Page 34 of Taken By my Brothers' Best Friends

I wanted to tell him to go to hell. Instead, I went to my room and plugged the drive into my laptop. After a few minutes, a file folder popped up with hundreds and hundreds of pictures. I sank to the floor in front of my bed and started scrolling through them. I could hear the guys talking and laughing from the living room and felt my anger growing even bigger. I wanted to punch my brother and kick the rest of their asses. I didn’t know why I was so mad at the guys but I was.

I wanted them to be as desperate for me as I was for them. They seemed to get caught up in the moment but at any other time, they seemed unbothered. I didn’t get it. Weren’t guys supposed to be thinking about sex all the time? They were locked in with me and didn’t seem all that needy.

I realized that I wasn’t actually looking at the pictures after a while and had to go back to the start. It was brain numbing. When I heard Mills laugh at something Dean said, I decided I couldn’t do it for a second more. I closed my laptop a little too hard and went out to where they were hanging out in the living room. Four pairs of eyes turned to me, all seemingly confused about why I was there.

“If this is going to stretch out, I want to go to Harmony Valley.” I focused on Mills. “You can’t just hold me hostage here. I need fresh air and my friends. Send me to Harmony Valley. I’ll stay with Eve and her men. Or Gray and the family. If this is going to come down to me looking through pictures to spot a man I saw for two seconds, I’m fucked.”

Reed stood up and I saw the way his eyes flashed with anger. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re safer here than anywhere else in the world.”

Mills stood up, too. “Reed’s right. Cut it out, V. Has she been acting like this the entire time she’s been here?”

“I’m standing right here!” I screamed and let a bout of crazy take over my body. I knocked over a glass of water on the side table closest to me and stomped to my room.

I couldn’t care that I was acting like a stubborn child. If the guys didn’t want me, I couldn’t stay there. It would be torture. I groaned and threw myself face down into my bed. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. It was like my normal bad characteristics were being blown up into my entire personality. I didn’t want to be like that but my emotions were all over the place. It was awful.

“Are you finished with your tantrum?”

CHAPTER 28

Vera

I rolled over to glare at my brother. “No.”

“V, your life was threatened. We can’t take that lightly. We also can’t send you to stay with Billie and the triplets, or Eve. It’d potentially be putting them in danger.” He sat next to me and sighed. “I’m sorry this isn’t what you want but I have to do what I think is right. You’re safe here.”

I sat up and frowned. “I have a life, Mills. Even if you don’t consider it worthwhile, it’s mine and I’m missing it.”

“You’ll get back to it. Just keep your shit together. The guys here are doing something really nice for us. They came out of retirement to protect you.”

“Can they go back?” I groaned when he didn’t laugh. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll be a good girl and do everything I’m supposed to. I’ll be Maxie and smile all the while.”

“You’d do good if you modeled yourself after Maxie.” He saw my scowl and patted my head. “Be nice to Maxie. She’s the good one out of all of us.”

I knew he was technically playing but it felt real. Maxiewasthe good one. She did whatever she was expected to do and smiled while doing it. She did anything and everything the family asked of her. She was the golden Hellstone sister and I was…just me. Before Nellie ran off, I’d been the middle daughter who got overlooked. After Nellie, it was just me to find flaws in. Which sucked. It was no wonder Nellie left.

“Come on, kid. Things could be worse.” Noticing Bobby asleep in my bed for the first time, Mills grunted. “Of course, you even have the dog breaking the rules.”

“Get out, Mills.”

He ruffled my hair again and stood up. “Be nice, Vera.”

I made a noncommittal sound and reached over to scratch Bobby’s head. He’d learned that burrowing into my pillowsallowed him to get away with being in my bed. It took Dean a lot longer to find him and tell him to get down.

I got up and closed my door after Mills left, wanting to be left alone. I was ashamed of acting out but I was also still angry. If I tried to get to the root of the anger, I would’ve easily found that it was hurt. I wanted the guys to want me like I wanted them and their self-control made me think they didn’t. They weren’t fazed by me.

My writing buzz was gone and I found myself staring at a blank screen with nothing to write. My stomach started growling again and I stared at the door. I needed food. I didn’t want to face the guys. It was tricky.

After an especially loud growl of my stomach, I decided I had to do it. I slowly pulled the door open and felt like cheering when I didn’t spot anyone. I tiptoed across the house and started silently ransacking the fridge. Whatever the guys ate was gone but there was a jaw of pickles that caught my eye. Pickles sounded like a good meal. I grabbed the large jar and rushed back to my room with it.

Settled on the floor with my hand in the jar of pickles was how Dean found me. He rubbed his forehead and sighed. “Is that all you’ve eaten?”

I pulled out another pickle and crunched into it. “Yeah, but it’s good. This is working.”

“Get up. I’ll make you something real.” When I didn’t budge, he bent over and snatched the jar from me. “Come on, Hellcat. We need to talk.”

“Hey!” I followed him, but only because he had my pickles. “Give those back, Dean. I planned on eating them all. That’s why I put my hand in there. You can’t just put those back in the fridge for someone else to eat.”

“I had my tongue down your throat yesterday. I don’t really care if you put your hand in the jar.” He glanced back at me and shrugged. “How does a sandwich sound?”

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