#Heart (Hashtag #6) (34 page)

“What do you want?” he sobbed.

My stomach turned. I felt dizzy. What we were doing was disgusting. We were basically blackmailing this man.

But what choice did I have?

It was him or me.

Just like the night Braeden made a choice.

Him or Zach.

“Walk away from your vendetta against Braeden.” Romeo cut in, cold and calculating. It was clear he was the son of a lawyer, because he knew exactly when to move in for the kill. “Drop your entire case, don’t file charges, and stay the hell away from my entire family.”

“And once I do, what’s to stop you from releasing all that information anyway as revenge?”

“I give you my word,” Romeo said. “I think you know my word means something.”

“What about her?” Robert looked to Missy.

“She’ll delete everything,” Romeo answered.

Missy’s eyes widened, and I thought she was going to protest.

“And if anything she showed you tonight ends up on the BuzzFeed, you can sue her for defamation of character and I’ll testify against her.”

She gasped. “You wouldn’t.”

“Fuck yes, I will,” he rumbled.

“Do we have a deal?” I said, anxious to get the hell out of there. I just wanted it done.

“What choice do I have?” Robert replied miserably.

“There’s always a choice,” I said. “You just have to choose the one you can live with.”

Robert seemed to consider my words.

“Let your son rest in peace,” Romeo said softly.

“I’ll drop the case. The charges will never see the light of day. Your friend is free.”

I sucked in a breath, afraid to believe.

Romeo stepped forward and held out his hand. “Do I have your word?”

Robert looked between Romeo and his hand, then slowly placed his inside. “You have my word.”

When he was done, he moved past me to stand in front of Missy. “I’d like your word as well.”

Her word doesn’t mean a thing,
I thought. But I wasn’t about to tell him that, not after getting what I wanted.

“Fine,” she said and shook his hand.

Missy started packing up her stuff.

Robert turned to Romeo. “I’ll call your father and let him know. Then I’ll call my contacts and shut it all down.”

“Do it today,” Romeo ordered. “If Braeden gets so much as a speeding ticket on Monday, I’ll start posting that shit myself.”

“I’ll sue you.” Robert threatened.

“You’ll have to prove it was me first.”

“So arrogant,” Robert muttered.

“I could say the same thing about you.” He smiled, but it wasn’t a gesture that reached his eyes.

“Now that you’ve gotten what you wanted, kindly get out.” There was nothing kind about the way he said it.

“With pleasure,” I said and started ahead. A wave of dizziness slammed into me, and I swayed on my feet.

“Whoa,” Romeo rushed forward and picked me up. “The baby?” he worried.

“Baby!” Missy gasped.

I shut my eyes and winced.

“Ivy.” Romeo worried and gave me a little shake.

I opened my eyes. “I’m fine. With all the excitement, I didn’t eat. And I barely got my juice.”

He chuckled. “Damn orange juice.”

“Don’t tell B. He’ll only worry. He’s been through enough.”

Romeo’s eyes narrowed.

“Please?”

“Fine, but we’re going to get you food right now.”

Robert walked to where we stood and looked at me with searching eyes. “You’re expecting?”

“Yes.” I lifted my chin and replied.

He nodded. “I understand why you fought so hard,” he said. “If you’ll fight that hard for the father of your child, then you’ll fight even harder for the child himself.”

“Yes. I will. Don’t forget that.” My absolute confidence in that statement made a ghostlike smile appear on Robert’s face.

“It’s for the best, then. I hope you do a better job with your child than I ever did with mine.”

“We’re going,” Romeo said to Missy over his shoulder.

The three of us walked out of the house while Robert held the door. Well, I didn’t walk. Romeo carried me because he refused to put me down.

He was as bad as Braeden.

When the door to the house latched behind us, Romeo continued on down the stairs.

“Wait!” Missy called after him.

He stopped and turned.

She came rushing down the stairs. “You’re pregnant?” she asked. “With Braeden’s baby?”

I squeezed Romeo’s arm because I knew he was about to say something sarcastic and mean. I didn’t like Missy, but she did just totally help keep B out of jail.

“Yes, I am.”

So many emotions passed behind her eyes. One I just couldn’t ignore any longer.

“You love him, don’t you?” I asked.

She smiled sadly. “It doesn’t matter because he loves you.”

“I truly am sorry.”

“So am I,” she said.

Romeo didn’t seem to care we were having a moment. He made a rude sound and jolted me gently. “Give her your keys, princess.”

