Mountain Cure (Stone Brothers Duet, #2)

by Jadin, Bethany

  I thought I did, of course.

  But the way I felt about him is nothing compared to how Colt, Wes, and Remi have grabbed my heart. They’ve rocked my world in ways I’d have never imagined possible.

  That revelation is still swirling through me with a jolt of amazement when he breaks our staring contest by stepping toward me. He moves slowly, turning one hand palm up, the other still grasping his phone.

  “Now, I know you don’t have the kind of cash it takes to pay for a place like this,” he says. “So you can imagine how interested that made me. It took some doing, but finally the resort manager tracked down the front desk clerk who handled the transaction and well... let’s just say what she told me only raised my curiosity.”

  My eyes dart around the room as he stalks slowly toward me.

  I’m not sure where he’s going with his story, but I’ve only ever seen him this angry once before — when he lost a high-profile case due to someone else’s fuck up. He came home from court, called his office, and calmly fired half his staff before putting his fist through the living room wall.

  Now he’s looking at me with the same cold, calculated disgust he had that day as he told his employees they were unceremoniously fired. It’s particularly unnerving because in this situation, he’s the one who fucked up by sleeping with someone else.

  I don’t know what has him wound so tight, but I’m sure as hell not comfortable being the focus of his anger.

  “I flew out here to see for myself,” he says, stopping just a few feet from me. “But you already know who paid for this suite, don’t you Addie?”

  I shake my head. Last I checked, all the charges were going on Jason’s card, and no one at the resort has ever indicated differently. “I don’t. I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Jason runs his tongue along the inside of his cheek, that sardonic, twisted grin returning. “Oh, but I think you do.”

  The darkness in his expression, hatred simmering just under the surface — I don’t like it at all. The urge to bolt is making my legs tremble, but he’s between me and the bedroom door.

  “Jason, whatever’s happened with the charges, I don’t really care. If I owe you money, I’ll pay it back. We can sort it out later. But right now, you need to leave.”

  “Let’s sort it out right now.” He holds the phone up, and both my anger and panic spike as I look at the familiar device — it’s not his phone, it’s mine.

  “What the hell? Give me that!”

  I reach for it, but he holds it away from me and tips his head. “Not so fast, Addie.”

  “What are you doing, Jason? Give me my fucking phone,” I demand with a snarl, reaching for it again.

  He holds up a hand between us, a warning to stay back, his eyes glittering. “You see, when the resort told me the charges have been transferred to an account for BlackFire Enterprises, that really grabbed my attention.”

  “What?” The word slips out as I do a double-take, sure I’ve heard him wrong. The guys never said anything about that to me. My mind races, wondering why they’d pay for my stay.

  “I did some digging,” he continues. “That is my area of expertise, after all — finding all the juicy little secrets tucked away behind the veil of corporate paperwork.”

  “Why do you even care?” I fold my arms over my chest, feeling exposed and furious at the same time. My lip trembles with anger as he stares at me.

  A few weeks ago I might have eagerly rubbed it in his face — that I slept with three sexy men during the vacation he planned. When I first arrived in Meadowbrook, I just wanted to get over him. To get revenge on him. To hurt him as much as he hurt me.

  But that’s changed.

  Everything has changed.

  “I was wondering which one of them—which Stone brother—found you so alluring that he was moved to pay for your stay. But... oh, Addie, you’ve been a busy woman, haven’t you?”

  My fingers curl into fists, bile rising in my throat. I can’t stand him knowing about the guys. The guys are part of my world, not his.

  “You should have saved yourself the trip and stayed where you were, because that’s none of your goddamn business,” I snap.

  “Ah, but I think it is. And it’s a little too late to try hiding what you’ve been up to, don’t you think?”

  I narrow my eyes at him. “This isn’t the fucking courtroom, Jason. I don’t have anything to say to you.”

  The guys have turned this vacation into much more than just an act of revenge — it’s become a sacred, special experience. One that I wouldn’t tell Jason about in a million years.

