Page 8

Ethan

The last few days have flown by in a blur as we settle into a routine. Luna joins me working at the brewery a few days a week and spends her days off at the cabin adjusting to her new life, trying to figure out what her next step should be.

Personally, I think she should stay here forever, but I don’t want to influence her decisions and want her to want to stay in Whiskey Mountain .

Every night, we curl up at her place. I’ve offered to have her come to mine, but I think she feels safest in the cabin and doesn’t want to risk going to a different location when she’s just starting to feel settled. I get it, and I want her to feel safe. Especially because I hear her when she has nightmares about the mafia men coming after her. She wakes up sweating, desperate for some form of comfort. I rub small circles around her back as she gulps water to calm down.

She can usually relax after about fifteen minutes, but it’s not the same and I know the stress is eating at her. I wish there was something I could do, I wish I knew who these men were so I could put them in their place for her. Make sure she never has a sleepless night again.

I’m lost in my thoughts as I walk back to the bar area at the brewery from the kitchen. We were down a cook today so I had to step in for the lunch rush. I was supposed to be spending the afternoon taking Luna on a hike around the lake, but when Scott called saying they were desperate, I came right over.

I think Luna was content to hang at her cabin, she’s been flying through her fantasy series and I know she likes to read when I’m not around to distract her.

I join Matt, one of our bartenders behind the bar while Scott is busy putting out some fires in the brew room.

“Hey, boss,” Matt says as I sidle up next to him. The rush just ended, so there’s only a few stragglers remaining at the bar.

“Hey, buddy, what’s up?”

“Thought you should know, some pretty rough looking guys came in here earlier. They were talking about some girl they were looking for,” he stops and swallows, as if weighing his next words carefully. “I, uh, caught a glimpse of their phones and she looked like Luna, but like Luna on a blurry security cam.”

My stomach drops at his words and I’m running out of the brewery before I can even think about what I’m doing. Scott is coming out of a door just as I’m running past.

“Hey!” he shouts. “What the hell is going on?”

“Luna. Those guys that are after her that we mentioned. Hurry up and come with me!”

Scott doesn’t think twice, he jumps into the passenger seat of my truck and we race off, back to Luna’s cabin. I just hope we’re not too late.

I speed all the way there and we make it to her cabin in less than five minutes. I jump out of truck as soon as we park and immediately know something is drastically wrong, her door has been left open and I know she never would’ve done that on her own.

I hear Scott’s door close behind me and he comes up and pats my shoulder. “I’m sorry, buddy,” he says. Together, we walk into the house and as soon as I see her blanket bunched up on the floor and her book carelessly tossed on the floor, I know she’s been taken.

Scott takes a look around and calls me over when he spots something on the floor. It’s not much, just a card with “Unit 118” and a cut off street name on it. Immediately I know where these sick bastards have taken her. I grab Scott and we jump back in the truck, he suggests we swing by his place and grab some guns before we confront these guys, so after a quick stop to load up, we end up speeding all the way to the only storage complex in Whiskey Mountain.

We pull up to the line of units and sure enough see a glossy van with out of state plates parked outside of unit 118. The door to the unit is closed and we can’t hear anyone inside, but I can sense Luna is here. I just know it.

Scott and I both spent more than a decade in the military and have broken into our fair share of “secure” locations. This storage unit should be a piece of cake. After scoping around the unit for a few minutes, we find an internal hallway that leads to normal doors through each of the units. We figure this route is our best bet as there’s no way they’ll see us coming.

On my count, Scott breaks down that door and I immediately see Luna, tied to a chair, head hanging low, like she’s barely holding on to consciousness. I want to scream at the sight of her, but immediately compose myself to deal with the two men in front of us. They’re caught off guard which works to our advantage.

While we were at Scott’s, we also grabbed some zip ties and duct tape, wanting to be prepared for whatever we encountered here. We hold them at gunpoint, backing them into the empty corner of the storage unit. Once they’re trapped, Scott and I each take one and flip them on their stomachs, placing them each in a kind of hog tie before duct tapping their mouths.

It’s honestly kind of pathetic how easy it was to take these guys down and it’s clear that their life of crime was no match for our military training.

The second I can tell that they’re not going anywhere, I rush to Luna, cutting off her ties with my pocketknife.

“Hey, Luna sweetheart, it’s okay, I’ve got you,” I say pulling her off the chair and scooping her into my arms. She leans her head against my chest and starts sobbing.

“I wasn’t sure how you were going to be able to find me, but I knew you’d come for me,” she says through the flood of tears rushing down her face.

“I’ll always find you,” I say, holding her closer. Never wanting to let her go.

Scott clears his throat in the corner. “I’ll call the cops and handle these guys, E. Get her home.” I thank my friend, giving him a quick hug with Luna still pressed between us, and he places a light, friendly kiss on her head.

“Thanks for coming, Scott,” she says, her smile breaking through her tears.

“You’re one us now,” he says, “besides, we couldn’t lose you at the brewery, we need the help.” That gets a real laugh out of her and she lightly slaps him. I’m glad they’ve gotten close, too. They’re the only two people I care about in this world.

Scott turns and presses the button to open the garage-style door of the unit, clearing the way for us to leave. As I set Luna down in the seat, I see Scott pull out his phone to dial the cops.

“Call me if you need anything,” I shout back, before hopping into the truck. “Just get your girl home safe,” he yells back, turning to kick one of the guys as he was inching towards him. Those guys have no idea what they’re in for with Scott in charge. I don’t feel bad for them at all.

Luna leans on my shoulder the whole way back. Instead of taking her to her cabin, where I know she probably no longer feels safe, I take her back to my place, hoping the change of scenery and the sense of security will make her feel better.

We pull up my winding gravel driveway and she lets out a small gasp as she sees where we are.

“This is where you’ve lived the whole time? We should’ve been staying here from the start,” she says, taking in the 360 view of the mountains, the small pond peeking through the back of the house.

I laugh, glad she can still joke after all she’s been here. I stop the truck and get out, rounding the front to open her door and scoop her out. She tries to tell me she doesn’t need to be carried, but I don’t bother listening and she settles back against me as soon as I shut the door. We walk up the steps and inside, I stop by a panel on the wall before settling with her on the couch.

She tilts her chin to look up for me. “Thank you again for finding me,” she says through a sniffle. “I never doubted you but I was so, so scared that they took me somewhere far away. I didn’t answer any of their questions, I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction.”

“I would’ve found you if it took me days, weeks, years, Luna. And I’m so proud of you for holding out against them, but I’m glad you’re safe. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I lost you. I know it’s soon, and it might seem crazy, but I love you, Luna. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything,” I finish, holding back tears at how much I love this woman and how close I came to losing her forever.

“Oh, Ethan, I love you, too. I think I’ve loved you from the second you helped me in the woods with no questions asked. You make me feel like I have a home for the first time since my parents died and I can’t thank you enough for that.”

We’re both crying now, overcome with the emotion of the day, of this moment. Without another word, we’re peeling off our clothes and I’m crawling on top of her, reaching down to find her already slick between her thighs. I lower myself for her and find myself devouring her pussy, desperate to taste her, to know she’s safe, to know she’s mine.

When she comes apart moments later, I rise and swiftly slide into her, my eyes rolling back at the feel of her warm core wrapped around me. Each stroke feels like coming home and before I know it, we’re both falling apart.

I collapse on top of her, stroking her hair and holding her close, grateful to have her whole, here, and mine.

“I love you, my moon,” I say, stroking her hair that glows in the evening light.

She blushes at the endearment. “I love you too, my hero,” she says with a giggle.