Monroe, Marla - Their Bartered Bride [Men of the Border Lands 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (15 page)

“You looked sad just then. What were you thinking about?”

“Nothing.”

“No, I told you my secret. Tell me what made you look so sad.” Ronnie crossed her arms, waiting.

“I just think that maybe Joel is feeling guilty about having bought me. He and Jonathan felt really strongly about buying women and then they bought me. They saved me, though. I don’t want him to regret it, regret me.”

“Don’t worry yourself about it. He’ll come to terms with it. It’s nothing on you, I’m sure. It’s a code of ethics that he had, and he breached it, but there are always times when you might have to make allowances for things.”

“I wish he would talk about it. I feel like I’m making him unhappy.”

Ronnie reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Give him time. He’ll come to terms with it and everything will be okay.”

The sounds of scuffling outside the kitchen door had both women jerking in their seats.

“What’s that?” Ronnie asked.

“I don’t know.” Leigh stood up and inched toward the kitchen door.

“Don’t open the door,” Ronnie yelled out.

“I’m not. I’m just going to look out the window.” Leigh eased forward and leaned in to see out of it.

“Fuck!”

“What is it?” Ronnie asked, backing away from the door.

“There’s a wolf out there digging at the door.”

“Where’s your cellar? We need to get down there, now.”

Before Leigh could tell her, there was a crash of glass and a wolf flew through the kitchen window next to the door. Another one followed by yet another one. Both women screamed as the wolves stalked toward them.

Chapter Twelve

“There are more than the dozen we saw. I saw more than that the other night when I was out here,” Joel said.

“We’ll, we’ve managed to kill three. That will let them know we’re after them and not to fuck with us,” Brice said.

Garrett shook his head. “I don’t get it. They ran. Why did they run?”

Jonathan and Joel exchanged glances. Joel was thinking the same thing. They had chased them deep into the woods past Brice and Garrett’s house. Something wasn’t right.

“They act too intelligent for my thinking, too. It’s almost as if they’ve learned from how we’ve been watching them,” Brice said.

Jonathan looked back over his shoulder in the direction of home. “Joel. I want to get back to Leigh. I don’t like this.”

“Fuck. You don’t think they split up and are back at the house, do you?” Garrett asked.

“Yeah, I do,” Joel said and took off running toward home.

“Slow up, Joel,” Garrett yelled. “The cold air will kill your lungs and you won’t be able to even walk in a few minutes. We’ll get there.”

Joel stopped and bent over, knowing Garrett was right. It didn’t make him feel any better. He had a sick feeling about the entire thing.

The four of them walked for nearly an hour back toward the house. The first howl spurred them back into a sprint, though. The second howl had them running. Joel wasn’t going to lose Leigh. They had told her to keep the doors closed and locked. She would do it. She wouldn’t have opened them for any reason without her men being there.

The cold air was burning his lungs as he fought to keep up the fast pace he had set for them. Thank goodness the snow had been less than a foot deep in most places, or they would have been slowed way down.

As it was, when they reached the house and saw the window broken in, Joel nearly went to his knees. He started forward, but Jonathan grabbed him.

“They might still be in there, and we don’t know how many there are. We need to surround them.”

“Brice and I will take the front door. Do you have a key?” Garrett asked.

Joel dug in his pocket and pulled out his keys. He handed him the right key.

“On the count of twenty we’ll all go in. Remember the women are in there, so don’t shoot one of them,” Joel warned.

They all nodded and the other two men ran around to the front of the house. Joel and Jonathan would go through the window.

As soon as he reached twenty, Joel nodded at Jonathan and they went through the window with their guns at the ready. There was blood everywhere, but no sign of the women. A wolf lay on its side in front of the pantry with a knife sticking out of it. Just as the other two men walked inside, a wolf came running from upstairs. Brice shot it before it ever reached the ground. Another one came barreling down the stairs as well. Joel caught it as it rounded the corner to the kitchen.

“Brice and I’ll go upstairs and clear it. How many bedrooms?” Garrett asked.

“Three. We’ll look for them here,” Joel said.

“Leigh! Ronnie!” Jonathan called out, walking toward the pantry door.

There was a murmur of voices from somewhere. Joel and Garrett both jumped for the pantry at the same time. They had to kick aside the dead wolf. Then they wrenched open the door, only to find the room empty.

“Leigh? Where are you, baby?” Joel called out.

The murmur of voices was closer but still muffled.

“They’re in the cellar, Joel,” Jonathan said.

Joel grabbed the cellar door and pulled, but it wouldn’t open.

“Fuck, they have it barred on the inside. Why don’t they open it for us?” Joel kicked the door.

“Open the door, baby. We can’t help you if you don’t open the door.” Jonathan banged on the door.

More murmurs sounded below them.

“The second story is clear,” Brice said. “We didn’t find them.”

