by L A Cotton
O’Connor watched me and I wanted to rain my fists down on him for doing this to me. For shattering the only life I’d ever known. And then another realization hit me like a brick wall.
“Does Doyle know? My sister?”
He lips pulled into a tight line, and he nodded. “They all know. I made it known that Marcus was paying for the ultimate betrayal. Michael Pierce was a widely known, respected, and loved man in our organization.”
I wanted to puke. What had I done? All those times I’d come to blows with Jackson—perceiving him as the enemy when, really, the enemy was my own father. I’d craved his validation, his praise. I just wanted Marcus Donohue to see me as worthy to take his place. How blind I was.
“There’s just one thing I don’t quite understand. You had our father taken out. Why us? Why go after Briony and me?”
“I’m a businessman, Braiden. A ruthless one, at that. I saw the opportunity to wipe out a family that had threatened everything I worked hard to achieve. One day, you would be released, and what then? How was I to know you were as in the dark as you appeared? I anticipated revenge. It was in your nature, your blood. I thought you were your father’s son.”
I was.
Wasn’t I?
O’Connor sighed and shifted on the chair. “I admit, perhaps I was hasty regarding your sister. But she’d made quite the reputation for herself as well. It was a risk I wasn’t prepared to take.”
“And now?”
“Things are … complicated. It seems I risk losing my daughter if I cannot convince you to do the right thing.”
My head spun. I had so many questions, yet nothing came out of my mouth. O’Connor had known this all along. He could have given me this information from the beginning. Instead, he’d locked me in the dark and had Jason and his two heavies beat the shit out of me.
“Why?” I found my voice.
“Why didn’t I just tell you?”
I nodded.
“I didn’t have all of the facts then. You were just Braiden Donohue then.”
“And now?”
“I won’t discuss her; she stays out of this.”
So Daddy dearest had a heart after all. Part of me wanted to reveal the truth about Jason, but it wasn’t my story to tell. If Cara wanted her parents to know about Jason, she would have told them. For as much as the thought of him being anywhere near her killed me, I had to respect that.
O’Connor’s pocket vibrated, and he retrieved his cell phone. “Hello …” He held up a finger to me as he moved to the window to gain some privacy. “Yes … okay … yes.” He pocketed the cell and turned back to me. “It would seem I have some business to attend to. Can we continue this discussion later? It will give you time to digest everything.”
“Sure,” I replied my head still reeling with everything. He was right; it did change things.
It changed everything.
Hours ticked by and O’Connor didn’t return. I watched the sun set over the treetops from my position on the bed. Miranda, as she insisted I call her, stopped by to bring me some lunch and soda as if it was a common occurrence to serve food to a beaten and bruised guest.
Everything I’d discovered from O’Connor played through my head on a loop. My father, Jackson, my sister. I no longer knew anything—who I could trust, who I should have trusted. Before I saw Luke standing outside Oregon State, I’d been ready to go it alone, and now, I was thinking that probably would have been the best decision. This war wasn’t mine to fight. Dad was dead—he’d paid for his crimes. O’Connor had admitted he was hasty in trying to take out Briony. And he’d had plenty of chances to end me and hadn’t. And then there was Jackson. He was the one regret I couldn’t atone. I’d driven us apart on a web of lies and deceit. I’d envied him to the point of wanting him dead.
It shamed me to the point of retching over the toilet bowl. The things I’d done and said to both him and Ana. And now, I would never have the chance to set things straight. Not that I deserved them. I flushed the toilet and washed my hands, feeling the sting of self-loathing burn in my stomach. O’Connor’s business was obviously taking longer than expected, and I was exhausted. I left the bathroom ready to call it a night when a fist collided with my jaw. I grunted with pain as my eyes locked on Jason’s.
“He might be too weak to end you, but I’m not.” Venom dripped from his voice as we circled each other. My senses kicked into high alert. Small space, crazed guy looking to wreak some damage on me—it felt like Oregon State all over again.
I inhaled a deep breath, drew back my arm, and let my fist fly.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Cara
I strained against my door, listening for the sound again. It came louder this time, a crash followed by muffled voices.
Male voices.
Without thinking, I rushed out of my room and ran down the long hallway to Braiden's room. The sounds were louder. Thuds and grunts that filled my stomach with dread. I didn't want to open the door for fear of what I might find, but it was Braiden in there.
My Braiden.
I opened the door and gasped, horrified at the sight of Jason and Braiden fighting. It wasn't some sloppy schoolyard rumble; they were throwing measured punches, inflicting as much damage as possible. The cut above Braiden's eye had reopened and blood trickled from Jason's lip. For a second, neither of them noticed me, too focused on the other, but Braiden glanced up, doing a second take. His face paled as he called over, "Get out of here, Cara."
"Yeah, Cara," Jason mocked, "get out of here before you see something you don't want to."
Jason tackled Braiden to the floor and they became a tangle of limbs. I screamed. Miranda was first to come running, her room the nearest to Braiden’s. She took one look at the two huge guys rolling around on the carpet throwing punches and started calling for my father as she disappeared back into the hallway.