  “You don’t have to say a thing. It’s all right here.” He waves my own phone at me.

  My photo gallery is on the screen, and I realize that’s what he was doing when I first found him in the bedroom—scrolling through all my pictures. A fresh batch of anger surges through me.

  “Again, that’s absolutely none of your fucking business.” I hold my hand out instead of slugging him in the face like I want to. “Now give me my goddamn phone.”

  Instead of handing it over, his smile turns up into something truly hideous as his eyes flick to the screen. He taps an image, and it zooms to full size. It’s the guys, posing for me in front of the fireplace at their cabin, naked as the day they were born, their hands in strategic positions cleverly concealing the goods, but just barely.

  I snapped it after we came in from playing outside the day of the snowball fight. All four of us had stripped off our cold, wet clothes, and they agreed to pose for me in the buff. Best picture I’ve ever taken — and now Jason’s staring at it in disgust.

  “Three of them,” he spits, sneering at the phone. “Brothers, even. I didn’t know that was your thing, Addie. I learn new stuff every day.”

  My fingernails dig into my skin as I squeeze my fists tighter. I don’t know if I’ve ever wanted to hit someone as badly as I do right now.

  But I also see that look in Jason’s eye.

  He’s full of barely controlled rage, and I remember how his fist slammed through the wall the last time he was this angry. Well, not even this angry. The fury in his eyes is next level shit—and I have no idea what that means for me.

  We’re alone in here, the walls are thick enough that no one would hear me scream, and he has an easy fifty pounds on me.

  I swallow and try to calm myself, thinking quickly on how to defuse the situation so I can escape.

  “It’s not like that,” I say as calmly as I can. “Please, Jason, just give me my phone and let’s go downstairs to talk.”

  My attempt at a neutral, diplomatic tone doesn’t help. I don’t even know if he’s heard what I said, because his lips curl over his teeth and he steps closer, shoving the screen toward my face.

  “This what you like? Getting fucked by a parade of gorillas? And you gave me shit for sleeping with Candace? At least she has some class. These guys are what... fucking lumberjacks?”

  I back away from him slowly, edging along the wall, putting distance between us. “Jason, you need to leave.”

  He laughs, and it’s a dark, hollow sound. “I don’t think so. This isn’t your apartment this time, is it? I reserved this suite. Your fuck buddies might have paid for it, but it’s in my goddamn name, remember? I think I’ll stay as long as I please.”

  His rage is rising more, and I keep moving slowly away from him, heading for my suitcase. I do my best to push my own anger down and not let my fear make me freeze up. I need to stay clear headed.

  “Fine,” I say agreeably, instead of all the biting comments I want to spit at him. “Stay here, then. You’re right, it’s your place, so I’ll leave. Just give me my phone, and I’ll be gone.”

  “You think it’s that easy? Fuck you, Addie.” He holds up my phone once more — then hurls it at the wall. I hear the screen shatter on impact and watch in horror as it falls to the floor in pieces.

  “What the fuck?” I yell, loud and furious. So much for diffusing th
e situation. If we were in the kitchen, I’d be reaching for a knife right now.

  He stares at me as I draw in a sharp breath, my nostrils flaring. I eye my suitcase, judging the distance. Three more steps, then I can grab it and make a run for the door. Never mind the outfits laying on the bench and the few other things still scattered around the suite — they’ll just have to stay.

  He notices me looking, and for a split second we stare at each other before lunging for the suitcase at the same time. He’s closer and snatches it up first, his hand wrapping around the thick handle.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” I shriek, grabbing it by the sides, trying to pull it out of his hand, but his grip is firm, and he yanks it away, causing me to stumble forward chaotically.

  “You wanna leave? Let me help you.” He grabs me by the arm just as I slam into the dresser.

  “Jason!” I yell in surprise, trying to pull away from him, but his hand tightens painfully, his fingers digging into my skin.

