He tilts his head, regarding me. “Why do you say that?”
“Because if that were the case, you wouldn’t have taken no for an answer. I’d have been in your car regardless.”
“Yes and no,” he answers. “It’s more complicated than you realize.”
I nod. “An easy, clean answer. I should’ve expected that.”
“What makes you say that?”
“You know, you’ve trained Maybell real good in the act of ambiguity, too.” I eye him. “I’m a good judge of bullshit and that’s all you’ve given me.”
“That is something you learned from where I left you.”
“Thanks?” I snap.
He changes the subject. “Your mother was raised in this very house, you know. It’s quite fitting you being here now.”
“Yeah, about that.” I look around. “My money hungry mother would never stay away from a bankroll like this.”
“She’s the one who ran away,” he says.
“Call me crazy, but the Brays I know wouldn’t allow such a move.” I watch him closely and the muscle in his cheek twitches.
“What is it you’re trying to say, Raven?”
“Someone – maybe even you – was well aware of where she was the entire time. Maybe she never really ran. Maybe, she was hidden.”
He tips his chin slightly. “And what reason would one have to do such a thing?”
“Come on, it’s basic math, yeah? I’ll be eighteen in a few months, which means she was pregnant with me when she ‘ran.’ So, tell me, who’s my father, Rolland?” I ask him point blank.
He hesitates a moment and then lifts his hands slightly. “I don’t know.”
“You can stick with that, for now, but you have to know the truth will come out eventually. If I know my mom, it’ll be when she’s ready to claim what she thinks she’s owed.”
“She relinquished her rights to everything related to the Brayshaw name when she left.”
“That’s not how her brain works.”
“That’s how we work,” he says. “We do not bend for those who break loyalty.”
“Yet you spent eleven years in prison and paid her all through that time. Weird.”
“I did what I had to do.” He glares. “I could have easily been free, but there was a bigger role that needed filled.”
“So you admit to a crime you didn’t commit, to what?” I use air quotes like an asshole. “Protect me?”
“I had to keep your existence a secret. It was the only way to fix what she ruined. It was my sacrifice.”
“And they were your chosen sons.”
His jaw ticks. “They had a good life.”
A humorless laugh bubbles out of me. “A parentless life.”
“I did what needed done,” he reiterates.
“In order to what?” I sit forward. “What is your goal exactly?”
“My goal remains the same,” he states calmly. “To see the Brayshaw name stay on top, continue to be the strongest and best there is. To stop Graven from trying to overthrow what no longer belongs to them.”
“You were doing all that just fine, Rolland. If all that is true, you had no reason to bring me here.”
“It was my duty.”
“So was being a father to the three boys you left behind to keep a name on top and stay the strongest. You’re nothing but a power-hungry, selfish prick.” I push to my feet, looking down at him. “Make sure you tighten up your responses before your sons come looking for answers. They happen to be full of questions.”
I start to walk away, and he snaps, “I am not done speaking.”
“Well, I’m done listening.”
“Raven,” he booms. “Do not move.”
I pause and slowly spin around.
Is he fucking serious?
He stands, walking toward me so he can be the one to look down. He eyes me for a long moment, the edges of his eyes tightening with each passing second.
“Have I underestimated your hold on my boys?” he asks, and I’d swear there’s a tinge of anxiousness in his words.
Before I can stop it, my smirk grows and his eyes narrow.
“No, Rolland. You underestimated them. They’re not the boys you left behind anymore. They’re the boys with the ability to bring a grown man down with a snap of a finger.”
He inches closer. “Are you threatening me, with my own sons?”
“Do you feel threatened?”
His jaw tics. “Be careful, Raven. Your place in our world is in my hands.”
“You act like anything I do will change your plans.”
“You can’t run from your duties. If you want to blame someone, blame your mother for her inability to keep her legs closed until her wedding night.”
“Wedding night...” I trail off.
“She is debased.” The doctor’s words ring in my ears.
A virgin. My mother was supposed to be a virgin on ...
When my confused expression lands on Rolland’s, his smirk grows. A smirk that has the muscles in my stomach tightening, but I don’t show it.
“Is it starting to make sense now?” he mocks me. “I think I’ll take your advice on this and ... speak to my sons first. If you’ll excuse me.”
My eyes trail his retreating figure until he rounds the corner, but my feet don’t move.
Whatever his plan is for me, no good will come of it.
Question is, when it comes down to me versus him, who will his sons choose?
“Raven’s gonna be pissed.” Royce’s knee keeps bouncing as he glances around the labs waiting room.
Cap went back not ten minutes ago.
“She wanted to be here. She’s gonna wring our necks.” He sighs.
“Something’s going on, Royce.”
His eyes slice to mine. “What do you mean?”
“You don’t see it?” I ask him and he frowns. “First off, where the fuck is Collins? Second, Dad shows up but has been avoiding us for the most part, he lied and said he wanted to keep Donley in the dark when it turns out he knew all a-fucking-long he was home. The bastard went after Raven, on Bray grounds and managed to pull in the chick from our group home to help him. Now Cap is wigging out over Zoey and obsessing over Perkins. I get it, but all this shit feels like the timer to the bomb that’s about to drop.”
Royce considers what I say but waits for me to continue.
“Why would Donley, who never comes near us, make such a bold move?”
Royce frowns. “He wouldn’t unless he benefited from it.”
“Exactly.”