Then a different thought came to me. "Why are you here, Kid? You don't go to this school. You don't even go to school."
A guilty look flashed over his face, but the back door opened at that moment. Clarissa hopped inside. From the determined look in her eye and the apology in Kid's, I knew I'd been set up.
"Oh no. You both did not just manipulate me."
She rolled her eyes. "Get over it. I called him to talk to you. Something was seriously wrong with you and Brady today. Kid's the only one I thought you might talk to about it." She folded her arms over her chest and leaned back. "I was being a good friend."
"A good friend? You know what those are?"
"Yes!" She flicked her braid over her shoulder. "What's going on with you? What's going on with Brady?"
"Leave it alone, Clarissa. Please, leave it alone. It's complicated."
"Does this have to do with your mom being in town?"
The world fell away underneath me. I was starting to hyperventilate…
Clarissa continued from a distance, "I saw her at the Stephens' house when I went over to tell Kid that something was wrong with you. Does this have to do with her? Because if it does, that's horrible. She's a bitch. Does she not want you and Brady to be together? That's the only thing that'd make sense to me."
I reached around the seat and grabbed her braids to yank her close. "Why was my mother there?" I glared at Kid, "Why was my mother with your dad?"
Kid's eyes were wide and he leaned all the way back against his window. "She came back with him from the funeral."
"What funeral?" I ground out.
"The one my dad was at."
"Where?" My heart was racing. I couldn't catch my breath. Everything was rushing at me so fast now.
And then Kid answered quietly, "Florida."
My mom. His dad. Florida. She was back. At that moment, I was barely aware of anything. Then a door slammed and someone pounded on my window. Everything was spinning around me now.
It couldn't be. There was no way. She was back…
I blinked back the darkness. I was about to faint and I didn't want that. I couldn't go away when so much was within my grasp. Then my door opened and I started to fall backwards.
"Rayna!"
I was caught by someone.
"What the hell, Kid? Clary?"
"We didn't do it. She freaked out on her own."
"What'd you say to her?"
Kid's voice was far away. "Nothing. She just found out her mom's at my house."
"Are you kidding me?"
"Brady?" There he was. He was holding me and then he looked down. I felt him brush my hair back from my forehead. "Rayna, it's okay. Whatever's wrong, it's okay."
Was it? I had no idea, but I stayed there for a moment and relished the feel of his arms. It felt so right to be in them again. When I looked up again and saw the concern there, I knew he loved me. I saw it for real for the first time. It was there, underneath the surface he always shows to everyone. I saw how he loved me and I choked up. How could we have wasted so much time? Then again, we still didn't know…I took one more breath, closed my eyes as Brady swept a hand down the side of my face and then pushed away.
I reeled for a second. Everything felt right when I was in his arms.
"My mother is here."
Brady pulled me out of the car. As the others followed he wrapped his arms around my waist.
Clarissa explained, "I thought maybe that was why you and Rayna fought today."
"You saw her mother?"
"Brady." I didn't want him to say anything more. I didn't fully trust Clarissa.
"She hasn't seen her mother in six years, Clarissa! Goddamn it. Think sometimes," Brady snapped while he cradled me against his chest.
"I didn't know. I just wanted to help her."
"Brady, that's not fair. She doesn't know Rayna's history. No one really knows it."
"I do and you should've come to me before you cornered her." Then he turned his back to them and whispered in my ear, "You want to go there?"
My body had grown numb, but I needed to see her. I needed to know.
"Okay. Okay, we'll go there." With his hands on my hips, he steered me to his passenger door. I huddled against the door until he got in on the other side. Then he scooped an arm around my waist and pulled me over the divider, pressed against his side. He kissed my forehead. "I told 'em not to follow us. You need your time alone with her."
I rested my forehead against his shoulder as he pulled onto the highway.
"It'll be okay." Brady found my hand with his.
"I hope so." I hoped so much.
