Reign of Brayshaw (Brayshaw High #3)(7)

And damn if they don’t let me.



Fuck!

Royce flashes for the door, but Captain slides in front of him, halting his advance.

Royce whips around to face me, throwing his arms out. “You really not gonna go after her, what if she dips right fucking now?”

“She didn’t hear everything.”

He gives a humorless laugh. “No, she didn’t, other than the fact that she’s the future Mrs. Fuckhead Graven! Oh, and we’re fucking hiding something from her!”

“It’s the only way.”

“I fucking know, man! But that doesn’t mean she won’t leave us because of it! We said no more secrets, no more solo moves. This shit? This is what leads her to go all Raven.”

The panic in his eyes causes a cramping to shoot through my chest. Her leaving wouldn’t only wreck me, it would fuck us all.

I walk to him and hold his glare with mine, my hands firmly grasping onto his shoulders. “Royce. She will not fucking leave us again, not like this, not without solid reason and fact. She almost lost us too this last time. She won’t risk it again, not without complete fucking assurance.”

“She won’t even be mad at us,” Cap whispers, overwhelmed. “That’s not who she is.” His glare moves to our dad and mine follows.

Shame washes over his face, tightening his features as he looks to Royce, realizing the distress this is causing him. He looks to Cap next and holds his stare, and I’d swear regret fills his eyes next.

What was that?

Finally, his stare comes back to mine.

“This wasn’t a contract I made,” he says quietly. “I was just a kid, running deals and trades back then, proving myself. Raven’s grandfather is the one that set this up. He only had a son, who married a gold-digging junkie, and the two had Ravina. They both died along the way from drugs and Ravina was left in his care.

“He called up Donley, put Ravina on the table for his top man to take. Donley only wanted it if she was in love with the man, he wanted an amicable marriage – a real marriage, not one for show – between the families, so he added the clause that Ravina, on her own and without influence, agree. It was his way of assuring it wasn’t a move against his people.

“His boys and ours, Ravina included started going to the same parties and functions. They were allowed at Bray events at the school. Everyone started making friends with everyone and things looked good for the town. Peace among us all.”

That explains the photo in the yearbook.

But, wait a fucking minute...

“Top man to take,” I repeat, stepping forward. “Are you telling me Felix Graven wasn’t Donley’s son, that Collins isn’t Graven blood?”

Our dad nods. “Felix Graven wasn’t Graven at all, he was a runner between families.”

“An outsider.”

“He chose them?” Royce asks.

“In the end, yes, but I believe it was simply because he’s the one she fell in love with. All he had to do at that point was accept the position. Like I said, he was a nomad, stayed out of both the families’ ways but thrived in our town. With Graven, he would be the lead. His decision was instant.”

“Why were we not told this shit?” Royce shouts, angrily.

“At the end of the day, it’s irrelevant. He was Graven, his son Graven, just as you three are Brayshaw. We live by the name, the name is who we are.”

“What happened with Ravina and the marriage, did she not want it?” Cap gets us back on track.

“Oh, Ravina wanted the marriage,” Dad scoffs. “She wanted to be waited on and showered with gifts and praised for her beauty. She didn’t get that at home, she had unlimited income, but was invisible to her grandfather, and our love for her, mine and both your fathers” —he nods toward my brothers— “wasn’t enough for her. She didn’t believe in our feelings, thought we cared because we were forced to being, we were men of Brayshaw, but that was so far from the case. She wouldn’t hear it though.

“Felix Graven, however, was desperate to have her, and he let her know it at every turn. He was a few years older, so he used that appeal to win her over. I said he didn’t hesitate to take the offer once he had her heart, and he didn’t, even left his pregnant fiancée to be with her and without a second thought.”

“Collins’ mom?”

“Yes. He didn’t hesitate to decide, was willing to throw his unborn son away if it meant he got to marry Ravina.”

“He was obsessed with her.” Royce frowns.

“He was in love with her.” Our dad’s eyes cloud with memories. “She was as captivating as her daughter. People fell at her feet from a simple smile. Only it wasn’t just her beauty. She was kind, forgiving. Good. Untouched by greed.” He looks to me briefly. “Untouched by a man.”

A virgin Brayshaw.

He continues. “Ravina had an innocent soul once, very much a contrast of her daughter in that sense. Raven was born jaded, but Ravina, she was turned that way.”

“You have to know Raven isn’t a virgin.”

He nods. “Collins wants her regardless.”

“Is that his call? That’s not what they were promised.”

“A fact Donley doesn’t seem concerned with this time around.”