Bradford Brawler (Bradford Bastard 2)

It was the exact same gut-wrenching feeling that nearly brought me to my knees when my sister called me in hysterics. Only with Addison, I had to listen to her cries for what seemed like an eternity before I could get to her. I was too late then. I’m always too late, but never again.

I know the text was sent as a threat with the sole intention of scaring her. There’s no doubt in my mind that the asshole on the other end is probably a fucking pussy who’d wet his pants at the thought of me showing up on his doorstep. Either way, I’m going to put an end to it, even if it’s the last thing I do. Having Brielle going through life looking over her shoulder is unacceptable to me. She deserves better.

I reach for the handle of the front door just as it’s yanked open from within. Jensen Channing stands before me, his eyes widening as I try to slow my momentum. Clearly he hadn’t expected me to storm through his front door while he was trying to leave. “She home?” I rush out, glancing over his shoulder and trying to listen to the noises coming from inside, but he blocks my way with a narrowed gaze.

I can only imagine what he’s thinking. He was there that night at the track. He heard the bullshit that came from my mouth, and he was the one who drove her home in tears. He saw the pain I left her in.

Jensen’s probably not my biggest fan, but I can’t exactly say I’m a fan of his, either. I don’t like that he sleeps just down the hall from my girl, despite knowing he was cleared of hurting that girl last year. I don’t trust him, and from the look of it, the feeling is mutual.

“Ever heard of knocking?” he spits, his lip pulling up into a slight sneer, something I’ve seen from him all too often.

“Waste of time,” I tell him. “Is she home or not?”

Not seeing the point of arguing about this in the doorway, Jensen steps aside. “She’s in her room,” he mutters, rolling his eyes, probably realizing that no matter how this conversation goes, I’ll be getting inside that house and to my girl. Nothing will stop me, even if it means physically removing him.

I don’t give him a second thought before barging past and flying straight up the stairs two at a time. I have the brief thought to slip in through the hallway closet and hoist myself up through the crawl space to surprise her, but by the time the thought has even fully crossed my mind, I’m already barging through her door.

Killjoy gasps at seeing me and her whole body jumps with shock. “Fuck, Tanner,” she breathes, her hand flying to her chest. “You can’t just storm in here like that after the text I got today. You scared the shit out of me.”

“My bad,” I say, sucking in a deep breath and trying to calm my own nerves. I move to the end of her bed and lean over, bracing my hands on either side of her thighs before brushing a soft kiss over her lips. “How’d your meeting go?” I question, my heart racing, desperate for some sort of good news.

Bri leans back onto her hands, her eyes sparkling with happiness. “He thinks I’m going to be fine,” she tells me, her words forcing a low sigh out of me. “I submitted everything I had, and he was confident they’d drop the case against me. My evidence was overwhelming and proof enough that Erica was lying. They’re going to have to disregard her whole statement and she’ll probably get a misdemeanor charge for lying to the cops, meaning I’ll be completely off the hook.”

My head falls forward as relief rocks through me. “Fuck, Killer. That’s the best news I’ve heard all fucking week.”

“You’re telling me,” she murmurs, her forced smile not reflecting the way she should be feeling. “I feel like I can finally breathe. I never want to have to go through something like this again. I mean, it’s not officially over. My lawyer has to present it all to the cops and then he’ll call me once I’ve officially been cleared.”

“Okay, why don’t you look thrilled about all of this?” I ask, moving back and leaning against her desk.

Bri lets out a heavy sigh and presses her lips into a tight line, worry marring her pretty face. “He said it’s more than likely the police will still want to talk to me, specifically about Erica’s involvement and the statement I made last week. I guess they have more questions or something like that. Don’t get me wrong,” she says. “I’ll tell them anything they want to know. I want your sister to get justice for everything that happened to her, I just …”