Brady Remington Landed Me in Jail

"Nah. You don't deserve jail for hitting the likes of Frank Stephens. You deserve a medal."

I looked down when I felt tears in my eyes and tried to blink them away. Then Deputy Doug roughly squeezed my arm in reassurance and they fell free. These tears were different. I couldn't explain them, but they were different.

I wasn't hiding anymore.

"Go on, Miss Rayna."

As I made my way out of the station, I felt foolish and oddly brave. I knew people in the waiting lounge were probably watching me, wondering what kind of a freak I was, but I didn't care. I just didn't care anymore. I felt the sunshine hit my face in a new light when I pushed through the door and embraced it. I wanted to see the sun and the sky in my newly acquired confidence.

"Rayna!" Clarissa screamed at me.

I jumped back and the glass door hit me forwards. As I stumbled forward, I tried to brace myself so I wouldn't fall onto the sidewalk. My hand flattened on the pavement and a sharp pain flared in my wrist, but I caught my balance.

Clarissa watched from her car. "Hurry, hurry. We have to go. Now!"

"What? Why? What's happened?"

"Get in the car!" she ordered.

I complied. "What's happened?"

We shot down the street. "I was at the hospital with Kid when Brady showed up. It is not good, so not good, Rayna. Kid shoved me out the door, but they were all yelling and then something crashed into the wall. I tried to get inside, but the door wouldn't budge. Someone hit someone and I took off to get you. You gotta stop 'em."

As she continued to ramble on, I wasn't scared. It was time the secrets were told.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Brady burst through the hospital doors. It didn't take a detective to figure out which room his father would be in. It'd be the best room in the corner. The hospital officials wouldn't want to be sued so they'd give him their top service, including two nurses on hand and a doctor close to his door. So when he saw a group of hospital workers outside a room, he headed there and pushed through the doors.

Clarissa had been standing behind it with a carton of coffees. The door knocked them from her hands and she gasped, but Brady stalked to the bed where Frank sat up in a nightgown. He paled at the sight of him. Kid remained on the other side of the bed. He froze in place.

"Did you sleep with Leann Janke?" Brady ground out.

Kid jumped forward. "Clarissa, maybe you should head outside."

"What? No, I—"

He grabbed her elbow and led her through the door. "Thanks for all your help. I'll call you later."

"But—" The door closed and Kid stood in front to block anyone else.

"Did. You. Sleep. With. Her?"

Frank blinked, but that was his only reaction. He stared in Brady's eyes. Kid saw all of this and jerked forward a step. "Brady, what's this about?"

Brady reached for Frank's collar and Kid lunged for him. He threw an arm around his neck and jerked back. Both of them crashed into the window, but Brady rounded with a fist formed. He punched Kid across the face and then reared back with an elbow.

"Stop!" Frank yelled and hit his call button.

Brady shook his head and shoved Kid backwards into a chair in the far corner. "Stay out of this, Kid. You've done enough since you've been here."

"I've done enough?" Kid laughed on an empty note. His face twisted into an ugly frown. "Are you kidding me? I've done nothing but help you."

"Help me? How?"

Kid stood and shook his head. "Do you know how frustrating it is to leave a place I loved? I loved this place. I loved being friends with you and Rayna and then I come back. My whole word has been turned upside down and I come back to see that yours are all fine. They're all the same. Nothing's changed. Nothing!"

"Is that what you wanted? Your life's destroyed so you wanted to destroy mine?"

"No." Kid let out a growl. "No, but I hated it. I hated seeing you being this stupid drunk party guy. You're better than that. You're smarter than that. You're not a frat guy, but that's how you act around here. Yeah—it pissed me off to see everything going so great for you."

"What are you talking about? Nothing's going good for me."

"Rayna was."

"Rayna is!" Brady snapped. "She's the best goddamn thing I've got going and that was something you wanted to screw up. You came here and you were all talk about getting with her. Don't try and act like you did that for my good or hers."

Kid reared back. “No. Okay? No. I wasn't thinking that through. I wanted to hurt you. I wanted to make you sweat a little. My only problem is that I was stupid enough to say it to your face. Of course you would do something about it before I could."

A corner of Brady's lip curled upwards in an ugly smirk. "The difference between you and me is that I'll punch someone in their face. You go behind their back. Someone comes at me square and fair, I'll respect that person. You, you're pathetic."

Kid's eyes narrowed. "I wasn't going to do anything with her."