I glanced at him now, the hard set of his jaw, the sharp focus in his eyes as he navigated the narrow switchbacks. There was a time not long ago when I’d have mistaken that intensity for danger. But I knew better now. That look was for me. Always for me.
We weren’t alone. Diesel drove the lead truck with Trippe riding shotgun, ready to handle my poor, snow-buried car. Somewhere behind us, Jacob’s men stood ready if things went sideways. And after last night’s warning, none of us were naïve enough to think Chad would just give up.
“Cold?” Lucas asked, his deep voice cutting through the quiet.
I blinked, realizing I’d been holding my breath. “A little,” I admitted.
His hand left the gearshift long enough to turn the heater up before he rested his hand on mine, rough and warm. “Almost there.”
Almost there. It sounded like more than just a distance. It sounded like a promise.
When we reached the spot where I’d abandoned my car, a chill slid down my spine. The vehicle sat half-buried, tilted like a wounded animal. Snow clung to the windows, the tires iced into place.
But it wasn’t the sight of my car that made my stomach knot. It was the tire tracks leading to it. Fresh. Deep.
“Chad,” I whispered.
Lucas was out of the truck before I finished saying his name. Diesel joined him, both men scanning the area like predators scenting a rival. I stayed put, pulse hammering, until Lucas motioned me forward.
Trippe was already hooking chains to my bumper when I reached Lucas’s side. His hand immediately found my waist, steadying me.
“You stay right here,” he said, eyes never leaving the tree line. “Understand?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
He kissed my forehead quick and fierce. “Good girl.”
The chains clattered, Diesel’s truck straining against the snow-packed weight of my car. Just as the bumper groaned free, an engine roared in the distance.
Every head lifted. A black F-150 crawled up the narrow mountain road, its headlights cutting through the pale dawn. My stomach bottomed out. Chad.
Lucas was in front of me before I could think, his body a wall of heat and steel. Diesel and Trippe moved wide, forming a shield, their posture saying they were ready for trouble. The truck stopped hard, tires spitting slush, and Chad climbed out with that cocky grin I knew too well.
“Sara,” he drawled. “You didn’t tell me you were coming up here. Had me worried.”
Lucas didn’t move. “She’s not yours to worry about.”
Chad’s grin sharpened. He started forward, crunching snow with each deliberate step. His gaze cut past Lucas, hungry, and when his hand twitched like he might reach for me, Lucas slammed into him.
The sound was solid. Bone against bone. A grunt tore from Chad’s throat as he stumbled back.
“You son of a bitch,” Lucas snarled. His fists came down hard, one-two, the second cracking against Chad’s jaw with a sickening snap. “I saw the bruises you left on her.”
Chad swung back, wild, but Lucas ducked and drove a fist into his ribs. Rage poured off him, raw and unrelenting, the kind of fury that only came when a man’s past sins were written across the skin of the woman you cared about.
“Enough!” Jacob’s voice cut across the snow like a whip. He and the others had arrived silently. I wasn’t sure how I hadn’theard their trucks, but was grateful they were there. The Cardosa men stood like shadows against the morning, eyes sharp, weapons visible enough to make a point.
Diesel stepped in, seizing Chad by the collar and slamming him against the side of his truck. “You want to play tough, do it somewhere else. This mountain isn’t yours.”
Chad spat blood into the snow, glaring past them at me. “You think you can hide up here? This isn’t over, Sara. One day he won’t be around to protect you.”
Lucas lunged, but Jacob’s arm shot out, iron-strong, holding him back. His voice was low and very lethal. “We don’t bury him here. Not today.”
Diesel released Chad with a shove so hard he nearly faceplanted into the snow. “Get in your truck and drive before I change my mind.”
Chad wiped his mouth, spit red into the drift, and smirked even through the swelling. “This ain’t finished.” His gaze locked on me one last time, cold and vicious, before he climbed into his truck and peeled out, tires screaming as he fled down the mountain.
The silence left behind was suffocating. My knees trembled, but Lucas caught me, pulling me against his chest like he’d tear the world apart before letting me fall. “You okay?” His voice was rough, his chest heaving from the fight.