"I know that you haven't really talked much about your mom. You've said before that you didn't want to have a relationship with her, but she's here. That's something. If my mom was in town, even for a day, I'd be happy to get any time I could with her."
Brady had never talked about his parents. He'd always said he was happy with foster parents that didn't kick him out. But now, I heard something else.
"Do you think about your mom?"
"What kid doesn't?" He jerked a shoulder up.
"Do you think of her a lot?"
He shrugged again. "I mean…yeah. Obviously, you do. Your mom's in town. You can talk to her; maybe learn some things from her. I don't know. Yeah. I think about my mom."
"What do you think about? Do you like her? Do you want to like her?"
Brady studied me before he replied, "She's a part of me. She gave birth to me. I…" He hesitated.
Why was he hesitating? Why was he choosing his words so carefully?
"I know my mother's name, but I don't know her. I've talked to her only a few times and most of those were when she asked for Viola on the phone. She's never come around except once for Christmas." I felt something wet on my cheeks. Why was I always crying? "Do you ever feel like you're watching life and you're not actually in it?"
Brady laughed. "Only when some guy rushes me. I check out for a second and then I'm right in. I'm all in."
"No, I mean, I don't know what I mean."
He slowed the car and replied, "That just tells me that you can't feel what you're feeling because it's painful. Like it's almost too painful for you to handle right now, but it'll click off when you can handle it. I know it. And," he took a deep breath. "We're here."
I saw Kid's old house. It looked like the same mansion from when we were kids, but smaller. The two pillars in front of the door weren't as large, but still grand. They looked like massive guards, there to intimidate trespassers.
"You ready?" Brady asked.
No.
I nodded.
He got out first and then the front door opened to emit a business man. He was dressed in a three-piece suit with a briefcase. When he looked at us, I knew his blue eyes reeled in most women, but they weren't close to how beautiful Brady's were. No one's were.
"That's a lawyer," Brady said.
"How do you know?"
"I recognize him. Deputy Dog told me who Frank Stephens' lawyer was when I got arrested the first time. It's some big hotshot from the city. That's him."
"Why is my mother meeting with a lawyer?" Or maybe she had nothing to do with it?
I had a weird sensation Brady knew something more, but he wasn't sharing. "I don't think your mother is. I think Frank Stephens just met with his lawyer. We're at his house, remember?"
"Oh…right…" A flashback came to me when Kid, Brady, and I were little kids. We must've been in seventh grade and all three of us raced inside those doors. The last one inside was the loser. We were laughing, so carefree back then.
"You ready?" Brady asked softly.
"No." I started walking forward anyway.
While Brady rang the doorbell I felt my heartbeat through my toes. The silent wait was long and tense. I was going to explode in one second and completely calm the next instant. Then I was back to being numb until the door opened. I braced myself, but some stranger in another dark blue suit stood there.
/>
"Is Leann Janke here?" Brady asked as he held my hand and rubbed his thumb over mine.
"Ms. Janke?" The guy gestured inside. "Please come in while I fetch her."
My heartbeat exploded. Sweat poured down my back. This was it. This was going to be it. He showed us to a waiting room that had two beige couches, a desk, and a fireplace in the center. Everything about it was formal, cold. Even the drapes seemed to tell us not to get comfortable; we were only there for a short while.
"You okay?"
I shook my head. "Before…" I wet my lips. "Before she comes in here, you need to know something."
Brady looked at me strangely, almost amused as he held both of my hands in between us. "Yes?"
"I…" He was so beautiful.
He spoke, "Look, Rayna. I did some thinking this afternoon and I want you to know…"
This was my moment. I was supposed to be able to stare at how beautiful and wondrous he was. How he could never be mine…
"I know you said before that you didn't want me, but I think it's a load of crap. I mean, obviously you do. You had sex with me. You don't do that unless there are feelings and I know you have them. I don't think you should freak about your mom knowing. It's not like she has a say about who you're with."
My mouth fell open. "What?"
"You're all nervous. Usually I can handle it, but I hate that it's because of me."
