Salvation [Slick Rock 15] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Becca Van

  Slick Rock 15

  Salvation

  Carly Gregson is scared, alone and on the run. Scott Gold was supposed to be her brother’s friend, but from the moment Carly met him, she’s cautious. The way he watches and looks at her makes her uneasy, and she tries to keep her distance. However, when her brother dies in a fire, and he tries to kill another of her brother’s friends, Matt, on the way home from his funeral, she’s terrified. When Matt ends up dead, she takes off.

  Ridge, Bull, and Rocky Frost are delighted when Carly Gregson crashes back in their lives. They can’t believe how grown up and sexy she is, and they know that she’s the woman for them. When they find out that her brother is dead and she’s in danger, they take her into their home to protect her. They also plan on courting her into their beds, hearts, and lives, permanently. Even while they are vigilant, an error in judgement sends Carly right into Scott Gold’s path. Can they rescue her before it’s too late?

  Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Western/Cowboys

  Length: 57,040 words

  SALVATION

  Slick Rock 15

  Becca Van

  MENAGE EVERLASTING

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to only ONE LEGAL copy for your own personal reading on your own personal computer or device. You do not have resell or distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a prize in any contest. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden. If you do not want this book anymore, you must delete it from your computer.

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

  SALVATION

  Copyright © 2016 by Becca Van

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-68295-405-8

  First E-book Publication: July 2016

  Cover design by Les Byerley

  All art and logo copyright © 2016 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of Salvation by Becca Van from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Becca Van’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Becca Van’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  About the Author

  SALVATION

  Slick Rock 15

  BECCA VAN

  Copyright © 2016

  Chapter One

  Scott pulled at his hair and tried to contain his anger. That fucking bitch had managed to elude him. Him, a trained soldier. How the fuck had she gotten away from him? She was supposed to have fallen into his arms sobbing with grief as one of her brother’s friends had died. He had no idea why she hadn’t come back to Matt’s home. Had she suspected he had been watching and waiting for her? He’d spent the last few weeks watching for her to come out of that asshole’s apartment, but she remained elusive, hidden.

  He’d known the instant he’d met her that she was supposed to be his. She was so young and innocent, but the sexiest fucking woman he’d ever seen. He’d spent hours each day following her and taking photos of her to look over late at night when he was alone in his own home.

  Scott cursed under his breath as he searched the streets for her, looking amongst the crowd of onlookers, hoping to spot her looking devastated as she watched the bastard’s home burn.

  He wished he could go back to the day of the funeral when he’d hitched a ride with Matt and Carly, but what was done couldn’t be changed. He’d let the emotions roiling around inside of him take control and had made his move way too soon.

  He cursed under his breath as the firefighters gained control over the flames, not caring that he was out in plain sight of the cops. After he’d fucked up trying to strangle Matt in the car and his failure to complete his plan, he’d had to run. Changing his appearance had been a piece of cake. Hair dye could be bought almost anywhere, and so could colored contacts. He’d even bought some secondhand clothes to dress down, and hunching his shoulders made him look non-threatening. No one even gave him a second glance.

  Luckily, he’d had the foresight to withdraw nearly all of his cash because, now that the cops were looking for him, he needed to stay under the radar. He was good at that. The military had taught him so much. He’d learned a lot of ways to take out another human being without having to fire a gun, although using a pistol would be a hell of a lot easier than using his bare hands, but he was up for the challenge.

  Getting into Matt’s apartment had been child’s play. The dick had been in the shower, and he’d slipped in the front door after picking the lock. Creeping up on the idiot while he’d had his back turned to him was easy, and a hard knock to the head with the butt of his gun had been enough to even make him wince.

  Matt had fallen to the base of the shower out cold, and Scott had turned on the gas stove, letting the kitchen fill up with the toxic fumes after lighting a candle and leaving it on the sink.

  He’d been out of there in a flash and had hidden from view across the street behind a neighbor’s hedge. Luckily for him, no one had been home, or if they had been, they hadn’t spotted him. Stealth was second nature to him and the other soldiers he’d served with, and he didn’t even have to think about remaining o
ut of sight and making sure not to draw any unwanted attention to himself.

