“Motherfucker!”

Tony swore, whirling and kicking the side of the Mercedes SUV. His thin city show banged off the metal fender, and he howled in pain.

…It was a small victory for me.

They’d come out of nowhere, half an hour after Dane had trekked back to the truck for supplies and to see how bad the damage was. I’d been trying to fix the cabin up a little bit — nailing some more boards over some of the holes in the wall and bring in more wood for the fire. So at least I was dressed.

But still. That door crashing open and my asshole ex-boyfriend and four of Angelo’s guys coming charging in at me had been terrifying. I’d screamed, kicking and lashing out, and I knew I got two of them pretty good in the face before they pinned me down and dragged me out to their cars.

And all I’d been able to think about was Dane, and how he’d come back to find me just gone without a trace.

And now, here we were, an hour later and barely that much further down the mountain, stuck in a huge snow drift across the road. The men had rented a big snow plow truck that was driving ahead of the two SUVs, but even I knew just looking at it that there was no way it would cut through the snow up here on that mountain. I’d trudged through the three and four-foot drifts from the truck to the cabin — a basic rental plow was barely going to put a dent in it if we hit any real snow.

And of course, we had.

Their plan was to haul me back to Angelo. That much I’d gleaned from the back seat, wedged between two mafia assholes who stunk like cigars with guns pressed to my ribs. The hunt was on for Dane, too. But for now, they were taking me back so that Angelo could get me to this “Mr. Black” as promised.

I’d shivered at that thought, and now, stuck in the snow, I shivered again as the frozen wind whipped over us.

“Get it moving!” Tony bellowed at the mafia guy poking his head under the hood of the rental plow.

“I ain’t a mechanic!”

“I don’t give a fuck!” Tony spat back, waving his gun heatedly. “Just fuckin’ fix it!”

I wasn’t tied up, but then, where was I going to go? I was freezing in just a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. Hell, my shoes were a pair of Dane’s sneakers from the truck, and they were comically big on me. I leaned against the SUV, hugging myself and shivering as I tried to rub warmth into my arms.

“Goddamnit!” Tony spat, whirling and kicking at the snow. I was already familiar with Tony’s childish outburst and his tendency towards violence, so I just kept my head down. And my only thought was that the longer we stayed here, the more of a chance I had of Dane realizing what’d happened and following our tire tracks to finds us.

And yet, there were six of them, and one of him.

I closed my eyes, trying to think of warmth. Trying to think Dane, and not the horrible fate I was headed to.

“Where’s the fucking driver, Holly?”

I opened my eyes, but I didn’t look up as Tony stomped over to me.

“Where is he?”

I just shook my head. “I— I don’t know. We crashed and I guess he took off.”

“Bullshit!”

Tony’s fist smashed into the car next to me, denting it and making me jump. “Bullshit, you lying little bitch! You’re wearing his fucking clothes.”

I glanced up sharply to see the sneer on Tony’s smarmy face. “Gee, I wonder what you did to get his clothes, you fucking whore.”

“Get fucked,” I hissed at him. “Prick.”

Anger welled in his eyes, and I could see violence brewing there, ready to strike out at me, when one of Angelo’s guys hollered.

“Hey, Tony!”

I froze, his lips pulled back in a sneer, his hand closing to a fist as he brought it up and shook it in front of my face.

“You talk to me like that again and I’ll knock that pretty smile right off your face,” he grumbled, before he turned to the man who’d called. “What the fuck is it?”

“You gotta call Angelo.”

“No way.”

He started to move towards the other guys, and when I saw all six of them starting to huddle up to figure out what they were doing, I realized I had a shot.

It was a small, small shot, and one that I knew might get me in serious trouble, or killed. But, I knew I had to take it. I knew chancing it was better than being dragged back to Angelo and then shipped off to some mystery creep like a consolation prize, or a present.

Fuck that.

I glanced at the men as they started lighting cigars and muttering amongst themselves about whether or not to call Angelo. I turned, glancing behind the SUV at the few feet of open snow before the tree line.

