Redemption and Regrets (Chastity Falls, #4) by L A Cotton

everything. I should come out there, stay with yo-”
    “No,” I said a little more forcefully than I’d intended.
    “But I could keep you-”
    “I said no, B. I need space. Time to figure shit out. I kind of got pulled in at the deep end. It’s a lot to digest.”
    Briony sighed down the line, and I imagined her rolling her eyes at me. “I know, shit, I know. I told Luke to give you time to adjust, but he wouldn’t fucking listen. Always has to listen to his grandpa. I swear that old man is like the third person in our relationship.”
    “How is boy toy? Made it up to you yet?”
    She mumbled something inaudible. “He thinks roses and breakfast in bed fixes everything. I didn’t even know about an ex, Braiden. He never said a word. Not one fucking word.”
    “Probably because she’s not important.” I tried to reassure her, but this was unfamiliar territory for us. We might share the same DNA, but we didn’t go big with the heart-to-hearts.
    “Braid, he had her apartment key. I think that signifies they meant something to each other.”
    She had a point. “Have you asked him?”
    “Of course, I’ve asked him. He just shuts me down.”
    “Maybe there’s more to it. Maybe she’s involved.”
    “Involved what with, the organization?”
    “I don’t know. Just thinking out loud, I guess.”
    “I guess I hadn’t considered that. Listen, Braiden, about before you left ... what I said. This is your decision. I want him to pay for what he did, God knows I want him to pay, but I don’t want to force you back into a place you’re not ready to go.”
    I wasn’t ready to have this conversation with her. I knew she meant well, but I needed more time.
    “Listen, B, I’ll check in tomorrow.”
    “Sure, okay. Bye.” A sadness that knocked at my conscience filled Briony’s voice. I could fix her hurt, the pain. All I had to do was call up Jack Doyle and accept his proposition. They would take down O’Connor and hand me the reins. Of what, I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure of, but I had a good idea.
    Three and a half years ago, I would have jumped at the chance to advance in the family business. It was my birthright—my legacy—but Daddy dearest had seen to it that I would never get that chance. He could have tried to reach out to me, let me in the fold and warn me that O’Connor was gunning for me. But he didn’t. Instead, he sold me out to O’Connor. Handed me to him on a silver fucking platter and left me to rot in a prison cell. And now, they wanted me to restore his name? It was a lot to ask. Even if I would be the one running the show.
    I pocketed the cell phone Luke had left me with and grabbed the keys. The sun was just disappearing on the horizon, and although I hadn’t intended to go there tonight, it crossed my mind that I could be at the stadium before darkness fell. I’d almost gone there again last night, but instead, I’d taken a walk down Main Street. It bordered the college campus, and before I could stop myself, I’d turned down University Avenue, which was apparently dorm central. Students came and went from the red brick buildings, and I found myself searching for her among the students coming and going. Of course, I didn’t see her. Hundreds of students lived and studied at Pacific; what were the chances I’d run into her?
    Scrubbing a hand over my face, I tried to push her out of my mind by convincing myself that I wasn’t heading toward the stadium in hopes of seeing her again. I am losing my damn mind. The sensible thing would be to go out to a bar and find someone to bring back to the apartment. A no-strings fuck would relieve some of the tension pulsing through me. But I didn’t turn toward downtown. Even if she wasn’t there, I felt comfortable there. Fresh air and peaceful, it was exactly the kind of place I needed to think things over.
    ~
    M y plans for a quiet evening were dashed when I arrived at the stadium. The floodlights lit up the place like the Fourth