Brooke

The next morning Brooke did the walk of shame back to her dorm room just in time to take a shower and change for class. It wasn’t a literal walk of shame. She had nothing to be ashamed of. She and Conner were taking it slow. And she was pleasantly surprised how cool he was about her whole not wanting to have sex thing. She thought it would be a deal breaker with him being older, but he said he actually respected her more when she mentioned it.

Conner was really sweet and super easy to talk to. Without even meaning to, Brooke had told him everything she’d been through freshman year and when Conner promised to use his taser on anyone who ever treated her like that again it made her happier than it should have.

She really, really liked Conner. Brooke was trying not to, but those damn Bradburn boys and their blue eyes and perfect smiles . . . they were irresistible. But Brooke forced herself to tamp down her excitement. She and Conner had only hung out a few times. She didn’t want to get ahead of herself and ruin a perfectly good thing—like she always did.

After her shower, Brooke padded out to kitchen to make coffee, but Lucy was already ahead of her.

“Morning,” Lucy said handing Brooke a mug of fresh caffeinated nectar.

Brooke wrapped her fingers around the warm mug and drank in the aroma. “You’re a goddess, Lucy Lu.”

“I try.” Lucy took a sip of her own coffee and then peered at Brooke over her mug. “So, late night?”

“Sorta.”

Lucy raised her eyebrows.

“Not like that,” Brooke said, rolling her eyes playfully.

“Are you ever gonna tell me what’s really going on with you and Conner?” Lucy asked, taking a seat at the breakfast bar.

Brooke decided to join her. “Are you ever gonna tell me what’s going on with the whole framed father bomb Alex dropped?”

“Touché.”

It had been weeks since Brooke chased Alex out of their dorm with a baseball bat. And she was glad he’d had the sense to leave Lucy alone after that, but Brooke hated the fact that Lucy still wasn’t dealing with that final piece of drama that tied her to Alex. The guy had as much as admitted that his family was the reason Lucy’s father was in jail—something Lucy refused to discuss with Brooke.

It had to be weighing Lucy down. It was certainly heavy on Brooke’s heart. She’d wanted to talk to Conner about it, if only to get his legal opinion, but Brook knew it wasn’t her place. Especially if Lucy hadn’t told Jaxon—which she suspected she hadn’t.

Brooke was quite certain if Jaxon knew how that night had gone down, Alex wouldn’t still be breathing. The Bradburn boys had tempers every bit as fierce as their smiles.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Brooke asked.

Lucy glanced at the wall clock and sighed. “I do. But we have class in twenty minutes and this conversation is gonna take a lot longer.”

Brooke reached over and squeezed her best friend’s hand. “I’ll clear my schedule. Tonight we talk. We can make it a girls night.”

“Do you mind if Jaxon comes? I think he should hear everything, too.”

“I think that’s a great idea. Get it all out at once.”

Lucy’s eyes swept over Brooke and she set her coffee mug down. “While we’re getting it all out, I have to confess something.”

“What?”

“I’m scared that Conner is going to break your heart.”

Brooke frowned. “What makes you say that?”

“I don’t know. Just a hunch I can’t shake, no thanks to your unhelpful Magic 8 Ball.”

Brooke’s mouth dropped open. “Lucy Adams, did you use my Magic 8 Ball?”

“Don’t be mad. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Mad?” Brooke threw her arms around Lucy. “I’m ecstatic. This means you believe! Oh my God, I’m totally getting you your own.”

“Brooke . . .”

“Nope, don’t even try to talk me out of it. I’m gonna call my Nonni right now and have her pick it out. She can have her Wiccan group bless it with a crystal ceremony.”

Lucy was looking at Brooke like she was speaking Chinese, but she didn’t care. The bubble of tension between them had popped. Tonight they would get it all out and everything would be perfect. She could feel it. Plus, Brooke was touched that Lucy worried for her heart enough to consult her Magic 8 Ball. She knew it wasn’t normally Lucy’s thing, but the fact that she’d tried anyway filled Brooke with happiness.

Her heart was full. She had a best friend and a boy that made her smile. What more could a girl want? Brooke raised her mug of coffee, grinning. “To Magic 8 Balls and unicorns.”

Lucy giggled, but clinked her mug to Brooke’s.

“Do I even wanna know?” Jaxon asked strolling into their dorm room.

They both turned to look at him and said, “Nope,” at the same time before dissolving into easy laughter.

Jaxon rolled his eyes and dropped a kiss onto Lucy’s head. “Come on, ya pack of hyenas. We’re gonna be late for class.”

Jaxon

Jaxon drove the girls to class. It was raining, so Brooke squeezed in the golf cart to hitch a ride too. They parked outside the science building and Jaxon scooped Lucy into his arms and dashed toward the building with Brooke chasing behind them.

As they got closer, Jaxon heard the wail of an alarm. They stopped under the building’s overhang where a large group of students were gathered and he set Lucy on her feet.

“What’s going on?” Jaxon asked a boy standing nearby.

“Fire alarm,” the boy said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“See,” Lucy said, “Told you we wouldn’t be late.”

Jaxon smiled at her, pulling her in for a kiss. “And I suppose you knew there’d be a fire alarm today, huh, smarty pants.”

Lucy giggled and kissed him back. For a second, Jaxon forgot they had an audience and he lost himself in Lucy’s kiss. But then a snide voice cut through the air.

“Whore.”

Lucy pulled back like she’d been slapped. Jaxon straightened up looking for the jackass who’d just asked for a beating, but judging from Lucy’s reaction, he already knew who the voice belonged to.

