Mountain Man's Price (Mountain Men Book 3)

by Ava Grace

  The realization shook me to my core. Why hadn’t I been aware of any of that before? What if it was too late? I made a promise to myself there and then that if Luke got back to the clubhouse safe and sound, I was going to tell him how I felt. I was going to take a chance and hope it was the right one.

  Adam was trying to get my attention, but I ignored him and ran to Coop’s side. I grabbed hold of his arm and made him meet my gaze.

  “Coop, please,” I begged.

  I wasn’t even sure myself what I was trying to ask him, but he seemed to understand me just fine.

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “We’re going to bring him home.” He must have seen the look on my face because he leaned in close to my ear and whispered, “Alive.”

  “Thank you,” I managed to choke out.

  “Come on boys,” he shouted to the room at large. “It’s time to get our brother back. Let’s ride out.”

  There was a chorus of cheers then Coop, Ethan, and a dozen other men marched out into the night.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Luke

  I was holding out surprisingly well, all things considered.

  That fucker had made a mess on my stomach with the cigarette, though, and I couldn’t see out of my left eye. It was swollen shut. I was fairly sure I had a few cracked ribs, too, because it hurt every time I breathed. I was exhausted from the beating and every time I tried to lift up my head, it rolled back down on my shoulders, as limp as a wet rag.

  Other than that, I was just dandy.

  If this was the best they could dish out then the odds seemed pretty good that I would survive this.

  I might have smiled if I had the energy to move my lips.

  John reached into his pocket then pulled something out. I couldn’t see what it was at first, but then the light caught it and the metallic blade glinted ominously. A knife.

  For the first time since we’d been in the room together, I started to panic.

  Was this how my life was going to end? Tied to a chair and beaten to a pulp before being gutted like a fish?

  I was too young and there were too many things I still wanted to do.

  And there was Violet.

  Sassy, stubborn, beautiful Violet.

  She might not have realized it yet, but I was beginning to break down her defenses. I’d managed to wriggle my way into her life. I’d got her to accept me as a friend and as a lover. The next step would have been to make her fall in love with me. That would have been the most difficult part, sure, but I’d planned on doing it by showing her that I was nothing like that loser she had married. I would never hurt her. I would never cheat on her. I would treat her like the princess she was.

  But as John walked towards me with the knife held out, it was like watching all my plans and dreams go up in a puff of smoke. Strangely enough, as I watched the blade get nearer and nearer, my panic dissipated and a sense of calm washed over me. Perhaps it was just resignation for my fate.

  I used my last reserve of strength to lift my head and keep it in place. If the fucker was going to kill me then he could look me in the eye while he did it.

  “Do you think they’ll get our message this time?” John asked.

  After having exerted himself earlier, Tom was lounged out on the couch with his feet up on the coffee table. He hummed.

  “I’m not sure. He doesn’t look in any worse condition than the last one and that message didn’t seem to have been received, did it?”

  John nodded. “I think you might be right.”

  He brought the knife up to my good eye and I braced myself for impact, but instead, he scraped it down my cheek and throat. Taking hold of the hem of my top, he cut the material all the way down the front then peeled the sides open so that my chest and stomach were fully on display.

  I was beginning to see a glimmer of hope again that I might live through this when without warning, he brought the knife back then plunged it into my stomach. A silent scream left my mouth.

  “That ought to do it,” John said.

  Tom chuckled. “Yeah, they’d be fools to ignore this message.”

  John knelt down in front of me. “If you happen to live through this, tell them that Steele wants his fifty thousand. If not…” He shrugged.

  “Personally, I’m hoping you die cause then in a month or two when all the heat has died down and that little whore of yours has decided it’s time to move back home, I’ll be waiting for her.

  “And so will this.” He lifted the blade, covered in my blood and a maniacal glint flashed in his eyes.

  Bile rose in my throat so suddenly that it had nowhere to go but out. I threw up. All over myself and over the arm of John’s jacket.

  “Urgh,” he said, getting to his feet. “You stupid fucking pig.”

  He punched me in the stomach. Hard. Or had he used the knife again? I couldn’t tell the difference anymore.

  “Come on, Tom. Let’s get out of here.”

  I couldn’t keep my head held up any longer and it flopped back down on my neck. From that vantage point, I could see the blood flowing steadily out of my stomach. There seemed to be a lot of it. Too much.

  As the men walked towards the door, tiredness overwhelmed me.

  Sleep, I just needed some sleep.

  As I started to drift off, I thought I heard the faint roar of motorcycles and the sound made me want to smile. It had to be one of the best sounds in the world—along with the sound of Violet’s voice. I wished I could hear her voice just one last time, but I was out of time and I knew it. As I let myself drift away, I prayed she would be alright and that she would find someone to love her as much as I would have done.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Violet

  I don’t remember the trip to the hospital. It was a blur. And I barely remembered everything that Dev, one of the brothers had said to us as he delivered the outcome of Luke’s rescue mission. But certain words had stuck in my mind and were playing over and over on a loop. Stabbed. Twice. Unconscious. Alive. Barely.

