She shakes her head, setting it aside. “There is no way any of these will do. They’re not... you.”
My brows jump.
“Give me a minute, I’ve got this.”
So I do, and just over an hour later, the three of us are meeting Rolland in the entryway.
His back greets us first. A sliver of white from his dress shirt peeking out of the navy-blue suit he’s wearing, Maybell beside him.
Our footsteps aren’t quiet, so his head turns, and a grin splits his mouth, and Maybell follows.
“Damn,” Chloe whispers. “No wonder Daddy won’t let me sit in on meetings yet. I’d be all over that.”
“Shut up, Chloe,” I snap quietly.
“I thought you were hoing it up with Mac?” Victoria throws back.
Chloe mews. “Yeah, but if I wasn’t...” She trails off, rushing the last few steps to Rolland.
“Mr. Brayshaw, great to see you. Ms. Maybell, a pleasure.”
“Ms. Carpo.” Rolland nods. “Thank you for helping on short notice.”
Maybell, though, she scoffs and looks to me, making me hide my grin.
She smiles, then steps aside.
“How do you feel, Raven?” he asks.
I nod, running my hand over the tips of my hair.
I cut a quick glance a Chloe. “Like myself.”
“Also known as angry and unladylike.” Chloe tilts her head. “But she went from hobo to hopeful so it’s a win.”
Victoria scoffs while Rolland gives a small chuckle.
“Right,” he says, but quickly grows serious. “Are you ready for this?”
“Is it cliché if I say I was born ready?” I stand tall.
“I’d say it’s quite fitting.” He nods, a hint of a grin on his face. “Is there anything you want to go over beforehand? Anything I should know first?”
“What if I told you I was winging it?”
A chuckle flies from him and his eyes widen slightly. “Well then, I’d say I expected as much.”
Suddenly, the door is thrown open, and Royce jerks to a stop.
“Hoo, hooo, baby girl!” Royce’s head pulls back slightly, as he bites his lip. “Just... yes.” He slaps his chest dramatically.
I roll my eyes, reaching for the handle but he swiftly steps in, slamming it behind him.
“I told you to stay outside!” Chloe snaps.
My glare flies to her, but Royce speaks before I can.
“Sorry, wannabe Raven, but I’ll hang my dick to dry the day I listen to you, now back to the important stuff.” Royce steps in front of me, eyeing me up and down before hitting my grey eyes with his deep brown ones. “You done, done it, RaeRae.”
“Done what?”
“Morphed into the perfect Jill to my Jack.”
“Oh my god,” Victoria grumbles behind me.
I start busting up laughing, though, and Royce laughs with me. He’s kidding, but maybe I’m the only one who gets it, and honestly, I like it like that.
He grins, stepping in to hug me, whispering, “I dig it, RaeRae. It’s you.”
“Son, if you don’t go, they’re all gonna come in and we’ll never get out.”
“Oh, I know.” Royce steps back with a grin, smoothing his hands down the black dress shirt he’s wearing. “But I’m the troublemaker, never listen to shit. Gotta keep up the rep.” He shrugs, grins, and runs back out the door.
With a shake of her head and wide, confused eyes, Chloe reaches for the handle, but yelps when Royce shoves his head back in quickly.
“Might wanna wait like three minutes before you come out. These fuckers are slow to slide in.” His eyes move to Chloe playfully. “I’m in quick but stay long, and I’m not just talkin’ time, I’d say ask VicVee over there but she’s being stingy.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Victoria mumbles, burying her face in her hands.
“Wow.” Chloe purses her lips.
Royce winks.
“Jesus.”
The three of us look to Rolland who tries to hide his blush with a frown, making us laugh.
I slap my hand on his shoulder and his eyes slide to mine. “Get used to it. It literally only gets worse.”
“And yet you’re smiling as you say it.” He tilts his head slightly.
I clear my throat and look to Royce who reaches out to squeeze my hand.
He’s acting like himself today, smiling, teasing. It’s a good thing.
