Salvation and Secrets (22 page)

As if sensing my irritation, Jackson reached out for my hand and entwined it with his own, squeezing gently. He was always doing that—willing to carry the burden for me. For us.

And I wondered how things might be different if he knew the truth about his dad.

~

Another week passed and I began to feel more at ease walking around campus. People still looked when we walked by, some even whispered still, but it didn't bother me as much. I'd even started to push back the worry of bumping into Braiden or Briony as it had been almost five weeks since the semester started back and I'd managed to avoid them.

But the constant pit in my stomach was my reminder that it probably wouldn't last.

Jackson was at practice again, and Elena was studying with Tyson, which I figured was code for having sex, so I headed to the library.

Campus was starting to liven up since the weather was nicer, and the bitter wind had lost its icy bite. Groups of students hung out outside of their dorms and houses, and people littered the picnic benches outside the student center.

I stepped aside on the sidewalk, letting a rowdy group of guys pass. They walked by paying little attention to me, and I exhaled the breath I'd been holding. It was nice to be invisible for a change instead of being gawked at. Picking up the pace, I reached the huge glass doors to the modernized library. My hand reached out for the handle, but the door swung open and I stumbled forward.

Righting myself, I looked up to see the person who had opened the door. Briony's eyes hardened and she scowled. "You." The venom in her voice pricked my skin, sending shudders rippling through me, and I stepped back meeting her stern glare with my own.

The seconds ticked by and we stood like that, locked in some kind of stare off. Briony's hair fell in untamed curls around her face like a raging fire, matching the crazy burning in her eyes.

"What does he even see in you?" The disgust in her voice was obvious as her eyes raked down my body. I steeled myself, ignoring the alarm vibrating through me.

"You're so plain. It's sad really, but Jackson always did like a charity case. Fixing broken things. Only you can't be fixed, can you?"

I winced as the words bounced off me, and her wild eyes darted to my right wrist.

"You ruined everything." Her finger pointed right at me. "Ripped our family apart, brainwashed Jackson into believing he can have a life without us. Away from us. Do you really think my father will allow that? He owns this town, this college, and everyone in it. Including Jackson, including you—"

"Stop. Just stop."

Briony's mouth dropped open and confusion spread over her face.

I was so sick and tired of all this—the lies, the secrets, the threats. I had never intended to come between Jackson and his family. I hadn't even known who his family was back then. But he had made his choice, as much as I had made mine.

"Are you done?"

Briony arched her brow, narrowing her eyes at me. The gesture might have intimidated me a couple of months back, but as I straightened my shoulders, something in me was growing.

"Who do you think you are, bitch? Jackson is mi—"

"Mine." I cut her off again, stepping into her personal space, obviously catching her off guard as she backed up away from me. "Jackson is mine, so back the hell off. I am done taking your shit. I am so—"

"Ana, is everything okay?" Sarah's eyes darted from me to Briony and back again.

Briony flicked her hair off her shoulder, completely unaffected by Sarah’s presence.

“Do I need to call security?”

“I’m out. See you around, Ana.” Briony’s tone cut through me, and I heard the veiled threat in her words.

Sarah stepped up beside me as we watched Briony exit the building and skip down the pathway. As soon as she disappeared, Sarah turned to me. “Wasn’t that Briony Donohue?”

I grimaced. “The one and only.”

She gasped, clasping a hand over her mouth. “What are you doing getting on the wrong side of her? Don’t you know who she is?”

Oh, I know all right.

“…her family has owned this town for as long as I can remember; since my grandpa’s days, I think. Probably sooner,” Sarah said as I followed her to her reception desk.

“Have you always lived in Chastity Falls?” I asked, dragging a stool to the table nearest her.

She nodded. “Born and raised. I graduated CFH the year Braiden and Briony started ninth grade. Back then, things weren’t as bad. Marcus Donohue, well he—” Sarah hesitated. “Listen to me spouting off about things I shouldn’t be.”

“No, please, go on. I’d like to know.”

I’d never considered that Sarah might be local. And she looked a lot older than her four years senior.

Sarah looked ready to shut down, but I nodded, urging her on, and she readjusted her glasses and came to join me, glancing around the room to make sure it was empty.

“I kept to myself in high school, but I saw things. Things others were too busy to notice.”

