Brady Remington Landed Me in Jail

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 it's gone. All of it. I have the majority share holder, 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 drifter or some poor schmuck who wouldn't pay child support."

I'd grown numb again as he said all the words that I'd held inside, too scared to say out loud. I'd always felt like a burden. I always wondered if my mother had sent me away because she didn't want me. Maybe my father had been so awful that the very sight of me revolted her. Did Viola wish Brady had been her grandchild instead of me? It would've made more sense.

I would've believed everything except one part.

Brady wasn't just obsessed with me. It was more. He'd never told me, but I knew it as sure as I breathed. He cared about me and if Frank Stephens lied about that one thing, I knew all the others were lies.

He couldn't hurt me.

As he spewed more abuse, I glanced out the window and saw Deputy Doug's car parked outside. When the door opened, voices filled the hall.

Idly, I crossed the room to grab a poker by the fireplace and held it tight. As I moved back, I placed myself where Frank Stephens would have his back to the hallway. As he continued to spew those hurtful words to me, I knew he wouldn't stop. He was drunk. He was angry. He was evil—he was just that kind of guy. I also knew that Brady would hear him and Brady would react how he always did.

Looking back over the years, Brady always had a hot temper. He was an "all in" type of guy and that meant protecting the ones he loved. He protected them all the way. Brady had worked on his temper. He was a lot better than a few years ago, but he still fought over one factor. Me.