Page 9 of The Lost Kings
“Ma’am, are you hurt?”
“Wasn’t there a child here, is she okay?”
Then there was screaming, which is when Scotty finally movedoff of me and I was able to see what had happened. There was a body lying a few feet from us; he had a hole in his head, his eyes were wide and staring right at me.
I got to my feet and moved over to where my dad was and found my mother with her hands holding something to his side. Her makeup had begun to run from how hard she was crying.
I held my father’s gaze, his green eyes that I loved so much locked on me. His hand covered my own and he smiled.
“You know how we live separate from the rest of the world and we use fake names in public?”
I nodded, pressing my hands into my daddy’s chest, doing what my mom told me. She had taken the extra fabric from my costume and slid it over his wound then told me to hold down as hard as I could.
Dad smiled again, this time blood smeared his lips. “This is our secret, honey. People want to hurt us.”
“Why?” My voice felt strange, like I hadn’t spoken a word in hours, and yet it felt like I’d been screaming for just as long.
“We ruin empires.”
Red and white lights lit up the darkened neighborhood as the ambulance pulled up and two people in uniforms ran toward my dad. Scotty pulled my hand, so I was leaving my dad’s side. I watched as they hovered over him and then loaded him into the back of the ambulance. Mom ran over to me, kissing my forehead.
“Stay with Scotty, Presley.”
I nodded but noticed Scotty tug her hand. “Don’t.”
Mom shook her head as her lip wobbled. “I can’t leave him.”
“You think I can?” Scotty argued, pulling me closer to his side. “Do not make your daughter an orphan tonight. They’re going to follow him to the hospital.”
“Then do what you’ve always done, Scotty, and protect us.”
She turned back toward the ambulance with a sob, which had her hands up and covering her mouth.
I glanced up at my uncle and saw the way his jaw moved,realizing this was the closest to crying I’d ever seen him. He held my hand and finally glanced down at me with a smile.
“I need you to be brave, Presley. Can you be brave with me?”
I nodded.
Scotty guided me toward our car and told me to get in next to him in the passenger seat, which wasn’t where I’d been allowed to sit yet.
“I used to take your father on trips like this with me, and he learned how to be brave by being with me. You’re going to as well, okay?”
Pulling the belt over my chest, I nodded and sank down into the seat as he drove off.
“I’m going to tell you a story, Presley, and I need you to remember this story and promise me that you won’t share it with anyone, even the twins.”
“I promise.”
“Okay then, I’m going to tell you a story about how your father once protected the twins’ mother, and in order to do that, he had to kill a bad man. This bad man was the boss of a very bad group, and after he killed him, all of that man’s men and employees wanted to hurt your dad.”
I thought that over, and asked, “Is that who those men were, in the black car?”
Scotty glanced at me and nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly who they were…they’ve been after your dad for a very long time, and now they’re after you and your mom. It’s my job to help keep the family safe. It’s why we live in the manor, and why we work so hard to keep everyone together."
As we drove, Scotty pulled out a gun that had a long barrel on the end and laid it in his lap.
“Presley, you’re going to see something you don’t want to see. I tried to protect you from it, but it’s going to happen, and I could use your help.”
