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I rub the skin there subconsciously. My throat is a little sore but otherwise I’m fine. I just wish that Conor and Shane would come home so that I know they’re fine too.
I climb into bed, pulling the covers over myself and a few moments later, Liam and Mikey walk into the room. Both of them are dressed in only their boxer shorts and Mikey carries a tray of hot chocolate.
“I put a little something special in for you, Red,” he says with a wink. “It will help your sore throat.”
“Irish whiskey, perhaps?” I ask and he smiles at me.
“Of course,” Liam says as he climbs into bed beside me while Mikey sets the tray down on the nightstand before he slips beneath the covers too.
“You okay, baby?” Liam asks as he wraps a huge arm around me.
“Yeah,” I lie. “I’m sorry I ruined Christmas.”
“You did not,” Mikey admonishes me. “Of all my Christmases, this doesn’t rank in even the top twenty-five worst ones.”
“Yeah. This Christmas is still epic and it’s only just Christmas Eve,” Liam adds with a chuckle.
I snuggle between them both. “I’m sorry you never had good Christmases growing up,” I whisper.
I have only happy memories of my family before I was kidnapped by a psychopath when I was sixteen. Sometimes I forget how difficult my husband’s childhoods were, particularly Liam and Mikey. Their mom was murdered by the man they believed was their father when they were just babies. Then he neglected, abused and mentally tortured them until Shane took them away from him when they were sixteen. Leaving Ireland and moving to New York.
“We did have that one Christmas, remember,” Mikey laughs. “When Shane bought the house in Carrickfergus?”
“Yeah,” Liam says with a smile. “How old were we?”
“Eleven,” Mikey replies. “He was nineteen and Conor was fifteen.”
“Oh, yeah. Conor was annoyed because he wanted to spend Christmas with his new girlfriend but Shane made him come with us. Poor kid had just discovered the joys of fucking,” Liam laughs.
“So it was just the four of you for Christmas?” I ask.
“Yeah. We left on Christmas Eve. Shane had a tree and presents and everything. We had a great two days,” Mikey replies.
“Yup. Until boxing day,” Liam says with a shudder.
“Patrick found you all?” I ask them. He is Shane and Conor’s biological father but not the twins, which they only found out about two years ago when Patrick died.
“Yeah. Shane had gone out for something and Patrick must have waited for him to leave because he showed up as soon as he left. He beat the shit out of the three of us and took me and Liam home,” Mikey says matter of factly.
“It was the last time he ever laid a hand on Conor,” Liam adds. “Because he stood up to him that day.”
“Evil fuck stopped Shane coming into the house for about two months after, didn’t he?” Mikey asks his brother.
Liam nods. “Uh-huh.”
My heart aches for them and what they endured as children. Shane all but raised them. He was their protector. He and Conor were the only people to ever give them any love and affection and I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for them all when their oldest brother wasn’t allowed to see them.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“Don’t be, baby. It was a long time ago,” Liam says as he kisses my forehead. “And now we have you and our beautiful babies. You made Christmas magic for us again.”
“You have for me too,” I breathe.
There was a time when my only focus in life was finding the man who murdered my family and kept me prisoner for two years. All I wanted was to make him pay — and after that I had no future plans of happiness or family. Then I met my incredible Ryan brothers and my life changed forever.
“I love you.”
“We love you too, Red,” Mikey says softly.
