Page 16 of The Lost Kings
My stomach tilted and I felt sick all over again, but I managed to whisper, “Thanks,mi reina.”
I thought she’d leave, but she crawled onto my bed and over my legs until she was tucked against the wall facing me. She had her stuffed cow in her arms, and a sad smile on her face.
Blue eyes. Dark hair and a freckled nose.
“Hi.” She blinked, lowering her long lashes.
“You’re going to get in trouble again for being in here.”
She just placed her hand over the jar of dirt and continued to stare at me.
I didn’t want to talk anymore, so I shut my eyes.
I felt her palm move to my cheek and for some reason that felt nice. She had no idea that her father led a different life, or that Scotty did. She loved Scotty almost more than her real uncle, Decker. They were liars.
My dad was one too.
I let the tears fall and finally let sleep pull me under.
Sometime later I woke up and found she was still across from me; her hand curled around mine. Gio had crawled onto the bed too and was asleep slightly angled between both me and Presley with his face up toward the ceiling.
Taking in a deep breath, I realized I’d be okay as long as I had them. I could face our family being liars, and I’d protect them from it, no matter the cost.
Chapter 7
Presley
AGE 17
Adrian had apparently offered to send his private jet to pick me up, but I wanted to use this rare window of freedom to refuse and fly there myself. Scotty would never approve of me flying commercial, or without someone following me. However, since I was doing him a favor that I’d never wanted to begin with, I explained I’d be going alone and in my own way.
Once the plane landed, I secured my carry-on and found a taxi to the cute hotel I had booked myself. Then showered before dropping into bed.
I stared at my dark phone, willing my best friends to figure out what Scotty had done and bypass it. More than six months had passed since they left, and things weren’t getting easier; they were getting more complicated and dangerous. I knew they had their reasons for crashing out the way they did but honestly, would it have killed them to just fight me in the training ring so we could get past it? I missed them.
I needed them.
Alex had trained in the gym with me the day before yesterday and asked again if I had heard from them. My throat had practicallyclosed over the question, and when I saw her disappointment, I felt like I had failed her and everyone else in the house. They hadn’t just left me; they’d left all of us. I had asked her if they were anywhere on social media because I’d gotten desperate for any crumb about their lives. She’d informed me what I had already assumed; they weren’t anywhere, not anymore.
All of their socials were deleted, nothing new had been created.
If only I had told Scotty to show me the texts…
Turning on my back, I stared at the ceiling and willed sleep to claim me. When it finally did, it was to the image of someone standing over me with a smile.
I woketo the sound of someone singing.
Groggy and jet-lagged, I wasn’t sure what exactly was going on as I gathered my surroundings and tried to piece together where I was.
I wasn’t in my hotel room anymore…
Which suddenly had me shooting up in bed…except I wasn’t on one.
The couch I was on was royal blue and velvet soft. The blanket over me was down feathered and plush. The light in the room was all natural, and someone was cooking bacon.
“Good morning,Bellissima.”
A man came into view wearing a simple black T-shirt that was tight enough to reveal sculpted abs, defined biceps, and an Adam’s apple that had to be three times bigger than the average male’s.
