Page 33 of Single Mom for the Mountain Men
“Brody will back you up.” He grabs a hold of Lena’s hand, who looks half-confused and half-scared out of her wits.
“No,” I grit my teeth, “both of you. Take them, and get the fuck out of here. I know how to deal with this, and you two will only get in my way.”
I know for a fact that’s not true, and I can definitely use their help. Probably fucking need it, to be honest, but this is my mess, and I’ll get out of it alone. I won’t bring them into it.
“You owe me money!” the man spits once he sees his backup on their way, and he rears his fist back, swinging at me with full-force. I block the strike easily, knocking him out with a single uppercut. Then, I break into a run.
His men chase after me through the farmers’ market. Shrill, feminine screams ring in my ears as I dodge and block the kicks and punches, wrecking and tumbling into fruit and canned goods stalls alike.
I pay the cursing vendors no mind. Aiden has disappeared along with Lena and Sophie, and that is all the reassurance I need before I dash off even faster, pumping my legs as quickly as I can.
I don’t want to create any more of a scene, so I refrain from hitting the men back, choosing instead to side-step all their attacks. My feet thump over the ground, my mind scanning for a place to hide until the gang loses its interest or thinks that I have escaped. There are innocent people here who could suffer harm because of me, and I don’t want that at all.
“Where did he go?”
“Thatway!”
The men are right on my tail, and I spot a wrecked car a few paces from me, hidden in a thin and seedy-looking alleyway.
I dart toward the alley, stumbling into a crouched position as I slide under the car. There is no light here that will give away my shadow, and I bring down my breathing to a near silent level.
The thumping of feet stops right before the alley, and I can hear heaving breaths and grunts creeping through the darkness.
“You guys, go that way! We’ll head back into the market, so the fucker can’t escape.”
The alley becomes silent as the guys dip. I wait patiently until my breathing returns to normal, my heart no longer pounding in my ears. If their strength is divided, I can probably take them on, but I won’t. I just have to get to my car and get the fuck out of here.
Sliding out from my hiding spot when I know for sure that no one else is there, I creep back into the farmers’ market, taking the route which will lead me directly to the parking area. My jeep is parked right by the gate, but I’m spotted as soon as I get inside my car.
Zooming away isn’t a problem, as the men aren’t experienced enough with the area to keep track of me. Soon enough, I lose them and head toward home, the ride becoming more and more bumpy as I near our cabin.
I park the jeep and kill the ignition, sitting for a moment so I can catch my breath. The adrenaline has drained out of my system by now, leaving me slightly cold and shaky.
Leaving my jeep, I hiss as I realize that my forearms have been scratched up, probably from when I was squeezing under the car.
The door to our cabin is open, and inside, I find Lena walking in circles. She stops when she sees me.
“Tanner!” she breathes before jogging forward until she comes to a stop before me. “Are you all right? What happened back there? Who were those people?”
“It’s cool, Lena,” I tell her calmly, chugging a bottle of water that is sitting on the table. I wince as more and more scrapes and bruises make themselves known, smarting all over my body. “They haven’t followed me. We’re safe.”
Brody nods simply. “Good.”
“Who the fuck were those people? Why didn’t you tell me that there were loan sharks or whatever after you? We would have been more careful with Lena and Sophie. We certainly wouldn’t have let you hang around them, if we knew,” Aiden mutters under his breath.
“Save some questions for tomorrow,” I retort, not bothering to give him an explanation. His words piss me off, and the less I show that, the better. I don’t want to make a scene in front of Lena, of all people.
“It’s not even about us. They wanted to hurt you, Tanner. That’s scary. You should tell your brothers who they are, so they know how to keep you safe,” Lena reprimands me.
My annoyance increasing the more they all push, I roll my eyes. “I’m not a fucking kid. I can protect myself.”
“That’s not what she meant, and you know that!” Aiden scowls and moves toward me.
“You lot are being so fucking annoying right now. I’m going to my room, and don’t fucking bother me, or else it’s going to get ugly.”
I storm off to my room, not even stopping when I hear Lena calling out to me, sounding dumbfounded.
Chapter sixteen