  Andrea had fallen to the floor in a heap and her sobs had turned into wails. She had cried all the way to the hospital and was still crying as our party made our way down the hospital corridors heading for the ER.

  I don’t know who spoke to the nurse on duty, but we were informed that Luke was in surgery and that the doctors were doing all they could to save his life.

  There was nothing we could do but wait.

  So wait we did.

  Libby, Andrea, and Faith sat beside me on the row of seats along one of the walls. Andrea had finally stopped crying and taken to staring straight ahead of herself in a zombie-like trance. Someone placed a cup of coffee in my hand, but I didn’t drink it. In fact, I don’t remember even lifting it to my lips once. After a while, it was gone again. I guess someone had taken it away, but I don’t know who or when.

  More and more people arrived.

  The corridor was filled with Luke’s club brothers, all wearing their cuts and all standing around looking grim. Luke’s mother had turned up and, after shouting at Luke’s father and blaming him for getting Luke involved in the MC club in the first place, she sought out Andrea and hadn’t moved from her side since.

  I don’t know how long we waited there. It felt like an eternity, but couldn’t have been longer than a couple of hours, three at most.

  Eventually, the doctor that had been working on Luke came out to talk to us. I wasn’t able to comprehend much of what he told us, but I got the gist of it. The knife hadn’t hit any major organs. He’d lost a lot of blood and had to have a transfusion. There didn’t appear to be any internal bleeding and he’d been stitched up. They needed to watch for infection. That was all good news, right? So why did I feel like my heart was breaking? He was going to be alright.

  Andrea fell to her knees again, but this time her mother helped her up and held her until she stopped crying.

  Luke was allowed visitors, but only close family and only a couple at a time. He was sleeping a
nd would likely be out for a while. I retook my seat and went back to staring at the floor. A little while later Andrea and her mom returned and her father, Dean, headed for the room. Coop stopped him midway then whispered something in his ear. Dean nodded then turned to me.

  “Violet, would you like to come in with me?”

  A lump rose in my throat as I stared at him open-mouthed. I got to my feet. “Yes, sir. I would.”

  He nodded, reaching out for my hand.

  I didn’t hesitate to take it and let him lead me into the room.

  The sight that greeted us made my breath catch in my throat. The man lying in the hospital bed did not look like Luke Chase. His skin was so white it seemed translucent and he was covered in wires hooked up to all kinds of machines. His face was so swollen it was hardly recognizable. Luke was a tall man with wide shoulders and every inch of him was corded with muscle. Usually, he was so full of life, his presence could fill up an empty room. But lying there in the bed like that, he seemed so much smaller. And fragile.

  He was as still as a corpse.

  I’d held it in since I’d first learned what had happened to him, but I couldn’t hold it in any longer.

  I started to cry.

  “This is all my fault,” I sobbed. “He nearly died. He could have died. He’s in her because of me. I did this to him.”

  Dean turned to me with a scowl. “How do you figure that?”

  “They were at my house! They were there for me. And at Bucks, Luke punched John because he was defending me. We were safe at the clubhouse. I should have insisted he stay there. But I made him go to my house to get my laptop…”

  “Now listen here, young lady,” Dean said sternly. “This is not even close to being your fault. These are bad men who will do whatever it takes to get what they want. You and Luke just happened to get caught in the crossfire, that’s all.

  “It could have easily been any one of the brothers out for dinner with their old lady who got caught up in this mess, ya hear me? So put that silly notion out of your head.”

  I lowered my gaze and took in a broken breath as I attempted to stem my tears.

  “For Luke to get better, he’s gonna need you to be strong. He’s gonna need all of us to be strong. Can you do that for him, Violet? Can you be strong?”

  The only answer I could have given him was, “Yes, sir. I can be strong. For Luke.”

  Dean nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer before reaching out and touching Luke’s arm. “You hurry up and get better, Luke. We’re all waiting on ya, son.”

  He turned from the bed and headed for the door, stopping only to place a gentle hand on my shoulder.

  “I’ll give ya a moment alone with him.”

  And then he was gone.

  And I was alone in the room with Luke.

  As I stared at him, there was nothing to break the silence but the incessant beeping of the machine he was hooked up to and the ticking of the overly loud clock on the wall which reminded me of how limited my time with him was.

  The doctors would be back soon, demanding that I leave him alone to rest.

  I pulled a chair up next to his bed and sat down heavily in it.

  I was exhausted, physically and emotionally, but I would get no rest until I knew that he was going to be okay.

  He had to be okay.

  My parents had never brought me up to attend church regularly and I didn’t consider myself to be overly religious. But sitting in that hospital room looking at Luke’s bruised and battered body, I felt utterly powerless. And so small, in the grand scheme of things.

  There was nothing for me to do but take hold of Luke’s hand, close my eyes, and pray.

