She wouldn’t die.
Not today.
The relief at knowing she was one step closer to freedom didn’t come. Instead, her stomach rolled, and she was afraid she might throw up. Getting out of her ropes had been the easy part. Getting out of the house without getting seriously hurt or dying would be much harder.
But when Jeff said he was going out to the truck to check on something, Ainsley knew this was her only chance. She could maybe get away from one of them. But two? She didn’t stand a chance—no matter how much desperation gave her an edge.
Riker came closer to her then, hovering over her like the snake he was. “We called Loch, and yet…he didn’t offer us the company or the contacts. Seems he doesn’t care about you, after all.”
She ignored his words, knowing he was only taunting her. Loch would do anything to save those he loved, and that scared her. Because she didn’t want anyone else getting hurt because of her, she didn’t want Loch hurt because of her. So, she’d find a way to get to him rather than the other way around.
At least, she hoped.
When Riker put his hand over her mouth, she knew this was her chance. Either she let whatever happened to her happen, or she found a way to get out.
So, she bit him on the finger.
Hard.
Riker screamed and cursed, staggering back a few steps in the opposite direction, holding his bloody hand to his chest. Ainsley took those few seconds to leap up from her chair and run toward the door. She must have shocked him because he didn’t move for a heartbeat. She didn’t know if Jeff was right outside the front door or not, but she didn’t have a choice. She had to take a chance. She either tried to make a break for it, or she didn’t. Ever.
Riker met her at the door, pulling at her hair as he had in her car. She screamed, ducking out of the way this time because she had the room. When her eyes caught on something that glinted in the low light of the bare bulbs above them, she jumped for it, her hands landing on the hilt of a small knife.
She really didn’t know what to do with a weapon, she wasn’t trained in them and could likely hurt herself more than Riker, but she was out of options.
Riker lunged at her, an expression of triumph on his face. He obviously knew she wasn’t good with a blade, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t try. So, she thrust her arm out, the knife pointed toward Riker. When she heard the sickening sound of something sharp going into a piece of meat, like when she stabbed a raw roast, she almost gagged.
She looked down at where she’d embedded the knife deep into Riker’s side and then looked back up at his face. He looked like he couldn’t quite believe what she’d done. She couldn’t either for that matter. But his slight hesitation when he groaned in pain and clutched his side gave her all the time she needed. She was out the door in the next instant, running through the forest with the snow crunching under her shoes. She wasn’t wearing a jacket, they’d taken that off her in order to mess with her in the chair, and the bitter wind slapped at her skin, sinking into her bones. Freezing the water still on her clothing and in her hair.
But she ignored it all.
If she kept moving, she’d find her away to a road and then to someone who could help her. She couldn’t stop, couldn’t think about what she’d done or what could still come at her. She just had to get to someone, had to get to Loch.
She turned a corner, getting near a clearing where she could hear the trickle of the almost frozen creek she knew surrounded Whiskey, when something slammed into her back. She hit the ice-cold ground with a thud, dirt and branches digging into her palms, leaving a bloody trail in their wake as she rolled to her back.
Jeff was on top of her, his hands around her throat and a wild gleam in his eyes. She panicked, clawing at his fingers, trying to pull him free so she could breathe. She broke a nail, the jagged edge cutting into his skin, but he still didn’t pull away. Instead, he squeezed harder.
She blinked, her vision going dark at the edges as she fought for breath. She reached around for something, anything to try and get free. She couldn’t die, not after all she’d done to escape. She was so close. If she could have made it past the creek, she would have been near people who could help.
Her hands slid over the dirt, shaking as she tried to find something. Anything to use as a weapon. When her fingers closed over a pointed rock, she pulled it up and slammed it into Jeff’s head with all of her remaining strength. She didn’t even think about what she was doing. It was all instinct, she just hoped to hell it was enough to let her have even a fraction of a second of breath.
Jeff blinked at her, blood pouring down from his temple, then his hold slackened, and he fell on top of her, his head slamming into the ground beside her face.
She scrambled from beneath him, her whole body shaking as she coughed, gasping for breath. She kept moving, though, knowing Riker could be close, and Jeff could wake up at any moment. She just needed to get help, then she’d be free. Then she’d be okay.
And if she kept telling herself that, she might truly believe it.
She made it to the creek edge, knowing she was going to have to cross it, the idea of hypothermia on her mind, but she didn’t care. She had no choice. She took one step into the icy water, her bloody hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t cry out. Then, someone tugged on her arm, pulling her back and down into the water. Her butt slammed into the rocky bed, and she splashed around, trying to get free.
Riker growled over her, doing his best to push her under. Blood seeped from his wound and into the water around them, mixing with her own.
He grinned at her, a manic gleam in his eyes that told her that this was it.
She hadn’t been strong enough.
But she’d tried.
And, in the end, she could cling to that.
“Stop!” she screamed. “Let me go!” She just hoped someone would be near enough to hear her, that someone would be able to help.
Riker slammed her back into the creek. “Shut up, bitch.” Then he dunked her head under the frigid water, and she thrashed, trying to break free.