“Why is everyone just laughing and joking and carrying on like normal?” Chloe asks. “Are you not walking into a pack of ruthless beings?”
“We are.” I look to her. “But we have wolves.” I grin at Royce, holding my hand out for Victoria.
She slaps her palm in mine, a smile pulling at her lips. “And a Raven.”
Royce’s eyes widen, snapping to Maybell.
Curiously, mine slide between them, catching the small wink she gives.
Royce sighs, giving a small nod, his eyes brightening before us all as he barely whispers, “And so, the Raven led her wolves...” His smile is slow. “It all makes sense now. There was no other ending after the way it started.”
My confusion can’t be missed, but Royce only offers a wink, slams the door and it’s just the five of us.
“I so don’t get this family and their riddles sometimes.” Chloe shakes her head and tugs the door open.
Like fuel to the flame, Maddoc’s stare burns into mine.
With the car door open, one foot already in, he freezes.
Tension radiates off him, hitting me like a shockwave.
Before either of us can move, Captain blocks him from my view. Royce meets his back, Mac a few feet back, while Bass leans against the bumper, taking it all in.
“What the hell are they doing?” Victoria asks, not quite yet on our wavelength, if she ever gets there.
Chloe sighs, smirking at the scene as if she knows. “Taming the beast.”
“Nah, they know better than that.”
I don’t want him tame.
I like him wild.
I need him defiant.
I love him limitless.
Both their heads snap toward me, but I don’t look away.
The shift in their stances, the change in their energy. The flick of the fire as it sets beneath their bones.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
A slow grin splits my lips as I step farther out on the porch, a calm settling over me.
There they are.
My boys.
Captain blocks my view as Royce shifts behind me, and my brows snap together.
She’s not fifteen feet away. It would take less than ten seconds to reach her.
They really think they could keep me from her if I went for it?
I’ve been forcing my feet still all afternoon. Never have I ever possessed so much restraint in my life, and I’m about to say fuck it, fuck them, fuck everyone until I get what I want straight from my baby’s lips.
Slowly, I put my foot back on the ground, spinning to face my brothers, both who step closer, but the anger slowly washes from both their faces. Simultaneously, they look to the town car waiting for the girls and our dad, then back to me.
Tell me you feel it, brother.
“Not right,” Royce voices first, scratching the back of his head.
“No,” Cap adds with a slight nod. “Three legs are sturdy.”
I eye him, standing taller. “But four’s solid.”
One step out of time and without even realizing it, our circle becomes a solid line.
All our eyes lock on her.
A slow grin splits her lips as she steps farther out on the porch, and her chest rises, creating a chain reaction across us.
There she is.
My baby.
With her head held as high as ever, Raven passes the town car moving right for us, and finally, I let my eyes leave hers.
I was with Chloe, waiting to talk to her dad, when she got the call from ours, and I was the farthest
fucking thing from down with Raven’s choice on the revamp.
She doesn’t need to change how she looks, not for anyone, no matter the fucking reason, but looking at her now, my chest walls tighten. Never has she looked more like my Raven.
Angry and unwavering, sass and strength.
Her long black hair shines like silk, sleek straight and flat down her back. The white long-sleeved top fits her like a glove and runs all the way up, wrapping around her throat, a silver necklace hanging from around it. The black leather skirt comes up high, stopping just below her ribs and hides her shirt beneath it.
My eyes lock on the smoothness of the leather there, and I search for sight of her truth beneath it.
When she plants her left foot a space away from her right, my eyes drop to her shoes. Black boots, not unlike the ones she already owns, they cuff her at the ankles, the laces left untied, but they’re new and give some added height.
I must have stepped forward because when my eyes lift, they’re not far from her lips.
Full and soft as always, but colored red. A bright, vibrant red you could spot a mile away. When they part, my eyes snap to hers.
Dark, thick, black liner fans across her eyelids, making the gray shine almost silver.
