Kade laughed and shoved at Ian.
“Hey, Erik, can we get another round?” Kade gestured at Ian. The Irishman was pretty damn funny once he got drunk enough.
“No more for me.” Ian shook his head.
“Oh, come on.”
“He hasn’t drank more than five beers since that woman ran out on him.” Erik slid pint across to Kade.
“Seriously? You’re still thinking about that one?” Kade couldn’t blame Ian. There was always the one that got away, but in Kade’s experience their pull never lasted long.
“I’ve got to piss,” Ian announced.
Kade shook his head and sipped his beer.
Zach had a handful of darts and was embedding them into the floor instead of the wall or the dart board. Javier had Levi in a headlock, telling some sort of ridiculous story to Duke. All around Kade the guys were doing what they did best, blowing off steam, laughing, telling tall tales.
This was his tribe.
His people.
It’d taken him long enough to find them, but here they were.
Kade’s phone vibrated against his chest. His silly costume had an odd pocket sewn into the lining. He fished his phone out, sobering a little at the name flashing on the screen.
Mom.
Of course.
She had a sixth sense for when he was happy.
He sighed and tossed some cash onto the bar. He hadn’t talked to her in a while, so, might as well get it over with.
Kade answered the call as he stepped out onto the patio.
“Hey, Mom, what are you still doing up?”
“I saw someone tag you in a picture on Facebook. Thought I’d give you a call.”
Who was posting pictures of him?
Chloe. Probably putting some of the party snapshots on-line for them to see.
“How’s it going?” Kade began strolling down the street. He wouldn’t be good to drive for a while, but a walk and fresh air would do him good.
“Your brothers miss you,” she said.
“I bet they do.” About as much as they’d miss a splinter.
“I did a spread for you. You want to know what it says?”
“No, mom. I want to be surprised.”
“I see a journey in your future, son.” She sounded all too eager about that.
Because she thought he would come home? If it was just to see his Mom and Dad, Kade would make the trip, no questions asked. But his brothers would be there, and no good came from putting them in the same room.
“You planning any trips, son?”
“Not right now, Mom.”
“Hm, well, maybe you’re going on one you don’t know about yet.”
“Maybe.” There was no use arguing with her, especially when she’d made up her mind.
Too bad stubbornness was a family trait.
Kade wouldn’t go home until his brothers admitted their wrongdoings.
His brothers would never admit they were at fault for anything.
They were at an impasse, and Kade wasn’t going to budge. Especially not when going back might mean getting sucked into one of his brother’s scams. Never again would Kade be the one to patch up a guy, knowing his patient had just committed a crime. He hated not seeing his family, but this was how it had to be.
Too bad life wasn’t like the little girl’s fairy tales. His luck, he’d be the wrongly accused thief, hung and quartered for another’s crimes. No, it was better for him if he stayed here, in Seattle, far from his family.
Zaki “Zach” Fakhoury:
A man of deep secrets, three hairless cats and an even deeper sense of loyalty to those he loves. He’s given up everything once and he doesn’t intend on doing it again.
Zach Fakhoury peered through the darkness at his phone. He’d have ignored it if it weren’t for Ares yowling at the offending piece of technology. The cat took personal offense to all cell phones.
“Move.” He nudged Ares and Hera aside so he could silence the damn thing.
Tali?
What was his sister doing calling him at ungodly o’ clock in the morning?
Okay, it was after ten, but still. It was the weekend, and Andre had insisted on beers after the party. Javier had bought shots, and the rest of it was a blur. He was pretty sure he’d tried once more to play darts and failed miserably.
“What?” He rolled onto his back and closed his eyes.
The two Sphinx cats crawled onto his chest, their little bodies vibrating. He had no idea where Loki was, which meant trouble.
“What did you do?” Tali’s voice was strained, frantic. That tone set off warning bells.
“Nothing. I did nothing.” Zach sat up.
Ares hissed and swatted at the phone.