“What things, Sarah?”

“Braiden beating on guys after school, him and Pierce and their friends up to no good out behind the bleachers. Nothing
that
bad but things fifteen-year-olds should not be doing. Everyone turned a blind eye; the teachers, parents, even the police. Braiden Donohue has always been untouchable.”

She wasn’t telling me anything that I didn’t already know, but perhaps she remembered the accident.

“What do you know about what happened to Michael Pierce?”

Sarah’s eyes flickered with confusion, probably at the specificity of my question.

“Hmm, Pierce’s dad? He died, right? In an accident, I think. Braiden and Pierce were only like ten or something.”

My heart sank. Sarah knew no more than anyone else.

“Why do you ask?”

“I, hmm, I’m kind of involved. With Jackson. Jackson Pierce.”

Her eyes widened almost bugging out of her head. “You and Jackson? You mean the rumors are true?”

“What rumors?”

“I heard some guys talking the other day in the cafeteria. They said something about Pierce being out and that it had to do with a chick.” Her eyes looked north like she was trying to remember the exact conversation. “Yeah, that was it, said they couldn’t believe he had walked away from Braiden for a girl. I didn’t realize you were the girl.”

“Apparently so,” I muttered under my breath.

So rumors were already circulating. Not that I expected anything less from the college gossip mill because I knew all too well how quickly news spread. Even if it was inaccurate and exaggerated most of the time.

Sarah smiled at me sympathetically. But it wasn’t her face that threw me for a loop, it was her words.

“Be careful, Ana.”

Chapter 24

~JACKSON~

“You bastard.” Briony’s hand collided with my cheek and my hand moved to the stinging skin instinctively.

“Briony,” my voice warned, and I stepped back putting some distance between us.

Her eyes were burning with anger and I readied myself for a confrontation. At least one of them seemed to be behaving as I expected.

“You’re choosing her, that insane bitch, over us. Over me?”

Gritting my teeth, I hooked my hand around her arm and yanked her into the first empty room. The last thing I needed was her making a huge scene and it getting back to Ana.

Shrugging out of my grip, she glared at me. “Get the hell off me. What the hell, Jackson? You’re family; you don’t just get to decide you’re not. It doesn’t work like that. You can’t just walk away.”

“It’s done. I chose.” My eyes locked on hers. She needed to see it, to know I was dead serious.

Briony’s mouth dropped open ever so slightly, but she recovered quickly, narrowing her eyes at me. “You think that just because you want her, we’ll let you walk away. Daddy won’t allow it. He’ll never let you dishonor him that way. And Braiden, Braiden will—”

“Me and Braiden are done. Surely, you know that. Things have been wrong between us for a long time.”

“I don’t accept it.”

Fuck, what was it going to take to make her see? “I don’t give a shit, Bri. I’m out. Uncle Marcus is back this week, and I’ll tell him myself. I. Am. Done.”

I could have sworn I saw a tear form in the corner of her eye, but before I could get a closer look, Briony pushed past me and stormed out of the room, leaving me stunned. The ice queen didn’t cry on tap, which meant she was hurt. And something tucked away, deep in the recess of my chest cracked. But then I remembered what Ana had said. Briony has threatened her. The girl I loved more than anything. Briony could call us family, could brand my actions as disloyal, but she stood by and let everything happen to Ana. Hell, the crazy bitch probably instigated most of it.

Fuck
. I slammed my fist down on the desk welcoming the momentary pain. I hated this. The war raging inside my subconscious. The guilt trying to take hold and eat me up. Uncle Marcus was due back in less than forty-eight hours, and he still had no idea about what had gone down in his absence. But I needed to tell him before the secret swallowed me whole. And before Braiden or Briony beat me to it.

~

“So, what did he say?” Ana scooted closer, tucking her legs underneath her.

“He’s not coming back yet. Something is up. It has to be. He’s never been gone for this long before.”

Licking the spoon clean, Ana frowned. “What do you think it could be? It’s been two months.”

“I know. But it’s not like I can ask anyone. He sounded okay. Just got cagey when I asked where he was.”

“And he doesn’t know anything?”

I shook my head. Uncle Marcus had called again to let me know that he wouldn’t be arriving back tomorrow as expected. And apart from being reluctant to reveal his whereabouts, he sounded normal. Too normal.