“My keys!”

“You’re coming with me,” he said.

“My car—”

“Missy can drive your car back to our place.”

Was he on drugs? Or maybe I was a lot dizzier than I thought. I was hearing things.

“You’ll meet us there, right, Missy?”

“Are you serious right now?” I asked, trying to get down from his arms. I was driving myself home.

“Serious as a heart attack. Stop trying to get down. It ain’t happening.”

“You’re stupid!”

“That the best you got, princess?” He was totally amused.

“I can walk,” I grumped.

“Last time we let you do that, you ended up here.”

I wilted. Braeden was probably really upset. Romeo wasn’t the only one who had texted. “Is he mad?”

“What do you think?” he asked.

I frowned.

“You know he won’t stay made at you for very long. He never does.” Then he pinned me with a hard look. “You never should have come here alone.”

“I wasn’t alone,” I rebuffed.

We both looked at Missy as if just realizing she was still there. She was watching us with a shuttered look on her face. But even so, I could tell she was hurt. It was like I had the life she wanted.

The sad thing was it had been her life, too. She was the one who threw it away.

“We should go,” I said, wiggling down.

“I’m not letting you out of my sight. Not after you almost face-planted in there. My nephew is starved.”

“It’s a boy?” Missy’s voice cracked.

“It’s too early to tell,” I said, elbowing Romeo. “He just likes to say that.”

I pulled the keys out of my bag and held them out to her. “Do you mind?”

“Sure,” she said and took them.

“We’ll be right behind you. I’m gonna swing through the first drive-thru we see,” Romeo told her as he went to the Hellcat and managed to open the passenger door while still carrying me.

“Okay,” Missy said, her voice sounding a little faraway.

“You want anything?” Romeo offered. That was awfully nice of him.

“Um, no thanks.” She seemed surprised he would offer.

“Cool. See you at the house. Someone will drive you back to the dorms.”

Missy drove away first because she was parked behind Romeo. When she was gone, he glanced at me. “Think we can trust her with your car?”

I grimaced. “I hope so.”

He started up the engine and then leaned on the steering wheel, turning his head to look at me. “That was all you in there.” He motioned toward the house.

“I had some backup.” I smacked him lightly in the arm.

“How’d you know she’d help you?”

I glanced away and out the window. “Because she’s in love with him.”

“I’m sure going to her was hard,” he said. “And then what went down in there.”

I pushed away the unwanted images of the few pictures I looked at. “It was worth it,” I whispered.

Anything for Braeden.

“Do me a favor, huh?” Romeo asked and pulled down the driveway.

“What?”

“Marry my bro, ‘kay? Not only does he really love you, but I wanna keep you around, too.”

I smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

He grinned and held his fist in the space between us, and we pounded it out.

“He’s free.” The relief in his voice matched the relief I felt.

I melted back against the leather seat and let out a sigh.

He was free.

Braeden

I was standing in the driveway when Ivy pulled up.

Soon as the car rolled to a stop, I rushed over and wrenched open the driver’s side door. “What the hell were you think—”

I stopped short.

Missy blinked up at me in surprise.

“Two seconds, that’s how long you got to explain,” I growled and looked in the backseat for Ivy. The car was empty. Where the hell was my girl?

I moved back, and Missy turned off the engine and got out.

“She’s on her way,” she said, her eyes never once leaving me. It’s like they latched on and wouldn’t let go.

A long time ago, I would have liked that.

Now it just pissed me off.

“That’s not good enough,” I intoned.

The familiar purr of the Hellcat cut into our conversation. I craned my neck as Romeo pulled into the driveway. I peered through the windshield. Ivy waved at me from the passenger seat. He stopped the car right beside me, and I forgot about Missy to open the door.

Ivy climbed out, and I let out a string of curses. “Do you have any idea how pissed I am at you?” I swore even as I pulled her close and buried my face in her hair.

“I’m sorry,” she said against my shoulder.

“You didn’t answer your phone. I was worried sick.”

“I’m fine. I promise.”

Romeo got out carrying a Styrofoam cup with a straw sticking out of the lid. He came around the hood and held it out to Ivy. “It’s not empty yet.”

She groaned, and I looked between them.

“He’s as bossy as you are.” Ivy scowled.

“She didn’t eat breakfast,” he tattled.

I made a frustrated sound and grabbed what looked like a milkshake and thrust it at her. “Feed my kid.”

