Kingdom Fall
“My mother liked to do that,” he said with disdain.
“I doubt the kind I’m talking about. Not the stuffy ones where you’re judged on the karat weight of diamonds you’re wearing. That was the thing about Hans. He took me to industry parties with a mix of down-to-earth people who didn’t care about that.”
“I’m not a party guy,” I said.
“Seriously?” she asked. “The club?”
“That’s different.” And it was.
“Okay, I guess that’s true. I like to watch movies. By the way, what’s your favorite?”
“Star Wars,” I said without thinking.
“No hesitation there.”
I lifted my shoulders. “It’s a great movie. And you would make a great Princess Leia.”
“She’s kickass,” she said.
“Exactly. Beautiful, feisty, just like you.”
“That makes you Hans Solo.”
I ignored the fact that her former boyfriend shared that name. “I always saw myself as Luke Skywalker.”
“Yeah, that can’t work. He’s her brother, right?” I nodded. “Besides, you’re more the brooding hero.”
“I’m no hero.”
She spread her arms. “And what’s this. You’re taking me all over the world to keep me safe.” I was and afraid of the reasons why. She mattered. Before I could tell her, she said, “If I’m Princess Leia. You’re Hans Solo and Kalen can be Chewbacca. He’s all big and growly.”
I tossed my head back and laughed. “Don’t tell him that.”
“Believe me, I won’t,” she said, grinning ear to ear. “I also won’t mention that’s a total nerd’s favorite movie.”
“Call me a nerd,” I said, accepting the term.
She rubbed a hand over my head. “No, you really aren’t.”
“What do you call someone who didn’t do sports in school, didn’t have any friends and was a loner who enjoyed spending time in front of a computer?”
Though I wondered how different my life would have been if I hadn’t gone to boarding school. Would I have had friends, played sports? It was a question I would never have an answer to.
“A gamer? Is that what you were?” she asked.
“No. I preferred testing my wits against NASA or the pentagon security to see if I could hack my way in.”
Her eyes widened. “Did you?”
Some secrets were better left hidden. “I’ll never tell.” I grinned. “What about you? Cheerleader?”
“You would say that. But no, I was the captain of the volleyball team.”
“I can see that. I still would love to see you in a cheerleading outfit.”
“That is such a guy thing to say.”
“Why? You have fantastic legs. Would you wear one for me if I asked?”
“Play your cards right and I might. But honestly, I wasn’t the rah-rah type.”
“Yeah, pool halls are your thing,” I said, remembering the first time we met.
She laughed. “Actually, that was my brother’s spot. But yes. Though technically, I’m the older twin, I followed him around. He wasn’t much into doing anything with the crowd we went to school with. He preferred playing basketball or going to a skate park in Brooklyn or Long Island rather than hanging with the people at our school. And I followed him a lot of times, much to his annoyance.”
“Is he the one that taught you how to play pool?”
“He did, and I’m going to have to give him shit since he didn’t teach me well enough to beat you.”
“Another time.” I winked.
Her stomach growled, ending our conversation at the moment.
“You watch the wheel and I’ll make us something to eat,” I said.
“Why are you always trying to feed me?” She pointed a finger at me before I could answer. “And don’t say something like I look like I could use a sandwich.”
I held my hands up in surrender. “I promise I wasn’t about to say that.”
Truth was, I needed to take care of her.
“Well, boyfriend. I’ll make us something. Can’t be too hard to make a sandwich.” She winked back.I couldn’t bring myself to stop her. I had no idea if her plan would work, but with her, I was willing to try.
We ate, we fucked. We talked about stupid shit, we talked about real shit. Eventually, she fell asleep and I laid her down on the sofa. I couldn’t take her downstairs to one of the beds. That dominant side of me needed to see that she was okay.
My life had been a bunch of scattered pieces, but she was the missing one that brought them all together. But even knowing she trusted me again didn’t stop my demons from chasing me in sleep.ThirteenPastWinning wasn’t noble, especially against one of the people who’d tormented you for so long. You never knew what you were capable of when put to the test.
It hadn’t mattered that I was old enough to have a private room. Payne had access to them all. Thus, his bullies had it too.
Though Payne was gone, the fight club continued. I hadn’t known that until today. I’d let my guard down and I’d been taken in the middle of the night to face the six of them. As rage colored my vision black, I wasn’t sure I could come back from whatever happened that night.