Page 69 of The Lost Kings
Kingston glared at him, but explained, “She only has texts on here from what we sent her this week. None of our voicemails…nothing else.”
Gio’s face swung over and that heat digging into my sternum became unbearable.
They stared as the silence grew.
“She didn’t get them,” Gio finally said, as if he’d finally pieced it together.
My eyes closed as I tried to push out their stares.
“Think about it. She didn’t text us back a single time, but Alex had mentioned once that the day we left, Pres was waiting outside for us. It wasn’t until Scotty texted us that picture that she replied.”
“She didn’t reply,” Kingston droned, obviously irritated.
Gio shifted next to me, but I moved closer to the window, wishing it would somehow open and pull me out.
“She left the group chat.”
I felt Kingston’s eyes prance over my face and drop lower to my legs, and that’s when his boot gently touched my foot again.
“Elvis, that true?”
Pulling my legs up under my chin, I held them while ignoring how it hurt to hear Kingston call me Elvis. An old wound seemed to tear open, not just with them in front of me, but with that little dig.They’d made their decision, and while they had tried to reach out, now they were being just as cruel.
Kingston suddenly reached forward and tugged my knees down, placing his large palms on either thigh while his nose was practically pressed against mine.
“Presley, did Scotty do something?”
Fuck. “Yes, okay?” I shoved his hands away and he let me.
His jaw went slack and Gio’s head whipped over.
“What the fuck did he do?” There was so much gravel and anger in his tone that it made my eyes water.
“He did something so when you texted or called my number, it forwarded to one of his burner phones.”
“I fucking knew it!” Gio whisper-yelled, leaning closer to his brother. His gaze intent.
“I knew Scotty did something because in what universe would she just cut us completely out of her life?”
Kingston didn’t reply; he just continued to stare at me as if he could pry back every layer of hurt that the two had delivered to me over the past year.
He finally returned to his seat and just continued to stare at me while angry tears gathered in my eyes, and while the truth of how soon I’d discovered they’d been texting him sat like lead inside my chest.
A truth that could divide us once again, and one that they’d eventually discover.
The silencein the car ride back to the manor just seemed to blend in with all the other things we weren’t saying. I kept catching Gio’s sad gaze, and Kingston kept flicking his eyes over me then opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something but would stop.
I watched the town of Rake Forge fly by, and then the trees as we drove closer to our manor, and then through the gates. Scotty wasoutside with at least twenty armed men, which had me on alert. He practically had a militia with him, and when I had left, we didn’t have that sort of manpower roaming the property, so what the hell had happened?
“Why are there so many men here?” I asked no one in particular.
Gio moved so his hand landed on my thigh. “We weren’t told.”
I glared down at his hand but we’d parked so I didn’t move it. I just jumped out of the car and rounded the hood.
Scotty’s men eyed me, and I recognized a few of them from when he’d put me in the ring with them. “What’s going on?”
My uncle’s gaze was cold and calculated as he held his assault rifle to his chest, as casual as any soldier would, except Scotty had never served in any war.
