?” I grumbled.
“Actually,” the caveman guy growled, eying me. “Technically speaking, you’re trespassing on Vlad’s land right now. He does in fact own this ridge.”
I shook my head, my fury roaring.
“Look,” I hissed, growling at them. “You wanna shoot me for camping in your backyard, go ahead and fucking shoot me. Or you can quit bullshitting me and tell me who the fuck took her!” I bellowed, storming towards them, my hands closing to fists.
“Easy, buddy,” Caveman growled. He kept his gun down, but I could see him tense. I could see the third guy tensing too, his feet shifting into a definitely trained offensive pose.
I eyed him. “You serve?”
He nodded stiffly. “Marines.”
“Well Ooh-fucking-rah,” I muttered back.
His scowl loosened, a half-smile creeping over his jaw. “You too, huh?”
“Three tours, Afghanistan.”
He nodded, his stance lowering. “Well shit, man.”
“Look, buddy,” the caveman growled in that deep rough voice of his. “We’re here because we like to know what goes on on our mountain. Like when armored, all-terrain trucks go rolling down cliffs.”
“Thanks for the help,” I muttered dryly. “You know that was two days ago.”
“You know it’s been fucking blizzarding, right, prick?”
I shrugged. “Fair enough point.”
“We also like to know what’s going on,” Vlad, the Russian sounding guy growled out. “When two luxury SUVs full of scumbags in cheap suits following a rented snow plow roll up to the abandoned hunting cabin on my property and throw a screaming woman into the trunk of one of them.”
I growled lowly, the beast inside of me roaring to break free as I squeezed my hands to fists.
I knew who’d taken her.
“How much of a head start,” I hissed.
The three of them glanced at each other, turning back to eye me like I might be crazy.
“How much?” I roared furiously.
“We rolled up just as they were headed out. Half an hour, tops,” Caveman grunted. “But the weather’s getting worse, they’re in bullshit city-SUVs, and that rental plow they’ve got is going to eat shit fast trying to plow its way back down.”
I nodded, my mind whirling and I turned blindingly, scanning back across the expanse towards my buried truck. I clenched my jaw, feeling the rage roaring through me. It was Angelo who’d taken Holly. I knew it. I didn’t know how the fuck he’d found us, but he had, and now he’d taken her.
Is she yours?
The man’s words rumbled through my head, and I felt my heart thunder.
Because I knew it was true. Holly was mine. And someone had taken what was mine and run off with her.
…And I was about to tear through hell to get her back and make them pay.
“You could catch them,” the third guy muttered.
“Not with a broken truck.”
“You could take mine,” the Russian growled.
I turned slowly, brows arching as I eyed him. “What do you mean?”
“I mean you could take my jeep and catch up with them. Get her back.”
“You’re going to just let me take your jeep?”
He smiled thinly. “This is Blackthorn Mountain, my friend. And up here, we stick together, and we protect what’s ours.”
“You don’t know me.”
He shrugged. “No. But I know you care for her, and I can see you’re ready to go all the way and fight anything that comes your way to get her back.”
“Goddamn right I am,” I hissed.
Vlad grinned. “And fiercely protective of your woman.” He shrugged, looking amused. “You’ll find that’s another trait of those of us who live up here.”
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a set of keys, tossing them my way.
I caught them, glancing up at him and smiling wryly. “Look, man, I appreciate it, but why are you helping me?”
“Because this is our mountain,” the Marine growled. “And we don’t stand for bullshit like mobster-looking motherfuckers coming up here and taking people.”
“We’ll follow in my truck,” Caveman growled. “I’m Axe, by the way.”
“Braun,” the third guy grunted, sticking his hand out to shake mine.
“Dane.”
“Welcome to Blackthorn Mountain, Dane,” Vlad growled, pulling his gun out and checking the clip with a practiced efficiency that even I was impressed with. “Now let’s go get your woman back.”
10
Holly
“Motherfucker!”
Tony swore, whirling and kicking the side of the Mercedes SUV. His thin city show banged off the metal fender, and he howled in pain.
…It was a small victory for me.