Chapter 26

CHAPTER26

She was definitely a pain in his ass, Sebastian thought, taking a sip of the hot cocoa that his Aunt Rory would approve of as he glanced from the bench that he normally found Mikey passed out on to the front doors and-

“Get off me, you little demon!”

-sighed heavily when he spotted Mikey trying to take Braxton down to his knees with what Sebastian was guessing was supposed to be a chokehold but barely managed to keep her on Braxton’s back as he struggled to pull her off.

“Definitely a pain in my ass,” Sebastian muttered as he took another sip of the hot cocoa that was going to get him through this as he headed for the front door only to curse when Braxton managed to pull Mikey off his back and moved his ass when she hit the unforgiving cobblestone walkway with a pained cry.

Before Braxton could finish leaning down to make sure that she was okay, Mikey was moving, taking advantage of Braxton’s moment of weakness and throwing herself back onto his back.

“What is wrong with you?” Braxton demanded, trying to pull her off again.

“Don’t make me hurt you!” Mikey snapped as she did whatever the hell it was that she was doing.

“Stop pissing me off!” Braxton snapped back as he stumbled back just as Sebastian reached them.

“I can’t! It’s what I do best!” Mikey bit out as Sebastian moved to pull her off Braxton’s back only to have his father suddenly there, grabbing her and tossing her over his shoulder before she could get herself killed.

“What the hell’s going on here?” Sebastian’s father asked, ignoring Mikey’s wiggling attempts to break free.

“She attacked me out of nowhere,” Braxton said, shaking his head in wonder as though he was still trying to make sense of what just happened as he reached down and snatched his bag off the ground.

“I didn’t attack you out of nowhere. I proceeded to tackle you to the ground so that I could shove fistfuls of questionable snow down your throat until you broke and told me what I wanted to know,” Mikey said in a tone that told them that it should have been more than obvious what she was doing.

“And was there a reason why you turned to violence?” Sebastian’s father asked as he moved to place Mikey down on her feet next to Braxton, only to rethink that decision and placed her down next to Sebastian instead.

“Because he left me with no choice,” Mikey said with a glare locked on Braxton as she curled her tiny hands into fists.

“She’s insane,” Braxton said with a glare aimed right back at her.

“I’m pissed!” Mikey snapped. “There’s a difference!”

“What did he do to piss you off?” Sebastian’s father asked, not really sounding all that surprised that Mikey was trying to beat someone into submission.

“He’s hiding something,” Mikey bit out through chattering teeth, drawing his attention to the fact that she was only wearing a sweatshirt.

“You normally need more than that,” Sebastian pointed out as he dropped his bag on the ground and took off his jacket.

“I took exception,” Mikey bit out, keeping her glare locked on Braxton while Sebastian wrapped his jacket around her.

“Where’s your coat?” Sebastian’s father asked as they took in Braxton’s wrinkled shirt that was practically hanging off him.

Swallowing hard, Braxton said, “Someone stole it last week.”

“And he was walking home,” Mikey bit out accusingly as Sebastian’s father pulled his jacket off and handed it to Braxton, who reluctantly took it and pulled it on with a mumbled, “Thank you.”

His father considered him for a moment before he said, “Let’s go. I’ll give you a ride home.”

Braxton opened his mouth to argue only to end up closing it and nodded as he followed Sebastian’s father back to his pickup truck. With a muttered, “I’ll get my damn answers,” Mikey snatched her bag off the ground and followed Braxton to the truck with a determined look that had Sebastian biting back a sigh.

She really was a pain in the ass.

A few minutes later, Sebastian was sitting in the middle seat with Mikey on his lap, the heat turned all the way up, and she was still glaring at Braxton, most likely hoping to intimidate him into talking.

“Where’s your father?” Sebastian’s father asked, which was followed by Mikey narrowing her eyes as she waited for Braxton to answer.

“My father had a late meeting,” Braxton said, shifting uncomfortably next to them.

“And your mother?”

“Another fundraiser,” Braxton said, clearing his throat as they pulled onto a long driveway covered in pristine white snow.

Nodding absently, Sebastian’s father asked, “Are we going to see you at the Christmas party?”

“Probably not,” Braxton mumbled as Sebastian took in the old footprints cutting up and down the side of the driveway leading to the front steps of the huge mansion before them.

“That’s too bad,” his father murmured absently as he pulled to a stop in front of the mansion. When Braxton moved to take his coat off, Sebastian’s father said, “Keep it.”

Swallowing hard, Braxton said, “Thanks for the ride, Mr. Bradford,” as he opened the truck door and climbed out.

Sebastian glanced at his father to find him watching Braxton take his keys out of his bag as he made his way up the steps that hadn’t been shoveled and let himself inside. For a moment, his father didn’t say anything as they sat there, staring at the front door that Braxton walked through a moment ago and-

“He’s definitely hiding something.”

* * *

He should have letthem send him back to boarding school. Anything would be better than this, Braxton thought as he typed in his oldest brother’s birthday and-

“Goddamnit!”

-tossed the iPad on his bed when the familiar message letting him know that he’d exceeded today’s sign-in attempts popped up.

Six incredibly long months of being stuck in this damn house with no internet, phone, video games, television, or anything that would stop him from losing his goddamn mind. Every month, his father told him that they would consider letting him off groundation the next month, only to hear the same damn promise again the next time when he refused to give his father what he wanted.

