Trouble at Brayshaw High (Brayshaw, #2)(69)

Maddoc’s hand comes up to slide across my cheek, his thumb brushing over the cut on my lip.

His internal struggle takes me by surprise when it seeps through his cautious touch. “Soon as one wound heals, another appears.” His eyes lift to mine, tortured and trying to hide it.

“It’s pretty much how things work in my world.”

“But your world is our world now,” he corrects, moving his lips to my forehead before dropping them back to mine. “And in our world, this is unacceptable.”

“Really?” I tease, and his hand slips up the back of my shirt, pushing against my spine to bring me closer. “So, you’ll share your world, but not your mind?”

“My mind is dark, baby.”

“And?”

His mouth comes down, sliding across mine before he steps back, releasing me. “And you’re afraid of the dark.”



I look to Cap who sits beside me on the couch while Royce and Maddoc finish cleaning the kitchen. “What am I missing, about Zoey’s mom?”

He doesn’t hesitate. “Perkins was engaged to her mom.”

I jerk upright, shifting to face him full on. “I’m sorry...what?”

“He’s had it out for us for years, always lurking in the corners, always trying to fuck our takedowns by tipping people off, and we wanted to know why.” His forehead creases and he looks away. “The only way we saw to get to him, was to get to her.” He lifts his eyes to mine. “We knew it would only be believable if it were me pretending.”

“And then it became real,” I guess, eyeing him. “Do you love her?”

Angry eyes slice to mine. “She hid my fucking kid.”

“Yeah,” I nod lightly. “I know, but that’s not what I asked.”

He shakes his head, looking up at the ceiling. “I will never forgive her. Ever. Way too much has happened now. It wouldn’t matter if she was sick and dying or claimed to be forced into it. Nothing could ever make me forget or forgive how she gave away the innocent baby who grew inside her for nine fucking months, without telling me. Nothing.”

I drop back against the cushion. “I get that. When Collins threatened my mom’s life, I didn’t even care. I wouldn’t even care.” I roll my neck to look at him and he copies my move. “Not even a little bit.”

“Considering everything I know, I’d say there’s nothing wrong with that, Raven.”

“Yeah. It’s funny, though. I spent my whole life with her and I don’t give a shit where she ends up, but I’ve only known you guys for a hot minute and when Collins breathes your names the wrong way, I lose it. I see red and I want to strangle him with his stupid alligator skin belt.”

Cap laughs, lightly hitting my knee with his.

I consider what I said a moment, then ask, “Everyone says you love your parents despite the fucked-up shit they do, how at the end of the day, you love them even if you don’t want to, but I don’t. Does that make me sick, not caring if my own mom dies but livid at the thought of someone messing with you guys?”

“No.” Maddoc’s voice flows over my shoulder. I look, following him as he and Royce step into the room to join us. He drops on the ottoman in front of me. “It doesn’t make you weak. It makes you Brayshaw,” he whispers, and my chest grows tight.

Family runs deeper than blood.

Damn.

“When we demanded answers from Zoey’s mom,” Cap continues. “All we could squeeze from her was she left the birth certificate blank, claiming not to know who the father was.”

“That’s how she was able to sign over all rights to Zoey without you.”

He nods, looks to Maddoc, then back to me.

“We checked with the registry department and found out the paperwork for the birth certificate was filed thirty-seven days after delivery. It only takes five days to file when done at the hospital.”

“She lied.”

“She fucking lied. She did put my name on it, and Collins Graven was the one hiding the original.” Cap leans forward. “Whether he hid it to clean up after someone else or not, he knew, and I almost lost my daughter because of it.”

Son of a bitch.

I push to my feet and move for the cabinet, pulling out a bottle of some fucking dark whiskey I can’t pronounce, and take a swig from the bottle.

I cough, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand and slam the bottle against the counter.

My hands start shaking so I clench my fists to stop it.

I let them think I betrayed them with a guy who literally had some kind of hand in fucking their entire world in one way or another. Not to mention I floated around their school with him while everyone sat back to watch the train wreck that was me force their hands still. Somehow, Collins fucking knew their dad would ask them to play it cool. Or shit, as cool as three hotheads can play it.

Collins knows something they don’t and he’s proving to be a reckless bastard.

I look back to the guys, finding all their eyes on me.

I take another drink, carrying the bottle with me out the back door to the patio.

It only takes a few seconds before they’re out there with me.

Maddoc moves behind me, caging me in against the railing while Cap shifts to one side, and Royce the other.

I lean back, closing my eyes when his arms wrap around me.