Thirteen years? The judge had said he served eleven.
This doesn’t make any sense.
She laughs, the sound weak and dead. “I see you’re still missing pieces, daughter, but don’t bother asking.” She grins and shakes her head. “I’m on strict orders from the man himself. If I wanna keep getting my money, I keep my mouth closed when you come knocking.” She tilts her head. “The bonus is seeing you desperate. Pathetic, like I knew you were.”
“And what would have happened if I simply left?”
“I knew you wouldn’t once you had a taste of life outside these walls. He knew it too. He’s a very smart man. A life for a life.”
“What the fuck does that mean, Ravina?” I push closer.
She shakes her head and tries to laugh, but it only comes out halfway and a lost look fills her eyes. “They’ll never let you go. Not now that they have you.”
When my forehead pinches, she sits up farther, the bruises lining her arms more visible now with the light from the candle flickering beside her.
She assesses me, and a deep frown mars her face. “You wanna stay. Raven ... don’t be fucking stupid.”
“Don’t worry about me.”
“Don’t tell me you think those boys haven’t known since day one?” My mother smirks, far too proud, hoping to witness the potential fall of her own daughter. “Why do you think they moved you in with them? Security. To make sure, when good ole daddy went before the judge he had a happy story to tell of how the very daughter of the woman who had accused him of rape has forgiven and forgotten, and she’s even fallen for his own sons. A tale of how it brought you together, forcing one big twisted family.”
Oh my god, I knew it. I fucking knew it!
I’ve been thinking since the second I stepped out of that damn courthouse. Stockton California, a rape and cocaine. Knowing the man as my mom’s client, and hearing those details, I fucking knew. It all screamed my mother.
“He gave up his life, in exchange for the ownership of yours. A life ... for a life. He got you to fall and he wasn’t even here to make it happen. Roped you from a hundred miles away, watched from other’s eyes, and now he’ll come home. He controls those boys, has their trust and loyalty from a prison cell. They do what he asks, follows his orders, trusts his judgment without his presence – just his voice and they’re desperate need to please him. You think it would take more than a simple seed planted for them to stand beside him looking down at you? You’re nothing but a means to an end.”
My throat tries to close at her words, but I won’t show her the panic she’s caused. “Don’t pretend you’d care either way.”
“Don’t fuck with my money.”
“I hope you rot in hell.”
“Oh honey, you’ll be right there with me. Don’t be mistaken. The poison that runs through me, runs through you. You’re your mother’s daughter, through and through.”
“I’ll never be like you.”
A smile lines her eyes. “I heard you almost did...”
My head draws back. “What do you mean you—”
“It might not have happened this time, but look what you were prepared to do, and for what? A couple hard bodies who make you feel wanted?”
“You talked to Collins Graven?” I growl.
She shrugs. “He may have made a small visit before that night.”
“What the hell did he want?”
“To know how to get to you, I told him to play at your pride.” She winks. “He called to let me know it worked and wired me some quick cash. He’s a good lookin’ boy, pays well, too.”
I swallow, anxiousness climbing up my throat, threatening to close off my airway.
She’s not lying. I did almost throw away all I want to be ... for three boys I was never supposed to know, but was purposely placed in front of, dangled like bait he knew the wolves couldn’t resist. But for him to know this, he also had to know me.
She eyes me. “Did you really think you ended up there by accident? That boys – men, from what I saw – like them, rich and powerful and destined to rule over people like us, would actually fall for someone like you? Trash with a mediocre face and figure. They could never want a girl like you. They tricked you, they’re just as much bastards as the man that paid for you. Rich punks who care about no one and nothing but money and power while they wait for their time to reign—”
I dart forward, gripping her weak neck in my hands and she lets her head fall back, grinning through her gasp.
She smells like grease and stale smoke.
I squeeze her tight, the screaming pulse in her neck almost calming against my palm as I force her trachea to narrow at my hand, cutting the blood flow to her brain in half.
“You know nothing about them. Stay far the fuck away, don’t even speak of them, do you understand me?” I growl in her face. “You touch one, even for a second, I will destroy the only thing you care about, mother.” I let my knife slip from my left hand and flip the blade over.
She jerks in my grip, her eyes widening as they grow even more bloodshot.
I bring the cool metal up to her cheek and slide it across, never once taking my eyes off hers.
“I will leave you looking like the Joker went easy on you, and then I’ll drop you on your busiest corner for all your men to see. What was it you always said to me, your seven, eight, nine-year-old daughter?” I give her the tiniest of pricks, aside her chin – just enough to draw blood, and her nostrils flare, but she doesn’t flinch. “A girl is useless without a pretty face for all the boys to love...”
I shove her back, forcing her head to hit against the wall and move for the door.
A deep shriek leaves her, and a beer can slams against the trailer door, inches from my head, the tail end and ashes from inside splashing on me and everything else in reach.
I jerk around, not missing the footsteps hitting the broken pavement outside.