"What in the world are you talking about?"
He gestured between us. "You and me. It's why your mom's here, right? Viola got all pressed. I don't get her freak out, but she must've called your mom and told her. Why else would she be here?"
"My mother is not here about us. She has no say whatsoever in my life. She doesn't know about us and if she did, she wouldn't be here. She'd be at my house with my family, not at Frank Stephens' house."
"I didn't think about that." Brady slid his hands into his front pockets, leaned against the wall, and transitioned back into the confident bad boy. At least, he looked like it. Whatever had been troubling him was gone.
"Stop it. I don't need my badass best friend. I need my actual best friend. Stop the charade."
Brady straightened abruptly. A second later, he asked, "Your best friend?"
"You gave me a ride here to see my mom. I need my best friend beside me right now."
Brady hesitated.
I felt my heart stop once more. "You brought me here because you're my best friend, right?"
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
"Or did I lose my best friend the second we had sex?" It was the million dollar question. Maybe he didn't love me how I had thought. He'd never told me…
Brady answered, "I think that things are very confusing right now."
"Did you do this to be my best friend or because you want something more with me?" Why did this matter now anyway? Everything depended on what she was going to say.
He gauged my expression. "I did it because I care for you." A myriad of emotions flashed over his face. "Deep down, beneath everything, I am here because I am your best friend. I love you in that best friend way. I saw that you were upset about your mom and I wanted to help you. This is where you need to be."
My heart melted, all the way down past my knees. "Thanks."
Brady narrowed his eyes. "Thanks?"
"Thanks." I couldn't tell him how I really felt.
"Have I done something wrong?" He frowned and then his eyes shifted to look out the window.
On the contrary, he did everything right. "NO, no. You say the right words when I shouldn't hear them."
Brady cursed underneath his breath. "Kid and Clarissa just pulled up outside. I don't want them interfering with this."
Nothing made sense, but my heart was breaking in that moment. I wanted to spill everything. He should know, but I nodded my head. "You should stop them."
As soon as he left, I collapsed on a couch and caught my face with my hands. I bent over my knees and dry heaved. I knew I was being dramatic, but it was so hard, so seriously hard. I didn't know how much more I could take, but I knew more was coming. We were just stepping into the storm.
"You have some nerve coming here."
When I expected my mother, I looked up in surprise to see Frank Stephens instead. He wore a custom tailored black suit. His hands were clenched into fists and he jerked forward two steps, but stopped abruptly. As his jaw tightened, I saw the rage in his eyes and jumped to my feet, then wavered a second. The room spun around me, but I remembered Brady's voice. ‘I’m your best friend.’
Everything calmed in me. I opened my eyes then. "She's not here, is she?"
I was ready for the storm to come.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Frank Stephens looked like he could commit murder as he stared me down, but I wasn't a coward. I would not run away. But as his rage seemed to grow, I was tempted to tuck tail and scram.
"You are every bit the whore that your mother is. You spread 'em for any guy that comes along."
I reeled from his words, but he continued, "I loved your mother so goddamn much. I would've done anything for her, just like my son would do for you, but you're like her. She destroyed me, just like you're going to destroy Brady."
Did he just say…?
Frank jerked forward and crossed the room to a bar hidden behind a counter. As he filled a glass, he grunted. "When I first met your mother, I thought she was special. I thought she was a goddamn angel sent to save me. Can you believe it? I couldn't." He laughed harshly and finished the drink to pour another. "I loved my wife, or I thought I loved Teresa, and then I met Leann. I realized what love really was. Everything was upside down, and I thought I could do right. I thought I could be the guy that I knew she'd need for her. All she'd do is look at me and smile and I wanted to be a better man. I tried. I really tried, but it wasn't enough. Your mother humiliated me. She tortured me. When that wasn't enough…you know what she did? She screwed the one guy that I respected in this world. That's what she did. She did everything to hurt me. She succeeded. My marriage fell apart. I fathered another bastard child. I could've lost everything. My business could've gone down the drain and it's your mother's fault. She stomped on me. And you're just like her."
