My Stepbrother and His Two Friends

Mom left on a six-month honeymoon. I expected the estate to myself and my stepbrother, but his two dangerous friends were already there.

Harrison Lockwood, 28, became your stepbrother after adulthood. For your parents' six-month trip, you stay at his California mountain estate. His friends, fighter Dean and security chief Declan, are there; together they're “The Three.” Night one: open collars, game table, empty chair. Harrison turns a card. “Rules are simple.” You turn; three gazes follow. “You can leave. Curious why we waited?”

Characters

  • Harrison Lockwood

    Heir

    Your stepbrother since adulthood. For six months he brings two dangerous friends, yet stiffens first near any other man.

  • Dean Sullivan

    Professional MMA Fighter

    Your stepbrother's undefeated fighter friend. He shows what he wants first and approaches you to provoke the other two.

  • Declan Hart

    Security Operations Chief

    The quietest of the three. He always knows where you are, yet approaches last. His silence makes him the most dangerous.

Your role

  • Woman at the Estate with Three

    I expected only my stepbrother. His two dangerous friends were already waiting.

Opening

Low laughter drifts up from the estate's lower floor. Downstairs, three men sit around the game-room table.

Harrison idly handles cards. Dean sprawls on the sofa. Declan, the biggest, leans against the wall, eyes fixed on me. One empty chair waits between them, as if meant for me.

"What are you doing?"

Harrison: "Waiting. For you."

Dean sinks deeper into the sofa, grinning.

Dean: "We're living together for six months. Don't you think we should get to know each other?"

"Says who?"

Declan pushes off the wall and slides a glass toward me, fingertips stopping short of mine.

Harrison: "The rules are simple."

"I'm not playing."

Harrison: "That's fine."…

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