Page 30 of Single Mom for the Mountain Men (Mountain Men Why Choose #3)
“ T his way,” I tell the small group of police officers that I’m leading with me up the slippery, snowy hill toward the abandoned Jesperson house.
I wish that I had thought of this bit of property when we were pondering where on Earth Lena’s ex could have been hiding.
All of us had forgotten about this place after it was abandoned.
There hadn’t been anyone living here since well before we moved into our cabin.
I glance up at the clear sky, thanking the stars and the moon for making an appearance.
Their light is helping guide us toward Lena and Sophie.
I just hope that we aren’t too late. I had already confirmed with the police that the other two men who we left on the ground outside our house after the fire were gone.
That can only mean that they came back up here to meet up with their boss again.
Those aren’t great odds for Aiden and Brody.
“Tanner?” The voice is Brody’s, and I speed up, eager to be reunited with him and find out what’s happened.
“Is everything okay?” I ask as Brody materializes from the brush. As soon as I see the stricken look on his face, I know that things are definitely not okay.
“Lena has been shot,” Brody says, his voice tight. “Someone needs to take her down the mountain and take her to the hospital.”
“I can do that,” I say quickly, my heart racing.
I can’t stand the thought of Lena being injured all because I was selfish and didn’t go to the police when these men first started trying to collect on the debt that I owed them.
I feel sick to my stomach as I stumble after Brody toward the remnants of the house.
“We subdued the two men who came to our house during the storm,” Brody tells the officers. “Lena hit her ex over the head, and he’s still out cold inside of what’s left of the house.”
“We’ll go check it out,” one of the officers says, trudging off with a companion toward where I can see Aiden hunkered over the forms of two tied-up men, sitting in the snow.
The last officer comes with me as we approach Lena’s form.
Brody has laid her on the remaining wooden floor, tucking her into the corner under the overhang so that she will stay as warm as possible.
He also clearly took off his sweatshirt and draped it over her.
Her lips are still blue as I crouch down beside her and press my palm against her cheek.
“The snowmobile is just back down the trail,” I say, my heart breaking as I look at Lena. “I can take her back down the hill and get her help if someone can help me carry her there.”
“I can help you with that,” Aiden says and steps away from the men he was guarding now that the officers are cuffing them and starting to ask them questions.
“I’ve called for backup,” the head officer says from his position by Brody. He is placing handcuffs on James after rolling him over onto his face in the snow. “There should be paramedics right behind us.”
“Okay,” I say in a small voice, hunkering down beside Lena and covering her with my body, hoping to keep her warm.
“Tanner?”
The little voice has to belong to Sophie, and I turn in time to catch her as she throws herself against me. She’s sniffling, but being very brave for a small child who has been through some terrible things in the past few hours.
“Hi, little love,” I say to her, the guilt over what I have caused to happen to everyone I care about eating me up. “Cuddle with me, and get warm.”
“Is Mommy going to be okay?” she asks me in a thready, little voice as she leans against me.
“Yes,” I tell her, although I don’t know if it’s true. She looks very pale to me, and I can see the blood that is seeping through the temporary bandage that Brody made over her wound.
“I’m so sorry, Lena,” I whisper to her. “I never meant for any of this to happen.”
“You have to make this right,” Aiden says to me as he joins me. He starts rubbing Lena’s legs and arms, trying to help keep her warm. “You have to.”
I nod, my throat thick with tears. “The police said they will get me a lawyer so that I can sort out any debts that I owe and to help make sure that these scumbags go to prison for what they did.”
“Good,” Aiden says with a tight nod. “No more lies between us?”
“No more lies,” I promise.
“Shake on it,” Brody says from just over my shoulder, and I awkwardly reach behind me to shake his hand. Then, I lean over Lena’s form to shake Aiden’s hand.
“Let’s do better about helping each other in general,” I say to both of them, my voice tight with emotion.
“Sharing is caring,” Sophie says quietly from under my arm, and we all laugh, despite our fear.
Just then, the paramedics arrive, and they hustle over with a stretcher and a medical bag to start examining Lena. As they are shifting her around to check on her wounds, she moans, and her eyes flutter open. She looks around in confusion, then smiles softly when she meets my gaze.
“Oh, hello,” she says dreamily to me.
I reach out to catch her hand and press it to my lips. “These guys are going to help you,” I reassure her. “You were so brave.”
“Where is Sophie?” she asks me, her brow creasing a little as she remembers that Sophie was up here in the snow with her.
“Right here, Mommy!” Sophie says from my side, and I lift her up so that she can hug her mother without hurting her.
“Hi, baby,” her mother says to her, her voice sounding weaker by the moment. “Be good for the mountain men, okay? I’m not sure when we’ll get to talk again.”
“Okay, Mommy,” Sophie says, her voice sounding confused. “Momma? Momma?” she asks as Lena slips back into unconsciousness.
“We need to get her down the mountain,” the head paramedic says, and I nod, stepping back to allow them to carry her to the waiting four-wheeler that is just a few feet away.
We all watch Lena’s huddled form as the paramedics carry her away and then exchange a look. She might not make it, we all know that, but no one wants to speak that possibility into existence.
“Come on, you three,” the head police officer says. “I need you all to come down to the station, and we need to get statements from you. Does the little one need to go to the hospital along with her mother?”
“I want to stay with Tanner!” Sophie yells, hugging my leg. “Momma said I had to stay with the mountain men.”
“She can come with us,” I tell the officer before picking her up and cradling her against me. She throws her arms around my neck, clinging to me tightly.
“Works for me,” the officer says and gestures for us to follow him.
As we walk side-by-side to the waiting vehicles, a silence hangs between us. We’ve lost our house tonight, and we’ve been forced to commit violence, but worst of all, we might have lost Lena.