Hera harrumphed at him and settled on the far side of the bed, her back toward him.
“There are pictures of you all over the news.”
“Why? What? I haven’t done anything.”
Zach shoved his feet into slippers and slapped the TV remote. A commercial advertised a new bacon burger that sounded rather tasty after a night of excessive drinking. But his stomach was the least of his concerns.
“They’re everywhere, Zaki. Everywhere. You’re on Facebook. The news. God, why? Why, Zaki?”
He flipped channels, but still didn’t find anything, so he picked up his tablet from the dresser charging station. A couple flicks of his fingers and his brows rose.
Over five hundred notifications?
All he needed was to see the preview image.
He was holding a little girl swathed in blue chiffon wearing a golden tiara.
Zach was wearing a puffy, cream colored outfit that was supposed to be for a sultan. It looked nothing like what his father wore, but that was besides the point.
No...
“They’re going to find us,” Tali whispered.
“They can’t hurt us, Tali. We’re safe.” Even though the words should be true, they weren’t. He knew that. And so did Tali. “Stay at home. Tell Ben to not go out. I’ll—I don’t know. I’ll figure something out.”
After a few more words he hung up. He needed to speak with Ian, but what did he say?
Oh, by the way, I’m not a fake prince, I’m a real one. My sister and I have been in hiding from our fanatical family. We might be in mortal danger now. Does your company have a friends-and-family discount? Because we’re going to need live-in security.
Zach had known the moment they left their tiny country that the rest of their lives would be spent looking over their shoulders. But it’d been so long. Over ten years. They’d been safe. And he’d grown careless.
He hit dial on Ian’s contact and paced the bedroom.
“Zach. Hi—look—don’t go on Facebook.” Ian’s voice was rough, his tone tense.
“I saw already.”
“I know. I’m—fuck. I’m workin’ on it.” And yet there were notes of defeat in his voice.
“What happened?”
“The photographer. Shit. I guessed those waivers we all signed let her use the pictures? I don’t know. One of the other moms lined it up. Chloe and I weren’t involved. She just showed up and shoved papers in our faces when we were wrestlin’ with the lights.”
Zach swallowed.
He was just as guilty as the rest.
He hadn’t read anything, he’d merely signed on the dotted line.
“Look, Ian, I can’t go into details but this is bad for me.” For his sister. The one person in this world that mattered to him. He’d turned his back on his faith, his country and family—for her. And now he’d endangered her life, no doubt.
“I know. Owen’s pretty pissed, too. So is my boss. It’s a fucking shit storm, Zach. I’m sorry.”
“Do you have the photographer’s information?” If Zach couldn’t pay her to take the images down, maybe he could scare her. He wasn’t above less honorable tactics if it meant keeping Tali safe.
“I don’t know that it’s goin’ to do any good, man. They’re everywhere. Don’
t check your email, either. Or answer phone calls you don’t recognize. We...I think we all need to get together an’ sort out how we want to handle it. If we’re all sayin’ the same thing, maybe we can get somethin’ done.”
“Trinity Hall in an hour?”
“I’ll see if Erik’ll let us in.”
Zach hung up and paced his condo, Ares and Hera following behind him. Every so often one or the other would growl, no doubt picking up on his mood. The cats were perceptive that way.
Tali had a life now. She was happy. It was everything he’d wanted to give her. Her husband loved her. They were planning to start a family in the next year. Hell, Tali wanted to adopt children on top of having her own. And now...now because of his thoughtless actions she and her future could be at risk.
He didn’t miss that life. Sure, he’d had anything he wanted, but it was empty. Meaningless. Stuff was just stuff. It was the people in his life who’d mattered, and when Tali was in danger from the very people charged with her safety it’d made his choice to leave easy. He’d spend the rest of his life protecting her if he had to, because that’s what big brothers did.
Being born a prince wasn’t like the fairy tales. There were no nice, neat happily-ever-afters. And sometimes evil wasn’t so easily defeated.
