I take the pills Captain gives and pat him on the shoulder before taking the shots from Royce’s hands. I hold them up. “I kinda need both right now.”
I quickly down both shots back to back. I take the open seat next to Bass, while Maddoc stands and Royce and Captain drop on to the couch.
Bass nods, looking me over. I spent an hour in the bathroom, working with what I had to cover up most of the mess – another trick I learned from my mom. “You good?”
“Fine.” I eye him and he frowns. “You told me to come out last night and this happened. Who else knew?”
“Just my guy.”
“What fucking guy?” Maddoc growls.
I consider my words carefully. If I mention the video, they’ll go all out-revenge mode and get screwed in the end.
“Bass said someone called him talking about causing trouble for me.”
Bass’s features tighten, but he doesn’t throw me under the bus.
Maddoc’s eyes narrow, searching for a lie.
He won’t see it. I can hide the truth behind omission like a champ, especially when I have no choice. Especially if it means protecting them.
“Who is he?” Royce demands, leaning forward in his seat.
“Name’s Benny.” Bass looks from me to the guys, like he’s trying to decide what he can and can’t say in my presence.
But if I hadn’t already put two and two together, he threw it out last night anyway when he said Maddoc pays him.
The guys are behind the fighting at the warehouses. It’s why they want me to stay away and why they can’t be seen doing business there. It’s illegal as shit and they can’t afford that right now.
Which is also why the video can’t see the light of day.
“He’s a nomad, gets in where he fits in.”
“Meaning he’s loyal to no one but himself,” Maddoc adds.
I shrug and his stare slices to me. “It’s natural for people who don’t belong. Self-preservation.”
Maddoc’s glare shifts back to Bass and they start talking who he is and what he’s about, but I tune them out. I got their conversation going, purposefully so. But I already figured out who’s running the playbook.
Once I woke up and the fog of last night disappeared, the answer was obvious.
I heard what that last asshole said to me before he ran off, and it’s no damn coincidence the same exact words were just spoken to me by another.
Collins Graven is a real piece of work.
He laid down his little bread crumbs, whispered to the right people in order to get the information to Bass. All he had to do from there was have him tailed and wait for me to come around. I bet he’s real proud he got me on Brayshaw ground, too.
He hinted he had something on me when he cornered me in the bathroom the other day, but I didn’t think he’d go and have me jumped to force my attention.
I know Captain’s eyes are on me, but I don’t dare look. He’s too perceptive in his nurturing nature.
I pull the joint from my hoodie pocket and wave it around so nobody freaks out when I stand and exit the room.
They keep talking and I slip onto the porch, letting my legs dangle over the side as I stare at nothing in the dark trees.
Just as I’m blowing out my first hit, Captain drops beside me.
“What are you up to?”
When I don’t say anything, he sighs. “Don’t fuck this up, Raven.” I go to shake my head but he keeps talking. “You don’t understand what you being here is doing for us.”
“Cap ...” I close my eyes, wishing he’d stop talking.
“Please,” he begs, not even knowing what he himself is asking for.
He has no clue something is being held over their heads by the very same person who had me jumped. The truth is I have no damn idea if the video Collins has is enough to take down a Brayshaw, let alone three.
It could have little or immense consequences for my boys. The fact of the matter is I’m not willing to leave it to chance. Not when I know how I can fix it.
It’s why when he says, “We’ll figure it out. Together,” I play dumb.
My leg starts bouncing, and a sickness swims inside me, making me queasy. Tears prick the back of my eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Cap.”
He hesitates before standing and pulling me to my feet so he can gently wrap me in a hug. “This is where you’re meant to be. You’re a part of us, that means we handle our problems as a team.”
He slowly steps inside, and the first tear falls without permission.
I warned them I’d cause trouble. I didn’t even have to try, and it fell at my feet anyway, as always.
I wish I didn’t run on impulse. I wish I could stop and think a little longer, but my brain doesn’t work that way. I can’t be controlled or convinced.
Warnings and threats go right over my head and every action taken is for one reason and one reason only.
Because I want to, consequences be damned.
They’ll be angry, but I can’t worry about that.
I have to stop this, and I know exactly how to do it.
I knock on the door, turning to look over my shoulder as I do.
I know the second I split through the trees, they came looking. Three engines fired up and screams filled the orchard as they called my name over and over, curse after curse until finally, they sped off down the street. But I ran through the alleyways until I hit the neighborhood across the bridge.
