Break Me

by Meagan Brandy

  She squeals, smiling as he launches her up and a foot out, quickly swimming to where she landed.

  I trail Raven as she swims over to Maddoc. He sticks his legs out so she can latch on and float in front of him.

  She tips her head, and I know she’s remembering our conversation from last night. “Who is this... far from random girl?”

  Victoria looks from Raven to me. “And when do we meet her?”

  “Nah, nah.” I find myself sliding backward. “Don’t get it twisted, assholes.” I chuckle. “This is business.”

  “You realize when it comes to you, ‘business’ means something completely different?” Captain quirks a blond brow.

  “‘Course I do.” I laugh. “And she’s mine.”

  The girls hide smiles and I frown.

  My face falls and I lift my palms. “I mean to handle.”

  “Uh-huh.” Victoria laughs.

  “What I want to know is who came with her.” Cap helps Zoey onto a raft, turning to us. “We know you, brother, and no way did you take off to wherever the hell she is, come back empty-handed, even if it was for less than a day, and leave the girl behind unsupervised.”

  “Exactly,” Maddoc cuts in. “Tell us who he is and what he’s good for.”

  I grin, lovin’ the way we understand each other.

  No animosity, no surprise, just lookin’ for a quick brief to stay in the know.

  My brothers trust my judgment. Always.

  “His name’s Micah. He’s a tall, firm fucker who plays ball. Got a stepdad chompin’ at the bit to ship him off the day he turns eighteen and a mom who only wants to please her new husband. He wasn’t the top dog at his school, so he’s used to being under someone. Little aggression in him, but that’ll work in our favor at the warehouses and Wolves Den now that it’s fully functioning.”

  I knew Micah would be the one I’d hit up if needed the second I jacked him for his ball.

  He was the first to step forward, but he was smooth enough and kept his distance, surveyed the area and was smart enough to pause and wait, aware he had no clue who the asshole in front of him was or what he would do.

  He didn’t go half-cocked to show off for his buddies.

  He gave the stranger, me, respect because it’s what a clever fucker does.

  It’s as the old Bray saying goes...

  Don’t underestimate what you don’t know, and once you do, tear it to pieces or tip your fuckin’ hat.

  “He should be rollin’ in around tonight.”

  “Wait.” Raven is full of suspicion. “So he didn’t fly with you guys?”

  “Yup. He’s driving all their shit in.”

  A laugh spurts from her and she shakes her head playfully. “You cave-manned her, didn’t you?”

  “I might have lifted her off the ground, but I didn’t toss her over my shoulder.” I scoff, but a grin breaks free. “She was sitting in a chair, so I took it, too.”

  My family laughs.

  “Oh man.” Victoria smiles. “To see the look on her face.”

  Yeah, it was pretty fuckin’ fun.

  “So she’s at the house now?” Raven climbs out of the pool, Maddoc at her back in case her belly knocks her over.

  “Yup.”

  “What happens if she name-drops you?” Raven watches me closely.

  “If she walks up in there and announces I’m the reason behind it, she’ll never survive here.”

  Raven’s hands find the towel Maddoc’s draped over her shoulders, and she nods slightly, a hidden smirk teasing at her lips. “I’m trying to figure out if you want her to or not.”

  “Well, uh... you might want to figure that out pretty quickly.” Victoria’s squints past me. “’Cause I spy the new girl breaking her very first rule.”

  I whip around, instant tension toughening up my veins.

  A streak of silver and black bottoms is really all you can make out, but it’s more than enough to know it’s her.

  She’s walking up the driveway toward the mansion, maybe twenty feet from the porch and headed right for it.

  “Royce,” Maddoc edges, but I’m already moving.

  “I know, brother.”

  That’s close enough.

  Brielle

  I stomp my ass up the short steps, only to freeze when a familiar shout meets my ears.

  “That’s far enough!” Royce calls out.

  I whip around, searching, and spot him on the right.