I never considered myself as someone who went to shit in a crisis but watching Jason's fists rain down on Braiden was too much and I stood paralyzed to the spot.
“What the-” Daddy rushed into the room, calling for his men, and went straight to Jason trying to haul him off Braiden.
“Jason, JASON.” His voice boomed causing me to jump. “You need to stop. Now.”
Jason groaned something inaudible under his breath and managed to shrug off my father, lashing out at Braiden as he tried to get back on his feet.
“Daddy, do something. Do something,” I screamed.
“Miranda, call for Oz and Sammy again.” He sounded breathless as he attempted to pull Jason away again. But he was crazed, his eyes wild, dancing with unpredictability. I should have seen this coming.
Guilt tore through me. Was it my fault? If I’d just spoken out, maybe this wouldn’t be happening.
“Cara, what is … oh my ...” Mom appeared in the doorway, hand over her mouth, and for a second, I thought she was going to freeze as I had. But her shock melted away as she narrowed her eyes on the three men scuffling, and she pushed me aside. “Jason Delaney, what in God’s name do you think you’re doing?”
The three men stopped and looked over at the woman in her silky nightwear as she crossed the small room. She was enough distraction that my father managed to get a hold of Jason, forcing his hands behind his back while Mom tended to Braiden, who was doubled over with blood dripping down his face.
“Cara, baby. Fetch the first-aid kit.”
I blinked glancing from Mom to Braiden.
“Sweetie, now please.”
By the time I gained control of my motor functions, Daddy’s men had arrived and were hauling Jason out of the room as he kicked and screamed. I rushed down the hallway to the main bathroom and retrieved Mom’s first-aid kit from the wall cabinet. When I returned, she’d helped Braiden into the chair and was checking the bloody wound across his eyebrow.
“It might need stitches.”
“It’ll be fine. Just patch me up,” he said curtly refusing to look at me.
Mom
reached out for the kit and I moved closer, handing it to her. “Can I get you anything else?”
“No, that’s all,” she replied, but Braiden angled his head slightly, allowing him to meet my eyes. He knew I’d intended my words for him, and I wanted to scream tell me how to fix this.
I let my mother work her magic, cleaning the wound and applying salve before taping it over with gauze. When my father returned, Mom was just finishing up. The room was quiet. Tense. And he sensed it, clearing his throat as he entered. “I’d like to talk. With both of you. Get cleaned up and meet me downstairs. You too, Annie.”
Braiden’s eyes searched mine, but I dropped my head breaking the connection. I was tired. Of the secrets, the lies … the hurt. So what if I’d fallen in love with a guy from the wrong side of the tracks? My father was that guy. And while I knew he was only protecting me, that deep down his concern came from the place of an overprotective man who had seen and done too much, I wanted to shake him. To make him understand that no one could love me more or protect me better than the broken guy sitting on the chair.
“Cara, let’s go.” Mom’s voice interrupted my thoughts, and I followed her out of the room.
If the tension in Braiden’s guest room was suffocating, the air in Daddy’s office was so thick it almost knocked me back when I entered.
“I see my wife made a good job of your face.”
Braiden shrugged dismissively, but I saw the discomfort in his eyes. He didn’t know what to make of all this any more than I did.
“Would someone like to tell me what that was all about?” My father glanced at us and then at my mother who just smiled as if things couldn’t get any worse.
“Jason has-” I started, but Braiden cut me off. “Jason’s had a problem with me ever since he realized who I was. The guy’s got a serious anger issue.”
My body sagged. I didn’t know why I couldn’t say the words, just come out and tell the truth. Jason tried to rape me. It was simple really. Five little words. Yet when I opened my mouth, I froze or said something completely different.
“I invited you into my home, Braiden. With that came a certain level of trust. Jason has been nothing but a loyal and trustworthy employee, someone I …” He turned to Mom. “We consider a family friend. He’s a good kid.”
I leaned forward, gripping the chair with my fingers. I couldn’t listen to another second of the bullshit coming out of my father’s mouth. If I couldn’t admit what he’d tried to do to me, I could, at least, tell them a thing or two about the guy they both loved so much.
But Braiden’s pinky brushed mine, and I glanced at him at of the corner of my eye. He shook his head ever so slightly and said, “Maybe he was trying to finish the job?”
“I find it hard to believe that he stepped out of line without provocation. Perhaps you said or did something to ups-”
“This is bullshit.”
“Excuse me?” my father said coolly right as Mom gasped, “Cara.”
“No, Mom. I am so sick of hearing how wonderful Jason is, how the sun shines out of his fucking ass. You don’t have a clue.” My voice was so calm even I wondered who this person speaking was.
“Cara, I will not tolerate-”
“Tolerate what, Dad? Your twenty-year-old daughter having a voice? Wanting to live her own life instead of one you dictate. I love you, I love you both dearly, but this has to stop. I am an adult. I am not a child anymore.”
