His Runaway Mountain Bride by Madison Faye

After the roar of the first explosion, and the hail of bullets, and the roaring and screaming and wrenching of metal, it was all over. When the first thunderous boom came from outside, I’d screamed and yanked myself to the side, knocking the chair I was tied to over onto its side. When the mafia guys ran out like a bunch of morons to see what was going on, I’d kicked myself back into a corner, and that’s when the bullets started flying.

Not even five minutes later, it was all over.

Anthony Marcello’s “army” was really just a bunch of thuggish mob tough-guys. In bar fights, or when shaking down poker games, maybe they were a little tougher. But out there in the woods on Blackthorn Mountain, against a bunch of former bikers, military guys, and outlaws fighting for their very home and families, they went down like wet paper bags. When the first wave or two of them got mowed down outside, the rest of the Marcello guys threw their guns down and walked out with hand’s raised. And then it really was over.

I was halfway out of my own binds when Rowan came charging in, looking like some sort of feral beast with wild eyes and tensed muscles. But when he saw me, it was like the fury went out of him in a breath, and he was bounding right over to me. I gasped as his knife cut my other arm free, and then suddenly, I was in his arms, hugging him tightly and fiercely, like I never wanted to let him go.

And I had zero plans to do so.

“I got you,” he whispered, holding me tight and kissing my neck.

“I mean, I was almost out when you—”

“Such a stubborn little brat, you know that?” He chuckled.

“Yeah,” I grinned. “But that’s just one of the reasons you love me.”

His smile faded into something fiercer as he pulled close, taking my breath away as his lips brushed mine.

“Yeah, it is,” Rowan growled.

I bit my lip, blushing as the heat teased through me.

“You do, huh? Even after I ran off like a psycho?”

“Baby girl,” he growled lowly. “You could run off to fucking Mars, and I’d still come find you. I love you, Lucy.”

My heart melted as I flung my arms around him, hugging him close. And right before my lips crushed to his, I beamed as I looked into his eyes.

“I love you too, you know.”

“I guess if you didn’t,” he grinned. “You probably would have made it a little easier to find you. I mean that was a piece of—”

“Hey Rowan?” I purred, rolling my eyes.

“Yeah?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

He growled as he closed the last inch, his lips searing to mine and making my freaking toes curl as I melted into him.

Ryker ended up calling some semi-local police guys he was friendly with from Loggersville, a few towns over, to come deal with the rest of Marcello’s guys. Blackstone itself didn’t have a police force, and technically wasn’t even really a town, hence calling out. But the cops that did come knew Ryker and some of the other guys well enough to look the other way on the automatic weapons and rocket launchers and just see it for what it was: good, local people defending themselves from a bunch of city mobsters with long, long record sheets.

Anthony, sadly, wasn’t ever at the hanger, since he’d just sent his goon army to do the dirty work. So, for then at least, he was off the hook. Ryker and Axe managed to also take down all the whiteboard dossiers on everyone before their cop friends showed up, to avoid any strange questions later about what a mob army would want with a couple of bike shop and restaurant owners living peacefully out in the woods. The other plus side was that through these “hit list” sheets, everyone could see who’d offered to pay the Marcello’s for taking them out, which pointed back to all sorts of hidden demons from people’s pasts. But at least now, they could hit back.

A few hours after everything, we were all back at the garage, with some of the families coming to join. Katrina, Braun’s wife, about lost her shit when she saw the bandages on his ribs and shoulder.

“Baby, it’s really fine.”

“Don’t you ‘baby’ me!” she snapped, making me grin as I saw the pure love on her face for this man, but also the fear of what might have happened if things had been worse.

“I’m good, darlin’,” he growled as she hugged him gently.

“So, now what?” Stone muttered; his arms tight around Jackie—now with a freshly dressed bandage on the wound on her arm. Seeing them, I snuggled even closer against Rowan, and I smiled as I felt his arms tighten possessively around me.

Ryker nodded. “I’m guessing with pretty much all of his guys dead or being arrested and probably fucked now for an avalanche of parole violations, the Marcello family is going to quickly find itself not in any sort of power in Chicago. But I know some people I can put the word out with that we’re looking for Anthony. Then we can definitely bury this thing.”

Axe frowned. “What about this Mexico thing?”

“Bannon?” Ryker frowned. “We go get him, that’s what.”

“No.” Shepherd shook his head and stepped forward. “No, you’re not.”

“That so?” Stone growled dangerously.

“He’s right,” Rowan grunted. “You all have too much to lose up here. Look, I get wanting to go after one of your guys, but it’s not going to be a picnic down there. Definitely not as easy as gunning down a bunch of soft city mafia tough guys playing army in the woods. Jorge Del Campo and his cartel are serious fucking business, believe me.”

