Just This Once (The Kings)

Interviews were my time to shine.

Typically I could sit back, relax, and confidently convey how I planned to successfully execute the requirements of the job before me. That was significantly more difficult to do when you were sitting across from your boss and remembering exactly how hard his daughter made you come the night before.

Chief Martin studied me from across the table as he and a panel of interviewers reviewed their questions and took note of my final answers. Sweat prickled at my hairline, and I shifted in the hard plastic seat.

I sat at his table, ate his food. Jesus, the things I did to his sweet little girl . . .

Guilt racked me, and I couldn’t muster the balls to look Chief Martin in the eye. Instead, I directed my next answer to the battalion chief. I was the first to interview, which was fine by me. Word had spread that only the top three candidates were getting interviews, and I was happy to set the bar by which the others would be judged. Only now I was starting to panic that the bar I set would be pathetically low.

Chief Martin’s face was unreadable as he sat back in his seat and made a final note on the pad of paper beside him. “Thank you for your time. We’ll be letting all candidates know our final decision in the upcoming days.”

I nodded and stood, holding my hand out to him. “Thank you, sir.”

I made my way around the room, shaking each interviewer’s hand before making a hasty exit. Once the door clicked closed behind me, I tugged at my tie, pulling it from around my neck and stuffing it in my pocket.

“Aww, Bill. Don’t tell me you’re nervous.” Lee Sullivan’s smart-ass laugh grated on my nerves. He was dressed in his navy tactical pants and OFD T-shirt. I couldn’t wait to get out of my suit.

“I’m not nervous. I’m late for my shift.” I brushed him off, pulling my dress shirt from the waistband of my pants and walking down the hall toward the barracks so I could change.

“Relax. I’m just busting your balls,” Lee called after me. I turned in time to see him pop an M&M into his mouth. “You’ve got this in the bag.”

I didn’t need a vote of confidence from Lee fucking Sullivan of all people.

For a fraction of a second, I wondered what it must have been like—growing up without having to constantly prove your worth to a man who was supposed to love you. To have a mother who didn’t pack her shit and leave you behind for something better.

Only, what if she didn’t?

I stuffed down the very thought that had been nagging me ever since Bug shoved that box into my arms. It taunted me from the corner of my workshop, where I’d dumped it. I had no fucking clue why I had the urge to hang the denim jacket in the back of my closet, only that it felt too depressing to leave it crumpled in a forgotten cardboard box.

Resting my forearms on the top bunk, I let my head hang. Even having the thoughts I was having was a betrayal of the King name.

I just couldn’t seem to shrug off the feeling that there was something more. Something I was missing.

Despite years of trying to forget, it was easy to remember how drastically our lives changed—how distinctly my childhood could be separated into before and after.

I had often thought that my younger siblings were the lucky ones, too young to remember her at all. But there had to be something that I was missing. Maybe Abel or Royal remembered something I hadn’t noticed or had forgotten in time. Something that made sense of why our mother’s belongings would be shoved in a box and buried in a basement.

I knew my father had the answers, but I could never go to him. The person closest to him, my younger brother JP, couldn’t be trusted. He was only a few years away from becoming exactly the man my father wanted him to be. He was more and more like our dad with every passing year.

I dug my phone from my pocket and fired off a text to my older brothers and hoped it wasn’t the first of many mistakes.

Royal

If you’re trying to come out of the closet, it’s no big deal. We already know.

Fuck off.

I sighed and rolled my eyes to the ceiling. I was in the middle of a crisis, and my brothers were taking the opportunity to bust my balls.

A series of bubbles popped up, then disappeared, and popped up again. No doubt that the bomb I just dropped rattled them both.

Abel

I can find someone to cover the brewery. What time?

I’ll come by after my shift.

It was probably paranoid of me to delete the text thread with my brothers, but then again, I was well aware of the power Russell King held. I needed to refocus, and for the rest of the afternoon, I dedicated all my attention to checking and rechecking equipment and performing my duties.

Later a text came through from Emily, and it was the only bright spot in my day.

I smiled down at my phone as I typed my response.

I shifted my weight as nerves rolled through me. The carnival would be a very public place to have a date.

I needed a night away. Time to get my head right, and I couldn’t think of anyone else I would rather spend time with than her.

Things were shifting. Emily and I had agreed to be casual, but being seen together at one of the biggest events in our small town would be the opposite of casual.

Her school year was over, and my interview was done. I couldn’t help but hope that the shift I was feeling was because things were finally clicking into place.

Royal was right, of course. Because of the carnival, parking in Outtatowner was nonexistent. Even at the back of the building, cars were crammed in every available parking space. It took me twenty minutes, but I finally wedged my truck in between Ms. Tiny’s Cadillac and a dumpster.

The tinny, rhythmic beat of carnival music echoed in the air as I walked up the street toward King Tattoo. I offered quiet waves and gentle nods to the families and neighbors I passed along the way. Excitement for the carnival, which was held two blocks from the main thoroughfare in town in an empty field owned by the city, hung in the air.

The two-day carnival had been set up with rides, games, and even a stage for live music. Anticipation of seeing Emily hummed in my blood, but I had something I needed to take care of first.