Alex stood there with a smug look on his face. A group of his teammates stood laughing behind him.

“What did you say?” Jaxon growled, taking a step toward him.

Alex smirked. “You heard me.”

“Jaxon, don’t,” Lucy warned, but Jaxon barely registered her voice. All he saw was red. There was no way in hell he was gonna let some punk call his girl something like that and get away with it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brooke pull Lucy back. Good. Because if Alex didn’t apologize some shit was gonna go down.

“You like sloppy seconds, huh, Suburbs,” Alex taunted.

Jaxon grabbed Alex by his collar and hauled him off his feet. He instantly lost the smirk. He wasn’t so tough when his feet weren’t on the ground.

“What’s that?” Jaxon asked, unable to keep himself from enjoying the fear in Alex’s eyes.

Alex kept his mouth shut.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Jaxon said, shoving him roughly back on his feet and turning back to the girls.

But Alex couldn’t just leave it alone. “Enjoy her, Suburbs. But just know I had her first.”

Jaxon turned around so fast, Alex didn’t see him coming. Jaxon’s fist connected with Alex’s stomach just like he’d planned. A loud whoosh of air came out of Alex as he doubled over. But Jaxon held him up, moving his mouth close to Alex’s ear. Jaxon kept his voice low as he tried to contain the urge to rip the guy from limb to limb. “If you ever say anything about her again, you won’t take another breath, do you hear me?”

Alex nodded and Jaxon let him go. He turned around to walk back to Lucy and Brooke who were looking on in shock with everyone else.

“Show’s over,” Jaxon called, hoping to deter their open stares.

Lucy hurried to his side, her eyes wide with fear. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, babe. Come on, let’s go.”

“Where?” Lucy asked, slipping her hand into his.

“Anywhere but here.”

Jaxon could feel tension crackling through the air. Screw first period. He didn’t want to stick around in this powder keg, waiting for Alex or one of his friends to get ballsy. He wanted to get his girl outta there.

Jaxon was just about to pick Lucy up when her eyes went wide at something happening behind him.

“Look out!” Lucy cried and Jaxon whirled around, but he wasn’t fast enough. Somehow, Lucy moved faster and he was forced to watch with sickening agony as she took a hit that was meant for him.

Alex’s shoulder collided with Lucy’s tiny frame, throwing her backward and out from the shelter of the overhang. She landed with a solid crack on the rain soaked pavement and her head snapped back against the hard ground. Jaxon’s world stopped. The whole thing felt like it happened in slow motion. Ice cold dread wrapped around his heart and squeezed. Jaxon fought against the familiar feeling and forced air into his lungs.

Then, everything happened fast. Jaxon rushed to Lucy’s side. Brooke was there, too. She was cradling Lucy’s head where a pool of blood was beginning to stain the surrounding puddle a watery pink. Student’s crowded around them, but Jaxon ignored it all. Lucy was his only focus.

“Call 911,” Jaxon ordered, and Brooke obeyed.

Then he gently spoke to Lucy, stroking her cheeks. “Lucy? Lucy, angel? Can you open your eyes?”

She did. Relief flooded through Jaxon the moment he saw her gorgeous eyes flicker open. Then another emotion took over. Rage so consuming it made it hard to see. Jaxon looked from Lucy to Brooke. “Stay with her,” he growled and then he was on his feet.

Jaxon couldn’t be quite sure exactly how it started or who swung first. All he remembered was the feeling that surged up inside of him the second he spotted Alex’s face in the crowd. Alex had done this and he was going to pay.

Fury rose up in Jaxon like a flood, drowning out everything else. He didn’t even feel the first few punches or the people trying to pull him off of Alex. All Jaxon felt was the wrath pouring through him each time his fist connected with Alex’s face. His anger built into a frenzy, and no matter how much damage he unleashed on Alex, the feeling didn’t recede. It rose like the tide, spilling out every injustice Jaxon had been trying to keep inside for the past year.

Seeing Lucy get hurt because of him had broken something inside of Jaxon that he didn’t understand. And now that it had been unleashed he couldn’t stop. Not even when he heard bones crunching and sirens wailing. Jaxon didn’t stop. He couldn’t. His worst fears had been dredged up and he was fighting them more than he was fighting Alex.

Jaxon had failed—he hadn’t protected Lucy. Just like he couldn’t protect his mother. Someone else was hurt because of him. But Jaxon would make someone pay this time. He couldn’t allow one more crime to go unpunished. So his fists kept swinging, long after Alex had stopped fighting back.

Brooke

Brooke had never seen something turn deadly so quickly. One second she and Lucy were watching typical high school drama unfold and the next, lives were in danger. Brooke sat in the rain holding her best friend’s head still as a blood-tinged puddled soaked through her clothes. Meanwhile, Jaxon was possibly ending Alex’s life. Brooke hated the guy, but she didn’t want to see anyone die, and she didn’t want Jaxon to end up in jail.

“Give me your phone,” Brooke yelled to a girl standing near her.

The girl obliged and Brooke traded cell phones with her.

“Stay on the line with the 911 operator. I’ve gotta make a phone call.”

The girl nodded and Brooke dialed a phone number from memory. She sighed with relief when the call connected after the second ring. She didn’t waste time with pleasantries. She got right to the point. “Hey, I’m on campus. You need to get down here now.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s your brother.”

“How bad?”

“Like syphilis and Locked Up Abroad bad.”

“Shit. I’ll be right there.”

“Hurry.”