I took a deep breath, glanced back at the mob guys, turned, and I bolted.

Adrenaline roared through me, my breath panting as I pumped my legs and ran. I heard the shout behind me, but I kept going. If I could just make the trees—

The shot rang out, making me scream, but I just kept running. And I was so so close, when suddenly, hands grabbed me, yanking me to the snowy ground. I screamed, rolling and kicking at Tony before suddenly, I gasped at the cold metal of a gun being shoved into my neck.

“Move, you little bitch!”

Tony dragged me up, his look cold and hard as he half dragged me back to the SUVs and the smirking mob guys. The wind had picked up, and the snowy gusts whirled around us, half blinding me and making me shiver.

“Remind me,” Tony muttered at one of the other guys. “What’d Angelo say about her?”

The man grinned wickedly. “Boss did say he wanted her alive, for Mr. Black.” He chuckled. “But he did say if was a lost cause, dead was okay too.”

Something cold shivered through my gut, and I paled as I glanced towards Tony. He turned to me, grinning evil as he waved the gun.

“On your knees, bitch.”

I felt numb as I shook my head. “Hang on, Tony—”

“Uh-uh, nope,” he spat. “I’m done playing nice. You know, all I was trying to do was set you up somewhere nice.”

I barked out a laugh. “That’s why you traded me to a mob boss to settle your fucking gambling debt?”

The other men snorted, and Tony’s face just grew darker, and angrier. He marched over to me, and I gasped as he shoved me down onto the frozen road. The gun raised, and I felt my heart jump into my chest.

Dane.

His face came into my mind, and the feel of his touch, and the taste of his lips. And I knew if this was it—if I was going to die right here on the side of this mountain road, on Christmas freaking Eve—that as shitty as that was, I’d had two days of perfection with the man of my dreams. I’d tasted that perfection, and as I sat there on my knees, freezing and refusing to let the tears fall, I closed my eyes and thought of Dane.

“You made me do this, Holly,” Tony muttered, and I heard the hammer of his gun draw back.

The wind howled, roaring, thundering as the snow whipped around us. It grew louder, and deeper, until suddenly, I frowned as I opened my eyes.

That’s not wind.

I looked past Tony, and suddenly, my eyes went wide.

Holy shit.

I lunged to the side, and Tony whirled just in time for the front fender of the jeep to smash into him. He smashed into the windshield, grunting before flipping over the roof. The jeep barreled right into the other men, knocking three of them flying as the other two dove out of the way. The jeep skidded to a stop, the doors opened, and suddenly, there he was.

Dane.

He roared, charging on the still-standing guy and slamming him into the side of the plow-truck. His fists rained down on the man, battering him to the ground as he whirled and charged the second man. He hit the stunned looking mobster in the side, tackling him to the ground and raining blows down on him until the guy slumped, unconscious.

Dane looked up, his eyes blazing with fury. He saw me, and suddenly, he was rushing for me like a man possessed. I gasped as he plowed into me, scooping me up and pulling me into his arms as he hugged me tight.

“Are you hurt?”

I shook my head. “No, just cold.”

His big, strong arms wrapped around me, hugging me fiercely.

“Thought I’d lost you there,” he growled quietly.

“You wish you were that lucky.”

He laughed, burying his face in my neck and kissing me as I melted into him.

“I’ve gotcha, angel,” he murmured. “I’ve got you now.”

“You fuckin’ dick!”

We both whirled at the horrible sounding voice, to see Tony trying to stand, waving his gun at us. His face was a mess, and one arm looked completely mangled as he struggled to his feet. Blood dripped from wounds all over his body, and he stumbled as he tried to point the gun at us.

“You think you can just steal what doesn’t belong to you?”

Dane growled, moving in front of me and pushing me behind his back.

“It’s Tony, right?”

Tony nodded with his chin. “Yeah, and?”

