Royally Broken (Royal Bastards MC: Royal Sons CA)

by Elle Boon

  Keys let them chatter while he took in the quiet around him, knowing it wouldn’t last.

  “You check-in every other day like we agreed. I don’t give a single fuck what is going on, or your little Podunk town will have a contingent of Bastards rolling up in there. Feel me?”

  Keys could just see his Prez all but staring at him through the phone, the man willing Keys to answer him with an affirmative. “Yep, I said I would, Prez.” He didn’t go back on his word, not to men he admired and the men in his MC he held a lot of respect for, especially King and Duke.

  After ending the call, he sat on his bike for a little longer, taking in the silence surrounding him, minus those fucking birds that had set up a ruckus. On the West Coast, he’d have had to ride up into the Hill Country for such peacefulness. Out here, it was common to not meet another person on the road.

  On that fateful day he’d been hoofing it out of town, his graduation gown blowing in the wind, he’d waited for the sheriff to pull up and arrest him for murder or assault. Shit, he’d actually thought during his Navy training they’d jerk him out at some point when Claire Langley pointed the finger at him for killing her boy. It wouldn’t have mattered that Keys had been innocent, not in the town he’d grown up in. Blaire had been an abusive drunk and fallen on his own knife. But if Claire claimed it was Keys who’d done the deed, Keys had no doubt the town would’ve sent a mob after him.

  “I wonder if Blaine cried like a little bitch at his brother’s funeral?” He felt no remorse at the thought of any of their suffering. Did that make him a monster? In all honesty, he wasn’t even sure if the fucker had died that day.

  As that last realization dawned, he pulled out his cell, hitting the number for Bermuda. The phone didn’t even register a ring when the gruff tone of the bastard hacker of the Tulsa Chapter answered. “Yo, you miss us already, or have you landed in some trouble?”

  “Yeah, you wish. I need you to run a name for me and see if...well, just let me know if they’re dead or alive.” He rattled off Blaine and Blaire along with their mother Claire’s names.

  “Give me a second,” Bermuda said, the sound of him tapping on keys was a testament to the fact he was clearly next to his laptop or a computer somewhere.

  Keys sat on the side of the road, his stomach twisting as he waited.

  “Looks like the three live in that town you’re heading to. I don’t see anything that jumps out like criminal records. Wait”—Bermuda clicked a few more times— “Nah, just some drunk and disorderly shit that was thrown out of court. Why, you related or something?”

  “Not hardly. I knew them from when I was younger. Wasn’t sure if they were still around or not. So, they’re still on this side of the grass?” He needed clarification.

  “Yep, none of them are pushing up the soil with their toes. Should they be?”

  Yeah, they all should be about ten foot under since six feet was too close to the surface for their wretched asses. He kept that to himself though. “We all gotta die some time, don’t we?”

  “That we do. I got a feeling you plan to send a few there a little sooner than later, brother. We got your back, you know that, right?”

  “It’s good to hear, Bermuda. Listen, I need to get on the road. I’m about twenty miles outside of Lionsville now. I promised King I’d check in every other day. I just touched base with him when it struck me, I hadn’t checked up on any of those I’d known back here.” It wasn’t as if he had anyone who he called friend or would give a shit if he lived or died so he wasn’t lying. When he’d left, he’d cut all ties to the shithole.

  “Well, I’d tell you to give us a heads up, but that sounds a bit too much like mothering. We ain’t got no vaginas here. Well, Nees might, but that’s all together a different story. Holler if you need us.” Bermuda laughed at something in the background before hanging up.

  Keys appreciated the brotherhood he’d found within the MC world. It was like the military, only even there he’d stood apart. He’d made his fellow team members a little nervous because he’d seemed emotionless.

  With a push of the button his Harley rumbled beneath him, taking him back to the life he’d sworn to never return. If it wasn’t for the one woman he’d never been able to forget, a blonde-haired blue-eyed angel named Palmer, Keys wouldn’t be riding into town now. “Lionsville will surely be shitting bricks when they realize who’s riding in on a hog with the loud pipes.”

