Reign of Brayshaw (Brayshaw High 3)

Zoey.

“He did all that as he stood back as the bad guy, acted as if he hated them while they legit did him.”

“He did what you did,” Bass says, his eyes sliding my way. “You went to Collins to protect them, let them think you were the bad guy, allowed them to believe you betrayed them. Let the entire school think they let their guard slip.”

I glare straight ahead. “I never should have done it.”

“No, you shouldn’t have, but that’s not the point. You did and without thoughts of self-preservation.”

“Is this your way of saying I should trust Perkins? Freely, without him having to earn it?”

“No. This is me pointing out you’re capable of even more than these grown-ass men are and without reason.”

“I love them. That’s reason enough.”

“But that’s pure, Raven. Not mixed with hatred, or jealousy, or greed. You love them, so you protected them. Period. Everyone else around here has a deeper motivation than you.”

I whip around, shoving him in his chest, but he doesn’t even budge.

He glares.

“Say what you wanna say, Bishop!”

“You don’t owe him anything, Raven.” He gets in my face. “If he deserved to know what happened, he would already.”

I go to look away, but he moves with me, staying in my face.

“I know you want answers, and you deserve them, but you do not have to go in there and tell him what’s happened to Captain, or your mom. He didn’t earn this from you, and Captain wouldn’t give him a damn word. He’s the one who told Collins about you. He may have had Ravina’s best interest in mind at one point, but you became nothing but collateral damage.”

“He knows more than he’s saying.”

“And he’s a piece of shit for not volunteering the information to you.”

“That’s why I’m here, Bass. This is his chance to tell me what he’s hiding.”

“One minute,” Victoria reminds us.

“And if he doesn’t?” Bass lifts his brow, mockingly.

I push forward, tugging the door open and stepping into the hall.

“Make sure the area is empty.” They nod and make quick work of disappearing behind the boy’s and girl’s locker room doors.

I slide into the concave that holds a water fountain and wait.

Not five seconds later, Chloe’s voice is within range.

“My concern is the article doesn’t depict the proper tone we strive for.” The door opens.

“What would you have me do, Ms. Carpo?”

Chloe’s heels clink against the flooring until she stops right where I’m hidden. She doesn’t look for me, doesn’t blink, but spins to face him, dropping her binder in front of her, standing as straight as a statue. “I’d have you castrated for abandoning a Brayshaw, trying to hurt one, and helping hide another. In my home, there is no room for dishonesty. You lie, you pay. You hurt ours, we crush yours. You should know this already though, Connor. It was your world once, too.”

“What the hell is this?” He speaks slowly.

I step out, my eyes hitting his before I turn my body to face him completely.

“Raven,” he edges, subconsciously taking a step backward, his eyes flying to the door behind me when Chloe lets it slam with her exit. “What is this?” He takes in my fresh bruising. “What happened? Why are you here alone? Where are the boys? Did—”

“Are you done?” I ask and his shoulders fall some. He closes his mouth. “Good.” I nod. “I have questions.”

“I can’t—”

“But you will because you’re smart enough to recognize a give and get when you see one.”

“You’ve already married him, Raven.”

“I’m not looking for a way out of this.”

“Then what?”

“My mom had me raped when I was twelve,” I tell him, not blinking when he stumbles back a step. “By a man you used to know.”

His brows knit at the center.

“She paid this man. It makes no sense.” I shake my head. “People, her people, from our neighborhood would have done it gladly and free. Men have asked for me over the years, but she’d act jealous and make them leave. I think she used the man she did, a man who had ties to this world, hoping it would get back to Donley. Why would she do that if he didn’t know I existed?”

“I...” Perkins shakes his head, looking off. “I don’t know.”

“What do you know, Connor?” I ask him.

He looks to the floor. “What she told me. That she was leaving him, that she didn’t need the money or the town. That her and I could go somewhere and be together, away from it all. I believed her. She wanted to be with me, I know it.”

“What happened?”

“She was supposed to meet me but didn’t show, so I went to the Graven Estate, ready to go in and get her, but my brother met me at the gates instead. He was smiling in a way I’d never seen, and I knew the woman we both loved gave him what she promised to keep for me.”