Needing Nevaeh(Rockers’ Legacy Book 2)(8)

Not even giving Arella time to realize I was behind her, I grabbed her by the back of her hair and twisted my fingers in the thick locks. She screamed in pain and tried to turn around to grab my own hair, but I pushed her into her room and slammed the door shut before flipping the lock.

I dragged my sister across the room and pushed her down onto her bed before finally releasing her. Seeing strands of her hair in my fist didn’t give me the satisfaction it would have during one of our usual hair-pulling fights, though.

Arella turned over onto her back and glared up at me. “What was that for, bitch?”

I bent so I was in her face, and her hot breath steamed up my glasses. Pushing them onto my forehead, I fisted my hands at my sides to keep from pulling her hair again. “Why didn’t you warn me that Daddy is sick?” I snarled.

Her eyes widened then filled with tears. “Be-because they made me promise not to tell you anything. They wanted to explain everything themselves without you doing that crazy brain thing of yours and trying to figure it all out on your own.”

“You still should have told me.” My voice wobbled, and I dropped down onto the edge of her bed. “I thought we promised no secrets.”

She sighed heavily and sat up. She wrapped her arms around me and rested her head on my shoulder. “It wasn’t my secret to share,” she explained softly. “Mom and Daddy have been stressed enough, and I didn’t want to add more to their plate by going against their wishes and telling you behind their backs.”

“Yeah,” I muttered, wiping at a stray tear that dripped down my face. “I get it.” I pulled the strands free that were tangled around my fingers and let them float to her floor. “Sorry about your hair.”

She grunted. “You should be. The only reason I’m letting this pass is because you’re upset about Daddy and tomorrow is your birthday. Consider my not retaliating my present to you. There. You’re welcome.”

I shoved her onto her back and stood. “Whatever. I’m not scared of your skinny ass.” I flipped her off on my way out of her room.

“What was Arella screaming about just now?” Mom asked as she came up the stairs.

“Nothing,” I told her. “She was just being dramatic like always.”

Back in my room, I picked up my phone in the hope Braxton might have called, but it was free of any messages. Putting my glasses back in place, I tried calling him again, and then again when I went to voice mail.

Realizing I wasn’t likely to speak to him at all that night, I finally sent him a text.

Nevaeh: Today has royally sucked. I really need to hear your voice right now. Please…just call me. I don’t care how late it is. I… Just… Please?





Chapter 6

Braxton





I hadn’t worn a suit in so long, I felt like I was being choked by a toddler with the tie of my tux as soon as I put the damn thing on.

Normal families didn’t require a person to show up wearing black-tie attire for a damn family get-together. My family was anything but normal, however. They flashed their money around like it was an accessory, demanding the world take notice. I’d hated the pretentiousness of it growing up.

After witnessing Mia’s and Nevaeh’s families at their annual Christmas party for the last few years, seeing people who were just as rich as my own parents act like money wasn’t the most important thing in the world, I’d looked back on my childhood and hated it even more.

Barrick grabbed a glass of champagne off a tray one of the many caterers was carrying around the lower level of my parents’ mansion and tossed back its entire contents in one gulp before replacing the expensive stemware and grabbing another.

“How long until they make their damn announcement and we can go?” I muttered, wishing I could start throwing back a few drinks myself. But I’d been in pain all day, and I never risked mixing my medication with alcohol.

“Knowing your folks, probably won’t be for hours. Fuck, I’m starving. These canapes are disgusting. Let’s grab some burgers on the way home.” Pulling out his phone, he checked for texts from Mia and muttered a curse when he read something on his screen. “Dude, do you have any missed calls? Mia says Nevaeh is trying to reach you.”

I pulled out my phone, saw a few missed calls and a text lighting up the screen. My eyes scanned over the message and my gut clenched.

Kitten: Today has royally sucked. I really need to hear your voice right now. Please…just call me. I don’t care how late it is. I… Just… Please?