  He yanks me out of the bedroom with such force that I lose my footing again and trip, flying face-first toward the floor.

  For a brief second, his grip on me is gone, but as soon as my hands slap the polished marble beneath my face just in the nick of time to avoid smacking my head on the floor, his fingers curl around my arm once again.

  I try to pull away, kicking his legs and hitting him with my free hand. “Are you fucking crazy? Let go of me!”

  He ignores my plea and jerks me up from the floor. I don’t quite have my feet under me as he drags me toward the entrance of the suite. Terror rushes through every inch of me as my mind races to figure out a plan.

  In all the time I’ve known him, he’s never acted like the kind of guy that would lay a hand on me — that would have ended things faster than finding him with Candace McBitchface.

  But he’s in rare form today, and I realize with terror that between the cheating he hid from me for so long and his erratic behavior today, I really don’t know what he’s truly capable of.

  My heart is racing with fear, but my mind is going even faster, running at lightspeed, trying to figure out a plan.

  At least if we leave the suite, we’ll be within earshot of someone else. And once we get downstairs, he’ll have to let go. He wouldn’t dare drag me through the lobby, not with that many people around.

  If he tries it, I’ll scream bloody murder.

  His fingers claw into me as he wrenches the door open and shoves me into the hall. I bite my lip, keeping a slew of venomous words from slipping out of my mouth as Jason yanks me forward.

  I scramble to keep my feet moving in sync as he marches me toward the elevator — and public spaces. The bruising pain of his crushing grip on my arm is excruciating, but I breathe through it, letting it fuel me as I plot his demise.

  He could have left me alone. He could have gone on with his life and forgot I existed. He could have crawled in a hole and died of shame for being a two-timing douchebag.

  It’s not like he actually loves me and is devastated to learn I’ve moved on. Or that he misses me or is terribly broken up over the end of our relationship. Not that any of that would excuse this behavior, even if it were true. But that’s not what’s burning him up right now.

  No. This is about his giant fucking ego.

  I glance at him from the corner of my eye as he presses the elevator button for the lobby. Just a few more moments and we’ll be downstairs, surrounded by other guests and hotel staff.

  Then I’m gonna do so much more than just throw his fucking shoes down the gutter. I really might end up arrested today, because his feet won’t be what bleed this time.

  14

  “FUCK.”

  Every time Remi has cursed — which has been a lot in the last few minutes — a shot of adrenaline has fired through me.

  We’ve been trying to reach Addie for a while, to let her know we’re coming to pick her up, but every call to her cell phone has gone straight to voicemail.

  I’ve had the accelerator floored since that first call.

  Maybe she decided to take a nap and put her phone on silent. Maybe she’s out on the slopes for a night ski. Or she’s somewhere in an area with poor reception.

  There are a million possible reasons why she wouldn’t be answering her phone right now, but none of them are settling well with me.

  I can feel it in my gut. Something’s not right.

  And my brothers sense it, too.

  Wes is damn near vibrating in the backseat with impatience, encouraging me to keep the hammer down and just dodge around slower traffic as we enter the outskirts of town.

  And Remi took it upon himself to call Natalie — something I don’t think he’s ever done before, despite how long we’ve known her — to see if maybe she knew anything.

  Natalie said they had a fun day shopping together and Addie was in good spirits when she dropped her off at the resort.

  She gave us an earful about leaving Addie alone over Christmas and then shouted with delighted when Remi told her we’ve changed our plans. But she didn’t know anything about what Addie might be doing this evening.

  It’s not like I was planning to take it slow and easy on the way back to Meadowbrook. I was already pushing the speed limits even before our calls went unanswered.

  But now, it feels urgent to get back to Addie as fast as we can.

  I’m concentrating hard on weaving in and out of the heavy holiday traffic, but earlier, I was imagining her waking up in our cabin on Christmas morning, the place all decked out like Mom used to do at our old place — because I know Addie would love to decorate the hell out of our little cabin.