“I ate a hamburger in the car,” she muttered.

Romeo and I both stared at her until she rolled her eyes and put the straw between her lips.

Only then did I turn to him. “Thanks for finding her, man, and bringing her back.” I held out my hand.

He shook it, but as he did, he said, “She found me.”

I glanced over at Missy, wondering how the hell she fit into all this. “I need answers.”

“Inside,” Romeo said. “Everybody still here?”

I nodded. “Even your dad. Rim’s been worrying.”

I didn’t need to say anything else. He started inside immediately. I reached for Ivy’s hand to entwine our fingers together. A few steps toward the house and she glanced over her shoulder at Missy. “Come on.”

I slid her a look out of the corner of my eye but didn’t say anything else about her invitation for the devil.

Missy followed along behind us silently. When the three of us walked into the house, everyone looked up with surprised faces.

Missy blanched but otherwise said nothing, and her chin tipped up stubbornly.

Rimmel was already in Romeo’s lap, and Anthony was still sitting in the same chair he had been when he told me I was going to get arrested.

Ever since mine and Rome’s punch-fest in the driveway, I’d been thinking about what he said. Was it selfish of me to want to just take the punishment—even if the punishment wasn’t exactly warranted? Even if it would mess up not just my future, but Ivy’s and my baby’s?

I wasn’t a weak guy—hell, I was far from it. Everyone called Rome the alpha male of this family, and yeah, he was the head of us all. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t an alpha in my own right.

I was.

Still, I wasn’t too sure how to fight these charges without making everything worse. And I was tired. So fucking tired. Giving a shit about stuff was a hell of a lot harder than just having fun.

“Ivy has news,” Romeo said, drawing all the stares away from Missy and me out of my own head.

My eyes whipped to Ivy. She glanced at me and smiled. “I went to see Robert.”

“What!” I ground out.

“Be quiet.” She hushed me, and Drew laughed.

I gave him a narrow look. “You think it’s funny your sister went to the house where her rapist grew up?” I spat.

That shut him up.

“I didn’t go alone. Missy came with me, and Romeo was there when I arrived.”

“You went to see Robert?” Rimmel asked Romeo.

“I wasn’t about to just accept what he was doing to this family.”

“Roman,” Tony spoke up. “I’m not so sure that was a good idea. You both probably just gave him more ammunition to use in court.”

“I brought a little ammunition of my own,” Ivy said.

Romeo grinned. “You shoulda seen her, B. She owned it.”

“Owned what?” I asked, frustrated.

Ivy stepped forward and sat on the coffee table in the center of the room. “When I left this morning, I went to the dorms to see Missy.”

Missy came a little farther into the room and nodded.

“As the BuzzBoss, she has a whole computer full of dirty secrets on half the people on campus.”

“Try all the people on campus.” Missy corrected. I glanced at her, and she shrugged. “People are devious.”

She would know about that.

“Anyway, Zach was so crazy I figured we weren’t the only people he’d tortured over the years. Turns out I was right. Missy has files full of horrible things Zach has done.”

Why did that make my skin crawl, and why did those words put shadows in her baby blues?

“What did you do, Ivy?” I asked quietly, already regretting that whatever she did in my name had somehow cost her.

“We…” She began, glancing at Rome and Missy. “Just showed Robert how it would benefit him to let all this go and let his son rest in peace.”

I pinned Romeo with a hard look. “Talk.”

He did. He told everyone exactly what went down at Robert Bettinger’s house this morning. I was fucking blown away. Ivy sat on the table, drinking her milkshake like she hadn’t just blackmailed a powerful lawyer into giving me my life back.

When Romeo was done, he turned to his father. “Think we can trust Robert to drop this like he promised.”

Anthony nodded. “After hearing what kind of information you have on Zach, I know he will. Robert still has to live in this community, and he won’t want to give up his good name. I’ve known him a long time, and when he gives his word, he’s good for it.”

It was over?

Just this morning, I was looking at manslaughter charges and saying good-bye to my football career, and now… just hours later, everything was handed back to me.

I looked at Rome. He smiled. I felt something inside me crack.
I was free.

“Princess don’t play,” Romeo quipped.

Rimmel giggled.

I spun and sought out Ivy. She must have recognized the look in my eyes because she lowered the drink from her lips. I rushed forward and picked her up off the table and held her out in front of me.

“You fought for me.”

“For us.” She corrected.

