Page 82 of Protected By the Mountain Man

But this? This was right.

“Enough, Gabe! Enough!” Chris's voice was distant, but his hands were a vise on my shoulders, pulling me back. “He's down!”

I wanted to shake him off, keep going until Owen couldn't move another muscle. But then Clay was there too, adding his strength to Chris's efforts.

“Stop, man. It's over,” Clay said, his voice an anchor in the storm of my rage.

My breath heaved in ragged bursts as I remembered myself, the fog of fury lifting. I looked up…

I saw her.

Safe.

Kat was holding Livy, her arms tight around the shivering girl. Bandit was beside them, his body poised and protective. The sight of them—alive, together—snapped the last thread of my anger.

I staggered toward them, steps unsteady. Kat looked up. She opened her arms and we fell into each other.

Bruised.

Broken.

Alive.

“Got him,” Chris grunted behind us. Owen was under control, his curses spitting out with the blood from his broken nose. Clay held him down, Chris clicking cuffs into place. Through the trees, shapes moved—more people. The search party from the police department, finally here.

But they seemed like shadows at the edge of my vision. All that mattered was the warmth in my arms.

“Are you two okay?” It was all I could manage, my voice hoarse from shouting and raw from fear.

“We are now,” Kat whispered back. “Gabe, I thought…”

She couldn’t get the words out, sobs choking her voice. I held her, stroked her hair.

“I love you. I love you both…and I'll never let anyone hurt you again.”

The world fell away, leaving only us. The mountain stood silent witness to our reunion as we clung to each other. Livy's sobs quieted, her small frame shaking against mine. Bandit nudged at us, his presence a comfort.

“Never again,” I whispered into Kat's hair, my lips grazing her forehead. She nodded against my chest, her grip on me unyielding.

“Never,” she agreed, voice firm despite the tremble.

The cold of the snow beneath us went unnoticed, the fading echoes of danger ignored. We were a unit, bound by more than just fear now.

By love. By survival.

This was my family…and I was never letting go.

Epilogue

KAT

It started with a simple task; building something new to prepare for summer.

I watched Clay hammer the last nail into place, his back a solid line against the spring sky. The ranch hummed with life around us, the air filled with the scent of fresh grass and earth waking up after winter. We'd been through hell and back since Ben's murder, but we'd clawed our way out.

Now, things were looking up.

“Whatcha think?” Clay grunted, stepping back to admire the sign swaying gently beside the barn. It was new, handcrafted, a splash of hope painted with wildflowers and the silhouette of a horse.

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