My lungs feel like they’re caving in and my head is pounding but this can’t wait.
It’s the last place they’d come searching, at least tonight.
I’m not new to this shit, so I know this, what I’m about to do, is only the beginning, which is strange since it also seems a lot like the end.
The thought shouldn’t leave such a void in my chest. Yet here I stand, appearing strong and tall and so damn sure of my next move when for the first time, there’s a shrieking cry in the back of my head, begging me with all its got to turn back, to go to them.
To trust Maddoc could fix this and believe he’d want to.
But again, I’m not new to this and I know how this goes. I know I have to stay standing where I am until the threat is gone.
I already know it won’t be cat and mouse, it’ll be the snake and the savage, a game of street smarts versus dollar signs.
The thing about the streets though, no price is too high, no bid too low.
We make it happen, get what we want no matter the cost. And I’m not talking money.
The door opens slowly, a weary look on his face as he scans the area behind me.
“Only me.”
He relaxes when he’s satisfied with my answer and leans against the doorway. “Then what can I do for you, Brayshaw?”
Pressure hits my chest, but I fight to hide it.
“I want the video and every backup copy you’ve made gone.”
He pretends not to know what I’m talking about for a moment, then nods slowly. “What’ll you give me for it?”
His arrogance tells me he knows he’s locked me in, yet still, I’m the one that holds the key. Fact is, I could walk away right now and the upper hand he’s counting on would be as good as gone, but even if I did, he’d still come out on top. The video would still be his to do with as he pleases, and I can’t accept that.
I swallow the bile in my throat and say a silent prayer if such a thing exists that I can stomach what comes next. “The only thing you’re willing to take in exchange.”
His frown is instant. “Just like that.”
“Just like that.” For them.
His slow malicious smirk appears as he opens the door farther and steps back. “Come on in, Rae. Let’s have a chat.”
I step through the entryway, knowing when I step out, I’ll have given up everything I didn’t know I wanted until recently while becoming the one thing I knew I never thought I’d be.
My mother’s daughter.
They’ll thin
k I’m disloyal, a con or a liar, and that’s almost enough for me to turn around and run. But that would be selfish when I can help them, easy. And the only thing they have to lose is in the process ... is me.
Moisture fights for a place in my eyes, but I blink it away with a final thought.
I’m sorry, boys.
Quick note from the author:
O.M.G!!!!! I can’t BELIEVE this baby is in your hands!!! This book has been screaming at me for sooo long and the fact that it’s out in the world for you to enjoy (hopefully LOL) I can’t even! And you guys ... there is sooo much more to come!!! Consider this the jump start to an EPIC journey of WTF!
Now, are you ready for the title of book 2???!!!
*
TROUBLE AT BRAYSHAW
Will be here Spring 2019!
Add to your TBR Today!!
Goodreads link: http://bit.ly/TABrayb2
*
If you want to be notified when the release date is set, pre-orders are up, and the minute it goes LIVE, signup for an alert via my newsletter here!!
Newsletter: https://www.meaganbrandy.com/newsletter
*
Be the FIRST in the know and join the ONLY place where you get exclusive looks inside the Brayshaw world. My Facebook readers group. This is a PRIVATE group. Only those in the group can see posts, comments, and the like!!
Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/2z4WUkK
Stay Connected:
Website: https://www.meaganbrandy.com
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2y9UWzJ
Facebook Page: http://bit.ly/2gEPlcg
Private Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/2z4WUkK
Instagram: http://bit.ly/2j7A0TT
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2zVW9ix
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/meagan-brandy
Newsletter: https://www.meaganbrandy.com/newsletter
More from Meagan Brandy:
FUMBLED HEARTS:
He’s the persistent playboy who refuses to walk away. I'm the impassive new girl with nothing left to give.
Things are about to get complicated...
After months of refusing, I finally agreed to make the move to Alrick Falls. My family thought it was best - that a new scene would be good for me—and I was sick of having the same conversation.
So here I am, and the plan is simple. Smile through each day and avoid her at all costs.
It's perfect.
Until the cocky quarterback comes into play.
The last thing I want is his crooked grin and dark brown eyes focused on me.
Yet here he is, constantly in my space, pushing me, daring me to care. Telling me what I think and feel, as if he knows.
He doesn't know anything. And I plan to keep it that way.
——-
DEFENSELESS HEARTS:
After months of silence, here she stands on my front porch, waiting to be let in again. But it's the same play every time, and I know how this ends - I give her all I have and she carries it with her on the way back to him.