I should've left, but I wanted information. I wanted whatever he was giving out. I didn't care if it was hateful words. It was something.
He finished another drink. "I should toss you out. I should call the cops, but I already know they're on their way. It doesn't matter. Domitri was snowed by her, just like I was. I never knew how bad it was, how much she got under his skin. I never knew about you. Never even considered it, to be honest. If I had, trust me, I would've destroyed you and your mother. I would've taken Domitri down and sent him to hell myself. And Theona. She would've known everything. She would've died knowing how her life was just as much a lie as mine. The business would've burned and I would've set the match myself. I'm not going to see my life's work in your mother's hands."
I heard a car door slam outside the window. Voices were heard a second later and then dulled. After Frank finished a third drink, he moved to fill a fourth. I looked down at my hands. They were sturdy. I thought they'd be sweating or trembling. Nothing. For some reason, his demented hatred didn't touch me.
"All of its gone. All of it. I have the majority shareholder, but she's got the rest besides the board. It doesn't matter. I can't get around her. She's a damn woman. I hate women. They belong in the bedroom and that's it. I thought I loved her, I did love her. And now, goddamn…I knew she was smart, but I didn't realize. She's a goddamn witch. All those should be strung up and killed. I can't stand the lot of them. That's how she got Domitri in bed. She got her hooks in him. Theona wouldn't have allowed it if she wasn't dying." He swallowed painfully and slammed his glass on the counter. As it shattered, he didn't blink. He didn't notice blood was starting to pool underneath his hand. He stared at me, beyond me. He might've been seeing me, but it was her that he wanted to murder.
; Something kindled in my spine and I stood slowly. "I don't know my mother…" When he jerked, I jumped. "I don't know...k-k-k-now about anything what you're telling me. I don't know my mom. I really don't. I came here because I wanted to ask her questions, but I can see that she's not here—"
"Your mother took off two hours ago. She's probably already on the plane. The car was going to the airport," he coldly delivered. "She's smart, so smart that she might walk away with twenty million for you. Little does she know you're here in my living room, within my reach. I could do anything to you and she couldn't stop it. She couldn't save you, much as she might think she did. She hasn't saved you at all. You walked into the lion's den. You're mine for all intents and purposes. You're mine."
I heard the threat and stared back. Something told me he was looking for weakness and I couldn't give him that. "I am anything but yours. I am Brady's and you've already told me you know he's your son. You know what he can do, so I wouldn't push it. Because you're right. Brady does love me and I love him. What do you think he'd do if he knew you were speaking to me like this?"
Frank looked at me with contempt. "I own this town. The only reason your boyfriend isn't in prison is because a part of him is from me. He's my son and his mother was one of the sweetest pieces of ass I've ever had. Call me weak, but I couldn't bring myself to charge my own flesh and blood. He's a part of my legacy. Hell, for all I know he might be my only legacy. Kidrick's a disgrace. He can't even bag the town's whore."
Cold tears fell down my cheeks. "You are less than me. You are less than Brady. You are less than Kid and you know it. You loved my mother because she made you want to be a better man. You loved her because—"
Frank wiped a hand over his mouth and interrupted, "You have no idea what you're talking about. You're just a kid. You're a girl, that's worse. And, sweetheart, my boy is not in love with you. He's just obsessed with you, but obsession ain't love. He wants your ass, probably has since growing up. Oh, yes. I've watched. I know everything about Brady. You think I'd really let my own flesh and blood go? He's an asset of mine. He belongs to me. It's a good thing that Viola took him in. She wanted him to be hers because she was disappointed with you. I can't blame her. I let her have him. Far be it from me to take an old woman's only saving grace in her life. She's got nothing else. Her own daughter abandoned her and stuck her with her kid. I've always wondered who your father was, if he was a drifter or some poor schmuck who wouldn't pay child support."
Intense 2 Page 60