She shivered, horrified by her reaction to him. Surely she was still on edge from the orgasm she’d experienced just minutes ago. She was losing her mind. Slut didn’t even begin to describe her. She was lusting after three men.
“I’m fine,” she mumbled, flinching away from his touch.
Ethan put a plate in front of her. “I’ll dish it up in just a sec. You hungry?”
Her stomach growled in response. “Starving,” she admitted.
“How long’s it been since you ate?” Adam asked, his expression pensive.
“Don’t remember,” she said vaguely.
He exchanged glances with his two brothers, and she hoped she hadn’t raised their suspicions even more. She needed to disappear as quickly as possible before anyone figured out where she was. Or who she was.
A few minutes later, Ethan heaped bacon, eggs and a slab of ham on her plate. Her hands shook slightly as she cut into the food with her fork.
Adam stood back, his arms crossed over his chest. He watched while she shoveled food into her mouth as quickly as she could. “Slow down, baby. You’re going to make yourself sick.”
She flushed and set her fork down on the plate. Ethan plunked down a glass of orange juice next to her, and she smiled slightly at him before drinking down half the contents.
A loud knock sounded on the door, and Adam frowned. “Who the hell could that be?” He swiveled around as Ryan and Ethan both started forward.
“Hold up,” he ordered. “We don’t know who’s out there.”
They all turned around to where Holly was sitting, only she was gone. Adam swore. She’d run scared the minute she heard the knock.
“I’ll go find her,” Ethan said, his tone suggesting he’d take care of her and for Adam and Ryan to take care of the outside threat.
To their surprise, the door opened and Lacey McMillan stuck her head in. “You in there?” she called out. She stopped when her gaze rested on Ryan and Adam.
Adam relaxed. Lacey was the county sheriff, and she paid a call from time to time to see how things were in the high country. Tall, lanky and redheaded. All the things Holly wasn’t. At one time, Adam had thought Lacey might be the one, but his brothers hadn’t shared his attraction.
She removed her Stetson as she walked further into the cabin. She threw Adam a saucy grin. “Aren’t you glad to see me?”
Ryan scowled and sat back down at the bar.
“What brings you out?” Adam asked, folding his arms and affecting what he knew to be an intimidating stance. Normally he wouldn’t mind shooting the shit with Lacey, even doing a little light flirting, but that was in the past. Now he just wanted her to be gone as soon as possible.
Lacey slid onto a barstool beside Ryan, hitching her long legs up to balance on the lower rung of the stool.
“Where’s the third stooge?” she asked, looking around for Ethan.
“Around,” Adam said.
She arched a brow but didn’t comment further on his being so close-mouthed.
“I’m up here to find out if y’all have seen a young woman. Early twenties. Brunette. Short, maybe five two. We’re dealing with a possible abduction, though she may have escaped. We found an abandoned car at the base of the mountain, and we’re checking out the area. Maybe you saw something?”
Adam shook his head then fixed his gaze on Ryan. “You and Ethan see anything when you were out?”
“Nope.”
He turned his attention back to Lacey. “You think she’s still in the area?”
Lacey shrugged. “Dunno. Could be, though if she’s on her own, I don’t imagine she’ll last long in the backcountry. City girl from what I gathered. Got a bulletin from the Denver PD and the Feds wanting our department to be on the lookout. Seemed to think she might be headed this way.”
“Do you need trackers?” Adam asked, knowing if he didn’t offer, it would seem odd. He and his brothers had tracked missing persons before for the sheriff’s department. Last summer, they had found a little girl who had wandered off from her parents’ campsite.
Lacey shook her head. “Nah. Like I said, I’m just checking out the possibility anyone saw something. We don’t even know who the car belongs to. Teddy’s running the plates as we speak. Could be she never came this way.”
Adam itched to ask more questions. Who did Holly belong to and who supposedly kidnapped her? But he knew it would arouse Lacey’s suspicions, because if nothing else, the Colter brothers kept to themselves and didn’t borrow trouble from anyone.
“Well, let us know if we can help,” he said shortly, dismissively.
Lacey chuckled then rose from the barstool. “There was a time when you were more welcoming,” she said softly as she brushed by him, letting her full breasts rasp across his folded arms.
He stepped back, only anxious for her to be gone so he could question Holly.
“I guess I’ll see you around,” Lacey said, a resigned expression on her face. She replaced her hat then walked to the door. “Let me know if you see anything, okay?”
“Will do,” Adam said.
When she shut the door, Adam let out his breath.
Ryan glanced up, his expression brooding.
“She was looking for Holly,” Adam said, a frown twisting his brows.
He turned and strode for the bedroom, Ryan following close behind. An invisible hand squeezed his chest when he saw Holly huddled on the bed, her knees hugged to her chest. Ethan sat beside her, rubbing a soothing hand up and down her back, but she barely registered his presence.
Adam cursed under his breath and knelt down on the floor in front of the bed. He reached a hand for hers and pried it away from her legs.
“Baby, listen to me. You’re safe here. That was just our sheriff.”
Holly’s eyes widened in alarm, and she shivered in fear.
“No police,” she croaked.
“No police,” he agreed.
“Promise me,” she said, her voice coming out in a pathetic squeak.
“You can trust us,” Ethan said quietly. “We won’t allow anyone to hurt you.”
She relaxed a tiny bit, leaning more into Ethan’s caress.
Adam still held her hand in his, and he brushed his fingers over her upturned palm, trying to infuse his calm into her. “Listen to me, baby. We need to ask you some questions.”
She let out a panicked moan. “No, no questions. Please, let me go. I need to leave.”
Ethan’s hand stilled on her back, and beside Adam, Ryan stiffened. Adam knew he had to handle this just right. He couldn’t chance her running. They couldn’t keep her safe if she ran.
He exchanged looks with his brothers. They were all united in this cause. They were not going to let her go. And they sure as hell weren’t going to let anyone hurt her.
He stood then sat down on the bed beside her. “Honey, you can trust us. We aren’t going to hurt you. We aren’t going to let anyone else hurt you. But we need to know what’s going on. What happened to you.”
Panic flared in her eyes. Fear spread out like a forest fire over her face. “Y-y-you don’t understand,” she stammered out. “No one can help. No one can stop h-h-him.” She said him like she spoke of the devil himself.
“Who, baby? Who are you talking about?” Adam whispered.
She shook her head, her agitation increasing with each second. On the other side of her, Ethan shook his head, a warning to Adam that he was pushing too far. She looked about ready to shatter.
“Why don’t you get some rest?” Adam said, though he wanted very badly to have all the answers to his questions.
Ethan gently pulled her to him then lifted her up off the comforter. He stood beside the bed while Adam and Ryan turned back the covers. Then Ethan laid her down and pulled the sheets over her. “We’ll be right outside if you need us,” Ethan said, bending down to kiss her forehead.