Page 91 of Three Stepbrothers Save Christmas

“No one but me and my brothers is going to marry you. They will have to kill us first, and we are tough fuckers. No one is taking you from us.” He says it in the softest voice, but his eyes tell me he is ready to fight. The first tears start to fall from my eyes as Travis pulls me into his arms and holds me as I fall apart.

“I won’t. I can’t,” I gasp becoming hysterical. Every time I start feeling good about something. Whenever I feel like my life is finally heading on the right track, something has to come and take it from me.

“Why?” I ask, clinging to Travis's t-shirt as I soak it with my tears. “What did I do?” I ask.

“Nothing, you did absolutely nothing, Kitten.” Ryan takes one of my hands and presses a kiss to my knuckles.

“No one is getting you, Baby. Do you hear me? No one is getting within a mile of you,” Ethan adds from behind me as I feel a hand on my head.

“How can we stop this?” I ask, looking up at Travis.

“We have a plan. We will keep you safe until I can sort this whole shit show out, and you will be free from it all.” He leans in and kisses my forehead. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Sweetheart. I will die before anyone gets near you.”

45

Travis

I walk into Verity’s room, a bag in hand and look around it. Everything is pristine and in its place, like everything in this house. Part of me wants to grab a baseball bat and go to town, smashing the place up. It’s what the bastard deserves after everything he has put her through.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I open it to find a message.

Ryan: We are settled in our room here. Jaz has taken Verity to continue watching the film, but I don’t think it will distract her. Let me know when you will collect us at night, and I’ll make sure we are ready for you. Be safe, and don’t do anything reckless.

I smirk as I type out a reply telling him to be ready for two AM. He knows me too well. I shove my phone back in my pocket and throw the bag on the bed.

Walking over to the chest of drawers, I pull out her underwear and anything else in there. We have no idea how long we’ll be in hiding; we have to plan for this to take months to get sorted. However, I want it over and done with as soon as possible. My girl has been through enough, and I don’t want her to suffer longer than she has to.

I couldn’t bring myself to tell her there was a chance she would never be able to return to the only home she had ever known. Even if we get her out of the arranged marriage, I know the relationship between her and Henry will be ruined. He’ll probably stop her from returning to get her personal effects. That’s if he makes it through the hell we have found ourselves in. Will Nicholason kill him when he discovers Verity has gone? What will happen to our mum? How deep into this is she? A part of me wants to grab her and make sure she is safe as well, but that could all be for nothing. At the end of the day, Mum is aware of Henry’s plan for his daughter, and she is obviously fine with it. In my eyes, that makes her as bad as her husband.

I’m just packing Verity’s pyjamas when my phone starts ringing. I pull it out without checking who it is.

“Donavan.”

“I’ve just received an email about Verity not attending the rest of the shows. Where the fuck is she?”

A rage like I have never known fills me as I realise who’s on the phone. I told the fucking school not to contact anyone about the matter, as it was private, and Verity wished to keep it that way.

“Somewhere you can’t get to her,” I growl through gritted teeth.

“Bring her back now. Otherwise, I will call the police and say you have kidnapped her!” he screams. I can hear the fear in his voice; he knows if he loses his daughter, he will have to face Nicholson, which would never end well for him.

“Go ahead. Verity has made a lovely little video we can send them. It’s detailing exactly why she has fled her father, who’s trying to force her into an arranged marriage.” I really wish I was there to see the look on his face as he starts screaming all kinds of shit down the phone at me.

“How the fuck did you find out?”

“You do know who I work for, right? That I’m not your advantage accountant. I rub shoulders with some of the most dangerous people in the country, and it’s amazing what I can find out by just making a couple of phone calls.”

“You son of a fucking bitch, they will kill me!”

“Good, saves me a job!” I yell back. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed the damage you have done to Verity over the years. You act like a loving father, but you are never here, and you treat her like a child. You hide from her when you are in the UK and break her heart over and over again. Well, no fucking more. You will never see her again or come within a hundred feet of her. We are already getting a restraining order placed against you and my bitch of a mother.”

Henry starts screaming shit again, but I’m past caring. I’m not listening to a word of it. I pull Verity’s phone from my pocket and place it on her bed. It isn’t coming with us. We can’t risk it being tracked. She has already transferred everything off it onto a hard drive I purchased for her that will stay in my car, which I am leaving in a safe place.

“If you want to live through this, call off the marriage. If you do that, I may help you raise the funds to pay off Nicholson.”

“Do you know who he is? The interest on the payments is enough to bankrupt me!” Henry roars down the phone.

“So, in other words, getting out of debt is more important to you than marrying your daughter to a thug who is known for beating women?” I ask through gritted teeth.

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