6 Mountain Brothers for Christmas

Mrs. Roberts, a stricken look on her face, was screaming, her tone harried and frantic.

“Frank! Frank!” she called out for her husband.

The sound of footsteps rushing down the stairs filled my ears, followed by Hailey's voice.

“Mom? What's going on –” she stopped speaking as Leo turned toward her and a look of near panic crossed her face. “Shit.”

But Hailey wasn't alone – Quinn was with her, standing protectively in front of her. He put himself between her and Leo, preventing him from rushing toward her. It wasn't anything close to the right time for it, but my first question was – what in the hell was Quinn doi

ng there?

“Shit indeed, sweetheart,” Leo said, a cocky grin on his face. “Now tell me, who the fuck is he and why was he in your bedroom? And who is this other asshole waitin' downstairs for you? What the fuck are you doin' out here?”

Quinn walked toward Leo and I approached him from behind. He was outnumbered. He might have gotten a shot on me earlier, but this time, between me and Quinn, this prick was looking at a real beatdown.

“Leo, please, get out,” Hailey said.

Her voice cracked as she spoke, and I saw her standing there, shaking uncontrollably, with tears welling in her eyes. She backed up against the wall and seemed to collapse against it, sliding down until she sat down on the landing.

“Please, just leave,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. “Please, leave me alone.”

As she slid to the ground, her shirt rode up on her body, showing on her stomach. A large bruise on her right side caught my eye, and I had to wonder – was this douchebag responsible for it? While maybe the bruise on her wrist could have been explained away, this one couldn't. It was roughly the size and shape of a fist.

Leo ignored us and walked toward Hailey, pure menace in his eyes. Seeing that bruise on her body, and feeling the pain radiating in my cheek from his cheap shot, made the anger within me boil over. There was no way in hell I was letting him get close to her.

I rushed toward the man, knocking him to the ground before he could get to her. Mrs. Roberts was standing with her back to the wall, her hand clamped over her mouth, a look of absolute terror in her eyes. As I moved on Leo, Quinn fell in beside me, helping me take the asshole down. I jumped on him and threw a few quick punches to the face, smacking him right in the side of his head.

“How does that feel, asshole?” I screamed. “Huh? Like that?”

Quinn was right there, holding his arms down as I took shot after shot on the guy. Blood poured from his mouth and nose and was smeared all over his face. Through it all though, he looked at me with eyes that were angry, defiant, and promising retribution.

The sound of sirens approaching filled the air, growing louder until they stopped right outside the door. Still, I wasn't about to let the asshole up from the floor. As cops rushed through the front door, I struggled against him, but Quinn managed to pull me off of Leo. Only when he was in cuffs did I stop fighting to knock the shit out of him.

Wiping the blood from my face he'd drawn when he sucker punched me, I glanced at the stairway. Hailey was gone. In the madness, she'd run away, and I was glad for that. She didn't need to see that. Because as he was being taken away, Leo screamed, his voice echoing through the house.

“I'll come back for you, Hailey,” he raved. “I swear to God, I'm coming back.”

Mrs. Roberts gave us both a look that said she was thankful that we'd been there to protect them. Turning, she followed the cops outside to give her statement, leaving us standing in the foyer of their home.

“God, I hope she didn't hear that,” Quinn said.

“Don't see how she couldn't have,” I said. “Where'd she go?”

He shrugged. “Probably upstairs.”

I looked over at my brother and we both shared a smile, but now that the madness was fading and the adrenaline wasn't flowing quite as much, I had to ask the question that still nagged at me.

“So Quinn, what were you doing upstairs in her room, huh?” I playfully smacked him in the arm and grinned. “It was my night, remember?”

“Yeah, well, when did the McCormick boys ever play fair?” he said. “Come on, let's find Hailey.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - QUINN

I'd only been over at the Roberts’ house for a few minutes when Bennett arrived. I had no intention of staying – I'd just stopped by to check on her, to make sure my brothers weren't bothering her too much. I really didn't want any of us bothering her. But, one thing led to another, and yes, I ended up in her bedroom, but not for sex.

When she'd opened the front door and saw me standing there, she sighed and shook her head, a momentary flash of irritation in her eyes.

“What do you want, Quinn?”