“Exactly,” Shepherd nodded. “Look, we’re gonna get your guy back, but we’re—” he pointed a finger at himself and them Oliver. “We’re gonna do it. We know the lay of the land down there, and we can get in without pulling out the fucking rocket launchers like Rambo here,” he nodded his chin at Rowan and winked.

Ryker, Axe, and Stone glanced at each other.

“Just the two of you, huh?” Ryker said quietly.

“Three.”

I frowned as turned to look up at Rowan.

“What?”

“You all helped me get her back,” Rowan said, his eyes dropping to lock with mine as he held me tight. “And now I’m going to help them get their missing one back.”

“And what’s the Bureau going to say about you crossing an international border to play shoot-out with a cartel?”

“I don’t actually know or care,” he grinned. “Because I think I just quit.”

My jaw dropped. “Hang on, what?”

“I’m done, baby,” he growled quietly. “Done with the bullshit and jumping through hoops just for the sake of jumping. I became a police officer and then joined the FBI to help—to stop bad things from happening to good people. Instead, it’s all paperwork, and connections, and politics, and letting bad guys walk free because they might know other bad guys. And I’m fucking done with it.”

He leaned in and kissed me slowly, leaving my heart racing as he pulled away and looked up at everyone else.

“So, yeah, it’s gonna be the three of us getting your guy out of there.”

Ryker shook his head. “We can’t ask you to—”

“You don’t have to ask, it’s happening,” Rowan growled back.

“Hold up.”

Stone gave Jackie a quick kiss on the cheek before he crossed the room to a closet door. Inside, he rustled through some old boxes before he suddenly stopped. He pulled something out and turned.

“Here. For Bannon, if it’s really him and if you can get to him.”

He held out a dark leather vest, and my eyes traced the image of a skull and roses on the back with the words “Lost Devils” stenciled above it. Rowan nodded and stepped forward to take it.

“Will do. You’ve got my word.”

Stone smiled. “You know, our club is done, but if it were still around, I know we’d be proud to call you—” he nodded at Rowan, Shepherd, and Oliver. “Our brothers.”

Rowan grinned back. “Appreciated.”

Shep shrugged. “Can I ask the million-dollar question?”

Ryker raised a brow. “What’s that?”

“Why do the Lost Devils have to be over? I mean, you three are alive.”

Rowan frowned at him. “Because kids, families?”

Axe smiled. “Basically. I mean there’s no reason it’s over, it’s just that the Lost Devils died years ago, and we’re all new guys with new lives.”

“So, the club could be not over.”

I turned to look at my brother, and so did the rest of the room. The three ex-members looked at each other for a solid minute, not saying anything, but somehow saying everything before they turned back. Slowly, Ryker grinned.

“Maybe we should talk.”

“You realize it’s going to be four of us going down there, right?”

Later on, Jackie and Stone gave Christian the night off, and everyone and their families headed to The Pines for some drinks and food. I stopped Rowan in his tracks in the parking lot though on our way in. He turned and raised a brow.

“Mexico? To go take something from a fucking Cartel boss?”

I glared at him, and slowly, he grinned.

“Of course, you are.”

I grinned as he walked over to me, snow falling slowly around us.

“Like I said, I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”

He reached behind him, and when his hand came back up dangling a jingling pair of handcuffs, I blushed furiously. Two truck doors shut, and I glared back to see Shepherd and Oliver walking across the parking lot to the restaurant. Shepherd grinned and nodded at the handcuffs as I groaned and hid my face.

“Yeah, I’m gonna pretend I never saw that.”

“Probably for the best,” Rowan chuckled.

Shepherd pantomimed sticking a finger down his throat. “Well, I’m going to go burn that thought out of my head with bourbon. See you in there.”

He and Oliver laughed as they stepped past us into The Pines.

“So, are you really doing this?” I whispered.

“Doing what?”

“Quitting the FBI? Crossing a border to go declare war on a cartel? I mean, that’s kind of outlaw.”

“Maybe I’m less law and more outlaw than I thought I was.”

I grinned as I pulled him close. “My my my. Did I finally turn you to the dark side, Mr. Turner?”

He chuckled. “I think it’s that I’m done being held back by bullshit. So, maybe not an outlaw, per se, just outside the law.”

“But you’re going to be all badass and start riding a motorcycle and all of that, right?”

I smiled hungrily, and he spotted the look on my face instantly.

“Why, you lookin’ for a ride?”

“Um, yes,” I giggled. “With you? Fucking always.”

“I love you, you know,” he growled.

“I love you back, you know.”

I stood up on my toes as he leaned down and scooped me close, and our lips crushed hard together as I moaned eagerly. Soft, white snow floated down onto our hair and jackets, but we just kept on kissing.

After all, we had a lot of catching up to do.