He pulled her up again, and she gasped for breath, trying to roll away, but she couldn’t get loose, couldn’t tug herself free.
“It’s over, Ainsley. Just give up. There’s no point in fighting. There never was.”
And as the darkness settled in, as she knew her end was coming, she thought she heard Loch’s voice, thought she heard his shout. But that couldn’t be, because this was the end.
She’d lost.
But she’d fought.
She’d tried.
And now she would see Katie again, even if it was too soon.
Loch’s voice echoed in her head again, and she wondered what he could be saying as she was almost ready to say goodbye.
Because he couldn’t be here. No one was. She was alone except for an unconscious Jeff…and Riker.
Alone.
And gone.
Chapter 20
Loch slammed his fist into Riker’s face as he tugged the other man off Ainsley’s body. He hoped to hell that he’d been quick enough, that he and his brothers had found the place in time.
It had been Fox who found the abandoned farmhouse. Because the place wasn’t within Whiskey lines, the town hadn’t known that someone had called in to complain about a light being on at the old farm that shouldn’t have anyone in it. He and his brothers had told the police about it, and the authorities were on their way, but Loch and his brothers had been closer. They’d come first, knowing they’d get yelled at, but Loch didn’t give a shit. He’d needed to make sure Ainsley was okay, needed to make sure she was safe.
Dare was in the water, tugging Ainsley up and out of the creek as Fox tried to get a signal to tell the police exactly where they were since they were off the trail from the house. He couldn’t tell if Ainsley was moving, couldn’t see if she was even breathing, but he was the only one of his brothers who could take down Riker without killing him, and he didn’t want the other man
to die. He wanted him to live, rotting in a cell, feeling pain for the rest of his life.
“You fucking bastard,” Riker spat, blood dripping down his chin and from his side. Someone, probably Ainsley, had stabbed the asshole, and Loch was proud of her—and scared shitless at the same time. What exactly had this man done to her when Loch had been too far away, unable to help her because he hadn’t been fast enough?
Loch swallowed down the bile in his throat and swung out, trying to subdue Riker. He wanted the man out of the way and not able to hurt anyone else he loved until the cops arrived. He’d even take their help right then, anything so he could get Ainsley into his arms and out of the way of Riker’s insane plans—whatever the hell those were.
When he and his brothers had gotten to the farmhouse, he’d almost thrown up. There had been water everywhere, and wet towels that he had a feeling had gone over Ainsley’s face when they’d fucking waterboarded her. There had been blood on the floor, and her jacket ripped to shreds near some tattered rope. He’d followed her trail, including some of what had to be hers or Riker’s blood until they found Jeff’s unconscious body. Loch had quickly used the zip ties he’d brought with him to keep the man down, then had kept going to the creek where he’d found Riker trying to drown Ainsley.
The fucker had almost done it, too.
But from the way Ainsley was coughing in Dare’s arms to the right of Loch, she was breathing.
He let that relief slide over him as he growled low, ducking out of the way of Riker’s fist. “We’re done, Riker. You’re done. You lost. This is over. Do you get it? You’re unarmed, and there are three of us to one of you. Jeff’s down for the count, and I don’t want to kill you, but if you come near me and mine, I will. Do you get me? It’s over. Don’t lose your life because you’re a selfish asshole.”
“Four,” Ainsley coughed, but Loch didn’t look over at her, just kept his eyes on Riker. “There are four of us. Fuck. You. Riker.”
Then Loch grinned, his love for the woman to his right so fierce, he almost asked her to marry him right then. Because, why the hell not? Nothing else made sense today. Not even a little bit.
Riker screamed and turned toward Ainsley, and Loch was suddenly done. He tackled the other man to the ground, hitting him over and over in the face until he knew Riker’s nose was broken and the other man was finally unconscious—not dead, but close enough that he knew it would take a while for the bastard to heal.
Good.
Then he tied him up as the authorities slid through the trees, Shannon and Renkle leading the way. They looked at the five of them, brows raised, then came to help. Loch was already up and away from Riker, leaving the other man to the police and whoever else wanted jurisdiction since they weren’t technically in Whiskey. Fox and Dare surrounded him as he held Ainsley close, kissing her cold lips and hoping to hell she was okay.
“Baby,” he whispered.
“I’m okay,” she said, her whole body shaking, her lips blue. “I’m okay.” She repeated it over and over again, and Fox called out for the paramedics to come over. Loch knew the others were saying things, asking questions, but right then, he could only focus on the woman in his arms.
“Is Misty…?” Ainsley coughed before she could finish her question, and he knew he’d have to let her go soon, but he wanted to keep her in his arms and warm for as long as possible.
“She’s fine. Safe. Scared, but safe. You saved her, Ainsley. You saved her.” He kissed her again. “And you saved yourself.” He knew she’d fought for her life, and though he’d been the one to end things with Riker, he knew he would have been too late if she hadn’t fought as hard as she did.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I know.” She leaned into him, and he shook her a bit to make sure she didn’t go to sleep as the paramedics came closer, getting out their equipment as they started to take her vitals, even with her still in his arms.
