Brutal Heir (Court University 1)

I’d more than explained how screwed up it’d been to not only fire them both, but on such late notice. They’d had jobs one day, then the next—gone, and that was completely fucked. The university had no right do that.

“Tides change, bug. You move with them or get crushed by the waves.” Mom pressed the three burgers with her spatula, way too calm about Ben’s and her current situation. She shook her head. “What’s done is done.”

I wanted her to fight for herself, do something, but what right did I have to demand that? I’d gotten them both fired in the first place, something I’d kept close to the cuff due to nothing but my own guilt. Even still, the fact couldn’t be denied that the Reeds felt they were gods when they came to our lives. Had for a decade now. “Knight and his grandfather are assholes.”

The university had told Mom and Ben they’d been let go due to budget cuts, but I knew the truth and I did tell him the Reeds had pulled their funding. Mom and Ben, of course, had passed that off, saying there was no direct correlation, but of course, I knew the truth.

Mom tsked. “When will you stop blaming that boy for getting your stepdad and me fired? And what happened? I thought you two…”

Her words drifted off, and I swallowed. The moment Knight and his grandpa’s role in their firing came out my mouth Mom knew something was up, up between Knight and me…

She’d just been too nice to ask about it.

She’d at least put two and two together that absolutely nothing was going on between Knight Reed and me. At least not anymore.

“It doesn’t matter what the Reeds do with their money,” Mom continued. “And even if that was the reason, what the university does is on the university. I don’t blame the Reeds, and if I could blame them, I wouldn’t. It’s their money to do with what they wish, and I’d have no right.”

How could she stand there and say that? How could she keep defending the Reeds time and time again? I didn’t understand—at all. Knight sat at her table, ate her and Ben’s food, and still, she wasn’t upset.

“That’s all a joke.”

“What is?”

Fuck, she’d heard me. I’d meant to say it under my breath. I shook my head. “Nothing, Mom.”

“No ‘nothing, Mom.’” She flipped the burgers, stepping away from the skillet, then wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. “What is a joke?”

“It’s just like, the Reeds can do no wrong in your eyes. Knight can do no wrong.”

“Why would you say that? Is this about all that stuff when you guys were kids?” Sighing, she pulled a veil of her hair out of her face. “That boy is not at fault for me losing my job.”

“How so?” I dropped corn in a bowl. “The guy goes crazy, kills a dog at like eleven. I mean, who does that? He’s crazy. Even then. Then there’s Mr. Reed. He swept what happened under the rug to save face for what his crazy grandson did.” I groaned. “He kicked us out, tossed us out on the street, and we lived in our car, Mom!”

“That’s not what happened, and yes, we lived in our car but that was not an eleven-year-old boy’s fault, and he’s not crazy. Don’t call him that.”

“What else could explain it? Kids don’t kill dogs—”

“Well, that kid did for you.”

She froze me where I stood with her words. Releasing a breath, she pressed palms to her face, and I pushed off the counter. I frowned. “What do you mean he did for me?”

“Like I said, he did for you.” Then reaching over, she lifted my pant leg. “Or did you forget how you got that scar?”

I stared down at the faded bite mark. Of course I hadn’t forgotten. I mean, I got bit by a dog. “No, I didn’t forget.”

Mom let go, sighing. “That boy hunted down that dog and killed it for you. He saw it follow you. Went after it himself with that friend he had. I forget his name.”

“Royal Prinze?” My mouth was dry, and Mom nodded.

“Yes, him. Knight heard you screaming. Terrified.” Her eyes lifted. “So pardon me if I’m not mad at the boy who saved my daughter. That dog had been an absolute terror in the neighborhood. An absolute terror and clearly, the adults weren’t doing anything about it. Mr. Peabody, Knight’s neighbor, was a very powerful man too, just like the Reeds, and damn if the city officials would take his dog away from him. Knight ended up doing what no one else could. He took matters into his own hands, even then, and saved you.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Knight went after a dog for me? No way. I shook my head. “How do you know he went after it for me specifically?” That dog had chased everyone, not just me, and for all I knew, he and Royal had been trying to save themselves. That dog had chased me for what felt like miles that day.

Mom pulled her hair out of her face again before turning off the burner. “He told his grandfather the whole thing. That he went after that dog for you, and after hearing that, yes, I was let go. Part of the reason was because yeah, the Reeds like as little drama as pos

sible in their lives, but the main one did have to do with you.”

“Me?”