“You shouldn’t have gone there,” I growled and crushed her against me. “It was stupid and reckless. I know it hurt you.”

Her hands clutched at my back, holding me to her. It’s like we weren’t in a room full of people. We were alone in our own little world, a world that was now full of a bright future.

“Thank you,” I rasped.

She hugged me tighter, then pulled back. “I couldn’t have done it without Missy. She’s the one who used the information she had on Zach to convince Robert.”

I stepped up in front of Missy. Her eyes were slightly wary, but she didn’t move back. I hugged her. It wasn’t the kind of hug I gave Ivy, or even a friend. But it was a hug just the same. Then I pulled back to meet her surprised, gray stare. “Thanks, Miss.”

“You’re welcome.” Her voice was hoarse.

I turned back to my family, and Rim rushed at me. I caught her, and she laughed. “I’m so happy!”

I chuckled. “That makes two of us, tutor girl.”

“This calls for beers!” Drew said.

“It’s not even noon!” Ivy admonished.

“I’m never drinking again,” Trent groaned.

Rimmel gasped. “I forgot! Ivy, wasn’t tonight the night we were all supposed to go to Screamerz for…” She glanced at Tony and grimaced.

He laughed. “An engagement party full of people your age?”

Romeo laughed.

“I completely forgot,” Ivy said.

“Cancel,” I told her.

“What!” Ivy gasped. “We can’t just cancel. Everyone is supposed to be there!”

“Yeah, it can be an engagement slash celebration for you.” Rimmel agreed.

“They’re ganging up on you, B,” Romeo drawled.

“Fine,” I mumbled and mentally began to adjust the plans I had for the night.

Anthony stood. “I should be going. Valerie is going to want to hear the news. She’s going to be so relieved.” He came around the table and stood before me. “I’m happy for you, son.”

“Thanks,” I said, and he hugged me.

I returned the hug, and I suddenly had a strong sense of what it would have been like to have a father. Hell, maybe all this time I had. Tony never treated me as anything less than a son. He’d always been there, just like this morning, sitting in our living room for hours, trying to come up with a way to make sure I still had a future.

That was family.

Not blood.

And that was what I was going to teach my child.

I was a little choked up when he pulled back. When he looked into my eyes, he must have seen, because he nodded once. “Always going to be here for you, son.”

He picked up his briefcase and car keys off the table.

“Would it be okay if I come with you?” Rimmel asked Tony.

Romeo made a choking sound. “You want to go to my parents’?”

Rimmel nodded. “I have an idea, and Valerie is the best person to help me.”

“Baby, are you sure?” Romeo asked.

“Definitely.” She nodded and turned to Ivy. “Wanna come? I could for sure use your help.”

“Maid of honor on duty,” she said and nodded.

“Well, then, it will be a pleasure to have such lovely ladies keeping me company on the way. Between this and the news about Braeden, Valerie will be on top of the world.”

Rimmel grinned, and I chuckled. “Someone is starting to thaw where Moms is concerned.”

“I’m just happy.” Rimmel agreed.

“Call when you’re done,” I told Ivy. “We’ll come get you.”

Tony was already by the door, waiting, and after Rim said bye to Romeo, she met him over there as well. Ivy took her time practically dancing around the room, giving everyone a hug.

It was funny as hell.

“You put liquor in my girl’s shake?” I asked Romeo as she hugged Drew.

Ivy bounded over to Trent and hugged his hung-over ass as well. She wrinkled her nose. “You smell. Go take a shower.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he muttered.

“Oh,” she said when she moved toward the door and saw Missy. “Uh…”

“I’ll drive her back to campus,” I said. Ivy turned and looked at me, wariness in her eyes.

“I’ll go with him,” Romeo said.

That seemed to make her feel a little more comfortable, and she turned back to Missy. “Thanks for everything.”

“It was the least I could do,” she replied. Her eyes held a lot of regret, and I knew it was because of everything she could have been a part of with this family, but Missy made her choice.

Yeah, maybe what she did today made her not as despicable, but she would never be a part of this family again.

The girls left with Tony, and I turned back to the guys.

“I got a lot of shit to do before tonight,” I announced. “All three of you are gonna help.”

“Trent’s gonna take a shower first,” Drew said. “So we don’t have to smell him the entire day.”

Trent gave us all the finger. Times two.

“What you got in mind, B?” Romeo asked.

Something that just this morning I was uncertain of. But now? Now it was full steam ahead.