  I make my way back down and move toward him, but my feet only carry me a few extra inches before they pause altogether.

  Guess they want a seat at the show too.

  Royce stalks toward me in long, resilient strides, high, straight shoulders and an angry tip of his chin. He somehow comes across both unconcerned and unbalanced.

  His muscles, trim and taut and visible without flexing, only tighten more with each step, the art decorated along the sharp edging of his body shifting with them and forcing my attention to the intricate designs.

  They twist and curve and curl from one side of his arms to the next, color his upper chest and part of his neck, leaving you to wonder what they mean, where else they might lie.

  How a body from the neck down is capable of coming off cross and controlled, let alone anything at all on its own, I don’t know, but his is equally both.

  Royce Brayshaw, a wanton wild one.

  A shirtless Brayshaw, the eighth wonder of the world.

  A sight all should see at least once in a lifetime.

  He stops a few feet away, his tone dull. “You lie to me, little Bishop?”

  I pause my own advance. “What do you mean?”

  “You said you followed the rules, like a good little robot, and here we are a second time.”

  “Am I supposed to understand the hidden message in your insult, because I don’t.”

  “First thing Maybell does when there’s a new arrival at the house is lay out the rules.”

  “Well, then, yay her.” I lift a shoulder. “She did her job, give her a bonus.”

  He narrows his gaze. “Then you know good and fuckin’ well nobody’s allowed back here. Maybell’s damn good at making you girls obey, and she won’t hesitate to toss you out when you don’t, day one or not.” He crosses his arms. “I’ll help if I have to.”

  Nobody is allowed...

  Ohhhh.

  That’s right, I’d heard their home is their sanctuary.

  It’s in part why the group homes are at the very entrance of the acreage, to keep them as far away as possible, but still close enough to control.

  Wait, then why would she...

  “Why would who what?”

  My eyes snap back to his and the corner of his crease. “Finish your thought.”

  I glide my fingers along my temple, slipping them farther into my hair and he follows the movement.

  “Why, you won’t believe me.”

  “Try me.”

  I don’t.

  His glare flies to mine rapidly, and after a moment, grows heavier, but this time there’s a hint of skepticism he tries to hide. “She sent you down here.”

  I shrug, answering without completely throwing her under the boots of a Brayshaw.

  Wait.

  Maybe she wants me to get kicked out?

  Royce’s shoulders seem to loosen, and he runs his tongue along his lips.

  He cuts a glance over his shoulder and I remember I came down here for a reason.

  “So are you done, because it’s my turn.”

  His head whips around quick, and knowing him, he’s about to pop off, so I speak before he can.

  “Did you really insist I have my own room when literally every other person in that house shares with one to two other people?”

  He blinks at me. And then he blinks again.

  “Are you for real?” He widens his stance. “You’re complaining right now?”

  “Well, I didn’t come back here to say hi.”

  His eyes narrow, his chin tipping
the slightest bit. “That right?”

  “I mean, I figured I’d see you later or, you know, eventually, but no, and we’re off track.” I hook a finger over my shoulder, pointing somewhere behind me. “Those girls are my cousin on crack, I can sense it, and here I come, riding my brother’s coattail, and boom. Special treatment, just like that? I don’t want it.”

  That seems to piss him off. He pushes closer. “If I was balancing you with your brother, it’d have been the shed out back for you, little Bishop, so don’t get bent.”

  “Don’t pretend my brother isn’t everything your family’s asked him to be and more.”

  His jaw flexes and shifts in more. “Let me clear something up for you, yeah?”

  “Please do.”

  Based on the way his eyes seem to flame up, he didn’t want a response, but he keeps talking anyway. “You’re in your own room, ‘cause that’s where I want you. ‘Cause there, in that room, I can get to you when the fuck I want.”

  “When you want?”

