Bradford Bastard (Bradford Bastard 1)

I slam my hand against Colby’s bedroom door. “Where is he?”

“What do you want with Colby?”

“I’m going to ask you one more fucking time,” I say, letting the rage pour out in my tone, not giving a shit if I’m scaring him or his wife. They fucking deserve it for raising such a piece of shit. “WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?”

“I don’t know,” Colby’s father rushes out, throwing his hands up and making me realize I’ve begun stalking toward them. “He hasn’t been home in two weeks.”

“FUCK.”

Colby’s mom grabs her husband’s arm and moves it out of her way before stepping toward me, raising her chin and showing a type of bravery that I wasn’t expecting. “What did my son do to you?”

I stare her down, letting her receive the full intensity of my rage. “Six weeks ago, he fed my little sister a cocktail of drugs during a party and then attacked and raped her while she screamed for him to stop. She had a seizure, and instead of getting help, he left her naked and broken on the ground. She’s been a in a coma ever since.”

Her gaze shifts from my eyes, her stare hardening as if already knowing every damn word I just spoke is true. “No, there must be a mistake,” she murmurs, looking guilty as shit, absolutely no conviction in her tone.

“No. Ramming Brielle’s car into a tree, strangling her, and breaking her rib was his mistake,” I tell her, my harsh tone forcing her stare back to mine. “But showing up in my sister’s hospital room tonight and tearing her breathing tube out of her throat to ensure her silence, was nothing but a death wish. Mark my words, your son is not going to prison, he’s going to the fucking grave.”

Her husband pulls her back behind him, his hard stare locked on mine. “That’s enough,” he spits as she crumbles to the ground, knowing every word I speak is the truth. “Leave my house and never come back. We don’t have what you need here.”

I hold his stare for a moment longer, the fury overwhelming me, and as Colby’s mom sobs on the ground, I back away from them before tearing off into the night, my Mustang screeching against the road.

Chapter 35

BRIELLE

My phone blares on my bedside table and I groan as I reach across to silence it, my ribs screaming at me to stay still. It must only be two or three in the morning and the painkillers are making my head foggy.

Gripping my phone, I quickly press the button on the side to get it to shut up, not wanting to wake Tanner. I take an extra second, squinting into the bright light of the phone to see that Riley was calling me and make a mental note to kick his ass whenever I see him next.

He was at Tanner’s place last night and knows damn well that something is growing between us. If he’s looking for a booty call, then he’s calling the wrong girl, and I’m sure Tanner will have something to say when he finds out.

Yawning, I roll back over and reach across the bed, searching for Tanner. “Sorry,” I murmur, my eyes already closed, only when I don’t feel him across the bed, they fly open again.

Where the fuck is he?

My phone rings again and this time, I sit up and accept the call. “Bri,” Riley yells into the phone, not allowing me the chance to even wake up properly. “You gotta get down here, girl. Tanner’s out of control and we can’t help him. We thought maybe you could work whatever pussy magic you’ve got going on and see if you can calm him down.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Where is he?”

“At the track, babe. Just get down here.”

Riley ends the call before I can ask any more questions and frustration overwhelms me. “FUCK,” I yell, throwing my blankets back and reaching for the lamp on my bedside table.

Dim light fills my room and I pull myself out of bed while gripping my side, my ribs aching with every slight movement. I can barely get myself around. How the hell does Riley expect me to drive out to the track in the middle of the night? Besides, it’s not as though I have a car anymore. Colby made sure of that.

Despite it being early fall, I grab a coat and shove my arms into it before finding a pair of sweatpants and hating every minute as I try to yank them up my legs. I shove my phone into my pocket before jamming another few painkillers down my throat and rushing out of my room.

My fists pound against Jensen’s door. “GET UP.”

I knock again and then knock some more, only stopping when I finally hear movement from within his room. The door opens and Jensen hovers in front of me, a pissed-off scowl stretching across his face. “What the fuck do you want? It’s 3:30 in the morning.”