Raven is the first to reach me, a heavy frown in place as she steps around the bar to grab herself a glass of water.
“I asked about this guy a while back, she said he helped her pass the time and time was up. Said he left,” she speaks into her cup before taking another drink.
I down mine, slamming the crystal on the countertop. “She’s a liar.”
Raven scoffs.
Mac joins us, pouring and handing drinks to everyone but Raven and Maddoc, who is driving tonight.
As soon as Victoria’s ass plants on one of the stools, I jerk from where I stand and move for the couches surrounding a flat screen.
The annoying blonde from earlier spots me and makes her way over, but Victoria stops her in her tracks when suddenly she’s dropping right beside me with a glare.
“You walked away before I could even talk.”
“Oh, you wanna talk now.” My eyes widen mockingly, anger front and center. “All of a sudden? Thought secrets were your game?”
She glares. “You gonna listen or not?”
“What makes you think I’d care what you have to say?”
A single brow raises. “You, storming off like a toddler, pretty much said enough.”
I growl, but then the door is shoved open with a loud bang, and in comes Royce with a smirk I know all too well, arms open wide as he plays it up and pulls in attention.
“The man of the hour is here to join us,” he calls flatly, tipping his chin when I meet his eyes, the dickhead right behind him, his shirt still off and in his hand, cheap ass bird tattoo on full display.
Victoria tenses at my side.
“Servant girl,” Royce snaps and her eyes slice his way. “Make the man a drink, hm?” His glare hardens in warning.
One she ignores.
“What the hell is he doing, he shouldn’t be in here...” she says, a hint of panic in her tone as she trails the two. “Mike’s done nothing wrong, he’s always... he stayed away.”
Her fingers grip at the collar of her shirt, brows caved.
“Victoria.”
“He shouldn’t be in here.” She shakes her head, waiting until the last second to drag her eyes to me. “Make him go.”
My fingers clamp tight around my glass as I study her, noting the anxious fare of her movements. My stomach muscles tighten as I cock my head. “Make him go,” I repeat.
Why?
Does she want him away from her or is this her way of keeping him away from us?
Is she protecting him?
Anger builds inside me as she thoughtlessly adds, “He’s done nothing wrong.”
An instant dark chuckle leaves me, and her tension-filled eyes pull to mine.
“Nothing wrong?” I edge, leaning forward until our lips are damn near touching.
Her eyes widen, but then a layer of fog covers them just as quick.
How easy I can steal your attention...
I know he’s watching, everyone is, so I lean a little more, pulling at all my control as I brush against the thick velvet of her lips, while reminding myself I can’t take what I should, what I know she’ll give.
Instead, I whisper, harsh and slow, “He thinks you belong to him, and that right there, Beauty... so fuckin’ wrong.”
“You need to open your eyes, Captain,” she hisses, a strain to her tone I can’t quite interpret, and my mouth twists. “And when he called me his, you should have done or said something that showed otherwise.”
I push my frustration down and attempt to spin this in my favor.
“Did I confuse you?” My smirk is as measured as her scowl. “I said you’re not his, but you’re sure as fuck not mine.”
Her scoff is easy and mocking as she pushes to her feet, my eyes raising with her.
She rubs her lips together.
“Fine,” she forces out. “I’ll play maid, like your brother wants me to. Serve the man, and then, I don’t know...” She trails off as she shrugs, shuffling backward a few small steps. “Serve the man.”
I’m on my feet, tugging her into me in the same second. My glare is heavy, fingers twitching against her spine.
And she giggles, freezing me on the spot.
It’s a soft, open sound I’ve never heard, one that reaches deeper than it should, driving even farther as ever so slowly, rich brown eyes, almost a brassy, bright copper lift to mine.
I’m struck, stuck standing powerless as every part of her dives beyond the surface of me.
A small smile finds her lips and she melts against me, the room around us falling away.