  “When.” He takes another step into my space, and my stomach twists low and fast. “You’re not a group home girl like they are. I didn’t come to your fuckin’ rescue, I hired you. You’re an employee. My employee, baby girl, so be ready to work, to jump, to fetch, when I tell you to, and before you ask me why, the answer is ‘cause you got in that car. You came to my town. Now here you stand, in my reach. That makes you mine to regulate.”

  He’s practically huffing and puffing, all angry and annoyed and trying to intimidate. I do my best to allow him to believe his irate boy dramatization was effective, but I can’t hide the way it gets to me.

  My smile is instant, my hand flying out to latch on to his arm. “Wait, seriously?”

  Royce’s features pull, his focus quickly moving from my hand to my face. “Wait, what?”

  I squeeze. “Am I really your employee? Like I work here now? You didn’t just move me in... you need me?”

  Royce is stuck for a moment, unmoving.

  His hand jerks from mine, flying forward before I see it coming, and he pushes my glasses up onto my head.

  The glare is testing, gauging, and ever so slowly, his features smooth out.

  I drop my hand to my side, and he licks his lips looking off, only to come right back.

  He pushes my glasses back down and begins walking backward. His jaw shifts tight only to loosen as he says, “Go back. Wait for your shit. Sleep. Be ready when Maybell tells you to be ready.”

  “Will I see you in the morning?”

  His eyes narrow. “Does it matter if you do?”

  I shake my head, smashing my mouth to the side to keep from grinning.

  He says nothing, turns around, and is about to leave me standing here, but then I realize something and lurch forward.

  “Wait!”

  Royce pauses, but only glances back with his head.

  “If you thought I was only coming back here to say hi, why couldn’t you just...” I give a small shrug. “You know, say hi back?”

  His features pull.

  A few silent seconds pass, and when he speaks there’s a hesitancy in his tone that wasn’t there before. “Rules, little Bishop.”

  Rules.

  Right.

  I hate rules.

  His eyes move between mine once more, and then he turns and walks away.

  The second he does, I pull out my phone to check the time.

  It’s not even six yet.

  A smile finds my lips and I dial my brother.

  “Sister.”

  “Brother.” I smile, my eyes travel over the mansion once more, falling to the window when I spot a man’s figure shadowed there—their father, Rolland Brayshaw. The ex-con and former head of Brayshaw watches me.

  I make my way toward the group home.

  “Everything okay?” There’s some shuffling around, then he comes back on clearer. “You don’t usually call this time of day.”

  “Yeah, everything’s fine.” Better than. Anticipation has my stomach muscles tightening. “Hey, so... where are you right now?”

  “I’m... working,” he hesitates.

  My shoulders fall. “So you’re not home?”

  “Not right now, no.” His voice is quieter than before, and a long pause follows. “Why do you ask?”

  Because I want to surprise you.

  “No reason.” I smile.

  I almost grow sad, but I don’t allow it to take over. I’m not hundreds of miles away anymore. There’s always later, maybe even tonight?

  “I’m gonna see you soon, sister. I promise. Things are just—”

  “It’s okay,” I cut him off quickly. His dejected tone was slipping in and there’s no need for it anymore. “You will see me soon.”

  Sooner than you realize.

  There’s a commotion in the background, and the line goes dead, another conversation cut short, but that ends soon.

  No more required secrets, no more lost time. He can share his world with me, because now, it’s mine too.

  I’m here, brother. Literally.

  Before I can put my phone away, a text comes through.

  Bass: I’m sorry. I’ll call you back soon.

  Bass: I love you, little sister. Never change who you are.

  Never change who you are.

  Something is up with him, he’s been off more than normal the last couple months. Answering only half of my calls, calling me even less, and talking like the end of the world is creeping in on him, but those specific words seem to dig in worse than any others he’s spoken, as if he sees me clearly when I can’t seem to see myself.

  With one last look over my shoulder, I find Royce’s focus pointed this way, a towel now draped around his neck.

  He doesn’t look away, but I do.

  I walk back to the house with slow, forced steps, a single thought plaguing me all the way.