“So you’re the motherfucker who likes to hit girls, huh? That do anything to help that limp dick of yours? Hitting girls? Make you feel like a big man, champ?”

Dane’s voice was edged in steel as he goaded him, and I watched Tony’s eyes narrow dangerously.

“Hey pal, don’t get salty that you got my leftov—”

He grunted as Dane charged him faster than a bullet out of a gun. He slammed into Tony, knocking him down and pouncing on him, pinning him to them ground before he sank his fist into his face. He pulled back for another swing, when suddenly, there was the sound of a gun being cocked.

“Get offa him, asshole!” Two of Angelo’s guys who Dane had half run over were up. Bleeding, but up, and holding guns at him.

“Let him go, prick!” the other grunted, bleeding from a head wound. “Count of three, I’m blowing you away. One. Two—”

He grunted, his eyes rolling back as he suddenly slumped forward. And suddenly, from behind him in the swirling white snowy wind, three figures emerged.

Three big, built figures.

The second wounded mafia guy turned back, but one of the new arrivals just grabbed him, picking him up effortlessly, yanking the gun from his hands, then tossing him away like a piece of wadded up paper.

The three figures stepped forward, moving out of the swirling snow and into visibility. I shivered.

Yikes, where the hell had these three come from? The three men were built as big as Dane, bearded, and fierce looking. They looked like cavemen mixed with bikers. Really, really good looking caveman bikers.

Dane stood, nodding at them.

“Thanks. I had it, but thanks.”

The one with the bigger beard and a shotgun in his hands chuckled. “‘Course you did.”

“Go. Fuck. Your—”

Tony whimpered as Dane kicked the toe of his boot into the asshole’s side.

“Stop fucking talking,” he hissed before turning to me. Our eyes locked, his lips pulled back in a grin, and suddenly, he was on me.

I shrieked as he scooped me up again, whirling me and then kissing me deeply as my arms slid around his neck.

“You found me,” I murmured.

“I’ll always find you, angel,” he whispered back. “You’re my heart, you know. It’s tough to lose your heart.”

There was a grunt from one of Angelo’s men as he tried to stand, but one of the newcomers stormed over and kicked him down with his boot.

“Stay down,” he growled in a Russian-sounding accent.

Dane’s arm tightened around me as he turned towards the three of them.

“Sorry about the windshield.”

The man with the accent grinned, shrugging. “It’s fine.”

Tony groaned pitifully, from the ground, and the third man walked over and sank a boot into his side before leveling a gun at him.

“This one the leader?”

Dane nodded, his eyes narrowing at Tony as his arm tightened on me possessively.

“Yeah.”

The guy looked up. “He worth killing?”

Dane growled, and slowly turned to eye me. “Angel?”

I took a breath, glaring daggers at the man who’d beaten me, and hurt me, and given me away for a gambling debt, and I tried to remember how in the world I’d ever wound up with him in the first place. Tony was a bastard, but then, I wasn’t about to play judge, jury, and executioner.

“No,” I said quietly, shaking my head. “He’s not.”

I looked up into Dane’s eyes, biting my lip as I smiled wickedly.

“He is worth throwing in prison though.”

Dane chuckled, grinning at me. “Good.”

“We’ll call it in,” the biggest guy with the beard growled. “We got some friends with the local cops.”

“Thanks,” Dane nodded. “Holly, this is Axe, Braun, and Vlad. They all live up here?”

“Together?”

Braun chuckled as he shook his head. “Hell no. These two are like brothers to me, and I’d still murder them in their sleep if I had to live with ‘em.” He grinned. “Nah, we all live with our wives. There’s the three of us, Austin and Dallas, Ryker, and Stone, and their wives too.”

My brow arched. “Quite a crowd you’ve got up here.”

Axe laughed deeply. “It’s getting downright fucking crowded up here.”

“Look, we can get your truck out when the snow calms the fuck down a little bit,” Braun said. “Until then, we can get you down the mountain if you’ve got some place to be, or…” He shrugged. “I mean, it’s Christmas Eve, and you both are welcome to stay. We’re all having a get-together up at Vlad’s place over the next ridge. All of us, the other guys, our families, kids, all of it.”