  However, no matter how he’d planned and thought things through, that bitch hadn’t done what was expected.

  Rage filled him to the bone as he tried to control his ragged breathing. The memories of killing Matt faded, and the empty warehouse he was currently hiding in seemed to exacerbate his panting breaths as he paced and pulled at his hair. His whole body ached, but he knew it wasn’t because of the injuries he’d sustained while overseas. He’d been the only member of his unit to survive that horrific blast, and the moment he’d seen Carly he knew she was the reason he was still alive.

  She was his, but she was playing hard to get.

  Scott released his hair and took a few deep breaths, and as the red tint of rage receded from his vision, he smiled.

  It didn’t matter how far or fast she ran. It didn’t matter how long it took him to find her. In the end, she was going to be his woman. Anything less was unacceptable.

  * * * *

  Bull Atkins got out of the truck, as did his brothers, Ridge and Rocky. They were going to eat dinner at the Slick Rock Hotel after working their asses off all day long. The ranch was time consuming and physically demanding on his body sometimes, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He loved working with his hands and the animals he and his brothers had bought. Breeding cattle and horses was in their blood since their parents also had a ranch in Montana. After retiring from the Marines, he and his brothers had been at loose ends trying to figure out what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives after seeing, and dealing, with war and violence.

  When they’d come to Slick Rock for their friend’s engagement, he and his brothers had known that this was the place they wanted to settle down in. The people were friendly, but it was the unconventional relationships that had clinched the decision to live in the rural Colorado town. He and his brothers had shared a woman a time or two, and although the women hadn’t been the right ones for them, the excitement in the air when they’d been making love to those women on separate occasions had been phenomenal.

  Now that they had finished with their duty of serving their country and had their own place, Bull was impatient to settle down. He wanted what his friends had with Lexia and hoped to meet the one woman meant to be theirs very soon.

  “What are you daydreaming about?” Rocky slapped him on the shoulder.

  Bull smirked but didn’t bother answering his brother because he could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew already.

  “Are you two going to stand around staring at nothing all night, or are we going to go and get some food?” Ridge asked as he rubbed his belly. “I’m starving.”

  Bull nodded, but when his brothers began walking to the entrance, he remained where he was. He had no idea why he hesitated, but something told him that if he went inside he was going to miss something important. His heart was racing, and he was breathing heavy. There was an air of excitement on the wind, but he had no idea why. Something was about to happen, and although he had no clue what, there was no way in hell he was going inside the hotel until he knew what was going on.

  * * * *

  Carly was so tired it was a wonder she could move. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept or eaten anything of significance, but she forced herself to stand, grabbed her small duffle bag and exited the bus. She nodded to the driver in thanks as she descended the last step before moving slowly down the street. She glanced about and tensed even more when she noticed that people were staring at her as if she was a bug under a microscope. She tried to push her unease aside, telling herself that a stranger in such a small town would stick out like a sore thumb, but it didn’t help.

  The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and fear skittered up her spine, making her pick up her pace. Her eyes never stopped scanning, looking this way and that for a threat. When she heard a car slowly idle along the street from behind, she stopped in her tracks and looked back over her shoulder.

  Terror coursed through her body when she saw the vehicle. It looked just like the one Scott Gold drove. Her eyes immediately went to the license plate, but it was still too far away for her to see if it had been registered in Montana. Carly didn’t want to hang around to find out, or she could end up dead, just like her brother.

  A sob formed in her throat, but she swallowed it down and began to run. She didn’t care for the frowns she got as she sprinted past the locals, nor that she had no idea where she was going. All she cared about was getting away from that car.

  Her legs shook and her lungs burned, but she pushed herself harder than ever before, using the surge of adrenaline as the fight or flight hormones raced through her body. As she raced down the street, goosebumps covered her skin and the hair on her arms stood on end. She was gasping for air, trying to fill her depleted lungs, but she couldn’t seem to draw in enough breath. When she heard an engine rev and tires squealing on the road, she turned to look over her shoulder again. That was her downfall.