  Epilogue

  Luke

  I was shaking like a leaf and my stomach was hurting like a bitch.

  I was probably leaning too much of my weight on Violet’s shoulders too, as she helped me up the front steps to the porch of my cabin.

  But she hadn’t complained.

  Not once.

  In fact, she was encouraging me to lean on her even more.

  My pop had offered to give me a lift home from the hospital, but it had been years since he got behind the wheel of a car and I wasn’t strong enough to ride on a bike so I’d politely declined.

  My mom and Andrea had also offered.

  But my mom just fussed around me every time she called by to see me in the hospital and all Andrea seemed to do was cry. I couldn’t have taken either of those things right then.

  I wasn’t in the mood.

  So that left Violet.

  Violet had visited me every single day during the week I’d spent recuperating, but because visiting hours were limited, we hadn’t spent a single moment of that time alone.

  And that had bugged the shit out of me.

  Because there were things that needed to be said.

  But I knew we’d get some alone time eventually, so I’d bided my time.

  And now.

  Here we were.

  “Where are your keys?” she asked as we approached the front door.

  I looked down at my crotch.

  “Left pocket.”

  She met my gaze as she slid her hand inside. I swear to God, I couldn’t help the suggestive grin that slid across my lips. It was involuntary.

  “Take all the time you need.”

  She rolled her eyes and grabbed the keys before quickly removing her hand.

  “Seriously? You’re thinking about sex? Now?”

  She turned the key in the lock then threw open the door.

  “We’ll be down here if you need us!” Hunter shouted from the bottom of my yard.

  I gave him the thumbs up then hobbled into my living room.

  Coop had given his permission for me to return to my cabin as long as I had around the clock security detail. John and his buddy Tom had been arrested and were currently awaiting trial for what they’d done to me so there was no danger that they would come to finish what they’d started, but Coop wasn’t convinced that they hadn’t told Steele or someone else about me so until everything had blown over, I’d been told that I had to have a babysitter.

  Under normal circumstances, I probably would have argued, but seeing as Violet was going to be staying at my house with me, I’d agreed to Coop’s demands. I wasn’t strong enough to protect her myself yet, so I’d take all the help I could get.

  I waited for Violet to close the door behind us before replying to her comment.

  “I hadn’t realized there was a bad time to think about sex, but if my timing doesn’t work for you then feel free to give me a schedule. I’m sure I can work around it.”

  “Wiseass,” she muttered as she helped me to the couch.

  I chuckled as I eased myself down onto the seat and leaned my head back.

  “You want anything?” she asked, heading into my kitchen. “Water, juice?”

  “Water would be good.”

  She nodded and walked directly to the cupboard that held my glasses and mugs before grabbing a glass and filling it from the tap on the front of my refrigerator. I wasn’t surprised that she knew her way around my kitchen. She’d spent the past few days getting my house ready for my return, aided by Coop. I’d have been anxious as hell to know that one of the brothers was alone in my house with Violet, but I trusted Coop with my life and because I knew how loved up he was with Faith, I also trusted him with my woman.

  Violet brought me the glass of water then asked, “Anything else you need? Can I fix you a sandwich? I bought you some things from the deli.”

  My stomach almost won out, but there was something I needed more.

  “Come and sit down, Vi.”

  She did as instructed, sitting next to me on the couch.

  “We’re always surrounded by too many people. I feel like I haven’t spoken to you properly in weeks.” I shrugged. “There are a few things I need to say to you—things I think you need to hear.”

  She picked at an imaginary piece of lint on h
er jeans. “Okay.”

  “Last week,” I began, “I thought I was going to die.”

  She shook her head. “Luke, please, don’t.”

  I placed my hand over hers. “Just let me say this.”

  She pulled in a deep breath as if to brace herself for what was to come. “Okay.”

  I cleared my throat then started again. “When you think you’re going to die, your perspective on life changes. All of the things you thought were important to you, suddenly aren’t anymore. And all of the things you’ve been putting off become the most important things of all.”

  “I thought about you in those moments,” I told her. “I thought about us.”

  “I thought about you too,” she whispered. “I was so sure I wasn’t going to see you again, and I listed off all the things I would have said to you if you made it back to me.” A blush started to spread across her cheeks. “There were a lot of things I would have said.”

  My heart started thudding against my ribcage. “If this past week has taught me anything, it’s that life is fragile and it’s short. Much too short. I don’t want to waste time anymore. I’m falling in love with you, Vi. And I want to be with you.

  “I know you have concerns and even if I addressed them all, you could still choose not to believe me. But I hope that you do. Because I’ve never been more certain of anything in my entire life.

  “I’m not Adam. I would never treat the way he did. I would never hurt you like that. And if you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of our lives proving that to you.”

  “Have you finished?” she asked.

  I sighed. “Yeah.”

  I’d said all there was to say. If Violet still couldn’t trust me then I didn’t know what else was left for me to say or do to convince her.