Mountain Man's Accidental Surprise - K.C. Crowne Page 0,31
rage. I handed it back to her as we took our seats around the table.
“Alright, what’s going on? I know that look, Graham,” Doc said.
“Emmy’s in some trouble,” I said. “And we’re going to help her.”
Emmy spoke, her voice soft. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’d hate to drag you into my problems—”
Before she could finish, Eli leaned forward and said, “What kind of trouble? What are we looking at here?”
Emmy glanced at me. “I think it’s better if you explain,” she said. “I’m still shaken up.”
I nodded and got right down to explaining everything. “Emmy’s dad is involved with the Lombardo Crime Family, and apparently brokered her off to marry Antonio Lombardo.”
“What the hell?” Eli said, leaning back in his chair and staring at me. “Who the fuck does that?”
“Right? He’s a real piece of shit as far as I can tell,” I said. “And Emmy obviously doesn’t want to marry him, so that’s why she’s in Liberty. Except they’re looking for her and likely going to be looking here first.”
Eli’s concerned gaze turned to Emmy, and I knew he would help us. All my brothers would.
“What’s the plan?” Mason asked.
“Well, our first priority is protecting Emmy. Eventually, we need to work on getting the right information to put these bastards away for good, so she doesn’t have to remain a prisoner.”
Mason nodded. “I can’t imagine anywhere safer than here.”
“Me either,” Sam agreed.
Emmy held up her hand. “Wait, so you’re all going to help me? We’re talking about taking down the damned Mafia here, one of Vegas’s biggest crime families.”
“Yeah, and?” Eli asked, a grin on his face.
“And don’t you need a moment to think about it before jumping in?”
“I don’t know how much Graham has told you about what we’ve done, but this wouldn’t be our first rodeo with very dangerous, powerful people. That’s what we do.”
“But I can’t pay. My dad has locked down all my accounts and—”
“Whoa there, darlin’. Who said anything about paying?” I asked.
She looked at me, her eyes briefly fluttering between the other men at the table before landing back on me. “You’re going to do this for free?” She began shaking her head. “I couldn’t possibly ask you to put your lives at risk and not get paid for it. I—”
I stopped her. “This is what we do, Emmy. You need help, and we’re going to help you.”
“But you don’t even know me. Not really.”
I hardly knew her, but what I did know was that I felt protective over her already. There was something about her that caused my hackles to raise when I thought of her in danger. It wasn’t just her beauty, either, but she was kind and smart too – not the type of person who deserved to be caught up in bullshit like she was.
“Doesn’t matter,” Eli said before I could. “You need help, and the world is a shitty place sometimes. We do pro bono work for those that need us the most.”
“I’m not exactly needy. My family has money, it’s just—”
“Tied up with the enemy,” I finished for her. “Which means, you don’t have access to it. It’s fine, Emmy. Like I said, this is what we do.”
“We’ll set up a guard duty as well, in addition to the security system. Someone will be awake and watching for trouble at all times,” Samuel said. “We’ll close the gate to the property, check the cameras out there as well. Ain’t no one coming in or out of here without us knowing about it.”
“Will you stay and let us help you?” I asked her.
“I don’t know if she’s gonna have much of a choice soon,” Sam announced. “The roads in town are starting to flood. The main bridge is out. I think the cabin is on high enough ground to be safe for now, but we need to keep an eye on the situation.”
“Definitely,” Mason agreed. “Things are getting bad in town, I’m afraid. And surrounding areas as well. I don’t think it’s safe to be driving much – even without the Mob looking for you.”
“If anything, it might slow them down for now,” Eli commented thoughtfully. “Not too many ways into Liberty. Mostly only roads the locals know.”
I looked at her. “I promise, we’ll keep you safe until we can bring these guys down.”
She still looked unsure, and I didn’t know what else I could do to convince her that we could really help. I knew her experience with the Mob and the