Reign of Brayshaw (Brayshaw High #3)(16)

I slide inside, slamming the door, and his head snaps up.

He jumps to his feet with a glare. “What the hell are you doing?”

His words are strong, but his eyes fly over my shoulder, making sure only one of us stepped through – like one isn’t fucking enough – before cutting back to me.

He can’t go anywhere. He’s trapped in here, with me, until I decide to let him out.

“So, you were on track to be Brayshaw, huh?” I study him. “Yet your brother became a Graven.”

“I am no Graven,” he draws out slowly.

I’d almost swear he says it with conviction, as if the thought disgusts him.

“But Felix Graven is your brother—”

“Was.”

“Were you jealous of how easily he got to the top?”

He bares his teeth. “I was offered a place beside him, I declined.”

“Because you were hoping to be a part of my dad’s team.”

It works, Perkins’ jaw sets tight, his hands making fists against his desk.

“You know nothing,” he hisses.

“As soon as she fell for him, and he asked you to protect her, you jumped at the chance, didn’t you?” His eyes widen slightly. “Tell me, were you stupid enough to ask for her, his power?”

His jaw clenches. “I never wanted his power.”

“No, you wanted his ticket. Donley offered Felix the top, of course he could only have it if the heiress was at his side.” I widen my stance. “And she was... until she wasn’t.”

He knows what I’m getting at.

“Ask what you came to ask.”

“Are you Raven’s father?”

His eyes grow taut, unmistakable anger and regret. “No. I’m not.”

I dart forward, yanking him by his tie until his face is near mine. “Don’t fucking lie to me.”

“I’m not her—”

I yank tighter and he groans, his hands coming up to pull at the satin material. “She disappeared just over eighteen years ago, Raven will be eighteen soon. The math is fucking simple. You knew your brother was promised her pure, so you made sure she wasn’t! And then what, threw her out when you found out she was pregnant? Just wanted to ruin her, but the kid was worth nothing to you, right?!”

He jerks, so I shove him away and his ass slams into the seat.

He jumps right back to his feet. “You know nothing, and you’re wrong! I loved her! I wouldn’t have fucking cared if she was pregnant with someone else’s kid, had I known for sure, because I fucking wanted her! Not the title that came with her, the money or the Graven empire, not anything else. Just. Her,” he growls.

“You trusted her.”

I whip around to find Captain standing there.

I hadn’t even heard him pull open the door.

He keeps talking. “You begged her to leave, to be with you and walk away from it all, and she agreed, didn’t she?”

My eyes slice back to Perkins who glares at Captain, and Royce catches my attention just outside the door. He nods his chin, shifting his stare back to the other two.

“But she betrayed you, in the end,” Cap keeps going. “Left your sorry ass behind.”

“Don’t,” Perkins hisses, his eyes begging.

“So you got revenge the only way you felt you could. Slept with someone else, hoping she’d come back and hear all about it, but she never did, did she?” he goads him.

It works.

Perkins’ entire body turns to stone, his face paling.

Captain stands to his full height. “Every puzzle has pieces. I found yours. And as for the document Collins hid at his cabin, you know the one you flipped out over the thought of Donley finding – my daughter’s birth certificate,” Captain hisses and Perkins’ face tightens. “We stole it weeks ago. How do you think he blackmailed Raven to being by his side?”

“Captain, you can’t bring her—”

Cap punches him in the face before anyone sees it coming and he stumbles back, hitting the wall.

“You will never dictate what happens with my daughter again, do you understand me?!”

“I was only trying to protect—”

“Nobody fucking asked you to!”

“I had no choice!” Perkins snaps. “As soon as I realized Mallory was pregnant, I knew I had to get her out of here, hide her until the baby was born. Donley is aware of your relationships, he watches, so when you showed the first sign of possibly caring for a girl, he waited for the slipup. Had he found out about the baby, Mallory would have been pulled under his thumb, and then Zoey taken the second she was born. I couldn’t allow that. I’ve seen what those people create, how they can take an innocent girl and turn her into...”

Ravina.

“You had no fucking right to step in where you weren’t wanted,” Captain spits.

“That girl would have milked you dry.” Perkins glares. “Look what she gave up for money and a secure lifestyle, both of which she knows damn well she could have gotten from you if she just stayed, if she had wanted to stay.”

“None of that concerns you!” Captain shouts. “It was my problem to worry about!”

“The risk was too high to leave it in your hands! Even though you act like you’re not, you’re still only a kid!”