Braedon had stepped away from Tristan who was still lying there on the ground. As people started clearing out of the room, I climbed through the ropes myself and went straight for him.

"Are you okay?" I asked him quietly as I threw myself down beside him.

"Probably just going to stay down here for a while." He let out in a difficult groan.

Just then I heard a familiar voice drawing closer as the room went emptier and emptier. "Just what the hell do you boys think you're doing?" Lachlan said. He approached the ring quickly and Nolan followed close behind him with two other men that I hadn't seen before tonight. One of them had a gun of his own, out and ready. Tate and Carson shuffled closer to us.

"Tristan is done, you made your money for the night. You even have a fighter who would willingly make you money every weekend." Tate said motioning to Braedon who was still unwinding from the fight.

"That's not how this works. I asked him to fight for me and he agreed."

"You didn't exactly give him a fair choice in the matter." I defended bitterly.

"It was fair enough sweetheart, he could have easily said no and walked away." He replied in a taunting tone and then his eyes raked over me, "although I suppose it wouldn't be so easy saying no to you."

"Lachlan, he's not wrong." Braedon stepped in, "I could easily make you as much money, if not more, than he could. I just beat your boy to the ground, that should be enough of an assurance for you."

I took a moment to look at Tristan again and I noticed his eyes were drooping now, like he was going to sleep any moment. I bent down real close to his ear and whispered, "stay awake, please, just for a little while longer."

I didn't know what his injuries were, but I did know for a fact that he need some medical help. I didn't want him to doze off until we could get him just that.

In response he reached him arm to the side and took my hand into his own. I gave his a gentle squeeze, being mindful of the bruises forming on his knuckles.

"Nonsense Braedon, this was just the start. We're becoming the biggest underground organization in the area. We need more fighters like you, like Tristan, even like you Tate. But you boys aren't the ones stupid enough to think you can just pack up and leave. No one's leaving."

Lachlan climbed into the ring then and a sudden thought occurred to me that hadn't come up before, "Why didn't you have Braedon training all day?" I asked Lachlan.

He just looked back at me, a ghost of a smirk on his lips.

"You had Tristan working all day, I didn't see him once." I continued in a firmer tone, "why didn't you work Braedon like you did Tristan?"

"You wanted him to lose." Tate said. "Didn't you?"

"So what if I did?" he asked nonchalantly, "most people were convinced Tristan would win, people with big money and small brains."

"You fixed the bets, that's how you made all your money tonight." I said aloud, clarifying my thoughts.

"You know at first I just thought if I over worked him it would be enough, he would be too tired to be at his best. But then I thought, why not just tell him straight up to throw the fight? If I could get all those people to place money on Tristan winning tonight, but then have him lose instead, I could make more money tonight than I ever did."

I felt the grip on my hand go a bit loose, so I looked down as Lachlan kept talking and noticed Tristan was starting to close his eyes. I gave his hand a tight squeeze and his eyes shot open and his grip went back to normal.

"Of course, when I told Tristan how I planned to make my money tonight he was hesitant at first but as it turns out, you make a decent ultimatum," he says to me, "I just might have to keep you."

"That wasn't the deal." Braedon said to him sternly.

"The deal was bullshit from the start." Carson put in with a glare shot at our brother.

"Well," Lachlan started slowly, "whatever the deal I will be needing my star fighter. I've made more money tonight than any other."

I moved Tristan closer to me, bringing his upper body across my lap so I could hold him in a tighter grip. He was barely awake at this point.

I didn't realize that Nolan had snuck around until I heard a shuffle from behind me. As I turned around to see, he grabbed me by my upper arms and dragged me away from Tristan. I protested aloud and tried to plant myself where I was.

Carson whipped around the second he heard my struggle, but his attention was forced in front of him as Lachlan's men were getting closer. Nolan lifted me off my feet and away from Tristan, who had his eyes closed in a slumber now.