“If he does, he has me fooled.”

Ana moved the ice cream to the nightstand and crawled on top of me, wrapping herself around me. “At least you get a little longer, you know, to think about what you’re going to say to him.” Her lips brushed my neck leaving a trail of tingles as she moved up to my ear.

“Aren’t you supposed to be studying?” I pulled back, cocking my eyebrow at her.

“I was.” Her teeth nipped at my earlobe and I groaned, pressing my hard dick into her, earning a soft moan from her lips.

“Maybe we should take a break?” Winding my hands into her unruly hair, I brought her lips to mine, kissing her deeply.

All the shit melted away when we came together like this. And I got to say, it overwhelmed me a little. Okay, a whole lot. I loved Ana with every fiber of my being, but our feelings, the connection between us, was intense.

“I’m not sure we have time.” Ana’s hand skimmed underneath my sweater, roaming over my chest. I sucked in a sharp breath, bringing my hands to her tank top.

“There’s always time for this,” I said between our kisses, pulling the material up over her head. My hands worked skillfully to unhook her bra.

Ana broke off the kiss and pulled back, shrugging out of her bra. Glossy brown waves framed her face, falling around her milky white tits perfectly. That was the only word to describe her. Perfect. I swallowed hard, letting my eyes drink her in. My girl. My Ana. The girl I’d walk to the ends of the earth for. The girl I’d take a fucking bullet for. Did she know just how far I’d go to protect her?

“What’s wrong?” Her voice was hushed and I met her concerned gaze.

“Nothing. Just thinking.”

“About?”

“Us. School. The future. Everything.” My eyes darted to the floor to the side of the bed. Fuck, I never spoke about my feelings. Not really. But Ana had a way of dragging shit out of me. It was her eyes. Every damn time.

Ana’s finger lifted my chin forcing me to look at her. “Jax, talk to me.”

Jax.
My eyelids closed and I focused on my breathing. In and out. In and out.
The things you do to me.

“Jackson?”

My eyes opened slowly. “I’m scared.”

I watched for her reaction to my confession, terrified of what I might see in her eyes.

“Scared?” She frowned and my heart pounded at double speed in my chest. When I didn’t reply right away, she reached out for me and glided her hand over my heart, looping it around my shoulder. “Scared of what?”

“Everything. Losing you. Someone getting hurt. Not be able to protect you.”

Her free hand brushed over my jaw and curled around my chin holding me in place. “Jackson, stop. We made our choice. We will get through this. One way or another. I have to believe that, I have to. But I need you to believe it, too. You’re my strength. My reason. You.”

The room shrunk around us until the breath was sucked from my lungs. Last year, I spent time and time again trying to get through to Ana; to pull her out from the black hole trying to claim her. Even when I didn’t know the extent of her loss, I still saw the pain. But staring into her eyes now, all I saw was strength.

Leaning into her, my lips slanted over hers and some of the fear inside dissipated. I hadn’t meant to turn things serious—to tell her my secret. It just happened. I was built to turn my fear into strength. Ever since Dad died, Uncle Marcus pushed us to channel our emotions and fears so that they couldn’t be used against us. And up until meeting Ana, they never had. I had never cared about anything or anyone enough for it to matter. There were Otis and V, but that was different. Otis and Uncle Marcus might have never seen eye to eye, but there was a mutual understanding there.

But Ana? Ana was my Achilles’ heel. Last year proved that. And while I would do whatever it took to keep her safe—even if it meant walking into the lion’s den—it fucking terrified me that I might have to.

~

Over the next couple of weeks, signs started to show the looming championship game. The team banner hung from the few houses on campus, and crowds of students became lost among the splashes of green, white, and black. Coach insisted that we practice twice as hard and had us out on the field double time.

But after my run-in with Briony and confession to Ana, being around Braiden was the last thing I wanted. Only I didn’t see a way around it. If I walked, Coach wouldn’t let it drop just like that. He’d pull some stunt forcing us together and into a conversation that would only do more harm than good. So, here I was, stuck at another grueling training session, trying to keep my head down and out of Braiden’s path.

“What the fuck was that, Pierce? Get your head out of your ass and run that goddamn offense into the ground,” Coach bellowed from the sideline, and I cursed in the air, earning a belly laugh from Dennis who was somewhere behind me.

