Page 109 of Three Stepbrothers Save Christmas

I swear my heart jumps out of my chest from the sound of my brother's voice.

“Please tell me Verity is with you. She ran away!” Ryan snaps.

“I’m here, Bear.”

My whole body relaxes as I hear her voice, knowing she is safe with Travis.

“Little Kitten, me and you are going to have a long chat about you scaring the shit out of us after I have tanned your ass to the point you won’t be able to sit down for a month.” After watching my brother for the last five hours, I wouldn’t want to be Verity when he has her alone.

“I’m sorry, Bear,” she whispers down the phone.

“Brat, you are lucky I’m not your daddy because you’d never sit down again. Where are my keys?” Maximus curses.

“I have them,” she replies, and I hear Travis whisper something on the other end of the line.

“We’ll discuss it later,” Ryan says, giving Maximus a warning look. “Are you both okay?”

“Yes, it’s over,” Travis says as I silently pray before asking the big question.

“The arranged marriage?” I ask, leaning forward from the back of the car.

“Off. Our girl is free.”

“Thank fuck,” Ryan and I exclaim together, both visibly relaxing in our seats.

“I need you to come and collect her. I’m staying for a couple of days to sort some shit out for Nicholson, but then I will join you wherever you are. How soon can you be here?”

We both look to Maximus, who grins.

“We are ten minutes away from his estate. I take it that’s where you are?”

Travis confirms it's correct, and he’ll meet us at the front of the house before hanging up. I let out a deep sigh of relief as I fall back into the seat.

“I swear to god I have aged twenty years in the last forty-eight hours,” Ryan says.

“When I get that little brat home, I’m chaining her to the bed and going to sleep. Don’t expect me to wake up before Christmas morning at the earliest.”

“Shit, it’s Christmas Eve tomorrow. I still need to sort out Shorty’s gift!” Maximus curses from behind the wheel. Ryan and I both burst out laughing.

“Someone’s going to be in the doghouse,” I tease, opening one eye in time to see Maximus flip me off.

I go back to closing my eyes and focusing on the positives. Both Travis and Verity are safe; she is out of the arranged marriage, and we can all come out of hiding. If that isn’t worth celebrating, I don’t know what is.

I must doze off for a few minutes as I wake with a jump when I feel the car stop, and Maximus announces we are here.

I open the door and climb out just in time to see Ryan rushing to Verity and lifting her so he can hold her as she wraps her legs around her waist.

“Do you have any idea what we went through when we realised you were gone? I was worried sick, Little Kitten!”

“I’m sorry, Bear, I had to do something,” she sobs into his neck.

“I hope Daddy gave you hell!” I snap, walking to my brother and pulling him into a hug. “You ever run off like that again, and I will fucking kill you myself. Understood?”

“Whatever,” he chuckles as he steps back from me. But when I look at his face, there is a look I don’t see very often. He knows he scared the shit out of us, and I don’t think he will do it again.

I turn around and see Verity looking at me sheepishly. Seeing her there safe and unharmed causes a sense of relief to overcome the anger. Closing the distance between us in two strides, I thread my fingers into the hair at the back of her head, wrap an arm around her and kiss her with everything I have. I never want to let this woman go.

“From now on, you are always being chained to one of us. You even think about running, and I will not be held responsible for my actions, Baby Girl. Understood?”

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