Jaxon Wilson:
The diamond in the rough, Jax has taken all of the hard hits in life and kept going. The Mixed Martial Arts champ has a lot of heart, but he’s not the type to wear it on his sleeve.
Jaxon kept his head down and his hood up.
Motherfuckers had better have some sort of explanation for him.
He should have never let Andre and Duke talk him into this. Javier hadn’t given him much choice. And now look where it’d gotten him.
Jax pulled the side door to Trinity Hall open. The scent of lemon and lime was thick in the air.
“Hey, man.” Andre patted the seat next to him.
Of course his cousin would have a spot saved for him. He was that annoying kind of good guy.
“We’re just waitin’ on Kade an’ Blake.” Ian squinted at his phone, muttering something under his breath.
Jax slid onto the stool next to Andre.
“You checked your email or anything yet?” Andre chuckled.
“Yeah.”
“Crazy, isn’t it?”
“Which part? The idiots making us out to be something we aren’t? Or that it got me fired?”
“Wait—what?” The smile slowly leeched off Andre’s face and he stared at Jax with the kind of slack jawed horror he was used to.
Somehow he’d managed to screw up while trying to do something nice. It had to be some sort of record.
“Yeah, guess my boss saw the news before he went to bed. Said he couldn’t have a bouncer people wouldn’t be afraid of, so awesome.” Yeah, Jax was bitter. Every time. Every goddamned time he tried to do something good it blew up in his face. After this he was done trying to be the nice guy. He was going to stick to looking out for himself. End of story.
“Come work at the coffee shop,” Andre said without hesitation.
“No.”
Jax shook his head. There was no way he was going to be indebted anymore than he already was to his cousin. Besides, if he had to work with that guy’s smiling face every day, he’d likely want to punch Andre’s lights out. He loved his cousin too much to come work for him, even if he was on his last dollar.
“Let me help you out.” Andre leaned closer, voice pitched low.
“Nah, I’m going to pick up a couple of fights.” Jax clenched his fists, feeling the muscles in his arms tighten. He could do it. It wasn’t a great idea. Fighting in the Mixed Martial Arts octagon had taken its toll on his body—but he was still young. He could do it.
“Jax, please don’t. Please? Let me help you.” Andre slapped the other man’s hand. “Duke, hey man.”
“Andre.” Duke stared at Jax. “Help you what?”
Jax closed his eyes, but withheld the groan.
“What’s going on, Jax?” Duke peered at him with too-perceptive eyes.
“His boss fired him over the news coverage, so Jax is going back to fighting.”
Jax gritted his teeth. Andre was such a tattle-tale. Next he’d go running to Javier, then Blake. Soon the rest of the guys would be riding his ass about not getting back in the ring.
“You got insurance yet?” Duke leaned against the tall pub table.
“No.” Jax stared across the bar. He’d barely been able to get out from under his medical bills last time around. He’d been saving that money. For once he wanted to live under a roof he owned. And that money was his ticket to freedom. Or at least it’d felt like it. He’d had to spend it all, and then some, just to cover his surgery and physical therapy after.
“Not smart, man.” Duke shook his head.
“What the hell am I supposed to do?”
“Javier said they were looking for a driver for his mom’s bakery.” Duke shrugged. “Andre could always use some help. Erik usually needs another waiter or bartender. You’ve got options man, just see them.”
Jax glanced across the bar at the Viking wiping down the counters with Aunt Liv.
Erik had mentioned once a couple of months ago that he could use a hand some nights. Jax had just assumed it was a pity offer. Working with Javier would...he liked the guy, but he could get on Jax’s nerves. But if he was driving a delivery truck...
They were small jobs. Not career choices. But it was something to do until he got himself sorted out.
“See?” Duke nudged Jax’s shoulder. “See the opportunity, man.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
In Jax’s experience, opportunities offered many false promises. Fighting wasn’t a terrible option, but Duke was right. He needed better, good, insurance if he was going back in the ring. Just because he’d had a stretch of luck before his fall from the pedestal didn’t mean it’d go like that again. Besides, it’d be nice to step into the ring again on his own terms.