I should turn her away, but I won't. Couldn't do it if I tried.
Because no matter how many times she pops back up, pulls me in and drags me under, it will never be enough. I'll always want more.
More of her.
More for us.
And she'll always choose him.
——-
THE WRONG BLAZE:
As head of Blackline Academy, I spent my days training with the elite, getting them ready for the one thing each hopes to gain in the end, the chance to call themselves a Blaze.
I had it all figured out, knew exactly who and what I wanted in life, then he came back, determined more than ever to prove me wrong.
He's forced his way into my world, demanded my attention no matter the cost.
He pushed until I fell.
And then he knocked me down.
But nothing is ever as it seems.
Hate is where it started.
Love is where it was headed.
Lies are what destroyed everything.
Now I'm left to wonder...did I fall for the wrong Blaze?
Find these titles here: https://www.meaganbrandy.com/
Playlist:
Amen – Halestorm
Sorry Not Sorry – Demo Lovato
F*ck With U – Pia Mia, G-Eazy
Ghetto – August Alsina
Bad Intentions – Niykee Heaton
Fuck Apologies – JoJo
Bad Bitch – Bebe Rexha
Bad Things – Machine Gun Kelly
Some Kind of Drug – G-Eazy
I Fall Apart – Post Malone
Acknowledgments:
I have never been more terrified for a release!! No joke!!
Down to the very last second of now or never, I was making changes and the end game ... good GOD! Every frustrated moment. Every deleted and rewritten word was SO worth it! The book is a thousand times more than what it was at the start. And I have so many to thank for it!
First, as always, to the man of my house, thank you! This book took so much, especially in the end when the polishing time came. All my late nights in, you were amazing! Thank you for being the best dad ever and making sure our bambinos didn’t feel my extra hours in front of the screen! As always ... they call it chaos, we call it family.
Thank you to my editor, Ellie, for cleaning out up my mess of words at a moment's notice! Thank you so much for being flexible and sorry I was a pain in the ass, but I hear most get used to it! lol
Virginia, you're awesome! Thank you so much for putting the final gloss on my baby! Look forward to working together again!
My irreplaceable alphas, Stefanie Pace and Kelli Mummert! Girls. You never fail me (Stef, you’re cringing at that italicized word, aren’t you?LOL). Thank you both so much for being my safe place. I always know I can drop my raw AF words in your lab and fear no judgment. Thank you for being a part of my forever team!
Lisa S., who is still my Cali twin, I very much enjoy your constant badgering for more. Keep it up, girl. It motivates me more than you realize!
Next, my BISH, Melissa Fucking Teo. Thank you for being you and consistently going out of your way to back me up! Without your excitement my fear would run deeper! Thank you for taking that load for me. I have to say it again because it’s forever true ... you are THE reader every author would love to have, and I am beyond honored to have you as a friend. You my Bish.
Now, to thank a person who transformed this book without even realizing it. One day, she saw a post about BOBH and started stalking me relentlessly. Every post, she commented first. Every time our boys were mentioned, she was right there to get in on it. So, I mean, I HAD to ask her to BETA, right? LOL. I didn’t know what to expect from her as far as feedback, and let me tell you, it was quite honestly the best decision I have ever made as an author. She is one in a million and I already begged to keep her. I heard every single word she said, because they were valid and constructive. She loved it at 102k and it now sits at 113k. She challenged me to challenge myself and the end result ... I am so blown away at what even I was able to accomplish with her hand. So, thank you, Sarah Grim Sentz for your honesty and support of BOBH. It truly wouldn’t be what it is without you! #braygirlforlife
To my review team and everyone who has helped spread the word, THANK YOU! I’m so honored you want to be a part of this crazy journey!
And to my readers, you taking the time to read Boys of Brayshaw High is appreciated more than you will ever know. I hope you enjoy this new world as there is so much more to come from it!
About the Author:
Meagan is a cookie dough crazed, jukebox junkie who tends to speak in lyrics. Born and raised in California, she is a married mother of three crazy boys who keep her bouncing from one sports field to another, depending on the season, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Starbucks is her best friend and words are her sanity.
Table of Contents
Copyright © 2018 Meagan Brandy
&nb
sp; Dedication:
Synopsis
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Quick note from the author:
Stay Connected:
More from Meagan Brandy:
Playlist:
Acknowledgments:
About the Author:
Boys of Brayshaw High Page 36