The last thing I want to do right now is leave here. I need to talk to her, fight with her, something, but the fire in her eyes isn’t gonna settle. It won’t go away and it shouldn’t.
She wants to push. We’ll be the driving force behind her.
She wants to lead. Where she goes, we’ll follow.
She wants her reign. We’ll make sure she gets it.
Always.
She blinks, bringing me back to focus.
Cap steps forward and her eyes do nothing more than shift to his, but damn if a knot doesn’t form in my gut.
“It was stupid to think this could go any different,” she says, shaking her head, her eyes sliding back to mine. “I don’t want it to go any different. All bullshit aside, nothing makes sense when it’s not the four of us.”
Her eyes focus on his, mine, then Royce’s, then move back to Cap.
Bass walks around the back right then, understanding her just as much as I knew he could. He dangles the keys over her shoulders, and her hand lifts, her fingers wrapping around the cool metal without looking.
She extends her arm, letting the keychain hang from her finger.
With a slow smirk, Cap opens his hand, allowing her to drop them in his palm.
His eyes meet Royce’s who stands tall, a matching smirk in place.
Cap steps around the side and Royce slides in the passenger seat.
Raven’s eyes hit mine and she steps closer, my pulse kicking harder with every move she makes, but she doesn’t touch me like I need her to. She slips right past and into the SUV.
When she turns to me, there’s a slight tip to her lips, but it’s only my eyes and hers now, and hers are screaming so much more. Anger and apology, determination.
She sees it, my resolve slippin’, and quickly shakes her head. “Soon, Big Man.” Her words start soft but end strong. “Get in the car. Now.”
I slide in beside her.
We don’t wait to make sure the others are in and ready but get straight on the road. Royce blares some music, and everyone concentrates on their own thoughts, mine being Raven.
My eyes travel over her legs and thighs, moving up from there, pausing on her face. Her eyes are focused, laser-sharp and locked on the edge of the window. Her breathing is calm, body relaxed. She’s in her fucking zone and nothing is getting in her way.
Since she got here, we’ve constantly tried to take charge, make the final decisions and demand to be let in on her next move before it was made.
Not today.
Today, we’re her back up, her armor. Any move she makes, we’ll match ten fucking fold. We underestimated her once and quickly learned how wrong the move was. Never again.
She’s brave, bold. Beautiful. Fearless and capable. She’s the fiercest fucking thing this town has ever seen, and exactly what it needed. What we needed.
What I need.
We’re pulling up at the building too fucking quick and unease swims in my gut. The last thing I want to do is allow her to walk into fire, but Raven asks for no permission. All we can do is stand beside her, have her back.
She’s out of the car before the engine is off and we fly out with her.
She spins, her eyes on the others pulling in right behind us.
Bass, Victoria, and our dad step out.
“I thought Mac was coming?” Raven asks, suspicious.
Victoria’s eyes slide to Captain before moving back. “He’ll be here, dropping off Chloe on the way.”
Raven spins on her heels and without a word spoken, the security at the door steps aside.
She walks straight through, leading us – me at her back, Cap and Royce beside me, our dad, Bishop, and Victoria behind us.
“Donley,” she calls sweetly before our feet even hit the floor, and all heads jerk our way.
He starts to shoot to his feet, but calms himself, sitting back instead. “Raven.” His eyes move to me at her back and narrow before shifting to Captain. “Captain, good to see you, son.”
“I’m not your son.”
His face grows taut. “I was informed you were injured, I came here to relay the message, let them know we still stood strong and that I was here if needed.”
The men in this room are smart, and questioning eyes began to roam, but Raven doesn’t give them time to decide what to ask.
“My name is Raven Brayshaw.”
Eyes narrow, some lean closer in their seats, Royce and Cap stare unsure and Rolland’s lips tighten. Everyone knows who she is, but curiosity keeps their mouths closed and eyes intent.
“Like Captain, my choice was taken from me.”
Donley frowns, trying to gauge her. ‘Course he’s not smart enough to stay quiet.