  And I’d happily let her, just to see her smile.

  I’ve gotten used to her being around. Real fucking used to it. Wherever we end up, whether it’s the city or the mountains or somewhere else, I’ll be happy if Addie is by our side.

  Once the three of us make our mind up about something... fuck anything that stands in our way. I know we can make our peace with living anywhere, as long as she’s with us.

  I just hope she feels the same.

  For a long while, I’ve been trying really damn hard to deny just how strongly I’ve come to feel about her, but this trip sealed it. The further away from her I got, the worse I felt. I’ve never been more relieved than when my brothers admitted feeling the same way.

  Her holiday is almost over, but we can’t say goodbye to her yet, not without letting her know how we feel — that her place is with us, wherever that may be.

  A vacation may have brought her here, and an accident might have sent her tumbling into our arms, but there’s no mistaking what it’s become — the beginning of something amazing.

  Something that’s changed all of us.

  Finally, the turn for the resort comes into sight. I whip the truck into a hard turn and barrel up the private drive to Silverthorne. I swerve around a couple slow ass vehicles and head straight for the front entrance.

  It’s overflowing with tourists flooding in to spend the holidays in the mountains. There are people everywhere, the parking lot is overflowing, and we’re at the back of a long line of cars waiting for valet parking.

  Fuck it. I illegally park our big truck alongside some irate asshole, and we all pile out.

  Let them tow it if they have to.

  We make a beeline for the front entrance and bust through the rotating doors, ready to convince our girl to have Christmas with us, and hopefully much, much more.

  Inside, the place is swarming with rich out-of-towners checking in. Men still in their business suits. Women wearing way too much makeup. Little kids dressed in designer ski clothing.

  Ignoring them all, we do a quick scan of the lobby—no sign of Addie—before heading past the shops to the bank of elevators.

  We turn the corner, still a dozen yards away, when a set of gold doors slide open as one of the elevators reaches the lobby.

  That’s when I see Addie trying to pull her suitcase away from
some fucking asshole who’s sneering at her as he holds it in a death grip.

  What. The. Fuck.

  My brothers must see her, too, because we all pick up speed at the same time. The crowds fall away as we head down the hall to the alcove. Addie and the asshole clinging onto her suitcase have both raised their voices, and we can hear them as we approach.

  Addie lets go of the luggage and throws her hands up. “Fine. Keep the fucking thing. I’ll buy new clothes.”

  The asshole laughs. “Good luck with that. And with paying for your plane ticket home, too. I give it a few days — maybe a week, tops — and you’ll be begging me to take you back.”

  She glares at him. “I know you think the world revolves around money, Jason, but somehow I think I’ll manage to make it without you.”

  Jason... the vaguely familiar name echoes through my mind.

  Oh, fuck. Her ex.

  He snorts with disdain at Addie. “I bet your mother won’t even help you get home. Not after I’m done telling her how much of a fucking whore you’ve been.”

  Okay, that does it.

  The second I get within range of the asshole, I plant both hands on his chest and shove him away from Addie.

  He slams into the wall of the alcove and bounces off, stumbling backward, almost going down onto that smug ass of his.

  I point a finger at him. “Jason, is it? Mind your manners around the lady, you little fuck.”

  Remi takes up station between the guy and Addie, who looks equal parts shocked and relieved to see us.

  “And wipe that look off your face while you’re at it,” Remi tells him.

  The guy regains his balance and sneers at us with contempt. “Well look who it is! Speak of the gorillas, and they magically appear, huffing and pounding their chests. Fuck off. This has nothing to do with you.”

  Wes steps up beside me. “The hell it doesn’t.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see Addie flip her ex off. “Go die in a hole, Jason.”

  “Do whatever the fuck you want with your money,” I tell the guy. “Addie has a place to stay. And if she wants to go home, she’s got all the money she needs to do that, too. A first class ticket, if she wants.”