“Good, we’re all ’ere.” Ian turned in a half circle. His hair was pushed up on one side and his brogue was coming off stronger. “Let me first apologize. I ’ad no idea this would blow up like it has. I figured we’d ‘ave to live down some internet fame, but...not on this scale.”
“It was that photographer.” Owen frowned.
“What can we do about getting the pictures taken down?” Zach paced in the narrow space between tables.
“That ship’s sailed.” Jax crossed his arms behind his head.
“I need this stuff gone.” Zach’s hair was a mess, one shoe was untied, he wearing two different socks. He was usually pristine and put together.
“How many times have you said that once something’s on the internet it’s there forever?” Jax frowned at Zach. What was going on with him?
“You don’t understand.” Zach whirled on Jax, eyes wide.
“Chill, man, chill.”
“I get that we’re all in different places with the attention we’re gettin’.” Ian’s voice rang out over theirs. “Owen, Ryan, and I are in tight places because this impacts our jobs. I know we aren’t alone. Which is why I wanted to get together an’ decide as a group how to handle this. If we choose to kill it, we all do it. If we choose to do somethin’ more with it, we decide that together.”
“What kind of more are you talking about?” Duke asked.
“I’ve had several hospitals contact me this mornin’ about comin’ to visit the children’s wards, doin’ the prince gig again.” Ian shrugged. “I’ve also had a couple TV shows reach out, wantin’ to have the Trinity Hall Princes on their show.”
“Trinity what?” Erik grimaced.
“Yeah, your DJ is the one who uploaded the first video. That’s the one that’s got over a hundred thousand likes in twelve hours.”
Erik muttered what were no doubt curses under his breath.
Jax studied the room. He couldn’t deny that last night, with those kids, he’d...had fun. He’d like
d doing it, because it was for the kids. Media and the world? They could go fuck themselves. Jax wasn’t doing shit for the realm of public opinion, but the kids? Yeah, he’d put on the stupid tights again for them.
“What do we do, guys?” Ian asked.
“I say we do it. Be the princes. Do something nice for the kids. I mean, we all saw their faces last night, how just being there made them happier, right?” Javier pushed to his feet, turning to look out over the room.
“No way.” Zach shook his head.
“Come on, man. Chicks are going to dig it, the kids will love it, what’s so bad?” Javier shrugged.
“Because...you just don’t understand.” Zach pivoted and stalked out the door.
“Let me talk to him.” Jax stood. “I’d do it for the kids, not the media.”
He turned and followed Zach out onto the sidewalk, where he continued to pace back and forth. The others didn’t understand, and Jax probably wouldn’t either, but he had a nose for the truth. Zach probably hadn’t meant to tell him, but Jax was persistent like that. Especially when Zach had been there for him. Jax didn’t forget shit like that. Ever.
“They don’t understand,” Zach said.
“No, they don’t, so tell them.”
“I can’t.”
“Then they aren’t going to get it. But, man, it’s too late to put the cat back in the bag. Who’s to say anyone recognizes you? It’s been—what? Ten years? You were a teenager. People change a lot in ten years.” Jax shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Can I risk Tali’s life on the chance it might be okay?” Zach stopped and stared Jax right in the eyes.
“I don’t know, man, but what’s done is done. You can’t change that. I lost my job because of this bullshit. How do you think I feel?”
“Crap.” Zach closed his eyes.
“Look, talk to Owen? He’s a prick, but he’d do the right thing by you. You know he would.”
“No, I can’t tell anyone. That’s how it starts. One person knows, and then another. You shouldn’t even know.”
“Can’t change that either.” Jax grinned. “Look, you don’t want to be part of this prince thing, that’s fine. No one’s going to make you. I know you’re worried, but this is America, man. That old world stuff doesn’t happen here.”
Twisted Royals Origin Story Page 4