Tate threw his gun out and pointed it straight at Lachlan's head, who in turn stopped moving. His one other man that had a gun stopped himself near Braedon and pointed the weapon at Carson. I found it harder to breathe then.

"The thing is I came for them both." Tate said and clicked the safety off his firearm.

Lachlan's glare turned hard as his anger flared, but he kept himself controlled as he replaced it with a calmed smirk.

"I can't let you leave with either of them now." Nolan gripped me tighter in a bruising hold as Lachlan continued, "You see all you managed to do was make me feel less confident that Tristan will be willing to do what I need him to. And the thing is I don't think you're all that serious about pulling that trigger."

Tate fired his gun, not at Lachlan's head but a few inches to the side, and I jumped in response. "Find out how serious I am."

Tristan woke up again. His eyes shot open, and he sat himself up trying to understand what was going on around him. The quick movement caused him pain and he slowed his movements, but at least he was awake now.

Lachlan's anger returned but he didn't say anything for a long moment. And then he slowly opened his mouth and said, "alright then. You want him gone so bad I can make other arrangements."

Tate backed down then but I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of uncertainty.

And then time seemed to slow down because I was right. Lachlan suddenly reached for a gun of his own that neither of us saw before and aimed it straight for Tristan who was still on the ground.

And I was too busy screaming and trying to pull myself out of Nolan's arms that I didn't even realize the movement happening not too far beside me.

Braedon attacked the man who was standing next to him with a gun and took it in his own grip. He didn't hesitate to fire it straight at Lachlan.

Lachlan saw it from the corner of his eyes and turned at the same moment Braedon's gun fired off.

But then he dropped to floor, immediately limp and lifeless.

In the shock of the moment I slammed my foot down on Nolan's and he loosened his grip on me so that I was able to break free.

I stepped closer to Lachlan, wondering if he truly was lifeless.

"Some plan you two had." I said to Tate and Carson who were standing shocked at what just happened.

"Well it worked out in our favor didn't it?" Carson asked.

"Ada." Tristan said softly. I looked over to him and he had his arm clutched around his torso from his injuries, but he wasn't looking at me.

He was looking at Braedon in the corner of the ring, who had blood gushing from a fresh bullet wound as he collapsed to the floor himself.

My entire body wore down with chills and my legs felt like jelly as I made my way over to him.

"Braedon?" I sat down beside him and his eyes were still open. It was almost like he couldn't process that he had just been shot.

"I'm so sorry Adelaide. I didn't want you hurt and I'm sorry. I'm sorry about all of it." he let out weakly.

"Braedon, you survive this and I'll forgive you, you hear me?" I said through the lump in my throat, "stay alive and I'll forgive you."

I didn't care if I meant it or not, I just needed him to survive this at least. It didn't matter how much of a fuck up he was, he couldn't die. Not like this and not right now. Not when Mom thinks her first born son is staying safely with the rest of us. Not when Dad thinks he's still living in Florida and spending his nights studying for his next college exam.

"God, you're such an asshole Braedon!" It came out of nowhere. I thought I was on the verge of tears from the sadness that I might lose him, but right in this very moment the only thing I could feel was anger. "You're such a fucking asshole. You can't do what you did to me in the span on 24 hours and then tell me you're sorry. You can't fuck up that bad and then show your remorse right before you fucking die. That's not fair Braedon. That's not fucking fair. So stay alive you piece of shit. You owe me that much at least."

And then I cried. I cried from my anger, tears of frustration pouring down my cheeks. I cried because Tristan was still fighting to stay awake and that was all his fault. Then I cried because I should hate him right now, I should really fucking hate him. Yet I still cried because my brother was bleeding out in my arms. I cried because I didn't want to care, but I still did. I don't want him to die.

"You- you can tell me you're sorry again when you feel better," I let out softly, but I didn't know if he heard it or not because his eyes were already closed.

✨authors note✨

This book hit 1,000 reads today and I could not be more grateful for you all🥺❤️