I had no doubt that discussion about our mother was about to go over like a lead balloon, but I needed answers. When I reached King Tattoo, I held open the door for a pair of college-age-looking girls who were showing off and laughing over their matching best-friend tattoos.

I took in the shining black-and-white checkerboard floor of the tattoo shop. The space was brightly lit with my brother’s artwork framed along the walls. Over time, he had hired other artists, and their work hung alongside his. The King name may be on the building, but my brother valued the artists who worked alongside him.

The hum of the tattoo machines filled the air, and I caught the eye of Luna, the woman who worked the desk and was also the resident piercer. Studs lined the shells of both her ears, and diamonds for dimples winked in the fluorescent lighting.

I pointed to my right cheek. “That one new?”

Luna smiled and tilted her head to show off her newest piercing. “Had to get the other side to match.” She batted her lashes.

“Stunning as always. Is Royal around?”

She tipped her head. “He’s in the back. Your other brother is already here.” She laughed and shook her head. “Jesus, I forgot how scary that one is.”

I smiled. “Abel? Come on. He’s a teddy bear.” Her barking laugh pulled out one of my own. I dragged my hand across my chin. “Yeah, maybe that’s a stretch. I’ll see you around, Luna.”

“Bye,” she singsonged and wiggled her fingers in a gentle wave.

My boots echoed on the linoleum as I made my way toward the back room, which served as Royal’s office.

The door was only partially closed, so I knocked twice before pushing it open and walking through. “It’s me.”

Royal’s voice greeted me. “It’s open.”

When I entered, he was behind his desk, stretched out in the leather office chair, his hands folded behind his head, and his long limbs stretched out, boots resting on the desk.

Abel lurked in the corner, his shoulders hunched and hands stuffed into his pockets. I laughed at Luna’s previous assessment of my oldest brother. A teddy bear he was not.noveldrama

When I shut the door all the way behind me, Royal’s eyebrow went up in question. “You’ve got secrets, little brother.”

I crossed my arms. “Yeah, well, I’m not the only one. But I need to know that this conversation doesn’t leave this room.”

“Did you hurt someone?” Familiar pain seeped into Abel’s strained voice.

I clamped a hand on his shoulder. “No man, nothing like that. We’re all good.”

His hulking shoulders relaxed at my words.

Royal moved his boots off his desk and planted his feet on the ground. “Why do you wanna talk about Mom? Why now?”

I looked around Royal’s office. The likelihood anyone would be listening in was low, but I still felt uneasy. “A few weeks ago, Bug found a box in the basement. She was rattled. It had some things in there that were Mom’s.”

“I thought Dad burned everything,” Abel said.

“Yeah, well, he didn’t burn this.” I sighed and looked at my brothers.

“Why did Bug give it to you?” Royal questioned.

I shrugged. “I don’t know . . . because I was there. Maybe?”

“What was in it?” Abel asked.

Tension wound its claws around my shoulders and settled into my neck. “Some old paperwork, a couple of photographs, a jean jacket. Her driver’s license.”

Royal’s eyes whipped to mine. “Driver’s license?”

I paced a few steps in his small office. I knew I wasn’t completely off base for thinking it was fucking weird her license was in there.

“How does somebody leave and start a new life without their driver’s license?” Abel’s harsh voice was barely above a whisper.

His words validated the exact questions that had been running through my mind.

“Was it expired? Like an old one, from before she left, maybe?” Royal asked.

I thought for a moment. “I guess it’s possible. I didn’t look that closely at an expiration date or anything. Do either of you remember when she left? The exact month?”

“September 13.” Abel’s eyes didn’t leave the spot on the linoleum.

“How do you know that?” I questioned.

His dark eyes lifted to mine. “Because it was four days before my twelfth birthday.”

“Fuck.” Royal scrubbed a hand against the back of his neck. “I’d forgotten about that.”

“Look, I don’t know what this means, or if it means anything at all, but all I know is that that box has been down there for a long time. And when Bug found it, she was freaking the fuck out. Have you ever seen her lose her cool?” I searched my brothers’ expressions, and they both gave me a solemn shake of their heads.

I didn’t know what else to do. “Do you think maybe it’s time? Maybe we should try to find her?”

My brothers were quiet, until Royal finally asked, “Are you okay with the fact that she may not want to be found?”

My gut twisted, but I answered anyway. “Of course.”

Abel straightened. “I know someone who may be able to help. My former PO has a few contacts. I can reach out and see if he wants to take it on. He can start poking around and asking questions.”

I nodded. Abel had a former parole officer who’d become a friend of sorts. There was a chance one of his contacts may be able to help, and it was better than a local doing the digging.

I looked between my brothers. “But we agree this stays here between us. I don’t think we need to drag the girls into this if it’s nothing. And JP . . .” My thoughts trailed off.

“Yeah, we know,” Abel finished.

I held out my hand to my oldest brother. “All right. Let me know if your guy is up for it, and we’ll go from there.”

I turned to shake Royal’s hand, and he gripped mine. “Go have fun on your date with the chief’s daughter.” I froze as he grinned and raised his eyebrows. Royal always was a shit stirrer. “You’re not as sly as you think, little brother.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Apparently not. Just don’t fuck this up for me.”

“Nah.” Royal laughed and shook his head. “I’ll let you do that.”