I tell myself to let her go and walk away, get some fuckin’ space between us, but my muscles won’t move.
She’s gorgeous and I hate it.
“You can try to deny me with your words, Cap,” she whispers. “But your body knows the truth, and your mind will never allow such a lie.”
My stomach twists, a hollowness taking over and making me nauseous, ‘cause, fuck me, she might be right.
She shuffles her feet, and my hand falls to my side.
My eyes follow as she walks away, each step heavier, more forced than the last. She doesn’t want to go to him.
I should bring her back.
To me.
I stand there staring as she begins making a drink for some asshole when she’s the one who should be served.
I glance at the dickhead who watches her every move, a frown written across his forehead as he waits for her to meet his eyes, but she doesn’t.
She shifts with lax movements, but she’s on edge. Unsure.
Why?
He gives a subtle shake of his head when she gives him her back, reaching for a bottle of something.
Raven walks over, but I can’t look away.
She steps up beside me. “Cap.”
“I gotta get the fuck outta here.”
She’s getting in my head... or maybe it’s the alcohol.
Dickhead says something that has her pausing, and ever so slowly, her palms plant on the countertop, and she lifts her eyes to his. A small grin, fuckin’ tiny grin forms on her lips and my blood boils.
Yeah. I gotta go. Now.
Maddoc and Royce spot me cutting across the room and beeline for me, their quick steps gaining Victoria’s attention.
She sets the bottle down, boldly staring.
“I’m out.” I keep walking. I don’t have to tell them to keep her in line, they already know.
I make my way to the door, and just as quick as my feet carry me, Victoria is at my side.
“I didn’t ask you to come with me.”
“I live with you. I don’t need an invitation.”
I spin quick, forcing her back into the doorframe.
“No, but you do need permission,” I snap.
“So give it to me,” she damn near begs, dropping her head to the metal behind it. “I don’t want to be here, don’t need to be if you aren’t. Take me home, Captain.”
The double intent in her tone has my groin heating, but I fight against myself to push it away. It would be so easy to give in, but easy is for pussies and she doesn’t deserve the power of rendering me weak.
In my peripheral, I spot Mike focused on us, so I turn to face him head-on, leaning in close and refusing to inhale her scent.
My fingers stretch wide at her side, and I slowly slide them up her ribs. Finally, his eyes lift from where I’m touching her body, meeting mine.
He’s a bold fuck, holds my gaze for a solid five seconds, before he finally cuts his head away.
I bring my mouth to Victoria’s ear.
“No,” I snap. “You stay, he’s your mess. You think you’re strong enough to be Bray, let’s see it. Make him disappear.” I pull back, glaring down at her. “But touch him, and I’ll shatter his knuckles, he touches you, it’s a bat to the kneecaps.”
Her lips pull to the side, and she pushes against me, causing my frown to deepen.
“You want him gone?” she whispers, leaning in only to slip away in the sam
e second. She cocks her head, walking backward as she gives a single, hard blink. “Handle him yourself. He wouldn’t listen to me anyway, Brayshaw or not, but believe me when I say, Mike? He doesn’t belong here.”
She walks away, and not back where we came from, but out the fucking door and straight for Maddoc’s SUV.
And I’m not sure what I hate more.
How much I like when she fights me or how I crave her submission.
Something’s got to fucking give.
Chapter 8
Captain
“And this one and this one—oh!” Zoey runs to the windowsill, grabbing a small stuffed bear. “This one, too!”
She shoves the three into her backpack, sticking her tongue out as she tries to make them fit enough to zip the thing closed.
I laugh and bend on my knees beside her. “Why don’t we leave some home so you have room for new stuffed animals, huh?”
She gasps, looking to me with a smile, but her eyes quickly fly over my shoulder and she pushes to her feet, running over to my dad as he steps inside the room.
When Zoey cried for Victoria, I’d have sworn my fucking chest plate cracked. The only time I have ever seen her cry that way was when I’d go visit her and my time to leave her behind would come.
