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All of it.“So what’s the deal with you guys versus them?”
“What?” he teases. “You didn’t read it in the files?”
I roll my eyes while dropping onto my back beside him. “Told you I didn’t read them.”
“I know.” He pauses staring at me a moment before he continues. “The Gravens and the Brayshaws used to run this town together. They were the most powerful families, stronger by two than one. Nothing happened here without their permission, down to nomads, families not tied to theirs, even moving in. They were all screened and had to be given the green light to live here and raise kids. Jobs were earned based on loyalty. It was like their own little royal world.”
“Until...”
“Until a Brayshaw son decided he wanted to be a black-tie gangster instead. Brayshaws and Gravens were given respect because of who they were and the control they had here, but that wasn’t enough for old-day Brawshaw. They wanted respect, but they also wanted fear. Eventually, they had both.”
“How’d they get it?”
“Blood and money. Power in numbers. That’s when our families were brought in. The Brayshaws were top tier, but the Malcaris - my born last name - were their second hand. It wasn’t until my great grandfather that Royce and Captain’s families were brought in. Four families became one. It didn’t take long before it was all about the Brayshaw empire, leaving the Gravens out completely.”
“So the Brayshaws were in charge and your families worked under them?”
“Basically, yeah, but for the core members, they saw each other as family. To them, they were all Brayshaw, like we are all Brayshaw now.”
“What did they actually do?”
“They all held power positions, still do. Judges, lawyers, engineers. Help keep the town in check. Watch the crime, control the gangs, shit like that. But we evolved when my dad took over.”
“How.”
“We find things out, then make sure people pay for it. Clean, if we can.”
Wait ... “The teacher. That was you guys?”
He nods. “He moved in with her mother last year. Has sexually assaulted her every day on the way to school since.”
My stomach turns. Jesus. “How’d you find out?”
“We don’t know. Another clue left lying there, just like the delivery papers left for Cap when Zoey was born. Or the email sent from Captain’s email to Royce’s warning us that chick you choked out with the hose had a video that needed destroyed.”
“The girl had said it would ruin your season. How?”
He considers lying, I can tell by the way his eyes tighten at the corners. But he doesn’t.
“Our coach is a good man, he just loves someone he shouldn't.”
“So the video...”
“Was him doing something he shouldn’t have been, especially with a wife at home.”
I push away slightly. “Why would you hide that? Let the wife find out, he’s a piece of shit for it and deserves to be busted.”
Maddoc’s eyes slide to mine. “She blackmailed him, Raven. Trapped him and his money in a marriage he never wanted a year ago.” His eyes bounce between mine. “He doesn’t love his wife, but he loves the girl in the video. Who would be fucked if that got out?” He shakes his head. “Not the wife.”
“You’re Saints,” I joke, honestly a little in awe of all this, and he laughs.
“So what about the Gravens, Collins?”
He groans, fake complaining and turns me onto my side. He pushes up behind me.
“Collins is Graven. Like we’re the last of our families, other than my dad, he’s the last Graven other than his mother and grandfather. Where we know we’re a fucked-up bunch and own up to it, the Gravens are dangerous because they pretend to be noble when they’re not. You saw the officer who searched us on the courts the day we found you smoking there? He’s their runner, so to speak. His badge gets him access to shit other Gravens blackmail our people for. He’s not Graven blood or brought in, but he’s on their payroll. Collins is the gutsiest Graven they’ve seen in decades. He challenges us, but we’re stronger.”
He buries his face in my neck.
“You guys fell into a war between men.” I push against him when his tongue slips out, sliding across the vein in my neck.
“We were born to be their army.” He lifts my knee, running his fingertips down my thigh until he can slip past the bottom of my shorts.
“Wait—” I gasp when his finger slips inside me.
I turn my head to meet his lips.
“No more questions,” he whispers, and I take his mouth with mine.
He’s slow in his movement, taking his time as he drives me wild. When I clench my pussy muscles over his finger, he shifts onto his elbow, his tongue sweeping so deep into my mouth I hold my breath.
He adds a second finger, curving his knuckles into a hook and he increases his speed, his thumb coming up to push against my clit as hard as his grip will allow.