“No one is questioning your status, Raven. We are aware, and I made sure all assets you were due have been signed over.”
“They have,” she agrees. “Financially.”
Our dad’s stance widens.
Donley’s eyes narrow. “What does that mean, exactly?”
“It means you’re sitting in a seat that doesn’t belong to you.”
“This seat,” he counters. “As per our agreement, belongs to a Graven. I am Graven.”
“And I’m not?” she shoots back instantly.
He balks. “Not until you give me that video you’re not.”
Cap and I share a subtle look.
“Tell me, Donley, did she scream?”
His eyes flash with what I interpret as understanding, his grip tightening on the red suede.
“What is this?” the head of the Greyson family asks lowly.
Raven ignores the guy, speaking directly to Donley again. “Get out of the chair, Graven.”
“That chair belongs to the head of—”
“And I’m the head of two,” she cuts Romero Hacienda off. “That’s more than any of you can say.”
They glare but don’t argue.
Her eyes go back to Donley, but she speaks to the others. “Nineteen years ago my mother was promised to Felix Graven, but they never made it to their wedding. Donley Graven—”
Suddenly, Donley, jolts from the seat, flying at her only to be caught behind the thigh by our dad.
Every person in the room is on their feet in seconds, watching as Donley falls to his knees.
It takes everything in me to stay planted where I am, but Raven doesn’t so much as flinch through the entire thing.
“I see you haven’t changed. Nineteen years later and you still think you’re allowed to put your hands on a female?”
He attempts to get up, but when we all take a step closer, he thinks better of it.
“You have no idea what you’re doing,” he growls, his chin lifted. “There is still time for you to walk away. Give me the video I ask
ed you for, let Captain sit, and we forget all about this.”
“And give you a victory you’ve waited years for? I don’t think so, and there is no fucking video.” His eyes slim in anger, but he had to of figured as much. “So, you can threaten me all you want, Donley, but I have no soft spots for you to prey on.”
“Sweet Brayshaw princess,” he spits. “You have a weakness. They are your weakness.”
She gets in his face, her teeth bared for all to see. Her eyes cut to mine briefly before she growls, “They don’t make me weak, Graven. They make me unstoppable.”
In one swift motion, she pulls her knife from her skirt, flips it open and holds it backward, under his neck.
“And I’m no princess,” she leans in, whispering. “I’m a fucking queen of your own making, this is my kingdom and you have no place in it. You wanna play medieval times, old man? I’m game. You disrespect the king, you get hung, but doing as little as putting your eyes on the queen without permission? Lose your hands, then your feet, right before you’re beheaded for all to see. Or maybe we’re talking the Romans. I could throw you in the ring, let you battle for your life against my strongest man. You tell me, Graven? What era we playin’ tonight with arranged marriages and family debts owed?”
He pushes against her, so her left arm comes around to add power to the blade and a small drop of blood rolls down his Adam’s apple.
“You know this is where she held the gun,” she whispers suddenly, and my eyes fly to Cap then back. “Just like this.” She tucks her hand up more, the blade disappearing under his chin. “Cocked it back, ready to take me to the grave with her. Wanna know what she said to me?” She doesn’t let him speak. “She said ‘he doesn’t get to have you.’”
He tries to bait her, asking, “Where is your mother, Raven?”
Her jaw starts to shake, eyes narrowing. “My weakness,” she whispers and his eyes damn near fucking sparkle.
She slides the knife against him, not even a centimeter, but his nostrils flare as the blade cuts a little more.
“You’re a cunning piece of shit,” she rasps. “You didn’t need the blood from her, but you showed up on her doorstep anyway, didn’t you? Shared the news, finally a Graven and a Brayshaw. You knew she’d come, and you bet on me. You knew I’d protect him at all costs. Risky move, Graven, but knowledge is dangerous, right? You needed to eliminate the last and final threat that could fuck you from what you believed you deserve.”
Reign of Brayshaw (Brayshaw High #3) Page 27