So, to see those emotions from her for a girl who doesn’t deserve her attention was hard. If I’m honest, it was the most unsettling experience I have ever fucking had.
A sick, twisted knot formed in my stomach, but I held my ground.
It only lasted a few minutes before she forgot why she was upset and started playing again, but I haven’t been able to erase the picture of her pink, tear-streaked cheeks from my mind.
I look from her to my dad.
“Ready, Zo?” he asks, opening his arms so he can lift her.
She smiles at him. “Yes! I want to see aaaall the animals.” She stretches her arms out as wide as she can. “All of them, k?”
I squint as I stare at my dad.
I’ve never known him to be an emotional guy, the opposite in fact. He was kind and caring with us, sure, but a seriousness always followed.
We were only months old when mine and Royce’s biological dads were murdered, and he took us in, along with our moms, to live with him, his wife, and Maddoc, who was only a couple weeks older than we were.
Our fathers were his best friends, men of Brayshaw, equals at his side as the three of us are now. Their plan was always to have us grow to take their places, so he felt no hesitation when he took us in, and then our mothers were killed.
Murdered by his very own maid, his wife dying right alongside them.
That’s the day he became a father to the three of us, rather than the father figure he planned to be. He’s loved us equally all our lives, but he’s made mistakes as all do.
He took a sentence that wasn’t his to take, in a courthouse he could have paid off with ease but didn’t in order to protect our world and the future he planned for my brothers and me. He gave eleven years of his life, working and connecting with us behind steel walls as Maybell filled the role of mother for us. He’s hidden things he shouldn’t have, the hardest truth for myself being the day I learned the man I thought to be my biological father, wasn’t, even though he saw me as his own.
Despite the bullshit along the way though, we’ve always trusted in our dad, even when he pissed us off. We know his every move made was to protect us in one way or another.
I understand that more than ever now.
The last couple months we’ve gotten to see a side of him we never have or don’t remember. A softer, gentle side that Zoey has drawn from him.
I swear his eyes grow glossy as he looks down at her, and nods. “Okay, Zo. We’ll see all of them.”
She claps her hands and darts out the door. “Uncle Bro! Where are you?”
I smile, stand and hand her pack over to my dad, giving him an extra empty one along with it just in case. “She insists on bringing all this shit.”
He grins but quickly turns sober. “You don’t like having her out of your sight, and you go back to school the day after tomorrow. Should I be concerned?”
I raise a brow. “This is Brayshaw.”
He nods, leading us out of the room. “Of course.”
“We got a tip we’re feeling out, set it up a bit already,” I tell him, looking away. “She can’t be there for that.”
“No she can’t.”
Zoey spots us coming down and starts to run for us but pauses mid-step, going back to Royce to take another bite of his donut.
He laughs, lifting her up, and they follow us outside. “Told you, baby girl, Uncle Bro’s got you covered.”
I grin, shaking my head as I open the back door to our dad’s town car finding Maybell already inside.
Royce sets her down, and she climbs across the seat with a smile.
“Hey, little miss.” Maybell helps her onto her lap. “You ready to go to the zoo?”
“And Papa, too!” She looks back to our dad.
He nods, a softness covering his face. “I’m coming, Zo. Climb in your seat, okay?” He turns to me.
My lips press in a firm line, and I look off.
“There’s nothing wrong with a little girl spending a few hours of fun with two people who love her,” he reassures me. “This is normal.”
“We aren’t normal.”
He laughs, his palm coming down on my shoulder. “The fact that this even makes you pause, says enough. You’ve got her for the rest of your life, you can share her with us from time to time,” he teases.
I hold my grin, dipping my head inside the car. “Miss Maybell.”
“Boy.” She smiles as Zoey grabs her hands, clapping them for her as she sits in her lap. “Go on.”
I nod, leaning farther in to kiss Zoey’s cheek. “See you in a little bit, okay?”
