Brady Remington Landed Me in Jail(25)

"Rayna!" Clarissa screamed again.

This time, I broke out of my paralysis to hurry ahead. I wasn't sure what would work, but I stood beside Clarissa and tried to push him backwards.

"Brady, please. He didn't do anything. It was…Brady, listen to me!"

He was made of cement and my hands were starting to hurt, but when I looked up, none of it mattered. His eyes sparkled from rage and I recognized the cut of his jaw; he was determined. He was beyond anything I could say and then I heard Matt call out, "Didn't you lay him out before? Do that again. He won't hurt you."

Clarissa looked worried. "I don't know about that…"

I glanced backwards over my shoulders and saw Kid on the ground. He hadn't gotten up and Josh was on the sidelines. He stood there, still, but it wasn't from indecision. He watched Brady and then met my gaze. Then he jerked his gaze and shouldered his way into a crowd until I couldn't see him. I looked at Kid again. He was alone, injured, and not moving.

That's when I decided to grow some balls of steel.

I pushed off from Brady's chest and folded my arms. Clarissa looked at me, dumbfounded, but I ignored her and tilted my chin upwards. I was going for the defiant look and to my surprise, Brady stopped just in front of me. His chest was touching my elbows, but neither of us moved. He was focused over my shoulders, where Kid was now starting to get back to his feet, but I felt the jerking movement of Brady's chest. If he jolted forward, he would've pushed me down. Since he didn't, that meant Brady was listening to reason.

I spoke in a soft voice, "Stop. Now."

He growled.

"He didn't make me cry. He made me feel better. And you have no right to attack him without finding out what he 'did' because he didn't do anything!"

Brady still glared at Kid. "Oh, he did something. He did something and it's not even about that. It's what he's going to do, Rayna. You don't even—"

"So tell me!" I screamed, forgetting who was around us. Right then and there, it was me and Brady and he was keeping a secret from me. "I won't bail you out again if you don't tell me why you're in there. I won't do it. I won't talk to you. I won't do anything."

Brady tore his gaze from Kid's and met mine. When he saw my seething promise, the hatred stopped and then a wall slammed over him again. "Rayna, don't. Not now. I can't—"

"Oh, yes you can! You will or I'm going home."

Brady measured me.

I lifted my chin up further and tightened my arms over my chest.

"You were crying…"

"Because some really awful girls said some really awful things about me. Kid found me when I was walking on the road and gave me a ride back. That's why I was crying."

He opened his mouth, speechless, and then closed it with a snap. I caught a glimpse of remorse for a second, but it was replaced with another burning emotion. Anger, maybe? I couldn't recognize it and that didn't sit well with me.

"I don't care if he cured cancer. I don't want him around you. I don't want him talking to you, giving you rides, —"

"—comforting me?"

He seethed for a beat and gritted his teeth. "I don't care if he made you feel like Mother Theresa. He's not good news and he's only here to hurt—"

"Hurt who, Brady?" Kid taunted as he wavered on his feet. He sent a bitter smile. "Why do you think I'm here? Who am I going to hurt?"

"You're going to hurt everything! You're going to hurt her."

Kid surged forward, "No. You think I'm going to hurt you, not her. You're scared. This is all about you, about your jeal—"

Brady picked me up with an arm around my waist and moved me to the side. I was deposited on the ground and Brady launched forward. He hit Kid again and again.

"Oh my god—" Clarissa bit off before she rushed around me. Matt and two other guys grabbed Kid from Brady, and shoved him into the house. The door was slammed shut and locked. Brady jumped onto the patio and tried the door handle. When it didn't budge, he jerked it. When he saw it wasn't going to open, he looked around and rushed around the garage door.

I stood there dazed.

"You can shut your mouth," Clarissa muttered.

I closed it with a snap. "Did you…did you just hear all that?" I pointed towards the house, in Kid's direction.

"He's gotta be pissing blood by now."

"What…?"

"Did you see that beatdown? How is he not pissing blood?"

"No." I shook my head. "What do you think Kid meant by all that? Brady's not jealous. Brady doesn't have anything to be jealous about."

Clarissa snorted and rolled her eyes. "Are you this dense in real life or is it the booze?"

"What did Kid mean by that? Brady…why would Brady be jealous? But…I should sit down."

"Wow. You really heard nothing I just said, did you?"

I sat down on the grass. "I should go home. I've been out way too late. Too much these past two days…"

"You're hopeless." Clarissa bent, grabbed my shirt, and yanked me up to press her nose an inch from mine. "Do you have any idea what just happened?"