Chapter Fifteen
ZENAYA
Tommy is glaring at me with hatred. I return his look with one of my own. The sight of him makes me sick. I tried to be kind when we were younger and let him down gently. I tried to be his friend but in the end, he fucking ruined all our lives all over jealousy because I didn’t return his feelings.
“Such lovely language coming from a sister. Don’t worry, I have called your Abyss and asked for her to remove you from my town.”
I snort, he really thinks he’s so smart.
“Good, not only did I bring my friends here...” I motion to the eight people surrounding me, then I step aside to allow Father Pierce through.
At the sight of him, Tommy’s face drops.
“I believe you know my friend?” I mock. I see Korbin and Braxton staring at me like they have no idea who the fuck I am.
“Sheriff, still up to your old tricks I see?” Van says tauntingly.
“You’re no longer a priest!” Tommy hisses.
Van shrugs. “No, I’m not, which doesn’t bode well for you.” The blood drains from Tommy’s face.
“Everything said in confession is confidential,” the sheriff says in a trembling tone.
“So long as the priest you confessed to remains in the service, and Father Pierce is no longer in the service of the church, which means he is free to testify,” I say. Tommy looks around the room and knows he’s outnumbered. There are six of them and twelve of us standing in front of him.
“I’ll have you all arrested,” he snaps.
My anger takes over me and I snap. Everything pours out of me like vomit.
“You’re nothing but a lying sack of shit!
I ran from here four years ago when you became a deputy.
You tried to get me to turn on Brax and rat on him and his cousin.
” Braxton’s jaw unhinges and Korbin stares at me in shock.
I look over at them and tell the truth. “I wanted you to divorce my mom and marry me so I wouldn’t have to testify against you in case Tommy followed through on his threat. ”
“What threat?” Korbin grits out through clenched teeth.
Jenna reaches out and places a hand on my shoulder offering me support.
“If I didn’t rat on your father and Victor, he told me he would have Brax arrested for raping me.
” Both of them reel back as if I slapped them.
“I ran when Brax refused to marry me so Tommy would leave you all alone. I never meant to hurt you. I swear when I found out you both were locked up I sought out the best lawyer.” I look over at Jenna and smile.
“Who is she?” Brax rasps out.
“She’s the lawyer who has been helping me build a case against the sheriff so we can get you both free and have your charges wiped.
” Korbin stumbles backward. Brax grips his arm to hold him steady.
“I tried to confess to the police and tell them the truth, but Tommy has made a statement saying I was manipulated by Victor and the Broken Cupid Brotherhood to lie so his cousin and business partner could be set free. They offered me witness protection instead of listening to the truth.”
“You fucking liar!” Tommy roars.
Vegah, Vlad, Dimitri, Victor, Trent and Zavier all push in front of us, they don’t need weapons to be an imposing force. I see four of the deputies place their hands on their guns, ready to shoot if they need to.
“We have the proof,” Vegah states.
“Bullshit, there is no proof because the fucking nun is lying.”
“We have the text messages,” Victor announces.
Van moves to stand beside Trent. “You also confessed this crime to me and I have already gone under oath and given my statement,” he declares.
I push through the gap between Vegah and Victor and stalk across the room to stand before Braxton and Korbin, both of them stare down at me with remorse, guilt and anguish swirling in their beautiful green eyes.
“I wanted to tell you when you both arrived, but without the proof and solid case I didn’t want to get your hopes up,” I say quietly.
Korbin’s face scrunches in pain. “Why didn’t you tell us he was blackmailing you?”
I smile sadly. “You never gave me the chance.” Hurt laces my tone.
“All this time we thought you lied and hated you for it, but we were wrong. You spent the past four years trying to help us.” Brax sounds pained and I hate that they are hurting but at least they know the truth.
I take one last look at them and smile brokenly.
“Jenna will represent you both and have the charges against you dropped.” Sirens can be heard in the distance, alerting us that Jennas’s contacts from the FBI have arrived to arrest Tommy and do a full check over the station's records, so they can make sure all their previous cases are legit. “Davin will be released in a moment. I’m so sorry you spent four years of your lives locked in a cage. I swear I never meant for that to happen. I thought me leaving would stop him from coming after you but I was wrong.” I lean up on my tiptoes and place a kiss on each of their cheeks and fight back my tears. “Tell Davin I said goodbye.”
I turn to leave but Brax grips my wrist, pulling me to a stop. I can see the panic in his eyes. “Where are you going?”
“I found solace in my faith. It was all I had after I lost the three of you.” I pull myself free of his hold and smile.
“I hope one day the three of you will find it in your hearts to forgive me.” I fight back my tears as I turn and walk out of there with my head held high and my heart in pieces.
Van follows me outside and guides me to his car.
He offered to accompany me on my journey back to the convent.
I open the car door ready to climb inside and let my tears fall, but out of nowhere my arm is gripped and I’m spun around.
I gasp but have no time to utter a single word before my face is gripped between Brax’s hands and his lips are on mine, robbing me of air as I melt into him.
Kissing him again after so long feels like coming home.
I missed this but I also can’t allow this to go any further because my heart was never just his.
I pull back and remove his hands from my face.
Hurt shines in his eyes but I don’t let that deter me from saying what I have to.
“I can’t do this with you.” His face blanks as he locks down his emotions.
The feds arrive and begin to file out of their cars and rush inside the station.
“You know I love you, I always have, but I also love Davin and Korbin and I won’t choose.
I can’t,” I whisper as the first tear falls and glides down my cheek.
A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, confusing the shit out of me. He leans forward and licks away my tears, then brushes his lips against the shell of my ear as he whispers, “If we are what you want, then be back here on the Fourth of July and meet us in our spot.”
When he pulls back I look up at him and frown. “Our spot?” I question.
He winks and steps back, tucking his hands into his pockets. “You already had the three of us, you just didn’t know it. Be in our spot before the fireworks go off. We'll wait for you, Naya.” He turns and heads back inside, leaving me standing here utterly fucking confused.
Van is silent on the drive, leaving me to my thoughts as I try to decipher what the hell Brax meant.
“Oh my God!” I shriek when I finally put the pieces together. “Those motherfuckers!”
“I guess you won’t be needing a place to crash after you leave the service then, huh?” Van asks.
I snap my head toward him. “How did you know I was going to leave?”
He smiles knowingly. “I had the same look in my eyes when I knew I was choosing Peyton over my collar.”
“Do you regret it?”
He looks over at me with a hard look. “Not for a single fucking second. I’d spend ten lifetimes in hell if it meant I got to just spend this one lifetime with her and our guys.”