“They’re in the cellar, but the door is barred on the other side. I’m trying to get them to let us in. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“Maybe they are looking for the stairs. There’s no light down there,” Jonathan pointed out.

“Leigh! Follow the sound of my voice. Come on, baby. I know you can do it.”

Joel called out for several seconds. The sounds of footsteps on the stairs beneath them silenced his voice. He sighed. She was coming.

The wood beam on the other side started moving, and then the door creaked open. Instead of Leigh’s face emerging from the gloom, Ronnie’s did. She had blood all over her chest, arms, and hands.

“Leigh’s hurt, bad. She saved my life. You’ve got to help her.”

Garrett grabbed her up and carried her into the kitchen. Brice handed Joel a lantern.

“You’re going to need this. Where is your first-aid kit?”

“Under the kitchen sink,” Jonathan answered for Joel, who was already descending the stairs.

“Baby?” Joel steeled himself for what he would find when he found her. It didn’t help.

She lay against the potatoes, curled up on her side, covered in blood from head to foot. Joel felt tears brim in his eyes. He swallowed around them and called out for Jonathan, but the man was already there, picking her up and holding her close.

Joel held the lantern as they walked back up the stairs. It had grown dark now. The other men had lit several lamps around the kitchen to light the room. Jonathan sat on a chair, still holding Leigh. She hadn’t said anything.

“Jonathan?” Joel was afraid to ask.

“She’s alive, but I don’t know how badly she’s hurt. I’m scared to look. You’re going to have to.”

Joel sat the lantern down on the table next to where Brice and Garrett were tending to Ronnie’s wounds.

“Is she okay?” Jonathan looked over at the other woman.

“She’s going to be. She has some bad cuts on her hands and arms, but that’s it. What about Leigh?” Garrett asked.

“I don’t know.” Jonathan almost whispered it.

“Joel?” Garrett asked.

“She’s bleeding, but I haven’t figured out where yet.” He pulled her hands away from her abdomen and cursed.

“What is it?” Jonathan asked.

“She has a bite on her stomach. Can you hold her hand away from it for me so I can tell more about it?”

Jonathan took her hand in his and held it still as Joel checked her belly. “Her arms are all scratched and cut up.”

“We’ll take care of her, Jonathan,” Joel promised.

“She’s got a bite on her belly that’s bleeding, but I don’t think it went too deep. I think she’s more in shock than anything,” Joel said with some relief.

He knew they weren’t out of the woods yet. There was the threat of infection, and the wounds had to be sewn up. First, they had to clean her and see which ones would need closing.

“Do you need anything from us?” Brice asked. “I want to take Ronnie home and see about these cuts that have to be sewn up.”

“No, I’m glad she’s going to be okay.”

“She saved my life. She pulled the wolf off of me and kept stabbing at it with the knife.” Ronnie was crying.

“We owe her,” Garrett said.

“You help us kill those fucking wolves, and that will take care of it.” Joel was so upset he was shaking.

“It’s a done deal, man.” Garrett picked up Ronnie and carried her toward the front door.

Brice laid Joel’s keys on the table and looked him in the eye. “We’ll get them. Every last one of them.” Then he followed Garrett and Ronnie through the living room.

Joel didn’t even hear the front door close.

“Let’s get her upstairs and clean her off in the tub so we can see the wounds better. I’ll carry her. You need to get the lamps and the first-aid kit.” Jonathan stood up, cradling Leigh in his arms.

Jonathan seemed to have his head on straight. Joel wasn’t doing so well. All he could see was a lifeless Leigh curled up covered in blood. He shook his head hard to clear it and grabbed the lamps to lead Jonathan upstairs. He made several more trips with lamps, the first-aid kit, and bags of snow from outside to help cut down on the swelling around the wounds.

Jonathan had stripped her and, after padding the tub with towels, laid her in the tub so they could pour the last of their peroxide over her wounds. Her hands were bleeding the most. They packed icy towels around them while they worked on her abdomen.

“Joel?” Leigh finally spoke in a small voice.

“Right here, baby. We’ve got you.”

“It hurts.”

“I know, baby.” Joel thought he was going to break down and cry, but he refused. He had to be strong to get them all through this.

“Is my belly okay?” she asked.

“It’s fine, baby. You have a bite there, but it’s shallow.” This time Jonathan answered, smoothing her hair out of her face. “We’re going to fix you up, Leigh. Then we’re going to hold you close.”

“I was so scared.” She began to cry now, low sobs that were breaking Joel’s heart.

“I know you were, baby, but you did well. You did well.” Joel leaned in and kissed her gently on the mouth.

They tended to her wounds for nearly an hour before finally finishing. Leigh had passed out as soon as they began sewing up the worst of the cuts. Joel knew she had been damn lucky to be alive, much less having survived with so few wounds. She had the bite on her belly that was shallow and only required a couple of stitches. Then there were the various cuts on her hands and up one arm. He had to be thankful. It could have been so much worse.