Page 57 of The Lost Kings
I didn’t glance back to see Adrian’s reaction. Nor did I try to untangle his actions. He went from being rigid and cold, almost not wanting to touch me once second, to branding me the next. Kingston’s hand remained over mine while Gio crowded the space behind us. That’s when I realized there were familiar looking men heading up toward my room.
“Are those your father’s men?” I asked quietly.
Gio gave me a soft reply as we exited Adrian’s house. “Something like that, Elvis.”
I wasn’t sure what to make of that, but there were three cars waiting for us. Right as I slid into one, and moved over for the twins to follow, they glanced at each other and seemingly had a silent argument before gently shutting the door in my face.
Once again, leaving me alone.
Chapter 23
Gio
AGE 17
My brother stood next to me as we watched Presley pet the baby cows roaming the pasture. The sun was bright, the field was green and lush, and we weren’t supposed to be here. We’d broken into the pasture from the east gate, and wandered in, so our best friend could see all the baby Highland cows.
“There’s so many babies!” Presley practically squealed as she stuck her hand out and pet the calf that had shaggy brown fur and a massive nose. She wore a pair of jeans, ripped in the knees, and a cropped T-shirt that rose every time she clapped her hands. A smile had tugged on each of our mouths as we looked down and realized she wore her cowboy boots out here.
Like always, a warmth unfurled in my chest like spun gold. Looping and tying around my heart in a tight vise.
Clearing my throat, I quietly addressed my brother, “Dad wants us to stop attending classes. Says he wants us to start helping with the soup kitchen, and whatever the fuck else El Peligro is doing.”
King glanced over at me in confusion. “We already explained why we’re going to school…and he already gave us his blessing.”
His gaze returned to Presley as she continued to talk to the babycows, petting their heads and…naming them. She’d taken out her braid, which left her dark, long hair wavy and annoyingly gorgeous. Two days ago, we’d driven her out here and watched her do the same thing, and the entire time we hadn’t spoken about how it felt to be in that back seat, or how she’d kissed our hands.
Or how right it felt.
My gaze darted to the girl a few yards away and then back to my brother, keeping my voice low. “Dad’s cousin was drunk the other night, out near the staff quarters. They were having some kind of party. I overheard some stuff about Dad’s charity…and the fact that several of the members are starting to defect and want to go back to the power the gang used to wield. Sounds like a lot of them are tired of the Robin Hood routine.”
Dad and Mom had never been completely honest with us about the gang they were both seemingly attached to. It was Hector who shared things with us. He and our abuela would occasionally share a story or two. We’d heard enough to deduce that when our grandfather, Manny, had run it, things were dangerous, and the gang was feared. It had roots in the cartel, which gave them an edge that rival gangs didn’t have, and frankly didn’t mess with.
Kingston shifted against the fence. “Do you think Dad wants to pull us in and help maintain the image he’s been upholding all these years?
Wouldn’t that be exactly what Kyle and Scotty were doing with Presley?
I scratched the back of my neck. “Fuck if I know, but I’m not going to stop attending school to find out.”
Kingston continued to stare at Presley, and all it did was take me back to a thousand other times I’d watch him stare at her throughout our lives, worried he’d be as in love with her as I was. Things had been tense between us for years as we’d circled this one issue.
This one person.
This feeling I’d had for so long never left, and it continued to feel heavy and terrifying. The fear of Kingston kissing her, and not me.
It would break me, but I knew he cared for her the way I did. I knew, deep down, we both selfishly wanted the same thing from the same exact person, and I had no idea what that would do to us. My brother was the other half of my soul, and I had no intentions of doing something that would separate me from him…
Yet if he had her. And I didn’t.
I couldn’t let that happen.
We’d been fighting over Presley since we were old enough to talk. Since that first moment she came crashing into our block tower on wobbly legs, with a smile that seemed to brand itself on our hearts.
“What if Dad forces it?” I asked, kicking at a clump of dirt.
My brother didn’t stop staring at Presley while he let my question hang in the air. I knew how I would respond, which meant that was likely his answer as well. We simply wouldn’t listen to our dad, and we’d never leave Presley, so things would get fucking messy.
Presley finally turned away from the animal pen and let out a deep sigh.
