As soon as the money was available, Aria withdrew every penny that Danny owed Jake and told Brax to set up the meet. It was late as they made their way to the meet spot, the duffel bag of cash sat at her feet and the overwhelming feeling of anxiety swirling in her chest.
"You don't have to do this, you know," Brax said as he parked up, glancing over at Aria and switching off the engine, "I can make the drop by myself."
"I can't explain why, but this just feels like something that I have to do," Aria replied, grabbing the bag and climbing out without another word.
They walked through the woods in silence, finally stepping into a large clearing and spotting Jake waiting with a few of his men. With a deep breath, she followed Brax forward and came to a stop a short distance away.
"Nice of you to show up," Jake commented, "I didn't really think you would."
"We keep to our word, but I'm not here for small talk," Aria stated confidently, not wanting to show Jake that she was scared and taking strength from the solid presence of Brax at her side, "This is how it's going to work, I will pay off Danny's debt in full and we all walk away. Any other unfinished business that you have with Danny has nothing to do with us... all I'm asking is that you leave me and my brothers alone."
"That's fair," Jake stated with a nod, "You have my word."
"Do you really think I'm that naïve?" Aria inquired, retrieving a piece of paper and holding it up, "Your word isn't going to be enough this time, I want your signature on this piece of paper..."
"Proper little lawyer you have here, Braxton," Jake commented with a chuckle, snatching the paper from her and reading it over before signing it with the pen she had at hand, "This was never personal."
"Yes, it was," Brax argued, looking over the piece of paper and nodding to let Aria know it was done.
Without another word, Aria chucked the bag over to Jake and watched as he had one of his guys count it. It wasn't long, before they were back in the ute and on their way home.
She knew that paying Jake off wasn't going to get rid of Danny or make their lives easier, but, at least it was one less problem for them to deal with. Her brothers had always protected her... had always been there and now it was her turn, her turn to protect them. Though unable to fix everything, she could do this one thing and she did it without hesitation.
Their parents may have given them the Braxton name, but they didn't know what it was to be a Braxton... they didn't know how strong the connection was through blood and sand.
Author Notes: So this brings the story to an end, I had so many ways that this could go and I decided to just let the Braxton's walk away with a win... that doesn't mean it'll be the same in the next story! Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more Braxton family drama!