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“Wait, is that her?” Miller’s whisper through the phone’s speaker is loud enough for everyone to hear him.
“Yeah,” I reply.
“Can you switch on video calling? I need to make sure it’s really her.”
“Are you going to be okay?” I ask, looking up at Winter.
A determined look comes over her as she nods.
Taking my phone, I switch on the camera and hold it up so that Miller can get a glimpse of her.
“Holy shit! It’s her,” Miller breathes. “Thank fuck she’s okay. We were worried she was dead.”
“I guess things would be easier for my family if I were dead,” Winter says in a cold tone.
“Listen, I’ll call you back later,” I say.
“Hey, hold up—”
“Not now, Miller,” I say firmly. “Later.” With that, I switch off the call.
A plate of cookies and four steaming mugs of coffee sit on the tray before me. I’m guessing Winter heard the whole conversation with Miller just as she was bringing them in.
“I guess it’s time to tell you the truth,” she says, turning around to look at Cole and Kai.
Kai’s beside her in an instant, capturing her hand in his. “Don’t be scared,” he assures her. “No matter what trouble you’re in, we’re going to help you.”
Moving closer, Cole grabs her other hand. “We’re with you, love.”
I can’t take my brothers’ anxious looks anymore. Getting up from my desk, I walk around it and reach Winter.
“You can trust us,” I tell her. “We’ll not let anyone hurt you. Hell, we won’t let anyone ever touch you again.”
Winter’s breathing has turned erratic. Tears gather in her green jewel-like eyes as she looks up at me.
“Come here,” I say, sweeping her into my chest.
Her arms wrap around me, holding me tight. I hate the broken expression marring her pretty face. Someone’s clearly hurt her in the past and she’s scared to face them.
No matter who it is, they’ll have to deal with me. Holding her hand, I guide her toward the couch and make her sit.
Kai brings a coffee mug and places it in her hands.
The three of us fan out around her, desperately making sure she feels safe enough among us to tell us the truth.
Winter swallows a few times before she can find her voice. “Laura…my stepmother, you know...I overheard her talking to her boyfriend about wanting to sell our house to some high bidder. They were also planning to sell me off to a mobster. She switched my blocker and suppressant pills, making sure I went into heat before handing me over to him.”
Thunderous expressions descend on my brothers’ faces as they hear her story. Rage bubbles inside me, threatening to explode. How could someone be vile enough to sell her?
“I refused to sign on the papers they gave me,” Winter says, looking down at her knees as teardrops roll down her cheeks. “Pete...Laura’s boyfriend became violent when I wouldn’t obey her.”
“Is that why your face was bruised?” I ask, feeling anger coursing through my veins.
She nods. “Luckily, they got distracted for just a second and I was able to bolt out of the house. I hid in the woods behind the houses in our neighborhood and later walked out into the street. I was too cold by then and needed a place to hide before they could find me.” Her teary eyes look up at me. “That’s when you found me. You guys saved me that night.”
Cole wraps his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him.
“How long has your stepmother lived with you?” Kai asks.
