by Ava Grace
I wondered how far I would get if I tried to make a run for it.
I’d have to run by the couch he was sitting on and he would be expecting me to try that, wouldn’t he?
I tried to understand why he hadn’t bothered to tie me up.
Did he think I had no chance of getting away from him or was there someone else there, keeping guard at the door?
Icy knots of fear twisted in my stomach.
Either way, he thought I was no match for him. Which I probably wasn’t.
My only hope was that Coop would come looking for me when he learned that I hadn’t turned up to the coffee shop to meet with Jackson.
Ryker got up and walked towards me.
“So you’re the woman who finally tamed Cooper Brown, eh?” He looked me over with an assessing eye. “You got a gold-lined pussy?
“Cause that’s the only reason I can think of why Coop would want to keep his dick in his pants around other women.”
He threw his head back and laughed as if it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard and the sick feeling in my stomach increased. Partly because I knew I that was that I was in a precarious predicament but also because I couldn’t help but wonder if there might be any truth to his words.
He leaned down and his face got really serious.
“Do you know what I think of Cooper Brown?”
I shook my head, but couldn’t find my voice to answer him.
“I hate him,” he said with venom dripping off his words. “I can’t stand that motherfucker and you know how I intend to pay him back for all the shitty things he ever did to me?”
“How?” I whispered, thinking I had a fairly good idea.
He backhanded me across the face.
Hard.
“By fucking you,” he said through a grin that sent chills racing down my spine.
He started to unbuckle his belt and panic welled in my throat.
I was, without a shadow of a doubt, in big trouble.
Chapter Fifteen
Coop
I’d barely switched off the engine on my hog before I abandoned it on the sidewalk and raced towards Faith’s house as fast as my feet would carry me. Ryker’s ride was parked a couple of doors down.
They were here.
“Coop, wait!” Luke shouted after me.
Ethan was following in his cruiser, and he hadn’t been able to keep up with our motorcycles. That was a good thing because when I got hold of Ryker, I was going to ring his scrawny neck and I thought it was a good idea that the town’s sheriff didn’t see me do it.
But just as we reached the front door, Ethan’s cruiser turned into the street.
Fuck.
I was about to slam my body against the door when something occurred to me. Ryker was an arrogant dick. He didn’t expect us to find him here so would he bother to lock the door? I tried the handle and sure enough, it swung open.
I heard Faith’s distressed voice as soon as I entered the house and it made me see red. I charged into the living room and the sight that greeted me, made me roar out my rage and fear and hatred of the man I was looking at.
Ryker had his jeans halfway pulled down around his ass and he was on top of Faith on the living room floor, fighting with her. He looked up as I approached, just in time for me to slam my fist into his face.
I grabbed the back of his cut and dragged him off Faith then punched him again. His nose spurted with blood and when I heard the satisfying crack of bone, I hit him again. I would have kept on hitting him too only someone grabbed me from behind and heaved me away.
I fought to get back to him, consumed with rage when a soft, feminine voice broke through my haze of fury.
“Coop,” Faith said. “Stop, please. It’s okay. I’m okay.”
I swung my head in her direction and when I saw the black eye that was forming just above her left cheek, I fought harder to get free.
And I managed it.
I got another good punch in before Luke’s arms closed around me again and dragged me back.
Faith walked right on up to me and put her hand flat on my cheek, the way I’d done to her that morning.
“I’m okay,” she repeated. “I’m fine.”
I was too scared to look down at first, but when I finally did and saw that the button and zipper of her pants were open and they were pulled halfway down her hips, I choked out a terrified sob.
She shook her head.
“No, he didn’t hurt me,” she said. “You got here in time. You saved me.”
In my peripheral vision, I was dimly aware that Ethan was slapping cuffs on Ryker, but I didn’t pay them any attention.
All my focus was on Faith.
“Let me go, Luke,” I said gruffly.
“No can do, bro,” he said.
Faith put her hand on Luke’s arm. “Let him go, please,” she asked him quietly.
Luke let me go.
Without him holding me, I thought my knees would give out. They shook as I took a step forward and wrapped my arms around Faith, dragging her up against my chest. I held her tight and only released my grip on her when she protested that she couldn’t breathe.
I pulled up her pants then did them up before cupping her face with both hands. “Tell me the truth,” I said. “I can take it.”
When she smiled sadly, I thought my heart was about to break.
“I already did,” she said. “He didn’t get that far.” she averted her gaze. “You got here just in time.”
I closed my eyes and thanked all that was holy. Putting my arms around Faith, I tucked her into my side then turned.
Ethan had just finished reading Ryker his rights.
“He’ll do time for this,” Luke said. “Kidnapping, assault and battery—attempted rape. Jesus, he had his goddamn dick out.”
I squeezed Faith against my side as a wave of nausea rose inside me.
Ethan nodded. “And that’s without the drug charges.”
“What drug charges?” Ryker asked.
Ethan chuckled. “You think Owen won’t squawk like a chicken when if he thinks there’s danger of him doing prison time?”
“Yeah, you picked the wrong brother to do your dirty work,” Luke said. “But at least you’ll have plenty of time to reflect on your mistakes when you’re in prison. Matter of fact, time is all you’ll have.”
As Ethan led Ryker out to his cruiser, I took Faith in my arms again and pressed a kiss on the top of her head.
“I don’t know what I would have done if he’d hurt you,” I choked out. “I think I might have killed him.”
Faith shook her head. “And then you’d be the one in prison. What would be the point of that?”
“It would be worth it,” I muttered.
After a moment, Ethan walked back into the room. “I just got a call from Rick,” he said. “They found the drugs at the lodge so Owen is going down, too.”
