Bishop’s face goes slack, his eyes moving from Royce to me. Slowly, he pushes to his feet, moving closer to me. “What happened?”

“We don’t pay you to ask questions. You taking the job or not?” I cross my arms.

His jaw clenches and he jerks his chin, before storming past me and out the door.

The second it closes, Royce shoves me from the side, making me stumble.

He gets in my face. “You better fucking watch it, brother. You helped make this happen. You knew what it meant when we left there. I won’t let you act a fucking fool. I know this is ugly, I know this shit hurts, but—”

“Hurts?!” I boom. “I fucking wish it hurt. I want it to hurt, Royce! I want it to fucking burn me up, eat me alive, tear me fucking apart!” I shout, shoving him into the bar.

Bottles tumble over, shatter and spill around us.

Royce comes back and lays one across my jaw, and I lose my footing.

He rushes me, and my hip slams against the edge of the pool table, knocking the wind out of me. With a grip on my collar, he headbutts me, blood instantly pouring down his brow as he pulls me closer, teeth bared.

“Do it again, brother,” I wheeze. “Harder. Do it.”

His face goes slack before his forehead falls to mine. “Fuck, Madman,” he breathes, squeezes me tighter before pushing away completely with a shake of his head.

He takes a step away but turns back with barren eyes. “I know your entire fucking world is shattering, but so is mine. Shit, so is all of ours.”

“You sure about that?”

“You don’t get to do this. You made the final decision.” His jaw clenches as his lip curls, but the defeat in his eyes is what kicks me in the ribs. “At least he gave you the choice.” He takes a few more steps away, and with each one, more life drains from his eyes. “I had just as much to lose, and I didn’t get one.”

He picks up a barstool, smashing it against the wall on his way out, slamming the door with his exit.

With a cough, I push to my feet, taking a look around the room.

My eyes fall on my dad standing at the end of the hall, hiding away and watching like a coward, with his hands in his pockets, a frown on his face.

“You fuckin’ happy?” I spit, blindly throwing a pool ball at the trophy case, the shattering of the glass and the toppling of bronze and gold worthless accomplishments mocking me with every hit against the grain. “The Gravens got what they wanted, you’re still standing, and all it took was the fall of your own sons.” I shake my head. “We should have denied you, accepted the scholarships we were offered for basketball, taken her with us. We wouldn’t have needed a fucking thing from you or this place. We’d have lives, real lives, away from fake laws and faker people. Captain wanted time to focus on his daughter after graduation, now he has to run an empire that will take time from her, just like it took your time from us, like it took time from Ravina when her grandfather was in charge, and you saw what happened there. A girl, desperate for love, so desperate she agreed to an arranged fucking marriage from the first person to make her feel wanted.” I shake my head.

“Royce has connection issues; did you know that?” I don’t let him answer. “But with Raven here, he was getting better, she moved him in a way we couldn’t, loved him in a way he needed and never had. Bet that’s been blown to shit. And me?” I shrug, looking away. “All I ever had was my brothers and strength, it grew with her. Now I’m standing here, by my fucking self, having never felt so weak in my damn life.” My eyes hit his once more. “Guess that means I’m useless to you now, too, huh?”

I force my steps steady as I make my way to my room, but my feet carry me to hers instead.

I drop down, my ass on the floor, back against the bed.

Hours must go by as I sit there alone.

I take my time, replay every moment from the first glare to the last kiss, and I gulp when I’d swear my fucking chest plate is cracking open.

I’m so fucking sorry, baby.

Footsteps shuffle in, and after a moment a shoulder hits mine.

My eyes peel open, sliding sideways.

Royce glares as he passes a fresh cracked bottle of Crown. He looks away once I grab it. We take turns, passing it between us in silence until our hands are no longer steady and the bottle drops to the floor.

Both our heads fall to the mattress behind us and stay there until the sun is gone and rises again.

It’s futile, the time spent.

With the new light only comes more darkness.

“Fuck school,” I whine, glaring at the clock. “I feel like crap.”

“I feel you.” Captain fishes clothes from the drawer, glancing at me over his shoulder. “But Maybell said the boys didn’t go yesterday either, and Victoria told her Collins was there. We can’t abandon the school. Our people don’t feel safe when Graven is around and we’re not.”

“We are Graven.”

“Not yet, we’re not.” He shuts the drawer and spins, leaning against it with a frown. “We need them to see while things are changing, we aren’t, and they can still trust us to do what’s right there.”

With a huff, I push off the bed and move for the closet. I glare at the pile of shit I let fall to the floor the first night.

“I’m not wearing any of this garbage.”

The same time I say it, there’s a knock on the door.

I glance at Cap as he rubs a towel over his wet hair. He winks and disappears into the bathroom again, so I move to open the door.

My eyes widen in surprise, then close in relief when Victoria tosses a bag into my chest.

“I don’t have much, but I brought you a couple days’ worth of shit,” she says.

“Fuck yes.” I drag her inside, shutting the door behind her.

She slides her hands in her back pockets, looking around the room. “Fancy.”

I scoff, pouring out the bag and picking up the faded black jeans and long sleeve shirt covered in mini cheeseburgers. “Yeah, check out the freakin’ buffet, breakfast for two they said.” I roll my eyes.

She walks over to the expensive golden trimmed table, running her fingers across it.

I push the boxers down and tug on the pants. I grab one of the ridiculous bras from the drawer, sliding it under my sweater to clasp it.

I toss the shirt over my head, and right as I’m sliding my arms into it, Cap’s voice peeks out the bathroom.

“You changing?”

My eyes happen to hit Victoria’s right as he speaks, and a grape freezes at her lips. She frowns, slowly setting it down.

“I’m done.” I frown right back.

Captain steps out and she shoots up straight.

He nods at her, then moves for the closet for his shoes.

Her eyes bounce around the room, then lock on the bathroom door before the balcony and it hits me.

“No one else is here.”

Her eyes fly to mine. She wants to ask, and she might if Captain wasn’t here. She’ll have to work on that if she wants to make it in this place, and I need her to, so she’ll have to find her voice on her own.

I drop beside Cap on the bed.

“You ready?” he asks.

For day one in our new roles.

“Do we need a plan? I mean are we walking up in there announcing or are we letting them connect the dots.”