He’d been born for one reason, to wrap his great-grandmother around his little finger and bring her back into the fold so that his parents and grandparents could gain control of Blaine Industries. Unfortunately for his family, his great-grandmother wasn’t interested in being manipulated, and when they figured that out, they’d handed him over to nannies until he was old enough to be sent to boarding school and they could forget that he existed.

Until last year.

That’s when his family decided that it was time to bring him home. At first, he thought it was because Aunt Haley and Uncle Jason had another baby, but now, there was no doubt in his mind that they’d started panicking when they realized that his cousin Cole was getting closer to turning eighteen and becoming a real threat to them getting their hands on everything that they wanted.

The moment Braxton saw his father waiting for him in his dorm room, he knew exactly why his father was there. He didn’t bother arguing with his father when he told him that he was coming home because there was no point. He was just a means to an end, one that failed miserably the moment that he picked up that brick and smashed in his father’s windshield.

After that…

His father toyed with the idea of sending him back to boarding school, one further away than the last one, only he wasn’t ready to give up yet. So, his father allowed him to stay, pounced on any reason to bring him to Aunt Haley’s house with the hopes that it would please his great-grandmother, only to grow bored when he realized that he was wasting his time. That’s when his parents decided that it was time to take a well-deserved vacation and left him behind, hoping that it would give him the incentive that he needed to do what they wanted.

It wasn’t.

Now, he was stuck in this huge house with absolutely nothing to do and only the servants who were paid to ignore him to keep him company. Except for the next two weeks, Braxton amended as he reluctantly headed to the hallway, kicking dirty clothes out of the way as he debated between a peanut butter sandwich on stale bread or another bowl of dry cereal.

Neither one sounded appealing, but at the moment, he didn’t have much of a choice, Braxton thought as he headed downstairs and-

“Open the door, Braxton!”

-sighed as he headed to the large ornate double doors while the little pain in the ass continued pounding on the door. Knowing that she wouldn’t leave until he did what she wanted, Braxton opened the door and-

“Start talking,” came the angry demand when Braxton opened the door, only to feel his stomach drop when he saw who was standing next to Mikey.

“Where are your parents, Braxton,” Trevor asked, looking incredibly pissed.

Swallowing hard, Braxton said, “They’re not here right now.”

Nodding slowly, Trevor asked, “Where are they?” again as Braxton’s gaze shot to Sebastian before shifting to Mikey, wondering how much they knew.

“They’re on a trip,” Braxton said as he watched Mikey’s eyes narrow dangerously on him.

“How long have they been gone, Braxton?” Trevor asked, making him swallow hard.

“Not long,” Braxton said, not quite able to meet his gaze only to end up admitting, “Since the summer,” with a heavy sigh that turned into a pained grunt when Mikey shoved past him and went inside only to stop, mutter to herself and turn around so that she could grab hold of his arm and drag him back inside the house. God, she really was a violent little thing, Braxton absently thought as she dragged him past the stairs with Sebastian close behind.

“They left you all alone here?” Trevor asked, closing the door behind them as he followed them down the long hallway and into the kitchen.

“The staff has been looking after me,” Braxton said, only to glare at Mikey when she said, “They haven’t been doing a very good job.”

“Where are they?” Trevor asked as he took in everything from the empty cereal boxes and food wrappers covering the counters and table before shifting his attention to the sink full of dirty dishes.

“They’re on vacation,” Braxton said as he pulled his arm free so that he could clean up the mess.

“And they just left you here?” Trevor asked, taking in the half-eaten peanut butter sandwich on the counter while Mikey made her way to the refrigerator and found himself wondering if anyone else was concerned by that homicidal look in her eye when she realized the refrigerator was empty.

“My parents always give the staff a month off for Christmas. It’s not that big of a deal,” Braxton said, shrugging it off as Trevor stood there, taking in the mess while Sebastian opened the pantry that held spices and grains from all over the world that he had no idea how to cook. Braxton watched a muscle in Trevor’s jaw clench tightly as he took in his messy hair and clothes that really didn’t fit anymore before he sighed heavily and said, “Mikey?”

With a firm nod, Mikey said, “I’m on it.”

“On what?” Braxton asked, only to sigh when Mikey grabbed his hand and dragged him back the way they came.

“Which one is your room?” Mikey asked as she dragged him upstairs.

“That one,” Braxton said, barely getting a chance to point to the room to their left before he found himself dragged towards it.

Without a word, Mikey released his hand and set to work. She stormed over to his closet, grabbed his old hockey bag and began tearing through his bureau only to glare at him when she didn’t find any clean clothes. With an angry grumble, she started grabbing clothes off the floor and out of the overfilled hamper in the bathroom.

“What the hell is she doing?” Braxton asked, unable to help but frown when Mikey began muttering incoherently to herself.

“Getting really pissed,” Sebastian drawled as he walked into the room and started helping her.

“You’re coming home with us,” Trevor said, taking him by surprise.

Braxton opened his mouth only to snap it shut when Mikey walked back into the room, leveled a glare on him that dared him to argue before she continued searching his room for more clothes. When she was done, Mikey shoved the bag in his arms, leveled one last glare on him and stormed out of his room, looking adorably pissed.

“Let’s go,” Trevor said, gesturing for him to come with them.

Swallowing hard, Braxton glanced at Sebastian and-

Grunted when the little brat stormed back into his room, grabbed his arm and began dragging him towards the door, leaving him with no choice but to go with her.