Page 11 of Taken By my Brothers' Best Friends

He was staring at me with such a confused look on his face I had to stop and retrace my words. I winced as I understood why he was confused. They thought I was a bum, pretty much, who lived off of her brothers. They didn’t know about my job.

“For a book club I’m in.” I took a long drink from my juice and looked away. “We’re very serious about our book clubs here.”

“Sorry, Vera. Until we get this sorted out, you’re going to need to lay low.”

“Who made you my boss? You’re not in charge of me, asshole.”

Mills picked that moment to walk into the kitchen. “Actually, he is. As long as he’ll take the job, that is.”

CHAPTER 10

Vera

Dean nodded. “I already figured we’d take over security for her. Did you get anything out of him?”

“Not yet. Tate and West are still with him. We need you to get Vera out of here. This guy’s a professional. Even if he did get taken down by our kid sister.” Mills rolled his shoulders and leveled a hard stare at me. “You’re going with these guys. They owned and operated a massive security company for years and they’re the best guys for the job. Don’t give them shit.”

I slammed my juice down on the counter. “I’m not going anywhere. I don’t care if they did own and operate a Ring camera or an entire wing of the National Guard. Not only do I not like them, but I also have stuff to do here. I can’t just—”

Lennon strolled into the kitchen, an easy smile on his face. “A Ring camera. That’s funny.”

“You don’t do anything here, Vera. There’s nothing here that is so important you can’t go with them. This isn’t a conversation. You’re going.” Mills blew out a deep breath and shook his head at me. “Just make something easy for once in your life, Vera.”

Fury and pain warred within me and it occurred to me he’d hurt my feelings far more than anything the guy trying to kill me had said. My own brother. He didn’t care what I did; I was always the fuck up. It used to be Nellie but once she left at sixteen, the role fell to me. Vera, the mess maker. Vera, the bum. Vera, the only member of the Hellstone family who didn’t contribute. Little did they know, I funneled a chunk of my money back into the business.

“We’re going to finish up with this guy and then call Sheriff Morgan to handle the rest. Get her out of here. We’ll be in touch later with the details.” Mills shot another look at me. “It’s for your own good.”

I watched in disbelief as he left. He’d just handed down his ruling and expected everyone to fall in line. I wasn’t going anywhere. I had a book to finish. I required complete privacy to write and I was going back to my cabin to finish my work. I couldn’t just hide away and expect my agent and publisher to wait until I got my shit together.

I was so angry I didn’t notice Dean inching closer to me until he was fully in my space. I tried to step back but he sighed and gripped my wrists. “What the hell are you doing? Let me go.”

He winced and nodded at Lennon. “We’re doing what we have to. Doesn’t seem like you’re going to go willingly.”

“I’m not. You’re not making me, either. This is ridiculous. I can obviously take care of myself.” I tugged against his hold but Lennon had already moved behind me. I bumped into him and lifted my foot to kick one of them.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Hellcat.” Reed had silently entered the kitchen with a length of rope in his hands. “If you fight too much, I’ll be forced to tie you up so you don’t hurt yourself.”

Lennon grunted when I kicked him in the leg. “You just gave him what he wanted. He loves those ropes.”

I struggled harder as Reed approached but they were so much stronger than me and there were three of them. It wasn’t fair. If I couldn’t combat them physically, I decided to try mentally. I sniffed and went still with my face downturned. “I just want to stay close to my family. Please, don’t make me leave.”

Dean snorted. “Honey, you’re no actress. Every emotion you’ve got plays right across your face like a fucking movie. Nice try, though.”

I let out a frustrated scream as Reed wrapped his rope around my wrists. I expected the rough bite of the rope against my skin, but instead I was met with a velvety softness, warm from his grip. “You can’t just tie me up! This is insane! It’s insulting andit’s kidnapping! I only tied that other guy up because he wanted to kill me. You need a good reason to tie someone up and you don’t have one!”

“Can you tie her mouth closed?” Dean dodged my headbutt. “You are a wild little thing, aren’t you?”

Reed had Dean lower my hands and then he tied the rope around my waist, ensuring that my hands were trapped to the front of my body. It didn’t stop me from struggling, though. Reed ignored my screams and attempts at kneeing him in the face as he knelt and easily tied my legs together. If I wasn’t the one being tied up, I might’ve been impressed.

Once I was so tied up I couldn’t move unless I wanted to faceplant on the kitchen floor, Reed stood up and ran his eyes up and down my body. He straightened his cowboy hat and a slow grin stretched across his lips. I held my breath, waiting to hear what he had to say, but he just nodded at Dean and walked away.

“What the hell was that? I know he can talk. Why does he do the silent cowboy thing? That’s so annoying. It’s like when you have to sneeze and then it just goes away. That’s what being around him feels like. He just needs to open his stupid mouth and say what he’s thinking. Do y’all not get fed up with that? I mean, really. His silence is almost as infuriating as how easily he just tied me up.” I glared up at Dean with no other choice since I couldn’t budge. “Did he compete in the rodeo circuit? Don’t tell him I asked. I don’t want him thinking I’m complimenting his skills. Because I’m not.”

Dean sighed before leaning forward and tossing me over his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around my thighs to hold me steady and told Lennon to grab my long-forgotten juice. “Reed’s ropes aren’t meant for the rodeo, Hellcat.”

It was hard to be indignant with my face bouncing into his back with every step he took, but I still tried. “First of all, that’s not a nickname that’s going to stick. You can call meVera. Second of all, what are his ropes meant for then? Boating? Boaters use ropes, right?”

Lennon’s chuckle was a little too patronizing for my liking. “He hasn’t set foot on a boat since we left the Navy.”

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