Page 186 of Kings & Queen

The unspoken need to mend things was clear in both our gazes. We stood there for a moment, the sound of the ocean as our background music. I threw my arms around him, hugging him tight.

“I just want you to know you were right about so many things. I’m sorry I was such a bitch the other day. You didn’t deserve that.”

“Awe, I love you, Sissy. I know we’ve never really talked about everything. I do want you to know I hated myself for a really long time. For failing you, even after you came home.”

“Don’t,” I breathed, hating the pain in his eyes. “We can’t change it. It’s over and done with. Honestly, you were a teenager. You had a right to a life, and you had no idea it was going to happen.”

“No, but if I had been there, then nothing would have happened to you. I was partially to blame, plain and simple. Marcel helped me process it, and you’re right, we can’t change it. But I can tell you I’m sorry. You’ve never given me an opportunity to before. If I had been there—”

“We have no way of knowing what the outcome would have been. Maybe I would have been taken on another day. You didn’t always walk me. And it’s not important anymore,” I said.

Feelings of unease racked my frame. I was there when Kinsley had been forced to share about her parents. I knew they’d been killed the night they kidnappedher. Who’s to say they wouldn’t have done the same thing to my brother? It put a whole new perspective on things for me.

When I was shooting off at the mouth the other day, I certainly hadn’t thought about it in that light. But I knew it now, and that was all that mattered.

“And you were right about a lot of other things too. Mum and Dad.”

“Sissy, I only want the best for you. I know that you’ve got everything locked up inside you, but I’ve never stopped hoping you’d have a life. A real one. I have so many hopes and dreams for you. Mother and Father will want grandbabies one day.”

“You’re not suggesting me?” I asked, looking around.

“If not you, then who? Vanya’s gone. It’s hitting me extremely hard this year. Maybe because of the guys. Vanya was my person. The only woman I ever saw myself raising children with.”

“Bash, you were kids. I know you loved her, but was it love like your friends have found?”

“It doesn’t matter. I know I’ll never feel that kind of love. But there is hope still for you.”

“Well, I hate to break it to you, Brother, but I think our parents are going to be very disappointed in us both. But I guess with how close they are to the Kings, there is always the potential Kinsley can pop out a few. They can adopt them.”

He chuckled and pulled me into his arms again. I wrapped mine around him, sending a silent prayer of thanks that he was here with me and not dead in a box. I would never, ever look at my kidnapping the same.

“And speaking of Kinsley,” I said.

“What about her? I should tell you, the guys are mental about her,” he stated.

“Well, I was thinking about doing what you suggested. Give her a shot.”

For a moment, he just stared at me, his expression blank with shock. Then slowly, a grin spread across his face, lighting up his features. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning, unable to contain his excitement.

Maybe he’s a little mental about her too, I thought to myself. His eyes sparkled with joy, and he practically bounced on his feet, making me laugh.

“Seriously? You’re not messing with me?” he asked.

I nodded, as my lips turned up in a smile. He grabbed me and twirled me around before lifting me off the ground in his excitement.

“Shit, I’m proud of you. This is going to mean so much to them, to her—”

He froze, and his whole attitude changed. He set me down and ran a hand through his hair. “Fuck, I should tell you something.”

“What?” I asked, my heart thumping harder in my chest. What could it be?

“She has some trauma too. Like yours almost, similar but vastly different at the same time. Bella, she was kidnapped—”

I put my finger to his lips, wanting to stop the conversation in its tracks. No, needing to.

“Don’t. If she wants to share, that’s her right. It’s not for you to tell me.”

It was easier this way. I already knew, and she knew I knew. It was our little secret, anyway. It would be much better if he thought she shared it with me on her own.