He glanced at the other two and shrugged. “Listen, none of us up here are in the habit of sticking our noses in other folks’ business. Shit, it’s the reason most of us are up here to begin with. But I’m guessing you two need to lay low for a while.” He looked around, raising his hands up. “If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. But I will say that Blackthorn is a pretty damn good place to lay low. It’s a pretty fucking great place to start over in.”

Axe snorted. “Jesus, man. You wanna bring them a welcome to the neighborhood casserole and invite them to game night?”

Braun elbowed him sharply, making Axe chuckle as he shook his head and glanced at us. “We, uh. We do actually have a game night going these days.”

I grinned, and when I felt Dane’s fingers lace with mine as he pulled me close, it was almost like the storm was already passing.

Vlad nodded at us, crossing his arms over his chest. “So, are you in? We’ve got more food than we know what to do with.”

“Yeah and this asshole lives in a luxury mansion masquerading as a cabin,” Braun chuckled, kicking snow at Vlad. “Trust me, he’s got the room for more people.”

I turned to Dane. He turned to me. Our eyes met, and slowly, we both started to smile. Above us, the clouds parted, and for the first time in two days, real, actual sunlight started to shine down on the snowy white mountain around us.

And I knew it was all going to be okay.

***

We laughed later, bellies full of food, heads swimming with wine and whiskey, and faces hurting from smiling so much. God, I didn’t even know when the last time I’d smiled so much had been.

The feast had been amazing, and meeting all the others who lived up there on Blackthorn was incredible. Some had come to just get away from it all. Others had run there from something, like us. Others had stumbled onto the place, and stumbled onto a someone who made them realize this was home.

No matter how they’d arrived though, there was only love here. I watched as Axe kissed his wife Larkin tenderly, which was wild for a guy his size who looked as fierce as he did. Behind them, their twin girls toddled around, bringing a smile to my lips.

Ryker and Stone, two biker-types who were close with Axe, were off in a corner playing Christmas carols on guitars while Ryker’s wife Addison sang with this gorgeous voice that filled Vlad’s huge lodge-like living room. Over in the kitchen area, the twin brothers, Austin and Dallas took turns switching off washing dishes and dancing with their bride, Stella.

Their bride. As in, shared. I’d blushed fiercely when Stella had introduced them, but she seemed pretty used to that reaction.

“Don’t ask me how it works,” Chloe, Vlad’s wife, had giggled over a glass of wine later with me and Katrina. She’d nodded at Stella and her men. “But, it does.”

I’d watched as Dane had clinked glasses of whiskey with Braun across the room. Apparently, they knew some of the same people in the Marines, which was crazy.  We cheered when Ryker’s little girl Kyrie recited “The Night Before Christmas” by heart. We whistled when Stone broke out into a guitar solo that sounded a lot more like Guns N’ Roses than Silent Night. And we laughed when Stone’s wife Jackie marched over to the two gorgeous and tattooed guys — Caleb and Landon, tattooist friends of Stone’s — and told them to “get their mitts off” her sister, Kennedy, whose arm they were both drawing fake tattoos on.

And after all of that, I found myself sitting by the fire, wrapped up in Dane’s arms, content, and happy.

There was laughter, and warmth, song and dance, food and wine, and mostly, there was love. And Braun’s words from earlier echoed through my wine-happy head.

“It’s a pretty fucking great place to start over in.”

And maybe it was. But maybe, for now, all I needed was the present. All I needed was him, and those arms around me, and the love all around us. The rest we could figure out later.

“Hey,” I whispered, turning in his arms to look up at him. “Merry Christmas.”

He grinned. “Merry Christmas, angel,” he murmured before his lips pressed to mine, kissing me softly. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” I whispered back, melting into him as his arms tightened around me and the last bars of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” rang out from across the room.