Bradford Brawler (Bradford Bastard 2)

I scoff, unable to believe what I’m hearing as I watch Orlando’s hand fall to my mom’s shoulder and squeeze in support. “All teenage girls act out at some point. You’ll get her name cleared and then we’ll be able to go on as we were. Everything is going to be okay.”

“Thank you, my dear,” Mom says. “I don’t know where I would be without your help. I’m sure I’m probably panicking for nothing. You’ll have this taken care of in no time.”

Orlando’s hand falls away from her shoulder, and he takes a hesitant step back. “Me?” he questions. “Oh, no. There’s been a mix up here, Cora. I will support you through all of this, but I cannot take Brielle on as a client. I am representing Colby Jacobs. It’s a conflict of interest. I’d be happy to find you another lawyer.”

My stomach sinks as a weight drops down on my shoulders. “Wait. What do you mean you won’t represent me?” I question, fear rocking through me. “You came into the police station and told them I was your client.”

“Indeed, I did,” he says. “Had I not, you would still be sitting in that interrogation room. Am I mistaken in assuming you wanted to get out of there, or shall I drive you back to the precinct?”

I clench my jaw, absolutely hating this guy. Apart from his money and silver fox status, the asshole has no redeeming qualities about himself. I can’t understand what my mother sees in him.

Orlando smirks at me, taking my silence as a win. “That’s what I thought,” he says, moving back to my mother’s side. “Now, if you will excuse us, your mother and I are due out for dinner and I need to salvage what’s left of our plans.”

Rolling my eyes, I push up from my chair and start making my way out of the formal dining room when I hear Mom’s and Orlando’s conversation behind me. “You’re really not going to represent my daughter in this? You know how grateful I would be.”

“I’m sorry, Cora. My hands are tied. I’m representing a conflicting party.”

“You can’t get out of it? I know those people, Orlando. They don’t have the funds to pay for your time.”

“It’s a pro bono case,” he says as I pause outside the formal dining room, listening in. “You know I must take a case like this every month. I have a reputation to uphold.”

“Pro bono?” Mom questions. “They’re not even paying you, and yet you still won’t take Brielle’s case? Can’t you hand Colby off to someone else? This is my daughter we’re talking about, your stepdaughter. Don’t you see how important this is?”

Orlando sighs. “Come on, Cora. We have dinner plans. It’s best we get going.”

“So, that’s it? That’s the end of the conversation?” she questions, her chair scraping back against the marble tiles. “You’re going to leave Brielle to fend for herself over that … that vile boy?”

“I don’t know what you want from me, Cora. Colby’s case will bring me national attention, whether he did it or not, this is a chance to boost my name and prove again that I am the best there is,” he says. “Brielle doesn’t need me. Any standard lawyer will be able to take care of it. The evidence is poor, and her arrest was questionable. Now, I am more than happy to give Brielle a list of lawyers who will be able to take her case, and I am happy to pay for those fees, but what I will not do is take a backseat in Colby’s case because you couldn’t keep your daughter in check.”

Frustration burns through me, and as my mother begins screeching at him, I take off up the stairs, knowing nothing good could possibly come from sticking around.

All I want is to crawl into a dark hole and die.

I’ve never felt so broken in my life. Erica was my best friend for thirteen years. I had her back every chance we got. I held her hand when she got her period for the first time and thought she was dying. It’s one thing to screw around with Colby when we were still together, but this? To incriminate me for a crime she had everything to do with? No, never again. Erica has destroyed me, and there’s no going back.

Everything is spiraling out of control, my world is burning around me, and I’m frantically trying to put out the flames but they just keep coming. Every time I put out a fire, another twice as big shows up at my back. Every turn I take, I am blindsided, and I can’t take it anymore.

Tanner is … well, he’s Tanner. Self-explanatory. He’s an ass and he fucked up, and all I want is to fall into his arms and hear him tell me that everything is going to be alright, but not after what happened at the track. He crushed me in a way I wasn’t prepared for. He needed an outlet and I allowed myself to be that for him, but I wasn’t ready for just how much it was going to sting.