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I push myself to my feet, stumbling, still drunk on last night’s shit.
I take a quick shower, dress and meet them downstairs.
Royce and Bass are playing a silent game of pool, but put down the cues when I walk in.
“I want you on security,” I get right to it.
“For you?” Bass narrows his eyes. When I don’t respond, he guesses again. “Raven.”
Royce drops his eyes to the floor when I look his way.
“What will I be doing?”
“Following her everywhere she goes, no matter who she’s with. You’ll live with her, check in on her every night and morning.”
Bass looks to Royce then back to me. “Is she moving or are you telling me I’m moving in here?”
Royce’s eyes cut to mine. “You sure you get to make that decision?”
“Who’s gonna stop me?” I push.
He shakes his head with a glare.
Bishop studies the two of us. “What if I decline this promotion?”
“You’re fired.”
He nods, glancing around. “And Raven, does she know about this yet?”
“No.”
“Are you planning to okay it with her?”
“No.”
“Bishop, go,” Royce forces past clenched teeth. “I need to talk to my brother.”
“No need for secrecy. Everyone’ll find out soon.”
“Maddoc,” he snaps.
“Raven is marrying Captain. Captain can’t always be home. She’ll need someone with her when he’s gone. Someone we can depend on, someone she should be able to trust. It will be you.”
Bishop’s face goes slack, his eyes moving from Royce to me. Slowly, he pushes to his feet, moving closer to me. “What happened?”
“We don’t pay you to ask questions. You taking the job or not?” I cross my arms.
His jaw clenches and he jerks his chin, before storming past me and out the door.
The second it closes, Royce shoves me from the side, making me stumble.
He gets in my face. “You better fucking watch it, brother. You helped make this happen. You knew what it meant when we left there. I won’t let you act a fucking fool. I know this is ugly, I know this shit hurts, but—”
“Hurts?!” I boom. “I fucking wish it hurt. I want it to hurt, Royce! I want it to fucking burn me up, eat me alive, tear me fucking apart!” I shout, shoving him into the bar.
Bottles tumble over, shatter and spill around us.
Royce comes back and lays one across my jaw, and I lose my footing.
He rushes me, and my hip slams against the edge of the pool table, knocking the wind out of me. With a grip on my collar, he headbutts me, blood instantly pouring down his brow as he pulls me closer, teeth bared.
“Do it again, brother,” I wheeze. “Harder. Do it.”
His face goes slack before his forehead falls to mine. “Fuck, Madman,” he breathes, squeezes me tighter before pushing away completely with a shake of his head.
He takes a step away but turns back with barren eyes. “I know your entire fucking world is shattering, but so is mine. Shit, so is all of ours.”
“You sure about that?”
“You don’t get to do this. You made the final decision.” His jaw clenches as his lip curls, but the defeat in his eyes is what kicks me in the ribs. “At least he gave you the choice.” He takes a few more steps away, and with each one, more life drains from his eyes. “I had just as much to lose, and I didn’t get one.”
He picks up a barstool, smashing it against the wall on his way out, slamming the door with his exit.
With a cough, I push to my feet, taking a look around the room.
My eyes fall on my dad standing at the end of the hall, hiding away and watching like a coward, with his hands in his pockets, a frown on his face.
“You fuckin’ happy?” I spit, blindly throwing a pool ball at the trophy case, the shattering of the glass and the toppling of bronze and gold worthless accomplishments mocking me with every hit against the grain. “The Gravens got what they wanted, you’re still standing, and all it took was the fall of your own sons.” I shake my head. “We should have denied you, accepted the scholarships we were offered for basketball, taken her with us. We wouldn’t have needed a fucking thing from you or this place. We’d have lives, real lives, away from fake laws and faker people. Captain wanted time to focus on his daughter after graduation, now he has to run an empire that will take time from her, just like it took your time from us, like it took time from Ravina when her grandfather was in charge, and you saw what happened there. A girl, desperate for love, so desperate she agreed to an arranged fucking marriage from the first person to make her feel wanted.” I shake my head.
“Royce has connection issues; did you know that?” I don’t let him answer. “But with Raven here, he was getting better, she moved him in a way we couldn’t, loved him in a way he needed and never had. Bet that’s been blown to shit. And me?” I shrug, looking away. “All I ever had was my brothers and strength, it grew with her. Now I’m standing here, by my fucking self, having never felt so weak in my damn life.” My eyes hit his once more. “Guess that means I’m useless to you now, too, huh?”
