Page 23 of Hunted for the Holidays

She's ours to protect and ours to ruin.

Wyatt stalks off toward the cabin with Charlie in his arms and I turn my attention back to the fucker in front of me. Blood pours from his stump as a belligerent stream of curses leave his lips.

"You're a fucking idiot! She's worth so much money if you just turn her over!"

"She's mine," I scoff. "I'll be dead before I let anyone besides my brother and I lay a goddamn finger on her."

"They'll keep looking. Her father won't stop," he continues on, as if anything he could say will change my mind. “Her virgin cunt is a goldmine. Men are lined up with pockets of cash they’re willing to pay her father for that untouched pussy.”

"Let them come. Plenty of wild animals out here to eat the bodies," I shrug. “But that cunt ismine.”

"You're fucking delusional!"

"And you're fucking dead," I reply nonchalantly, rearing back my arm and bringing the ax straight down on his skull.

The bones crunch as I connect, his face shattering as he dies instantly. Pressing my boot to his chest, I kick him back and pry the blade from his head, blood and brain matter coating the sharpened edge.

"Now, if you don't mind, my girl wants a Christmas tree. And my girl gets what she wants.”

The snow is falling so heavilyat this point that it’s difficult to even see the cabin as I make my way back. If any of the search party remains, this storm should either kill them or push them away. Once it clears up we're out of here, anyways. I have an empire to reclaim.

Kit's penthouse was supposed to be two separate units. When our fathers opened the business together, they left everything to both of us to take over, jointly. They'd split the top floor and lived out their bachelor years there. It was meant to be ours tosplit, but my cousin was a greedy motherfucker. I should’ve been heading up Worthington Industries, not stuck in a concrete cell. Kit took the life I was supposed to have, but I’m going to take it back, with my little bunny and my little brother by my side. She’ll be with a wealthy man alright, but her father won’t get a fucking dime for it. She’s already mine.

I toss the ax down by the back door and pull it open, the smell of apples and spices hitting my nose instantly. Wyatt is standing at the stove, stirring a pot as I tug off my stocking hat.

"Cider?" I ask.

"With whiskey," he replies, replacing the lid and turning to face me.

"Sounds fucking great. Help me get this tree in here and then we can have a glass?"

He nods, pacing across the room and following me out back.

"What the fuck is this, Derek?"

"A Christmas tree," I answer, untying the first set of knots.

"No shit. I meantthat." He motions to the tarp.

I straighten with a shrug. "I couldn't just leave him out there. The snow would've buried him before the animals got to him. Don't need another nosy prick stumbling onto him before we get off this mountain."

"Good thinking," he says, stroking his chin. "We'll get rid of him after the storm clears out."

Wyatt complimenting me like that makes my face split in a stupid grin. He's the survivalist, I'm just a felon with a degree in business from Berkeley. I like his praise. I watch as he moves the body back out of sight, his shirt rising up, revealing a sliver of hard-cut abs. As much as I can't wait to be inside Charlie's pussy tonight, I'm just as excited to share it with him.

We get the tree set up in the corner. It's nothing special, but it does feel a little more festive in here. I pour myself another glass of spiked cider and relax back on the couch. Taking a sip,the liquor burns a path down my throat as Wyatt stokes the fire. The only way this night could get better would be-

"You went back for the tree," Charlie gasps as she appears in the doorway, baby blues fixated on the evergreen.

"I told you, you could have it," I say, setting the glass down on the side table and patting my thigh in invitation. "Come here, little bunny."

Her bare feet slap against the hardwood, one of Wyatt's t-shirts swallowing her tiny figure as she pads towards me. When she's within arms reach, I tug her down onto my lap, a little gasp leaving her lips.

I nip at her earlobe. "Are you well rested, pet?"

Rolling her bottom lip between her teeth, she gives a little nod.

"Good, because tonight, my little brother and I are going to unwrap our present," I murmur, splaying my palm on her thigh.

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