Page 91 of Rise of the King (Checkmate 5)

21

Answers

Sophia

One boardroom. One massive television on the wall. Eight angry people, one who wears a prosthetic and leans on a cane, two others who wear a shit-ton of firepower, one hostage who carries a pig in her satchel and has adjusted surprisingly fast considering a gun was held to her head not so long ago, one twin who sits by Kane’s rebound bro, and a whole lot of tension.

This room is a melting pot of anger and anxiety while we wait for Kane to arrive and Jay fields curious stares.

Untrustingstares.

“Where’d you go?” Riley asks quietly. His eyes narrow when I place a packet of gummy worms in Jay’s lap to circumvent his bouncing knee. “You were in my home,” he continues. “Then you were gone.”

Jay tears the packet open and eats with a vengeance. “I didn’t wanna go to rehab. I had to get to Kane, so I ran. I’m sorry.”

“Did you break into my home?”

“No, that wasn’t us.” Jay tosses a gummy in. “I visited your mom a few times, though. Her hugs are still healing, even for a dead man.”

Riley’s eyes soften. You’d expect the former cop to be mad the dead thug was sneaking in to steal hugs, but all he does is grin and shake his head. “You know, she told me you visited. She fuckin’ told me, but I figured she was mistaken and was talking about before.”

“Not before,” Jay replies. “I was with her on Tuesday.”

“Of course you were,” he chuckles.

“You’re clean?” Eric asks. Lifting his hands, he sits back. “I’m not judging; I saw what Abel did to you. You didn’t have a choice. But are you clean now?”

Jay nods and tosses another gummy in. “I haven’t touched anything since I woke up in the hospital with bandages on my head. I figure the pain killers replaced my need for coke, then I was weaned off the painkillers the way they do. I got off real easy, to be honest. Haven’t touched anything since then.” Ironically, he tosses another gummy into his mouth andshowsEric his new crutch.

Spence stands against the wall and spins something in his hand. Something small and… he’s spinning a ninja star! “Who’s the girl?”

Jay’s eyes snap up. “She’s mine. She’s not our enemy.”

“I didn’t say I wanted to stuff her into a cannon and shoot her outta here, kid. I’m asking who she is.”

“I’m Sophia Solomon.” I don’t stand or exchange handshakes. That would be dumb, and Jay needs me more. He needs my hand to stay on his thigh before he shoots through the roof and explodes. “And I’m not a naïve woman. I know what this is.”

Spence lifts a scarred brow and nods. “Pretty lady thinks she knows.”

“I like your shorts,” Andi murmurs. She’s the least affected person in this room, the one who freaks out the least. She only stands by her man and lets him lean on her, though she hides his lean. “I love the stitched flowers on the sides. The pink is real pretty.”

Pink!

Jay’s lips twitch. He’s freaking out the most, and each moment that passes where his brother is gone hurts him more. But his lips still twitch. “It’s pink, Soph. The stitching is pink.”

“You’re so dumb.” Leaning into him, I press my lips to the ball of his shoulder for just the tiniest second, then I pull back and avoid the eagle eyes that belong to a grinning Spence.

Our group descends into a loaded silence, but the storm is brewing. The thunder is coming.

Finally, twenty minutes after walking out of the garage with his blonde, Kane walks into the boardroom with her hand still in his and eyes that declare war. But I’m a sibling whose sister died. My soul knows another who has been crying for the person they consider their responsibility, so seeing the devastation in his gaze unravels the anger that settled in my chest when he hit Jay.

Admittedly, I’ve also wanted to hit Jay a thousand times.

“I need answers.” Kane stops at the head of the table and pulls a chair out. He pulls another close beside his and helps Jess settle in. “I know this isn’t how you expected this to go, but I need answers.”

“I kinda expected a hug and a declaration of love,” Jay admits. “I expected a ‘yeah, motherfucker!’ and a chest bump.”

Kane’s lips say no, but his eyes scream yes.

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