Glancing around, I saw the library appeared empty. As I entered, I shut the door and leaned back against it since there wasn’t a lock on it. Swiping my thumb over her name, I closed my eyes and waited for her to answer.

“Hello?” Her voice sounded husky with tears and sleep, putting me on red alert.

“What’s wrong, Kitten?” I asked softly, when I wanted to demand answers. Who upset her and made my sweet little Nevaeh cry?

“Brax,” she whispered and sniffled. “Sorry, I guess I must have fallen asleep.”

“Why are you crying?” I clenched my hand around my phone, but I quickly relaxed it a little when I heard something begin to crack.

“I got the worst news tonight.” Her voice broke, and then I heard her sucking in a shuddery breath. That sound made it impossible for me to breathe until she spoke again. “Oh God, Braxton. I…I really wish you were here right now.”

“Baby.”

There was a knock on the door. “Brax, man. Your parents are about to make an announcement.”

I pulled the phone away from my mouth. “Fuck them,” I called through the door. “This is more important.”

“Shit,” Nevaeh muttered. “I’m interrupting your thing with your parents. You should go. Can you call me back later?”

“No. I don’t care about them and their big announcement.” Nothing they had to say mattered more than finding out what was wrong with my girl. “Talk to me, Nev. What news did you get?”

“It’s my dad,” she said, and a sob escaped her. I listened as she told me how sick her dad was and that he needed a new liver. I could hear the fear and heartbreak in her voice, and I felt like I was suffocating because there was nothing I could do to take her pain away.

There was another knock on the door I was leaning against. “Dude, you seriously need to get out here and stop this before your parents fuck up your life.”

“Y-you should go,” Nevaeh said, having heard my cousin. “I need to go talk to my brother and sisters anyway.”

“I wish there was something I could do, Kitten.”

“Just hearing your voice was enough,” she whispered. “Now, get back to your party. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Baby—”

“Go,” she commanded softly.

“Brax!” Barrick growled from the other side of the door. “Seriously. Get out here now.”

Muttering a curse, I told Nevaeh I’d talk to her tomorrow and jerked the door open. Barrick’s jaw was set, and he grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me out of the library. After he turned me to face the stairs, it took me a second to understand what I was looking at.

My mother, clad in a dress that probably cost the equivalent of a compact car, dripping in diamonds, and with her hair and makeup her idea of perfection, stood beside my father with a glass of champagne in hand. His tux was tailored to his lanky frame, his wire-rimmed glasses perched on his nose as he lifted his own glass of expensive French champagne toward the woman standing to his left.

I narrowed my eyes on the woman. Dressed in a simple floor-length black dress, she had her blond hair pulled into a delicate twist at the right side of her head. It took me a second to realize who she was because I hadn’t seen her in… Fuck, I couldn’t even remember how long it had been.

“Is that—?”

“Yup,” Barrick growled.

“What the hell is she doing here?” I bit out.

“Officially announcing your engagement.”

“Fuck.”

“There he is,” my father said with a chuckle, his eyes falling on me. He waved me forward, as if he expected me to fall in line with their newest scheme to try to run my life.

My eyes landed back on Darcy Hamilton, and I cursed my own past idiocies. Darcy was my high school girlfriend. And like most guys that age, I’d thought more with my dick than my brain. I thought because the sex was good and she pretended to love me, we would be together forever. I proposed on her eighteenth birthday, and even though we were young, both her parents and mine had actually endorsed our marriage.

Then I’d enlisted in the Marines. Darcy changed, and I realized she was trying to manipulate me just as much as my parents were. But it wasn’t until I lost my leg that I saw how shallow she really was. She dumped me, saying she wasn’t the type of woman who could spend her life caring for an invalid husband because she didn’t think I would walk again.

To be honest, she hadn’t broken my heart when she gave me back the ring. If anything, I’d been relieved I was able to get rid of her so easily. I’d spent the months of my deployment trying to figure out how to break off our engagement without stirring up more shit with my parents.