Page 73 of My Three Mountain Men

I had no other means of income. I had to do something for cash, but doing that would make me a sitting duck. Aimee had no problem finding me in Aspen. If she wanted to finish the job—

A knock at the motel door shattered my reverie, and I inhaled sharply. Slowly, I padded toward the ugly salmon-pink door, swallowing nervously.

“Yeah?”

“Hey, Superstar.”

My head swung back like a crane, and I blinked, sure I was hallucinating.

“R-Ryder?” I gasped, throwing the door open without checking the peephole. I would have known his voice anywhere. To my utter amazement, he wasn’t alone on the second-floor wraparound, his cousins flanking him with suitcases in hand. An airplane flew overhead, and Knox grimaced at the sound as he looked up.

“What are you guys doing here?” I rasped, stepping back to usher them inside.

They instantly rushed around me, embracing me tightly, and I couldn’t hold back anymore. I burst into tears, all the emotions of the past few weeks overwhelming me in a massive torrent.

“Oh, Simone,” Brooks murmured. “It’s okay. We’re here now. We’ve got you.”

I shook my head, tears streaking my cheeks as I swung my head back to stare at them in disbelief. “I can’t believe you’re here,” I sniffed. “H-how did you even know where to find me?”

Knox smirked, and I laughed shakily as Brooks wiped my tears away before kissing my forehead sweetly. “I should have known Knox would have his ways.”

My eyes fell on their suitcases, and I exhaled. “I’m okay, guys,” I lied. “You didn’t have to come and check on me. I sent emails. Knox, didn’t you tell them?”

“I told them about your vague emails, yes,” he replied lightly, leading me to the crumbled bedspread. “And you don’t need to lie to us, Simone. We know you’re not okay. We’re not okay, either. That’s why we’re here.”

“It’s not safe—” I started to say, but Knox stopped me by guiding my attention toward a tablet he had produced in his hands.

“Have you seen this?” he asked as I dried the remainder of my tears and peered at the screen in front of me, my eyes popping.

“Is that…?” I gasped, grabbing the tablet in disbelief.

The cousins chuckled, Brooks sitting on the other side of me, Ryder climbing behind me to look over my shoulder.

“Is she really an influencer?” Ryder asked, shaking his head.

“I’m guessing she didn’t have much time to put on her makeup before getting arrested,” Knox snickered as I scanned the article.

“Oh!” I choked in disbelief. “She finally got arrested!”

Knox laughed wickedly and shot Ryder a grin. My head jerked up, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“Did you guys have something to do with that?” I asked, my pulse racing.

“Would you be mad if we did?” Brooks asked cautiously.

I bit on my lower lip, tears filling my eyes again. Emotion overwhelmed me, and I hung my head.

“No,” I answered truthfully, relief flooding me in a way I’d never known. “Not in the least.”

“Don’t cry,” Ryder murmured, placing his hands on my shoulder. “Why are you crying?”

I shook my head, unable to verbalize how much it meant to me what they had done.

“Did you really think we were just going to let you go and battle the world on your own?” Brooks asked, touching my bare knee. For the first time, I realized I was only wearing a pair of boxers and a tank top. I hadn’t even changed into clothes for the day, but I was grateful for the feel of their skin against mine.

“You have no idea what this visit means to me,” I mumbled, choking on the words.

“Visit?” Knox repeated. I raised my head to look at him, and he waved his chiseled chin defiantly. “This isn’t a visit, Simone. We realized that it was unfair of us to expect you to stay, but we also know that we need you. We’ve lived out here before. We can do it again.”

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