Page 129 of Three Stepbrothers Save Christmas

“Kitten?” I freeze at the door, my hand on the handle. “Where are you going?”

“I’m thirsty, I’ll be back in a minute,” I reply, turning to see him looking at me with half closed eyes.

“You need to sleep.”

“I will after I get a drink. I won’t be long,” I reply before leaving the room. I know he doesn’t believe me, and I’m sure he will come searching for me if I take too long, but I can’t stay in that bed one minute longer.

I head into Travis’s room, where most of my things are, and grab my dressing gown off the back of the door. Shrugging it on, I head down the stairs, planning on having a hot chocolate with a shot of whiskey in it to see if it’ll help me settle enough to sleep. Anything has to be better than worrying constantly.

Whilst I wait for the milk to warm in the microwave, I look out of the kitchen window to the front of the house. All three cars are parked together, a reminder that they have no way of getting home. My car is still at the O’Reilly’s, where we left it before going into hiding. It’s tucked away in one of their garages, where no one will see it. The guys offered to go and get it, but I told them to wait. This is Jasmine’s first Christmas with the guys as a family, the last thing any of them want is for a Donavon turning up and interrupting their festivities.

I make up my hot chocolate whilst running on autopilot. Do I believe this will help me sleep? It’s more a case of hoping. Daddy won’t be happy if he realises I haven’t slept.

After adding a splash of whiskey to my drink, I head into the lounge to retrieve my phone from where Ryan made me leave it. He said I wouldn’t sleep because I would keep checking it. He should have realised I wouldn’t be able to sleep because I couldn’t check it.

I sit on the sofa with my doll and sip on my drink, waiting for my phone to turn back on. As soon as it comes to life, I realise I have two messages waiting for me.

Daddy: I got hold of a charger. We are both fine and will hopefully be home by four am. But don’t wait up. We will see you in the morning. Xxx

Ethan: My phone is alive! Stop worrying about us, I know what you’re like. We will be home by the time you wake up. Go to sleep, Baby Girl. xxx

I check the time the messages were sent and realise they would have come through less than ten minutes from us going to bed. Maybe if Ryan had let me take my phone with me like I wanted to, I would have been able to sleep. Bear didn’t know best on that one.

Looking at the time on my phone, I see it’s twenty past two. The guys said they would be home by four. That’s still over an hour and a half away. I lie down on the sofa and hug my doll to my chest, feeling more tired than when I came down. Knowing that they are really okay, I find myself relaxing as I smell the top of my doll’s head, and my eyes feel heavy.

Travis

“What’s the bet she’s waiting for us?” Ethan asks as he climbs out of the car and meets me at the trunk, where I’m retrieving a few boxes of things we found at the house.

“Hopefully, she’s not, so be quiet when you go in. If she’s in your bed, don’t wake her, or you will have me to deal with,” I warn, handing him a box before balancing the other on my lifted knee whilst closing the trunk as quietly as possible.

“Yes, Daddy,” Ethan smirks. Taking the box in one hand I punch his arm with the other knowing he won’t be able to defend himself.

“I’m too tired for your bullshit,” I sigh, walking towards the front door. Before we get the keys in the lock, the door opens and we are faced by a tired looking Ryan. He holds his finger to his lips while holding the door to let us enter.

“Where is she?” Ethan whispers, placing a box in the corner.

“Asleep in the lounge,” Ryan replies before nodding towards the kitchen. We follow him in and close the door behind us.

“Why is she in the lounge?” I ask, walking over to the sink, desperate for a glass of water.

“She wasn’t sleeping, she got up around two saying she needed a drink and I found her fifteen minutes later asleep on the sofa. I saw your messages and slept on a chair so I could warn you she was down here.” He looks between us as we both look towards the lounge. I have no doubt Ethan is feeling as guilty as me. We never dreamt we would be out this long. But I wanted everything dealt with.

“All done?” Ryan asks, looking between us again.

“Yep, Nicholson has all his drugs back, and I even managed to get him to buy some stuff that wasn’t his. Looks like Henry had been stealing from Taylor as well. There were over four million pounds worth of drugs in that basement. Most was pure so the street value would have been three, even four times that. Nearly half a million's worth was from the shipment Taylor stole. It's confirmation that Henry was in on the theft.”

Ryan curses under his breath. I rub the back of my neck, which is aching after pouring over the paperwork Henry had kept down there.

“So Henry was looking to become some kind of dealer?” Ryan asks.

“He already was. The safe was filled with cash, I mean filled. We counted over eight hundred thousand. There was also information on another account with over one and a half million in it. He had been selling stuff for years, but seems he was laying low for a while after stealing the full shipment with Taylor. I was thinking about going to the States and checking out their property there as I suspect they are hiding even more than what we found.”

“You think Mum was in on it?”

I nod in response. Our mother will do anything to continue living the life of luxury she has become accustomed to; it wouldn’t be the first time she got involved with a drug dealer.

“Then why don’t we just leave it for mother dearest to have. Verity doesn’t need any more upheaval or stress. She needs us all to be here for her. From what you have told me she will have plenty to live off and won’t need anymore.” Ryan leans back against the fridge.

---