  What if change is what I need?

  Royce

  Her eyes, as turquoise and tired as the last time I saw them.

  Her demeanor, as harmless but determined as I decided she is.

  Her approach to the entire situation... frustrating as hell.

  I tried to piss her off, to demand something of a girl desperate to be free of expectation, and instead of fighting me, she got excited.

  Laughed.

  Fuckin’ smiled?

  I searched for a sign of sarcasm and was almost irritated when I came up short, but I know for damn certain had I found it, I’d have still been mad about it.

  Lose, lose?

  Maddoc steps beside me, his gaze focused where mine is, on the girl who has just stepped between the trees, on her way back to the group home she’ll now call home.

  She had to have been talking to her brother just now.

  You tell him you’re here, little Bishop?

  A frown digs at my forehead, and finally, when Brielle’s as good as gone, Maddoc and I face each other.

  “Who is she?” he asks, and rightfully so.

  She came near his home, his woman, and unborn kid.

  Our niece.

  I meet their eyes but hold Raven’s.

  “Brielle Bishop.”

  “Bishop,” Raven repeats. “As in...”

  “As in your boy Bass? His little sister.”

  “I...” She shakes her head. “Didn’t expect that.”

  Victoria chuckles, joining us, and both me and Cap look to Zoey sittin’ on the lounge chair, her entire little arm disappearing into a bag of beef jerky.

  Cap turns to me. “Miss Maybell sent her down here, didn’t she?”

  “She didn’t admit it,” I tell them. “Didn’t deny it, either.”

  “She didn’t want to rat her out,” Raven realizes. “Why would she care?”

  “Sounds like a loyal move,” Victoria throws out and I pin her with a glare.

  “Don’t start your shit.”

  She laughs, hopping onto Captain’s back. “Just saying.”

  “Well, don’t a
nd don’t try to get this girl... it won’t work.”

  “Why not?” Victoria wonders.

  “Just trust me, the girl’s off.”

  “Off how?” Raven drops into the chair next to Zoey, accepting the half-chewed piece of jerky she holds out for her. “Like she eats chips with a fork off or she’d cut your junk off in your sleep and convince you later she did it because she loves you off?”

  “The fuck, RaeRae?” I chuckle, but a small shudder shoots through my body and I cup my traumatized cock.

  “Come on, Ponyboy, give us something,” Raven pushes.

  “Fuck you want me to say?” I lift my hands with a laugh. “She laughs when she should be scared, jokes when she should be mad, and—”

  “So she’s Royce-proof?” Victoria interrupts me, making Raven laugh.

  “Girl, quit playin’!” I shout, backing up to escape being caged between Bonnie and Bonnie. “All I said is she’s off. Meet her, talk to her, scare the piss out of her, I don’t care, then decide for your fuckin’ selves.”

  “On that note... I say we have some fun.” Raven wiggles her brows.

  I laugh, grabbing my phone from the chair when it rings.

  I answer and put it to my ear. “Talk to me, MacMoney?”

  “We got a problem,” he fires off.

  My pulse kicks up, my shoulder muscles stretching.

  My brothers sense it and step closer with tight expressions. I put the call on speaker.

  “Talk to us.”

  “That fight rumor that was going ‘round about a fight?” he leads. “It happened.”

  My blood instantly heats.

  “Who?” Maddoc asks.

  “Coach Von.”

  We look to each other. “For real?”

  “Yup. He got his ass whooped and whooped good, couple of his players found him in the dugout on the baseball field. The new scoreboard was busted too, but that was off camera. I’ll send the pictures now, it was clearly a fucking bat and there’s busted up Mickey’s bottles out here too. Even a fucking lime.”

  “Damn, bro.”

  “That’s not all...” He trails off.

  “Come on, Mac.” Captain glares.

  “He says he don’t know who it was, that he didn’t see him coming, but I already pulled it up and watched it on camera.”

  Raven frowns. “He lied.”