Page 20 of Holiday Hostage

“I can't do this! I can't go back here. I never wanted this. I never wanted to be a baker. I can't even bake. The last time I tried, I almost burned down the entire building, which might have even been better because I could have taken the insurance money and ran—” I spew out before Bryce grabs my shoulders and forces me to look him in the eye. I stare into those blue eyes that immediately pulled me in when I saw them in the bank and feel my nerves calm.

“We've been over this, princess. You have to go back,” Bryce says, pleading with me for my own good. “This is what you wanted, anyway. You have the money to fix things now.”

I shake my head quickly, looking at them with an intense expression on my face, feeling the need to stress to them how important this is. I take a deep breath, forcing myself to admit what I'm feeling. It's even hard for me to admit to myself. “Ineverwanted this. This wasn't my dream. All it is is a way to make my grammy happy, and she's not even here to see it. I've always wanted to be a designer, but I've never had the chance, and I don't think I can go back here knowing that. I lied to Grammy, I lied to myself, and I lied to all three of you.”

They look at each other, confused as to what I've been lying about. I look down at my hands, nervously wringing them in front of me. I don't know how they’ll react to hearing this, but it needs to happen. They need to know the truth if they're about to cut me loose, never to hear from me again.

“When I told all of you I was on birth control, I lied.” I look at them, staring into each and every one of their eyes while I try to gauge their reactions.

They all look surprised at the news, clearly taken aback by the sudden change. I'm sure when they thought sleeping with me was consequent-free, it was much more exciting. But now, a lot of possibilities hang in the air between us. The three of them look at each other, once again having some sort of silentcommunication while they figure out what to do among each other.

“Is this what you really want?” Koda asks me, cocking an eyebrow at me as he turns to look me directly in the eye from the driver’s seat. “There's no going back after this. We don't know where we'll be in six months or even a year.”

“I want this,” I say, nodding my head fervently while I grip my pants tightly from the anticipation.

Koda nods and puts the car in drive, pulling away from the bakery. I'm so relieved I feel like I could cry. In fact, tears do drip out of the corners of my eyes.

Eli turns around from the passenger seat in front of me and offers me a warm smile. “If you really want to stay with us, we'd be happy to have you. We love you, and we want to stay with you too.”

“We want to stay with you forever,” Bryce adds, smirking at me with a familiar glint in his eyes.

I look over my shoulder as the bakery fades into the distance with the rest of Harmony. If I never see this town again, it will be too soon. There's a life I'm leaving behind here, and I'm perfectly content with starting over fresh in a small cabin in the woods, surrounded by three bank robbers on the run. That would have been a nightmare a week ago, but now it's a dream come true.

EPILOGUE

ONE MONTH LATER

The attic of the cabin is still a little shabby in terms of a proper studio, but the guys have done their best to put together a nice space for me to call my own. Even though I'm used to sneaking away from the three of them to come up here and work on some of my designs, knowing none of them are wandering around the house below me sends anxiety shooting through my veins.

In the days after I came to live with them officially, the three of them kept sneaking around while they tried to surprise me with my studio. They would go into town in shifts, distracting me while sneaking off to buy a desk or a chair. I'll never forget the look on all of their faces as they excitedly led me up into the new room. They had a brand new iPad sitting on the desk, with a professional stylus and notebooks for me to sketch out ideas.

It was so incredibly thoughtful, and it only made me fall all the more in love with each and every one of them. I don't know what I'll do if something happens to them on this run.

“They'll be fine,” I whisper, taking a few deep breaths to calm my nerves. They left over an hour ago and should be back any minute. This is just another job for them. They've done this plenty of times, and they know exactly what to do.

Even though I keep telling myself that over and over again, it doesn't do anything to calm me down. Eventually, I give up trying to draw and head downstairs to the living room to pace back and forth while I wait for them. The sun sets, and they still aren't home.

I sit on the couch, holding my head in my hands while anxiously waiting for the door to open. I think about calling them, but I know that could only be a distraction if something is going south. Besides, all they have on them are their burner phones. If I call them there, police might be able to link them back to this cabin, and the last thing I want to be is a liability.

After about thirty minutes, the front door bursts open, and I jump up from the couch with a relieved sigh, seeing all three of them walking in with smiles on their faces.

“Where have you guys been? I was worried.” I walk over to all three of them, wrapping my arms tight around their necks to pull them in for kisses.

“Remember what I said about blending in with traffic?” Eli says, holding me against him as I hug him. “Sometimes that means we get stuck in traffic jams.”

I laugh and back away from them, heading into the living room to listen to everything they have to say about how the robbery went down. They spend days planning everything to a T, planning one of the biggest hauls they've ever made. Hearing that everything went down without a hitch makes me feel a lot better about staying here with them. Knowing the three of them are criminals and not turning them into the police is a crime in and of itself. It definitely eases my mind to know they're good at what they do.

Koda excitedly pulls out the duffel bag, opening it up to reveal piles of cash lined on the inside. Both of them watch me as I look at it in disbelief. I've never seen so much cash in real lifebefore. In fact, living with the three of them just doesn't feel like real life, so in a way it makes sense.

“We're never going to have to do this again,” Koda says, looking at me with a reassuring grin. “This is enough for us to say goodbye to this once and for all. We can settle down and relax. This is enough money for anything we'll ever need.”

“But most importantly, we have you here with us now,” Bryce says, letting his eyes scan my body.

It's hard not to blush at the cheesy lines he throws at me, but I know he's being sincere right now. All four of us bask in this moment, excited for what the future will hold. We each talk about what we want for the future, how we want to settle down and live happily ever after with each other.

I stand while they're distracted, looking down at all of them resting my hand over my stomach, feeling anxious about the news I have to share with them. When all three of them are looking at me, I take a deep breath to calm my nerves.

“There's something I need to tell you guys. I know it's a little bit complicated with our... situation,” I say, taking my time to look each of them in the eyes. “But I think I might be pregnant.”

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