She nods but looks past me as she climbs into her seat. “Uncle!”
“Right here, Zoey Bear.” Royce laughs, stretching his arm past me and setting the rest of the donut in her hands.
“Bye Daddy!” She carefully slips her arms into the straps of her seat, kicking her feet as she bites into it, both of us forgotten.
We step back so our dad can slide in, and then they’re off.
Raven and Maddoc are coming down the porch as we turn around, an ice chest in Maddoc’s hand, blanket in Raven’s.
“Ready?”
“She wants to stop for ice cream on the way,” Maddoc grumbles, sliding a frown toward Raven.
“I need to stop for ice cream,” she corrects him.
“Like you needed the chocolate and chips and shit this morning. We’re barbecuing. Why not wait until after you give my kid some protein first?”
“You might not like sweets, Big Man, but this thing inside me is half mine, which means it has half my appetite for snacking.”
“Not an it and you’re dead wrong, baby.” He quickly pushes his lips against her hair. “Sometimes kids don’t share shit with their mamas.”
Royce chuckles beside me, and Raven smirks, looking away.
Maddoc’s eyes narrow on her, quickly shifting to our brother. “What?” he snaps.
“Growin’ a puss on us, bro?” Royce teases.
Maddoc shoves him. “Fuck’s that mean?”
“It means Royce owes me a stack of twenties.” Raven wiggles her eyebrows. “Told you he secretly read the books Maybell gave me.”
Royce laughs harder, but Maddoc doesn’t say anything. He smirks as he makes his way to the back of my SUV to put the ice chest inside.
I glance up at Victoria’s window as Raven stops beside me. “She take off?”
“Nope.” She shakes her head, jerking her chin toward the side of the house. “Heard her go out the back door when we were gettin’ out of the shower.”
I nod, open my door and slide in, but I only get as far as putting the key in the ignition.
I growl and slip right back out.
I walk around
the front right side of the house, jolting to a stop when I spot her on her knees. Her hair up on her head as she feathers her fingertips along the flower bed we had put in for Zoey before she came home.
It’s identical to the one she was used to seeing when she lived with Maria, long parallel lines of every shade of purple in existence, a thicker, heavy curve in the middle, wide-open sky behind it, allowing nothing to block the sun from beaming down to give them life.
Victoria sits back on her heels, scanning over the twenty-foot-long garden. She closes her eyes, inhaling a full breath right as a heavy crease covers her forehead. I jerk around and move back to my SUV.
I slide inside, slam the door and peel out of the driveway, loud enough to interrupt her thought, but not loud enough to drown out my own.
Why is she touching the flowers and what came to her mind, bringing pain with it?
Does she like flowers?
Why the fuck do I care?
I lift my palm, slamming it against the steering wheel, only to tighten my hold on the cooled leather.
Nobody flinches or is caught off guard, and nobody questions me.
It’s how we work.
I feel, they feel.
I hurt, they hurt.
I get angry, well… that’s when it’s bad for everyone involved.
One’s anger is what drives another’s rage.
If there is one thing that pisses us off more than all else, it’s to witness pain from one of our own.
I’m not in pain, but I’m sure as fuck in something.
From there, it doesn’t take long to get to the courts, and once we do, we jump straight into a game.
I’m lost in my own damn thoughts the first half, only managing to focus toward the end.
Mac finishes up with the main part of the barbecue right around then, so everyone takes a minute to breathe and eat, but I’m done.
I wipe the sweat from my brow with the bottom of my t-shirt, my eyes sliding to the end of the court where Jason stands with Mac, Chloe, and a few other girls. He laughs as he throws away his plate before picking up a ball and heading back out onto the asphalt.
None of us picked up on anything outside the norm with him today, like we hoped. He’s acting like his usual attention-seeking self.
Royce nods his chin, tugging his shirt over his head as he takes slow steps toward Jason.
BE MY BRAYSHAW Page 9
