Page 22 of Single Mom for the Mountain Men (Mountain Men Why Choose #3)

I stare at the men who are tied up on the floor of the garage. They’re resting against the snowmobile that we don’t ever use unless there’s a dire emergency. I ponder if taking them to the authorities counts as a dire emergency or not as I wait for Tanner and Aiden to return.

“Damn fools,” I grumble at them. “Why won’t you just tell me what you want?”

They both look at one another, but they don’t say anything. I sigh and kick their boots, making them cringe.

“I know how to hurt people, and I don’t get tired easily,” I threaten them. “I’m sure you won’t stay silent when you’re too worried about keeping all of your fingers and toes.”

“Don’t go too hard on them yet,” Tanner’s voice says from behind me as he joins me in the garage. “Sorry, just been getting Sophie and Lena settled.”

I nod to show that I heard him without taking my eyes off our hostages. We both stare down at the two men tied up on the floor for a long moment. I enjoy watching them squirm.

“Oh, my God!”

I swivel behind me to see that Lena is standing in the doorway, her wide eyes fixed on the men on the ground in front of us.

“Lena,” one of them says, looking smug at her presence.

“What are you two doing here?” she demands with her hands on her hips.

“James sent us, and since this one,” the guy who already spoke jerks his head at Tanner, “owes us money, he figured we could pick you and the cash up at the same time.”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake,” I mutter, looking between Lena and the men. “Do you know these idiots?”

She sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers. “Yes,” she says with irritation. “They’re friends of James. What I don’t understand is how they think that Tanner owes them money.”

“Tanner owes lots of people money,” the other man says, the one who hasn’t spoken yet. “But since he owes money to so many people, James thought it would be a good idea to buy the debts off the other gangs, then call in the note on his own. It’s what he does best, you know.”

Lena’s face pales as she seems to remember things that she would rather not think about.

She looks at Tanner anxiously. “They’re right,” she says in a small voice.

“I didn’t know that he was a debt collector of this kind until after we were already married.

I kept trying to get him out of the business, have him get a different job but… ” her voice trails off.

I sigh. Well, I don’t need these fools for information any longer. With resignation, I pick up the rifle near the door and pace over to the men. I hit them both over the head until they slump against one another, unconscious.

Lena gasps. “Are they…?”

I shake my head. “Not dead. Just out for now. I don’t want to have to think about them bothering us. We all need to talk about what we’re doing next.”

I gesture for everyone to go into the kitchen, and I lock the door to the garage behind us. Aiden immediately starts cooking. I know that it’s how he makes himself feel better when things aren’t going well, so I don’t tell him that I just ate breakfast and I’m not hungry.

“So, Tanner,” I say once everyone is in the kitchen and staring at me. Even Sophie is looking up at me expectantly, clutching her teddy bear in her arms. “We need to talk about how you’re going to handle this debt that you owe.”

Tanner’s face flushes, and he looks down at his hands. He’s silent for a moment, but then, he says quietly, “There’s no way that I can pay it back. I have no idea what to do.”

I rub a hand over the back of my neck and nod.

I had expected that response. “I can help you pay it back, if you really have to do so, but we need to go to the police,” I tell him.

He opens his mouth to protest, but I hold up a hand and shake my head.

“No arguments. You should have gone to the police the moment they started threatening you. I don’t know how you’ve hidden from them for so long, to be honest. I wish you had told us about this before you put all of us in danger. ”

Tanner looks devastated, and he looks down at the floor again. “Whatever you think is best, Brody,” he says in a small voice.

“That’s settled, then,” I say to the room at large.

I hear Lena’s and Sophie’s footsteps behind me as I walk them down the hall to the spare bedroom.

It almost never gets used, but I can’t think of anyone better to enjoy it than these two ladies who have come into our lives.

It’s getting harder and harder for me to imagine a daily reality without them in it.

It seems totally natural that they should be staying with us now.

“Can you really help Tanner with his debts?” Lena asks me quietly as she follows me into the bedroom. She looks around the room approvingly and drags their suitcases into the corner.

I nod. “I have plenty of money. Haven’t had much to spend it on. But he will owe me interest, of course.” I wink at her, and she giggles.

“Momma, I’m hungry,” Sophie whines and tugs at her mother’s coat.

“Aiden should have food ready for you now,” Lena says to her child, who cheers and races to the kitchen. Left alone, Lena looks at me with a fond expression on her face.

“I can’t thank you all enough,” she says to me gratefully, sounding relieved. She presses the heels of her hands to her eyes and sighs loudly.

I cross the room to hug her, and she leans into my embrace.

“I hate that James bought Tanner’s debts, but I guess we only have one group of bad guys after all of us now,” she says, her voice muffled by my shirt.

I nod, knowing that she will feel the movement. “Yeah, it’s easier in a way.”

“What are you going to do with the men in the garage?” she asks me, a tinge of worry in her voice.

I sigh. “I’ll leave them tied them up so that they can’t bother us with any real action,” I tell her. “The snow is supposed to fall until tomorrow evening, but after that, I can run them down the hill with Tanner and we can go to the police.”

“I should go with you and report that James probably tried to attack me,” she says to me while leaning back to meet my gaze.

I smile at her gently. “I think that would be a very brave thing to do, and probably a good idea.”

“It’s a date,” she says with tears in her eyes. I know how scared she gets from the thought of dealing with her ex, so I know this is a big step for her.

“Sorry things have been so scary,” I tell her. Thumbing her cheeks, I press my palms to the soft skin of her face. “We will make everything better for you and Sophie if we can.”

“You have already done so much,” she says to me, leaning her face against my hand. “I…I spoke with Tanner about…all of us,” she says hesitantly. “He said he would talk to you and Aiden about…what comes next.”

I look at her, a frown turning down my lips a little. She’s quick to stretch up and press a kiss to my lips.

“Don’t look worried. I think it’s going to be great,” she says, and then, she dashes off to the kitchen, leaving me standing in the bedroom, confused, but with a rush of lust thrumming through my veins.