“Baby, we didn’t mean-”
“No, Mom. All I’ve heard for the last four days is how I can do better than someone like Braiden Donohue. How he’s no good for me. That I don’t belong in his world. Let me tell you something about him.” I turned to look at Braiden, who kept his head low, clearly uncomfortable being in the limelight. “All he tried to do was push me away. To keep a safe distance. I was the one who pushed him to let me in, I was the one who followed him to Chastity Falls …”
Mom gasped again, but I wasn’t done. “Braiden Donohue has shown me nothing but respect and love. He never once expected anything in return, and he never made me feel worthless.”
Unbridled emotion burned in my father’s eyes. He wasn’t happy with my little speech, and I didn’t expect him to be, but he had to understand that Braiden wasn’t the same guy he was before prison. That my Braiden was changed.
“Cara, enough.”
“But I’m-”
“I said ENOUGH.”
I flinched at the anger in his words and lowered my eyes.
“You might be a grown woman, but this is my house and you will respect me. I’m beginning to see I underestimated the relationship between the two of you, but let me be clear. I will never accept this. Changed or unchanged, he is still a Donohue and you are still an O’Connor. I’m sorry, Cara, but you will never have my blessing in this.”
A tidal wave of emotions rushed through me and I leaped up out of the chair, narrowing my eyes at my father. “You are wrong. Everything about this is wrong. You say you will never accept my relationship with Braiden because of his name. What about Jason, huh? Would you so readily accept him into our family if you knew the truth? You’re a hypocrite and a liar and I hate you. I. Hate. You.”
“What are you talking about? The truth? What truth?”
“Cara,” Braiden said from beside me, but I held up my hand to silence him, too blinded by anger to consider the consequences of what I was about to say.
“Jason, your loyal and obedient Jason, tried to rape me. He attacked me and tried to force himself on me. And if it hadn’t had been for the guy you’re so convinced is not good enough for me, Jason would have succeeded. Is that something you can accept?”
The color had drained from my mother’s face as I glanced over at her, but my father’s mask remained pulled on. There wasn’t even a sliver of remorse. Maybe this was what I was scared of all along—his refusal to believe his own daughter over Jason.
“I see.”
“Yeah, you see. Of course, you fucking see.”
“Watch your mouth, young lady, I won’t-”
“I’ll do it.”
My eyes snapped down to Braiden and my mouth dropped open. I was fully aware that he was distracting my father—and saving me from an impossible situation. But that wasn’t the reason I was so shocked. It was the fact he’d chosen, at all.
Braiden was choosing to live.
He was choosing my father. My family.
Me.
My father inhaled, and I saw the relief in his eyes. He wore his mask well, but it was these rare moments that he displayed the fears of a family man. Moments like these made me remember the man I’d known him to be once.
My father.
“Thank you. You have my word that when it’s done, I’ll arrange for you to have a fresh start.” He glanced back and forth between us and pulled his lips into a thin line. “Braiden, I’d like to see you in my private office. The sooner you make contact, the better. It’s been long enough. I’ll give you some time to say goodbye.”
My father’s eyes lingered on me, and I felt them burning into the side of my face. But I refused to look away. I could only stare at the guy who was everything to me.
And would soon be nothing.
Braiden had made his choice—he had chosen me.
But in the end, it didn’t matter because soon, he would leave.
And he wouldn’t ever be coming back.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Braiden
My eyes kept flicking to the door wondering if she was okay. Stupid question. Of course, she wasn’t fucking okay.
“Is it true?”
“What?” I met O’Connor’s glare, and he blew out an exasperated breath. “Did he try to r- rape her?”
Rage exploded in my chest, and I clenched my fists tight. “Tried. He didn’t. Like she said, I got there just in time.”
O’Connor tugged at his tie and craned his neck from side to side as if he couldn’t breathe, and a part of me couldn’t help but think it served him
right. “Sonofabitch,” he hissed. “I trusted him. I trusted him with her life.”
“Yeah, well, sometimes we trust the wrong people. And jealousy is a powerful motivator.”
Despite his stalker tendencies, I didn’t get the impression from Cara that Jason had tried anything before, which suggested that my arrival pushed his buttons a little too far. Some guys lost their shit over being threatened. Didn’t justify it, but it did explain his move into crazy land. He felt threatened, wanted Cara to himself, but instead of trying to win her affection, he tried to take it. I should have punched him harder the first time around.
“Well, he’s being taken care of. And I suppose I’ll have some fixing to do with my daughter.”
I gave him a pointed look. Was he for real? Cara had stood before him only minutes ago and opened her heart for all of us to see, and he was acting as if it had been a meager misunderstanding.
“You might need to work harder than that.”
O’Connor regarded me, and for the first time since meeting him, I actually felt like he saw someone besides the guy he thought he knew. The Braiden Donohue he knew through rumor and reputation. The guy I used to be.
“Thank you.” He cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. “Cara thinks I do all of this to hurt her, but I don’t. I have only ever had her best interests at heart. Growing up in this world isn’t easy, and I only ever wanted to keep her safe. I failed, and it would seem you were there when I couldn’t be, so for that I owe you.”
I tipped my chin, taken aback by the sentiment. I didn’t know what I’d expected if it ever did come out that Jason tried to hurt her, but it wasn’t this, that was for sure.
