Reign of Brayshaw (Brayshaw High 3)

He jerks in Bass’ hold.

“He said if we helped Graven, that we’d be taken care of.” She starts to cry.

“Did Donley ask you to do this?”

“Leo said if we got to you and took you to them, we’d be rewarded.” Her eyes fly between mine. “You kicked me out with nothing. I... I needed the money.”

I look to Leo who glares at me. I shake my head, and spots cloud my vision, but I ignore it, speaking to Vienna while staring at him. “He lied to you, Vienna. I already gave myself over to Graven, married the new head of their household. What’s theirs is now mine.” I drop my eyes to her wide ones. “What do you think will happen to you now?”

Tears pour from her eyes as she shakes her head. She says nothing.

I walk toward Leo, each step causing my vision to blur more. “I don’t understand you. Why? What do you gain here? I took nothing from you, like I took nothing from Mac. He understood things for what they were when I got here. Why’d you turn your back on them?”

Leo’s nostrils flare but he refuses to speak.

I nod, but when I go to open my mouth, nothing comes out. I grow dizzy and have to catch myself on the hood of the smashed-up car. “Bass...” I rasp, my eyes refusing to stay open any longer, fighting to meet his only for everything to grow dark. “Something’s wrong.”

I slip, my hip slamming against the side, causing the ache that had begun to dull to come back with a vengeance. “Mmm,” I cry out, my hand slipping against the sleek vehicle.

There’s a soft grunt followed by a crash at my feet and suddenly I’m falling to the ground, but a pair of strong arms break my fall just as my ass scrapes the gravel. I’m lifted, cradled.

The sounds surrounding me continue to pierce my ears, but I have no strength to open my eyes or mouth.

“Where the fuck have you been?!” Bass shouts. “How could you—”

“Not the time, Bishop,” Royce growls. “Just get in the fucking car!”

“What about these two?” he shouts. “They could come after her again.”

“Leo’s out cold, the girl can find her own fucking way back. We’ll deal with them later.”

My body bounces slightly with each step before it stops, so the arms around me tighten, pulling me closer.

Rough facial hair scratches against my cheek before warm air hits my ear. “I’ve got you.”

My entire body breaks out in goosebumps.

Maddoc.

“You can hear me, can’t you, baby?” He keeps going and even though my eyes won’t open, the tremble of my lips serves as his answer. “I’m so sorry. I promise you, I will never leave you again.” His thumb slides across it.

His words and the way in which they find my skin, both warm and laced with a hint of last night’s whiskey, don’t settle me as they should. A heavy pressure builds against my chest, forcing the air from my lungs.

“She’s... she’s not breathing,” he panics. “She’s not fucking breathing!”

I try to inhale, but nothing comes of it.

“Fuck it, I’m calling an ambulance!” Royce says.

In the next moment, the voices join my sight and I pass out completely.I drop my head against the wall, directly across from the door they wheeled her through.

The paramedic cut her top off, and there was bruising, both fresh and fading, but there was no damage they could see, so as soon as we got her here, got her up to the Bray Wing this time around, they took her straight back for some testing.

“I never should have fucking left her here today.” Royce kicks the wall with the heel of his shoe, knocking his head against it with a hard thud. His eyes slice to mine, straight fuckin’ anger for me, but his worry for her is what has my throat closing.

“Why do we keep finding ourselves here, brother?” He swallows. “What if she cracks? What if she flips the fuck out, crying and breaking shit.” He licks his lips, bending on his knees in front of me.

“She won’t.”

“How do you know?” His tone begins to shift, rage boiling to the surface. “You don’t know what’s happened and you’ve got Bishop tailing her like a little bitch, doubt his ass would fill us in on anything fucking extra.”

“He wouldn’t.”

Royce scoffs, looking away.

“Bass is more like her than we are. We know her better, yeah, but he understands her in a different way.” I admit what I hate most about him. “He’ll be whatever she needs him to be. He’ll read her mood and say what she needs to hear.”

“You trust him to lead her?”

“I trust him to allow her to lead him.” I look away. “I would have cut his nuts weeks ago if I didn’t.”

“Yeah, well, try being the one she left behind while he walked fucking beside her. He’s gonna pay for it, even if it was demanded of him by you.” Royce kicks off the wall, banging on the damn door in the next second. “I want to see her.”