"Thank you for trusting me."

We hold one another for several minutes before he withdraws. "We have all night to cuddle. Your brother was having a meltdown."

"Oh, sweet Todd," I murmur and straighten. I put on my seatbelt and take his hand again.

We drive in silence the short distance to his house. The front door cracks open when his truck shuts off, and I hastily exit the truck. Petr takes my hand, and we trot to the door. No sooner do I set foot in the door than Todd tackles me.

"Claudia!" he exclaims. Petr braces me from behind as Todd barrels me over. He's close to hyperventilating. "Are you okay? What happened? Where is The Monster? Did Petr kill him? What happened, Claudia?"

I shush him and lean back against Petr, whose arms circle my shoulders. His strong body is steady behind me, my source of strength since mine is about to give out.

"He won't bother us again," I whisper to Todd.

"But you're hurt." My brother gazes into my face. The strain of tonight is on his features. He's pale, his eyes rimmed with red from crying. "He hurt you."

"I'm okay, kiddo." I ruffle his hair.

He looks uncertainly at Petr behind me.

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"I promise," Petr says in a low, quiet voice. "He'll never bother you again."

"We don't have to leave?" Todd asks me. "We can stay with Petr?"

"Yep. We can stay with Petr," I respond.

Todd nods slowly, a flicker of light in his shadowed gaze, fully trusting the man who managed to capture my heart.

I twist in Petr's grip and wrap an arm around him and another around Todd. The three of us stand in the doorway and hold each other. Petr's strong embrace engulfs both of us.

This time, I know for certain it's over. I contain the part of me that wants to weep out of appreciation and joy. My brother is already upset; I don't want him breaking down.

"Your sister needs to rest, Todd," Petr whispers gently. "Do you want to hang out with Sawyer and watch movies?"

Todd hesitates. He looks at my features again before nodding. "You need to rest, Claudia," he says with some authority.

I manage to smile. As if sensing how weak I am, Petr keeps an arm around my midsection and walks with me towards the stairs and up to the second floor. We go to his room, and I hug him again.

"C'mere. Let me have a look," he says and moves us towards the couch. We sink down together. He lifts my chin to observe the damage and then peels up my sweater sleeve. A flicker of something dark and angry crosses his gaze.




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