My game was off. My whole damn mood was off. More time on the field meant less time with Ana, and she was the only thing that calmed me lately.

The whistle sounded, and Coach yelled, “Change up.”

Unhooking my helmet, I yanked it off my head and jogged up beside Dennis. “He’s killing me out there.”

“You need to get laid. All that tension isn’t good for the field.” He smirked and I cracked my knuckles, considering wiping it off his face.

“What’s up with you out there, Pierce? Lost your balls? Or just your head?” Kyler called over from his position next to Braiden, and I glared at him.

I wanted to go knock the smirk right off his face, but Dennis caught my eye and shook his head in warning. So reining myself in, I shot back, “I’d still outrun your ass on any day of the week.”

Knowing it was the truth, Kyler dropped his head and went to sit at the opposite end of the bench. Braiden cast me a quick glance, but his face didn’t give much away. It’d been the same for most of practice. We avoided each other for the most part. Only got into it when Coach demanded it of us. He went his way, and I went mine.

“Braiden give Kyler the nod to piss me off?” I asked Dennis, who was gulping down one of the bottles of water.

“Nah.” He sprayed some into the air. “He’s just on a power trip. Dick is getting irritating.”

“Any word on Reibeckitt? It’s been two weeks since I heard Braiden was rushing Calder again, and you’ve said nothing.”

“Come on, man. He gives me a hard enough time that I refuse to cut you out. You know there’s a line I can’t cross.”

Dennis was right. He had already gone against Braiden by hanging out with me at practice.

“Don’t let him do anything stupid.”

“You care?”

Do I?

“It’ll have implications for everyone. You know that,” I answered, refusing to give a direct answer to his question.

Coach ordered players back out onto the field, but Dennis and I remained, watching as Braiden ordered his offense into position for a play.

“It’s all quiet on that front still. Which only means something is going to blow soon. Word has it Calder is biding his time. His face was a mess, and he needed plastic surgery. Roman and Braiden got into it, though; Roman wanted to go against Marcus. You can imagine how that went down.”

I could. Roman was a liability. He was Braiden at that age, only ten times worse.

“What happened to not spilling all the inside secrets?” I mocked and Dennis laughed.

“Figure I may as well cross over to the dark side once and for all. Besides, if shit goes south with this thing with Reibeckitt, I’m out. Dad might want to keep the Donohues happy, but it’s not worth getting killed over. CFA wasn’t my first choice.”

Dennis’ admission surprised me. I knew the inner circle had connections to Marcus and the family. Some were blood related cousins and others were family friends. But it wasn’t something we talked about. Once you were in, you were in. Well, until me.

“Man, I would never ask you to walk, you know th—”

“This isn’t just about you. It’s about Braiden. He’s out of control. People are going to get hurt; they already have. I didn’t sign up for that shit.”

I wasn’t sure anyone really knew what they were signing up for when they entered the Donohue’s world. Even I didn’t know the true extent of the family business. Most things were need to know. That was how it had always been. Uncle Marcus gave the orders and you followed. No questions asked.

“Pierce.” Coach’s voice cut through my foggy head. “Get out there and relieve Nicky. He’s playing worse than you are tonight, which is saying something.”

Reluctantly, I pulled the helmet back on and stalked over to the huddle. The formation was set and I slotted into Nicky’s position behind the defensive line, my eyes meeting Braiden’s across the scrimmage.
Fucking perfect.
Despite his face being shielded by the helmet guard, I could see his icy stare fixed on me like I was the red flag. All week at practice, my head hadn’t been in the game, but as Braiden’s lip curled up in a smirk, I focused on him and gritted my teeth. I didn’t need to scan the play; I knew exactly what he was going to do.

Kenny hiked the ball to Braiden and the offense line spread out while Braiden feigned a throw to the runner, clutching the ball tight and making a run for it. Steve covered him and they cut to the left and started running through the defensive line. My instincts took over, adrenaline surging through me, and my feet shot off in their direction. The cornerback attempted to sack Braiden, but Braiden plowed straight into him without breaking so much as a sweat. I maneuvered myself to be running straight at him. With each ragged breath, the distance between us closed. Dropping my shoulder and angling my body slightly, I readied myself for impact.