Page 14 of The Lost Kings

For a second I wondered if the two would spar like they did in the training room.

There was some edge that Kingston was riding, and something deep down told me it had to do with whatever happened when he was a kid.

The thing he never shared with us, and while I maybe should bring that up to leverage her telling us, I wouldn’t betray my brother like that.

Whatever it was had imbedded inside him like a thorn, and I worried if we tugged, it’d cut an artery and he’d bleed out, or in this case, become someone we didn’t recognize.

“Pres.” I softened my tone and tugged on her hand. “We’re trying to figure out what you’re keeping from us. We just care about you. You know that. ”

Her head swung in my direction before she dipped her chin, tucking it to her chest.

“Fine. I’ll tell you guys but…you can’t say that you know. I was told not to tell you, that was years ago, so maybe it’s not as big of a deal now but just in case, you have to keep it a secret.”

I nodded, while Kingston angrily shook his head but set the gun on a shelf. The three of us sat down on the carpeted floor and we waited for Presley to explain herself. She tucked a few chocolate strands behind her ear before setting her hands in her lap and wetting her lips.

“I have that gun because it’s a memory…a reminder.”

“Of what?” Kingston snapped.

I glared at him right as Presley did. “I can’t talk to you if you’re going to be a jerk.”

My brother took a long look at Presley, never wavering from holding her stare until he finally lowered his chin. “This stuff is hard for me to hear…there’s things I haven’t spoken of and I’m not sure I ever will, but I’m afraid of what you’re going to tell me.”

Presley reached her hand out and grabbed my brother’s, pulling it into her lap. She stroked soothingly over his knuckles and the back of his hand while she glanced over at me.

“My dad isn’t in private security.”

Kingston squeezed her hand but didn’t interrupt.

“When I was eight, there was an incident where my dad was shot…do you remember that?”

I thought back and remembered a time that my dad was panicked and rushed out the door, heading to the hospital. Kyle came home a few days later, wearing a sling and looking sickly pale. They’d told us that he’d taken a bullet for one of his clients.

“I remember that.”

Presley checked Kingston’s expression before continuing. “He was shot by a rival family…someone in the mafia. It all happened right in front of me…I am pretty sure Scotty saved my life, and Mom’s too. But when the ambulance got there, Mom rode with Dad and Scotty knew they’d follow them.”

My brother pulled his hand free and ran it through his hair. I noticed he was shaking.

“Rival family?” I asked, still trying to follow what she was saying.

She nodded. “My dad started working for a family back when he was a teenager…I think it had to do with shadowing Uncle Scotty while he worked for a really dangerous family, but he did…something that had a lot of people angry and wanting his life for what he’d done.”

“What did he do?” I was curious what a teenager could have done that would have warranted such a reaction.

Blue fire met me; in the dim lighting of her closet, her eyes seemed extra bright.

Her scabbed knuckles rose as she tucked more hair behind her ear in what seemed like a nervous tick.

“He killed your grandfather…he was a bad man, someone who was going to hurt your mom and your sister. My uncle Scotty and Decker showed up to help your dad when he went to get her…my dad killed him. He was a very powerful man, and because of what he did, my dad sort of became this other person. He brought on this disguise after training for a long time…he was called The Joker.”

I scoffed, reeling at how crazy this all sounded. “The Joker? Really?”

Presley flushed pink. “I guess he used it as a calling card for people…he tricked families into working with him and stole from them. He made a lot of enemies by playing them against each other. When he wanted to finally step away, I don’t think he could…he’s been trying ever since.”

“Get back to the gun, and why the hell you have it,” Kingston grumbled with a glare at Presley.

“That night that Dad got shot, Scotty knew they’d be followed. So, he drove behind the ambulance and we came upon this SUV that was behind them. ”

“You were in the car?” My voice was too loud; I felt it, but I couldn’t quite piece together what she was saying.

“My parents were in an ambulance, you guys had all gone home. Where else was I supposed to go?”

I locked eyes with my brother, feeling like my heart had dropped into my stomach. We’d let her down, and we hadn’t even been aware of it.

Presley pushed on, dropping even more bombs that I felt hit my chest.

“Scotty needed help…”

Kingston stood to his feet and began rambling curses in Spanish while he ran his hands through his hair. “Tell me he didn’t place that gun in your hand and tell you to shoot someone.”

I watched Presley’s face carefully as a small red blotch started near her jaw.

“They were going to kill my parents…I didn’t have to see them or anything. I shot through their windows, made sure their car stopped.”

“Do you hear yourself?” Kingston yelled before storming out of her closet.

We both quickly stood and ran after him.

“Bro, what the hell?”

My twin spun around and I noticed there were tears burning in his gaze.

“So does this mean you’re in the mafia now too? Is that what you’re training for? You’re going to join them as they murder and kill people?”

Presley’s thick lashes fluttered against her cheek, and I couldn’t seem to stop staring at her eyes. “I’m not in anything, but I am learning how to protect my family.”

He walked closer to her, his chest heaving, then his voice rose. “Are you or aren’t you joining them? Is that why you have bruises all over your body?” He gently took her hand and lifted it between them. “ Why you’re constantly tearing open and pushing yourself to every limit imaginable?”

Presley winced and tugged her hand free. I stepped closer and put my arm around her.

“Dude, chill.”

My brother’s eyes blew wide as he stared at me. “No! She can’t be like them. I won’t let her be like them.”

“I’m still me!” Presley screamed back.

My brother stepped even closer. “You’re not you. You’re the sunshine that warms the earth. You’re the breeze that lifts the scent of flowers. You’re the stars in Gio’s sky. You’re everything good in this world, Presley. That’s you. You’re not the weapon they’re forcing you to become.”

Presley’s face had more pink infused in her cheeks and neck, but her lips pursed in anger. Her fists were clenched at her sides, and her jaw was set as she watched my brother walk away. He ran up the stairs to her loft and crawled back through the window.

I pulled my best friend into my arms and held her.

She shook under me, inhaling a shuddery breath, and then her arms came around me. “I may be your stars, Gio, but you’re my sky. I look up and know if you’re there, then I’ll be okay.”

“And I always will be.” I held her tighter until I finally let go and eventually followed my brother out the window and back to our room.