  Carly slammed into something big and hard, knocking what little air she had in her lungs out as she began to fall. She tried to inhale but nothing happened, and she began to panic as she went tilting toward the ground. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain, but she never connected with the concrete.

  Large, warm, callused hands grasped hold of her upper arms, and then she was pulled up against a big, brawny body.

  “Are you okay?” a deep, male voice asked.

  Carly’s hair had come undone from her braid in her frantic flight, and when she’d smacked into him and nearly fallen on her ass, the tresses had flown all over her face. Since she couldn’t see him or speak just yet, she nodded. Finally, she drew in a deep breath before exhaling and dragging in another, and then another.

  “Are you hurt?”

  She shook her head and tugged her arms from the man’s hold, sighing with relief when he released her and stepped back. She tried to hide her trembling hands as she pushed her hair off her face and out of her eyes, but knew she hadn’t succeeded when she heard the man draw in a ragged breath.

  And then her heart stopped all over again. She stared with disbelieving eyes up into a familiar, blue-eyed gaze.

  “Carly? Carly Gregson? Is that really you?”

  Carly nodded and tried to smile at Bruce Atkins. He and his brothers had been best friends with her brother, Shaun. They were older and even more handsome than she remembered, but now wasn’t the time to think those sorts of things. She needed to get away. To run and hide before she wound up in the clutches of Scott Gold or, even worse, dead.

  “Carly, as I live and breathe.”

  She glanced to either side of Bruce and sucked in a deep breath when she saw that his brothers Brock and Ridge were with him.

  “You’re so grown up,” Ridge murmured as he looked her body up and down. There was a twinkle of heat in his gaze before he began to frown. His gaze skittered away from hers as he looked about with narrowed eyes.

  “What’s going on, baby?” Bruce asked as he stared at her intently.

  Carly shook her head and jostled her arms, trying to break the hold Bruce had on her biceps.

  “Not happening, Carly,” Bruce stated in a firm voice. “What are you doing in Slick Rock? Where are your parents? Where is Shaun?”

  And, just like that, the rein she had on her emotions broke. Tears welled and spilled down her cheeks, and then she was sobbing in earnest. She gasped and wailed, too exhausted to hold the dam back. Large, muscular arms wrapped around her and tugged her closer. She buried her face in Bruce’s chest and cried her heart out.

  Ridge or Brock moved up behind her. Body heat surrounded her as they pressed their bodies against her. Carly shivered and, for the first time in forever, felt safe. She was cocooned by their heat, muscles, and size, and the fleeting thought of never leaving that space passed through her mind. She tried to stop crying. She really did, but she’d been dealing with so much and keeping everything bottled up inside
the outlet valve wouldn’t be plugged again.

  When she was swept from her feet up against a big, muscular body, she didn’t protest, not that she really wanted to. It had been months since she’d been held, and the cold which seemed to be permanently embedded in her bones began to dissipate. She shook and shivered, hiccupped and sniffed until the tears finally slowed and stopped. Her eyelids felt swollen and her eyes were sore from her crying, but after wiping the moisture on her face away, she lifted her head.

  She had no idea how, or when, they’d gotten her into their truck, but that’s where she was, in the back seat of a black truck, sitting on Bruce’s lap in the middle of the seat, with Brock and Ridge squeezed in on either side of them. They were so big they’d left the doors open so their bodies wouldn’t be smashed up against them.

  “Are you in trouble, Carly?” Bruce asked as he caressed gentle, soothing circles on her belly.

  Ridge and Brock where both caressing her as well. Brock was running his hand up and down her thigh, and Ridge was stroking her arm. If she hadn’t been so scared, she might have squirmed. Their light touches were enough to light her body up, but she wasn’t about to let them know how they affected her. They probably still saw her as the kid sister that used to annoy them when she hung around when they were with her brother. She’d had a crush on all three of them when she was younger but knew that they only ever saw her as the pesky sister of their best friend. Sometimes she wished she could go back in time and still be that innocent, naïve child where everything was fun and she still had her parents and brother. She missed them all so much, and some days it was hard to put one foot in front of the other as the grief of her recent loss tried to consume her.