“It’ll happen eventually,” she shouts. “Especially when your final day comes and you’re nothing but a trophy, traded to adorn someone else’s shelf!”
“You’re not making any sense!”
“Just wait, Raven!” my mom screams. “Using what God gave you to get what you want is all you know. It’s all you’ve seen! You’ll sell your soul just the same!”
“I’d never sell my child’s.” My voice comes out scratchier than I would have liked.
She drops her voice to a deathly whisper. “Good thing you can’t have any then, huh?”
“You’re a vile woman.”
“Mmm.” She grins, hatefully. “True. Now go away, daughter, and hang the boa up on your way out.”
I will never be back in a place like this.
Right as I push out, the door is yanked back, and I jump.
Three Brayshaws stand before me in one strong, solid unit.
Deep frowns cover their faces, but dare I say fear lines their eyes.
“Move, Raven,” Maddoc growls, but I pull the door closed behind me and step more in his face.
He growls and goes to shove me out of the way, but I shift before he can.
I know them, and I know how thin these walls are – far too well for my liking – they heard every word spoken, but the can hitting the door is what got their feet moving.
Maddoc’s eyelids twitch. “I will pick you up and fucking move you if you don’t get out of the way.”
I squeeze past him and while his glare jerks inside the trailer, he groans and follows, like I knew he would.
I spin around, walking backward with my hands thrown up. “Go on, Big Man, do your thing. Walk up in there, threaten the whore for telling your little secret.” I stop at the back corner of the SUV where we’re blocked from others to see and far enough away now she won’t hear.
His head draws back a second before a murderous glint slides over his eyes and he moves closer. “You seriously think for a fucking second I knew, that any of us knew?” He gapes at me.
“Are you seriously gonna stand
here and pretend that you didn’t?!” I shout right back. “Are you really claiming mister ‘I have to know every-fucking-thing about every-fucking-one and some’ didn’t know the name of the person responsible for putting his dad in prison?!”
He gets in my face, speaking through clenched teeth. “A Graven put him away, that’s what I know. If it weren’t for that piece of shit coming in and playing lawyer, he never would have been convicted. And just so you know, no. We didn’t fucking know. Those files mysteriously disappeared from public fucking record, Raven, at his own hand!” He flicks his eyes across my face. “This isn’t some playground, this is real fucking business, real life shit, and every Graven will pay for that one’s mistake. Crossing a Brayshaw the way he did was over the limit. Seems your ma was the easy target they pulled in to start the process.”
“Why would your dad want the daughter of the woman who helped nail down his coffin?”
“I have no fucking idea.”
My nostrils flare, frustration and uncertainty threatening to boil over inside me. “Why the hell should I believe you?”
“Because I’m telling you to,” Maddoc growls, and pushes closer. “Because I want you to. Because I fucking want you with me.”
“Yeah, RaeRae—”
“Shut up, Royce,” I cut him off, eyes on Maddoc. “Want me here so Daddy doesn’t get mad at you for losing a handle on his ticket home, or should I call myself his possession?” I spit. “Maybe I’m meant to be his little plaything—”
“Watch it,” he warns, his eyes growing more fiery by the second. “And that’s not what I meant, and you know it.” He inches closer.
Royce pipes up again. “You saw how we acted when you weren’t with us. Bunch of little boys throwing tantrums. We need you here.”
“People do stupid shit for good reasons, Royce.” My eyes slide between Maddoc’s.
“Maddoc,” Captain warns and Maddoc’s nostrils flare. “Tell her, man.”
“Fuck. Fine! Were we expecting you?” Maddoc raises a brow. “Yes. Were you picked from a crop of misfits? Yes. Were we specifically asked to watch you? Yes, like we are all of them, but that’s the point of having these houses, not out of the kindness of his fucking heart like was said yesterday. Do we offer them better lives? Yes, but there’s a purpose. We find assholes like us, but who come from real life nothing, that value respect and loyalty because they know that’s the only way people like them can survive and bring them into our fold. The ones who get here and don’t fit, are none the fucking wiser. We leave them where they are until they age out or fuck it up on their own and are gone. We’ve been doing this on our own the last two years, and we’ve built a fucking fantastic team. When we’re done, we’ll be the strongest this town has ever seen, and no fucking Graven will be able to get in the way.”
“You’re creating an empire.”
“We’re building our fucking kingdom.”
A chill runs down my spine and his eyes heat.
His knuckles find my jaw, and he runs them across my cheekbone, a rare gentleness seeping into his next words spoken. “You want more honesty, baby? Fine. Truth is, I’m not above something like this. I’d play someone even harder – anyone, anywhere, in a fucking heartbeat – if it meant saving my family, which now includes you. By choice.”
The corner of my eyes tighten, and I attempt to look away, but he shifts his head to follow my stare. He locks me in with his jade eyes.
“If you think for a fucking second, this far down the line, that you’re here for any reason other than because I fucking want you.” He lowers his voice to a whisper. “Then you haven’t been paying attention, baby. Trust me when I say, you were never part of the plan,” he whispers. “You were a solid fucking mistake.”
