Chapter 98: 98-Between Them
Gigi:
The brothers took care of me.
I mean, they took really good care of me.
One of them held my hands between his own, while the other brought me juice.
The scary part was that, this time, I was genuinely anxious and scared.
What the fuck did Verity mean when she said this was the work of my— my stalker?
I didn’t have one.
Even though I was beautiful enough to attract men’s attention, no one had ever stalked me.
Probably because they knew who I was.
Yeah, that had to be it.
Otherwise, why wouldn’t they?
But somehow, Miss Seductive was the one being stalked.
None of it made any sense.
Who did this to my brother?
My brother wasn’t weak either, so how had someone managed to overpower him?
I mean, Verity did say she found a black trash bag over his head.
Maybe that was how they got the upper hand.
Nothing made sense.
But I was definitely waiting for my brother to wake up so I could ask him all the questions burning inside me.
At the same time, I was beginning to realize Ragnar had been gone for too long.
I thought he was just going to speak to the warriors and ask them to check the security footage, but where the fuck was he now?
"Where is Ragnar?" I asked in a slow, steady voice.
I had settled into Jaguar’s lap, and because I was in such a terrible state and so upset, he couldn’t bring himself to move me.
My legs rested across Theodore’s lap, and he was massaging them to help calm me down.
"He went into the backyard to talk to the warriors," Jaguar replied, resting his hand against my forehead before gently running his fingers through my hair.
"Hasn’t he been gone too long?" Theodore asked.
I nodded in agreement.
As I did, my head pressed harder against Jaguar’s crotch.
I felt his body twitch as though he were in pain from my movement.
Served him right for being so stubborn.
"I mean, I don’t know. Maybe he’s discussing something very important with Miss Verity."
There was a strange, taunting edge to Jaguar’s voice when he said it.
For a moment, it distracted me enough that I almost forgot everything else.
"Wait. What do you mean?" I asked, lifting my head to look at him.
He looked down at me, the fingertips of his free hand lightly grazing my cheek.
"Didn’t you see?" he asked. "He told Verity to join him in the backyard."
The moment Jaguar said that, I immediately sat upright.
I could tell Theodore noticed it too.
"Hey, calm down," Theodore said, gesturing for me not to make any sudden movements.
"No. Why would he take her with him?" I asked in confusion.
The problem was that, when Verity arrived with my brother, I had completely forgotten she was even there.
I definitely hadn’t noticed Ragnar asking her to join him in the backyard.
There was no reason for the two of them to be alone for this long.
"If you want, I can go get Ragnar and let him know you need him," Theodore offered, quickly getting to his feet after seeing how worried I looked.
I knew it was hard for them to see me in pain, so they were always trying to make things better for me.
"Yes, please. Can you do that?" I asked Theodore, batting my eyelashes.
He nodded immediately and hurried away.
I turned back to Jaguar.
He seemed lost in thought.
Maybe he had noticed how much more openly grateful I had been toward Theodore and was wondering if he needed to try harder to earn my attention.
So I rested my hand on his thigh.
I watched him blink, almost as though he had been pulled back to reality.
"Thank you, Jaguar. If you hadn’t been here today, I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through it," I said, looking into his eyes.
He held my gaze for a moment before giving me a small nod.
Then his eyes shifted past me.
Maybe he was worried Ragnar would catch us sitting this close together.
So I quietly pulled my hand away.
I didn’t want any trouble either.
Theodore returned alone.
I looked past him, expecting Ragnar to follow, but no one else came through the door.
Maybe Ragnar and Verity had stayed behind.
Even after Theodore reached the couch, Ragnar never appeared.
"Where is he?" I asked immediately, noticing the slight frown on Theodore’s forehead.
He looked just as confused.
"Where are they?" Jaguar asked his brother.
"I don’t know," Theodore replied, making my eyes widen in shock. "I think they left."
The moment Theodore said that, I felt like I might pass out.
"Wait. What do you mean? Explain."
Jaguar immediately leaned over me to face Theodore.
Since I was sitting between them, I ended up squeezed between them.
"I asked one of the warriors," Theodore replied absentmindedly. "He said he saw them leave."
I knew their concern was because of me.
They both knew I wouldn’t take Ragnar leaving like this very well.
That was probably why Theodore couldn’t even meet my eyes.
"I’m pretty sure he took her to ask exactly where she found Oliver and what happened," Jaguar quickly said, trying to explain Ragnar’s behavior and reassure me.
"Yeah—that’s probably it," I replied, even though anxiety continued to build inside me.
Still, Ragnar should have spoken to me before leaving. Instead, he had simply walked away with Verity.
"You know what? I’m really grateful that you two stayed with me, but I’d like to rest now. You should both go home."
I didn’t know what had come over me.
Normally, I would’ve taken full advantage of a moment like this, letting them comfort me for as long as possible.
But not now.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Ragnar leaving with Verity.
Jaguar and Theodore exchanged a glance before finally nodding, respecting my decision.
"Don’t overthink it, okay? Get some rest," Theodore said, gently cupping my face in one hand before leaning down to kiss my forehead.
"Yeah. And if anything happens, call me," Jaguar added from behind, leaning over to kiss my cheek.
As the two of them walked away, I couldn’t help but picture the day they would hold me like this while we shared the same bed.
The moment they were gone, I called over the warrior who had told Theodore he saw Ragnar and Verity leave.
"Tell me exactly what you saw," I said, folding my arms across my chest.
He looked at me before scratching the back of his neck.
"I saw—" He paused, gulping hard.
"I saw Ragnar carrying Miss Verity out of the woods."
The moment those words left his mouth, it felt as though my heart had dropped into my stomach.
So they had gone into the woods—
And Ragnar had carried her back out?
What the fuck happened out there?
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