“Poor Jackson,” Faith said. “I feel for him and for his mom and dad. It’s not their fault he’s such a bad seed.”
“Owen will do anything to save his skin,” I said. “There’s no doubt he’ll rat out Ryker to try to get a lighter sentence.”
“And he’ll probably succeed,” Ethan said. “The good news is, there were a lot of drugs stashed at his house, so even with the lighter sentence, he’s still going down.”
“Good,” I muttered. “He deserves whatever he gets.”
“Yeah, you got that right,” Luke said. “You know what this means, don’t you?”
I lifted my chin in response.
“It means the club needs a new president.” He met my gaze over the top of Faith’s head. “You up for the job?”
I eyed him steadily for a moment, deep in thought. “Don’t know. I’ll have to discuss it with my old lady,” I said pulling back to look down at Faith.
She glared at me. “Who are you calling old?”
Luke and I both chuckled.
“Do you have any objections to me becoming the preside
nt of an MC club?” I asked.
Faith shrugged. “Not if it makes you happy.”
I leaned down and planted a kiss on her lips. When I pulled back, I said over her head, “Ask the brothers to vote. If they want me back, I’m all in.”
Luke was grinning from ear to ear as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and strode from the room.
“What did I just get myself into?” I asked.
“Nothing you can’t handle,” she replied.
And she was right.
If the brothers wanted me as their president, I had a long, difficult road ahead of me, but the task wasn’t impossible. Somewhere along the line, the club had lost its way and forgotten its values. But I was just the person to remind them what they stood for. I could help them be what they once were.
I’d been born for it and it was time to step up to the mark and make my father proud—because he was for damn sure looking down on me and telling me to get my head out of my ass and take charge of the club he’d loved—of the club we’d both loved.
Faith touched the side of her head then winced.
Carefully, I turned her face to the side and took a look at what was causing her pain.
I muttered a curse.
There was a lump the size of a golf ball forming on the side of her head.
“Jesus Christ,” I bit out. “I want to kill that sonofabitch all over again. Come on, let’s get you to a hospital to get you checked out.”
She sighed but didn’t argue so I knew she had to have been in pain.
On the ride to the hospital, I counted up all the ways I could have murdered Ryker without anyone finding out. I’d just thought of death by poisonous mushrooms when we arrived at the ER.
We spent a few hours at the hospital where Faith had a few tests and, after what amounted to a long night, she was discharged, but they told her not to take any medication and I had to wake her at regular intervals to check that she was okay.
When we got back to The Shack, everyone was there waiting for us. Faith spent a few minutes talking to Jackson. He glared at me before he left so I guess Faith had told him her decision.
Violet, Andrea, and Libby crowded around Faith and wanting to know if she was okay while Mason sat near the bar with Luke, shooting the breeze.
I walked around the bar and poured out three glasses of bourbon. I slid a glass in front of Luke and Mason then lifted my own.
“What are we toasting?” Luke asked.
“How about to the women who turn us gray, but we couldn’t live without?” Mason suggested.
I barked out a laugh. “Don’t let Libby hear you say that—she’d have your strung up.”
“Libby’s in no condition to do shit,” he said.
When I snapped my head up to look at him, Mason nodded.
“Pregnant?” I mouthed.
“Yep.”
I reached across and patted his arm. “Congratulations. You’ll make a great father.”
Mason cleared his throat and averted his gaze.
Luke’s mouth hung open. “Well, shit,” he said, shaking his head. “Congratulations.”
I scowled. “Now we need another toast. How about, to Mason, to Libby and their soon to be new addition to their family?”
“Shh, keep it down,” Mason said. “She hasn’t told her girls yet.”
When all four women across the room, squealed at the same time, a grin spread across my lips. “I think she just did.”
Mason got a soppy grin on his face.
“What are we toasting again?” Luke asked.
Mason lifted his glass. “How about, to friendship, to love and to new beginnings?”
Mason and I shared a look that caused a damn lump to rise in my throat.
I probably wouldn’t have admitted it, but I’d missed his friendship over the last few years.
Maybe this could be our chance to start over.
Luke and I lifted our glasses in unison. “To friendship, to love and to new beginnings,” we repeated.
As I threw back my bourbon, I caught sight of Luke eyeing Violet and I wondered how long it would take before he made his move.
I glanced at Faith and when she looked my way and smiled her beautiful big bright smile, my heart lifted, filling with happiness.
I couldn’t blame Luke, honestly, if he went after Violet.
When you found the right woman to spend your days with, you’d move mountains to be with them and nothing or no one could keep them from you.
Now that I had Faith in my life, I was going to spend every day proving to her that she’d made the right choice when she picked me.
I wanted to be worthy of her.
And I would be.
The End
Mountain Man Regret is book two in my Mountain Men series. Be sure to check Amazon for the other books in the series. You can find them here - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G3DX3TP?ref=series_rw_dp_labf
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About the Author
Ava Grace is a part-time writer who specializes in contemporary erotic romance stories. She loves writing about strong women and the even stronger men who fall in love with them. Her stories are sometimes serious and sometimes fun, but always sexy. They are filled with growly alpha males and of course the obligatory happy endings which is what makes romance her favorite genre to read and write.
Ava is a British woman who shares her home with two very large, very boisterous cats. She loves traveling, eating out and spending time with friends. By day, she works in a dental surgery and by night she lets her imagination run wild. She appreciates each and every person who has taken the time to read one of her stories. If you have enjoyed something she's written then anything you can do to help her will make her eternally grateful - even if it's only telling a friend about her books or writing a brief review of only a few lines long. Your support of Indie authors like Ava really means the world to her.
If you'd like to contact Ava, her email address is [email protected]
