“I’m way better looking than him,” he teases, winking when I glance his way.

He tries to hide it, but there’s a tinge of dejection in his eyes.

“And the last guy?” I ask, focusing back on the image. My eyes travel over the blond in the blue blazer and crisp white button-up.

“Don’t know,” Royce says.

I read the headline beneath it. “Says Brayshaw High’s Finest and Faculty. Could he be a teacher?”

“He doesn’t look much older, RaeRae.”

I nod, frowning. “Yeah.”

Royce pushes to stand. “I’m going downstairs to see what’s up with dinner.”

He offers me a hand, but I shake my head.

“You avoiding him?” He raises a brow, but worry pulls at his eyes.

It’s sad how stressed he gets when he thinks there’s an issue between any of us. It’s kind of like how he hated riding in the back, alone. He needs his family to be solid.

“I’m not avoiding him. He just happens to be down there and I’m up here.”

He eyes me. “Right.”

After he walks out and down the hall, I look back to the photo. There’s something familiar about the nameless man, but I can’t put my finger on it.

“Raven, you know Maddoc didn’t purposefully hide shit from you, right?”

I shrug, flipping through some more pages. “He has every right to, Cap. Nobody ever said you guys had to spill your secrets. It’s whatever.”

Cap bends in front of me, pulling the yearbook from my hands, and I look up.

“I’m serious, and it’s not whatever if it made you feel put out. When we broke in and took the birth certificate, you weren’t living with us yet, we were all still getting to know each other, so it wasn’t something we were ready to share. Maddoc’s not the type to stop and think later about filling you in on missing pieces.”

“I know what type he is.” My eyes bounce between his. “You don’t need to level things out for him.”

“I want to make sure he doesn’t fuck this up. You say this is new to you and you don’t know how to do this, well it’s new for him too, and neither does he. He’s not always gonna say the right thing, and he’ll probably forever make the wrong move first.” I laugh lightly and he grins, but his eyes hold a gentle seriousness. “You have to know he will always feel the kick in his gut when he disappoints you, even when he doesn’t show it.”

My chest grows warm and I look away a second before meeting his gaze. “Yeah, and how do you know that?” I tease with an easy grin.

He watches me. “Because I feel it, and you’re not mine.”

Cap stands, and my eyes follow.

I take the hand he offers and let him pull me up.

“I told you,” he whispers, squeezing my palm. “You’re good for us.”

The truth to his words stares back through those light eyes of his.

“It’s real inconvenient, you know,” I tell him.

“What is?”

“Caring,” I whisper. “I’m not really a fan.”

He laughs lightly, and I fight a smile.

“Food’s ready.”

I turn to find Maddoc standing in the hall just outside the door, hands in his jogger pockets.

I nod, let go of Cap’s hand and we both slide past Maddoc, but he gently grips my elbow, holding me back.

His eyes tighten as he searches mine, and he sighs, dropping back against the wall. He pulls me closer and I willingly lean into him.

Maddoc’s hand comes up to slide across my cheek, his thumb brushing over the cut on my lip.

His internal struggle takes me by surprise when it seeps through his cautious touch. “Soon as one wound heals, another appears.” His eyes lift to mine, tortured and trying to hide it.

“It’s pretty much how things work in my world.”

“But your world is our world now,” he corrects, moving his lips to my forehead before dropping them back to mine. “And in our world, this is unacceptable.”

“Really?” I tease, and his hand slips up the back of my shirt, pushing against my spine to bring me closer. “So, you’ll share your world, but not your mind?”

“My mind is dark, baby.”

“And?”

His mouth comes down, sliding across mine before he steps back, releasing me. “And you’re afraid of the dark.”

I look to Cap who sits beside me on the couch while Royce and Maddoc finish cleaning the kitchen. “What am I missing, about Zoey’s mom?”

He doesn’t hesitate. “Perkins was engaged to her mom.”

I jerk upright, shifting to face him full on. “I’m sorry...what?”

“He’s had it out for us for years, always lurking in the corners, always trying to fuck our takedowns by tipping people off, and we wanted to know why.” His forehead creases and he looks away. “The only way we saw to get to him, was to get to her.” He lifts his eyes to mine. “We knew it would only be believable if it were me pretending.”

“And then it became real,” I guess, eyeing him. “Do you love her?”

Angry eyes slice to mine. “She hid my fucking kid.”

“Yeah,” I nod lightly. “I know, but that’s not what I asked.”

He shakes his head, looking up at the ceiling. “I will never forgive her. Ever. Way too much has happened now. It wouldn’t matter if she was sick and dying or claimed to be forced into it. Nothing could ever make me forget or forgive how she gave away the innocent baby who grew inside her for nine fucking months, without telling me. Nothing.”

I drop back against the cushion. “I get that. When Collins threatened my mom’s life, I didn’t even care. I wouldn’t even care.” I roll my neck to look at him and he copies my move. “Not even a little bit.”

“Considering everything I know, I’d say there’s nothing wrong with that, Raven.”

“Yeah. It’s funny, though. I spent my whole life with her and I don’t give a shit where she ends up, but I’ve only known you guys for a hot minute and when Collins breathes your names the wrong way, I lose it. I see red and I want to strangle him with his stupid alligator skin belt.”

Cap laughs, lightly hitting my knee with his.

I consider what I said a moment, then ask, “Everyone says you love your parents despite the fucked-up shit they do, how at the end of the day, you love them even if you don’t want to, but I don’t. Does that make me sick, not caring if my own mom dies but livid at the thought of someone messing with you guys?”

“No.” Maddoc’s voice flows over my shoulder. I look, following him as he and Royce step into the room to join us. He drops on the ottoman in front of me. “It doesn’t make you weak. It makes you Brayshaw,” he whispers, and my chest grows tight.

Family runs deeper than blood.

Damn.

“When we demanded answers from Zoey’s mom,” Cap continues. “All we could squeeze from her was she left the birth certificate blank, claiming not to know who the father was.”

“That’s how she was able to sign over all rights to Zoey without you.”