My pulse is racing crazy, my head swimming with questions and doubt.
I said the first chance I got I’d be gone. Away from it all, away from everyone who ever knew of mine or my mother’s existence, yet it turns out, she too is tied to them.
I need to be stronger, resist him more, deny the depth of his hold, and battle the ache for his desire.
I need to shut down my stupid girl heart and open my eyes to the devastation this road is sure to lead to.
I need—
“Raven...”
So soft, so gentle and cautious.
I look left into tender, light eyes, worry and concern etched across every inch of his face, but he doesn’t make commands. There’s no glare or force behind his mask.
So Captain.
I glance at Royce.
Dark eyes. Cool covered fear and feigned ease, but tension lines his forehead.
I look back to Big Man.
Anger and uncertainty. Defiance and demand. Want, need, and consumption.
The ability to swallow me whole.
The big bad wolf with claws that stretch from one edge of his city to the next.
The opposite of what I need, yet the only thing I’ve ever craved. If I hit the ground, it’ll be in a painful crash.
I don’t belong in this world of power princes and rising kings.
Still looking at him, staring up into those mystic greens, no warning could keep me away.
I grip his collar, pulling his lips down to mine, and bite into his flesh.
His chest rumbles, his arms wrapping around my lower back to pull me closer.
To have him today and tomorrow, but maybe not the next, be it from his hand or mine?
Worth it.
At Raven’s demand – she’s lucky we were eager to get this shit over with, too – we drove through the night last night with a plan to grab a room tonight, so long as we didn’t have to tie her to the fucking seats, so that’s what we’re doing.
When we pull in the hotel parking lot, Captain stops right in front of the entrance where he and Royce step out, but I hold Raven back.
“Climb in the front,” I tell her.
She eyes me, glancing in the direction my brothers went before looking back to me.
I step out and instead of doing the same, she climbs over the center console, sliding down into the seat.
I pull out of the parking lot, stopping at a little corner store for a few drinks, and then we’re back on the road.
We get about a mile down the road before she starts asking questions.
“Where we going?”
“Almost there.”
“That’s not what I asked,” she snaps.
A chuckle leaves me, but I ignore her and not five minutes later we’re pulling off the side of the road.
I unbuckle myself, then her, and pull her body over so she’s straddling me on the seat.
“Talk.”
Her eyes bounce between mine and then she bends, pushing the lever that has the back of the seat sliding down. Driving herself closer, she brings her lips to mine. “I don’t wanna talk, Big Man.”
She lays her chest against mine and my hand slides down her back to squeeze her ass, and she sucks in a deep breath.
“I don’t care if you want to, you will either way.” I slide my tongue along her bottom lip and she nips at it, making me grin. “But I’ll be nice and make you come first.”
Her grey eyes darken before me.
“Is that what you need?” I whisper, running my fingers over her collarbone. “Me to make that pussy clench?”
Her tongue slides between her teeth and she nods.
“Good. Now, spin around for me, baby, and drop right back down in my lap.”
She doesn’t hesitate. Only when she’s thirsty for me does she do as she’s told.
I slide my hand under her shirt and up to her chest, pushing her down so her back is flat against me, her head laying across my shoulders, ear right at my mouth.
“Move your legs to the outside of mine.”
She does.
My hand slides up until it meets the base of her neck and I leave it there, while my other comes up and dips inside the front of her jeans.
“Unbutton.”
“Close your eyes and don’t open them.”
She nods against me, her chest now rising and falling rapidly.
I push into her underwear and her hips lift a little, pushing me further.
The second I’m cupping her, her pussy clenches against my hold, and her lips part.
I dip inside her to coat my two fingers, then slide my hand back up until I can lock her clit between the two. I rub her, circling my fingers on each side of the sensitive nub. Double the contact, and I triple the pleasure when I start to squeeze.
Her head falls back farther, and she moans into the air. “I need this,” she whispers huskily.
“You need me,” I tell her, and she hums, licking her lips.
She starts grinding into me, chasing her orgasm but I take my time, working her slower rather than faster, only to slow down again when her muscles start to lock.
“Baby...” I breathe into her ear and she shudders against me. “Lift your shirt up for me, bra too. I wanna see how hard those nipples are for me.”
“Oh god,” she whispers, her mouth clamping tight as she does what I’ve asked.
She can’t help herself though, and right after she pushes her bra up, her hands dart down to her nipples and she pinches them good and hard, a sharp breath hisses past her lips.
“I need to come ... I need—”
I bite her neck and increase my speed on her clit, and she gasps. Her tits pushing up into the air.
Her hands on her nipples start to shake and she moves to grip them tighter.
I release her neck and quickly lift my fingers to her mouth.
“Lick.”
Her tongue swipes out, a deep moan leaving her.
I take my wet fingers and run them around her pebbled nipples, then pinch her hard.
I grind against her, my dick rock fucking solid beneath her and she pushes into me.
Trouble at Brayshaw High Page 13
