Risking the Crown (The Crown 2)

“How was the flight?” He walked toward me.

“Hi, Dad.” It felt strange to move in for a hug, but I put my arm around him. It was an automatic response.

“I parked by the curb.”

“What about security? Can you do that?”

He waved his hand. “They won’t tow me.”

I pushed down my anger at his arrogance. He didn’t think rules applied to him. Even laws regarding travel security. Maybe in a small town like this he could get away with walking away from his parked car, but anywhere else he would be questioned and his car towed.

I followed him outside.

I stared at the sports car my father walked toward.

“This is yours?”

He patted the top. “She is. I’ve always wanted one.”

It was two-door and red. I pushed the passenger seat forward so I could place my bags in the backseat. I climbed in to the leather upholstery. The engine started with a purr.

“Where are we going first?” I asked.

“Wherever you think we can find your brother.”

“We’re doing this together?” I sounded stunned.

I hadn’t gotten any sleep since he awakened me. My eyes burned. I needed coffee.

“We need to start looking for him. What do you suggest?”

He turned out of the airport and onto the road that took us to the beach. It was a forty-five-minute drive to where Garrett had moved. But I hadn’t seen his new place. I didn’t know where he worked. I didn’t know the guys he hung around with.

The guilt ate away at me. For the first time in our lives, I knew almost nothing about his daily life. And this was the time I needed that information the most.

I stared out the window as the sports car climbed over a bridge. I looked down below at the sailboats in the marina. It was a gray dreary day. The kind that made me want to curl under the covers and sleep until the clouds passed. A day I’d much rather spend with Vaughn, reading and working on crosswords. A day we could lock ourselves away from the reality of my family.

I wish I knew how to do that. How to build a wall around the cracks in my heart to spare myself this pain. To protect myself from the lunging claws that wanted to drag me down into depths I couldn’t escape. I was so lost in it until I met Vaughn. He un-broke me.

And it never felt more apparent than it did right now.

Our months together had been a shield from this. With Vaughn I figured out how to live with a new focus. A new goal. One that didn’t include Garrett’s vices and the stain he had smeared on my choices. Every one had been for him. I had sacrificed so much for my brother. For his illness. And until Vaughn, no one had looked out for me. No one cared if I was happy. If I was following my dreams. Pushing forward to make something out of my life.

Finding someone to love had rescued me from the cycle. Vaughn had inexplicably put me back together when I hadn’t asked for it. He knew I needed it before I did.

My phone rang.

“If that’s your mother tell her we’re taking care of this.” My father’s voice was gruff.

It was Mom. I tucked the phone close to my ear.

“Hello.”

“Honey, are you here? Are you coming to the house?” One word piled on the next.

“I’m with Dad.” I looked at my driver. He was almost a stranger to me. “We’re going to Garrett’s work and apartment. I can call you when we get to the beach. Let me get there so I can try to get a handle on things.”

“I want to go with you.”