Bradford Brawler (Bradford Bastard 2)

Sensing my approach, Riley’s head whips up and a stupid grin cuts across his face. “Bout time your bitch ass showed up,” he says, a dark and deep concern flashing in his eyes as he takes me in. “Do you know how fucking long I’ve been waiting for you to get out?”

Riley steps right into me and throws his arms around me, clapping my back quickly. “You good, man?”

He pulls away, trying hard to mask his emotions as I nod. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I tell him. “But you didn’t need to come and pick me up. I could have found my own way home. Besides, aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

“Fuck school,” he says. “I called your mom last night and offered. Hudson was saying something about your sister being a mess and your mom didn’t want to leave the house because it makes Addie nervous … so, ya know. Here I am.”

“Well thanks,” I say, dropping down into his car, determined to get home to check on Addie and then shower.

“For the record,” Riley says as his engine rumbles to life, “your dad is a piece of shit.”

Letting out a frustrated breath, I glance toward my best friend as he pulls out into traffic. “What did he do now?”

“The fucker still took off to Australia,” he explains. “Even with Addie begging him not to go and you in the slammer. The motherfucker didn’t give two shits. Not to mention, he made a comment to the arresting cops to hold you as long as legally possible. I swear, that asshole has had it out for you for years.”

My lips press into a hard line as Channing’s words come back to me. You’ll have no one to blame but yourself … oh, and your father. Maybe my old man really does know something about what happened that night. Maybe he really does have it out for me.

Shaking off the thought, I relax back into the chair and close my eyes. I’m so fucking tired. All I want is to get home and end this shitty experience, but something tells me I’ve barely even scratched the surface. I want to see Bri and hold her in my arms, demanding she move out of that fucked up house, but I can’t do that without risking exposure.

I fucking hate this.

Despite Riley wanting to stop for takeout, he drives me straight home, and I bail out of his car faster than I stormed from the courthouse. Within moments, I’m flying through the door of Addison’s bedroom.

She lies in her bed, snuggled under the blankets in as much darkness as her blinds will offer, and as she looks up at me, I see just how broken she is. Her eyes are red and raw, evidence of long days and nights crying, and it kills me. “I’m so sorry, Addie,” I murmur, moving across her room and dropping to my knees beside her bed.

Her bottom lip wobbles and a lone tear sails down her face before soaking into her pillow. “He’s going to come for me,” she mutters over the lump in her throat.

“I’m not going to let that happen,” I tell her, gripping onto her hand and squeezing it tight. “I swear, just because the courts failed you, doesn’t mean I will. He’ll die before ever touching you again. You’ve got me and Hudson and all of the guys.”

She swallows hard and nods, doing her best to be strong. “Dad told the police to hold you as long as they wanted.”

I nod. “Yeah, I heard something about that.”

Another tear falls as her voice breaks. “I really thought he was going to stay.”

“I know you did,” I tell her. “But you’ve got me now, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“Okay,” she says. “But if you’re going to hang out in here, can you at least have a shower first? You kinda stink.”

A grin pulls at the corner of my lips, and I push to my feet before looking down at the irritating little brat who I can’t help but love, and being the caring brother I am, I crash down on top of her, making sure she gets a face full of armpit.

Addison screams in disgust. “Get off me, you big turd,” she wails. “You’re going to make me gag.”

“Tell me how good I smell first.”

“You reek, asshole.”

A manic laugh tears through me as I refuse to move. “Tell me what I want to hear, or I’ll be using your bathroom to shit in for the next month.”

Addison gags and latches onto my nipples, twisting hard. “Nobody uses my bathroom but me,” she screeches as I roar in agony, her whole body lifting off the bed as I pull away, her grip so fucking tight I fear she’s about to tear them right off my chest.

“FUCK! Okay, you win,” I say, certain one more second will send me into a weeping mess on the floor. “I won’t shit in your bathroom.”