Page 3 of My Ruthless Mountain Man

His face shuts down and he turns back to the mail as if completely disinterested. “What are you talking about?”

I shoot to my feet, anger vibrating through my body. “Ilya Petrova.”

Ryan freezes.

“He and his goon came looking for you. He said you have twenty-four hours to pay the money you owe him. How did you rack up that kind of debt?”

“Just a string of bad luck.”

“Ryan!”

“What do you want to hear, Kendall? That I fucked up? Fine. I did. Again. Don’t act so surprised.” He scowls at the envelope in his hand, then crumples it up and tosses it aside.

“I want to hear that you can get that kind of money by tomorrow. Mom and Dad won’t help, even if they have the cash lying around.”

He scoffs. “Heaven forbid they help their son when he needs it.”

My eyes prick with tears at the bitterness in his tone. These last five years haven’t been easy for him, but part of it is his own making. “Tell me you can find a way to get more time so we can figure this out.”

“There’s nothing for you to figure out, Sis. This isn’t your problem.”

“They were here, making sure I would give you the message.”

His shoulders sag and his eyes slide closed. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

A tear slips free and slides down my cheek. I wish it was the first question he asked instead of the last. “I’m terrified,” Iwhisper. “He said if you didn’t have the money...” I swallow over the lump in my throat. “Maybe he’d clear your debt through me.”

Ryan’s eyes snap open and his hands clench. “That won’t happen. I’ll fix this.”

“How?”

He puts his beanie back on. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll get the money in time.”

“How can I not worry?”

He won’t meet my gaze. “Lock the doors and try to think about something else.”

What could I possibly think about that would erase the fear coiled tight in my chest?

He puts his boots back on.

I spot the crumpled envelope and stoop to pick it up. Just another thing I have to clean up. I’m so tired.

My brother’s gaze falls on the paper in my hand. He glares at it, then stomps to the door.

I look down and see a familiar scrawl. Smoothing out the wrinkles, I realize it’s a letter. Stone Colter’s name and address are in the corner. My heart skips a beat. Stone was my brother’s best friend for over fifteen years. The night of my eighteenth birthday, they had a terrible fight. Punches were thrown, and they haven’t spoken since.

That was six years ago.

But in the last couple months, Stone has been trying to reach Ryan. This makes the fourth letter. As far as I know, Ryan’s only read the first.

“Ryan...”

“I’ll be back in the morning.” He stomps out and slams the door.

If he can’t get the money, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I believed Ilya’s threat. It was in his chilly eyes and the way he held me close.

A shiver of fear skates down my spine. I rush forward to bolt the door, then check the other doors and windows. They’re locked, but I don’t feel any safer.

---