“You hated that line in that movie,” he growled, trying to keep her smiling, even if it didn’t reach her eyes.
“Well, I get it now,” she said, her voice a little drowsy, so he hugged her tighter as the paramedics wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. Dare was wearing one as well since he’d gone into the water, but his brother was on the phone with Kenzie, giving the family the updates he could.
“Seriously?” he asked, moving out of the way slightly so the EMTs could work on her bloody hands. He held back a growl at the sight of them, knowing her injuries could have been far worse…though he didn’t know the full extent of them yet.
She looked up at him, a light in her eyes he was afraid he’d never see again. “Okay, fine. I love you.”
“I’ll take that.”
Then he held her close as everyone started talking at once, doing what they needed to for the scene, for Ainsley’s health, and even for Loch’s knuckles. He knew there would be more questions to come, more answers they needed that he might not have, but for now, he just held Ainsley close to him, knowing his brothers had his back like always. There would be more time to talk later.
There will be more time, he repeated to himself.
More time because Ainsley had fought to save her life, and Loch and his brothers had been just fast enough for an outcome that didn’t mean more death.
And in the end, that had to count for something.
Chapter 21
Two weeks later, Ainsley lay in Loch’s bed, Misty cuddled up against her side, deep in sleep after their second story time of the night. Loch was helping Dare out behind the bar tonight since Ainsley had kicked him out of the house, his hovering adorably sweet but a bit overwhelming after a while.
Her hands were healed, as were the other cuts and bruises she’d gotten from the ordeal. She’d lost a couple of clumps of hair but had added a few new layers to her hairstyle a few days after she got home to camouflage it. Her face had taken the longest time to heal, and she knew that every time Loch looked at her, he got angry and blamed himself. But he never said anything. Instead, he left gentle kisses on her bruises and held her hand.
He was always touching her, always making sure she felt loved and cared for.
They were doing the same with Misty, making sure the little girl knew that Ainsley and Loch weren’t going anywhere, that they loved her and were going to take care of her.
Misty had nightmares, but they were getting better each night. Ainsley, much the same. It helped that the three of them also went to a therapist, Ainsley and Loch now going alone, as a family, and as a couple. It was the same therapist that Melody, Fox, Kenzie, and Dare had used after their issues and were still seeing. At some point, maybe the Collins family could get a group discount, but Ainsley never wanted to think too hard about that.
She hadn’t gone back to work, her sub taking over with perfect ease. She’d go back soon, though everyone said she could have the semester off if she needed time. They were being so generous with her, her students even sending letters and emails to make sure she knew they were keeping up with their lessons and were thinking about her.
She would go back, probably on Monday, healed and ready to try and be normal again. It wasn’t that she would have lasting scars on her body, but her soul ached. She’d thought she would die, had thought she’d never hear Loch’s voice again except for what she’d thought had been her imagination. Instead, it had actually been him screaming for her as he saved her life.
He’d told her that she saved herself, and she truly believed that she had partly saved herself when she was able to get away from Riker the first time and from Jeff the second. But Loch had been the one to save her in the end.
When Loch told her that she’d saved him, as well, she hadn’t believed him, but then he’d said that she was his and, without her, he’d have been lost.
The two of them were best friends. They were lovers. And they were in love. With Misty, they were a family. It was as if they had always been one, even if she knew that others might think they were moving too fast.
They weren’t. They were moving at their own pace, and that was all that mattered. They weren’t confusing Misty, and they were staying true to themselves.
That was why she hadn’t moved out yet, and knowing Loch, she probably never would. It was as if she had always been there, and once she and Loch had finally opened up to one another, everything just clicked into place.
She didn’t know what would happen next, though she had a small plan she hoped would work out. Yes, everything was too soon for others, but she and Loch weren’t everybody else. Their bond had been forged when they were friends, had settled into place over the years of being close and being who they were, and had been tested and found stronger than ever when Riker had tried to ruin their lives.
Now, Riker, Chris, and Jeff were being tried for countless crimes, Dennis had been laid to rest, surrounded by those who had known him and would miss him. Whiskey was coming back to itself, putting its unraveled and undone recent past behind it.
And Ainsley could smile with this little girl in her arms and in her heart.
It counted.
“There my girls are,” Loch whispered. “She’s out, isn’t she?”
Ainsley smiled and looked up at the sound of his voice, her breath catching. Yes, it still caught at the sight of him, she couldn’t help it. He was her Loch, and no matter how many times they were together, it always felt like the first and the thousandth time all at once.
“Like a light. We went through two stories, and I didn’t want to wake her if I had to move her.”
“You shouldn’t be picking her up anyway. Not yet.”
She rolled her eyes. “Loch. I’m fine.”
“Sure.” She knew he didn’t believe her, but that was okay. She’d scared him just as much, if not more than she’d scared herself. And if he had to act like a big, growly bear for a bit longer, she’d let him. And when and if it got to be too much, she’d kick his ass like always. It was how they worked, even when they were only friends.
Whiskey Undone (Whiskey and Lies Book 3) Page 18