  A smile split his lips as he gunned the engine on his custom bike, the pipes reverberating loudly like a good Harley should. Ah, he couldn’t fucking wait to see the looks on the townsfolks’ faces when they caught sight of him. He wondered if they’d think a demon had arrived, with him in black leather from his boots to his leather jacket proudly showing his MC on the back in its big red design. His skull cap didn’t cover his face, but years had changed his looks. He wasn’t the soft faced kid who’d run away, scared they’d drag him back.

  “Let the party begin,” he muttered.

  Chapter Four

  At the city limit sign, he slowed to the posted speed. No reason to get pulled over by the local police for a legitimate reason. If his memory served him right, the boys in blue would find a reason to search him out sooner rather than later anyhow, since he was a stranger in town. Or at least that’s how things had been back in the day. Little did they know he knew the law better than they ever would. Plus, thanks to Koyn and Copper, he had an ex fed in his pocket close by. Of course, if needed, Keys had his own connections. It was good being a hacker. He’d sailed through school as a kid because he was smart, not because he studied. Shit, if he’d have brought books home the Langley brothers would’ve taken a sick sort of pleasure in destroying them. No, studying was done while he was safely behind the walls of the school. He’d soaked in the knowledge as much as he could and even more afterward while he’d been in the Navy, then a SEAL. Even now he enjoyed learning new things. Knowledge was power.

  The town looked different from when he’d been there. New shops had popped up on Main Street, teaming with businesses that mixed in with those that didn’t look any different from his memories. He bet his left nut the Mayor was having a coronary trying to control all the newcomers that had to be coming in and out.

  Making his way to the B&B he’d booked indefinitely. He paid in advance since he was very aware of the shady shit the old man who ran the town with an iron fist could do. Keys wasn’t going to risk getting booted on a clause. Nope, he was smarter than them. The stares he was getting had to be making their way through the grapevine. “Let em talk. Gossip will get me some answers a whole lot quicker.”

  Why he was whispering to himself he didn’t know but dammit, he really needed to control himself. This town and its ghosts were bringing out some bad habits he was going to squash once and for all.

  Outside the Bed and Breakfast there were several empty parking spaces. He eased his Harley in backward turning it off as soon as his tire bumped the curb. The silence was nearly deafening in the quiet of the town. He sat for a bit, letting the moment settle into his bones. To his right he could see the road that led to the high school and middle school combined. On more than one occasion he’d walked home when he’d missed the bus. The road had been concreted, now it sported a fresh coat of asphalt. Across the road the row of shops had a few different businesses, but the same barber that had been there for longer than he’d been alive still appeared to be open. Dave Stevenson’s Barber with the swirling red and white pole that had to be worth something since it looked like a relic, still spun lazily. The other shops were more home décor and girlie shit. However, at the end was the local pub where the Langley’s had spent way too much time and money. McCormick Pub and Grill, a family owned place that always smelled delicious, but he’d never gotten to eat there since he’d never had the funds. Although the owners had always been friendly, he’d never gone near the place knowing he might run into one of the brothers. They’d gotten a facelift too, looking more family friendly and smelle
d even better with the fragrant scent of grilling meat permeating the air as smoke rose from the chimney.

  He slid off his bike after a few more seconds, pulled his duffel from the back, and then with a final look around, made his way up the steps. At one time the B&B had been an old estate that had belonged to one of the wealthy families. That had been long before Keys’ time. He remembered the other kids talking about the place being haunted. Since it sat all by itself on the street and backed up to the woods, he didn’t doubt that it could be. With the town encroaching on the place, if he’d been a ghost, he’d have haunted the fuck outta the place too.

  A bell over the door rang as he stepped in, announcing his presence. He didn’t think his entrance went unnoticed, not with his bike rumbling in. The young lady behind the antique looking desk looked up, a pleasant smile on her face yet she looked nervous. “How may we help you?”

  Keys moved up to where she stood, setting his duffel by his feet but kept his backpack over one shoulder. His computer wouldn’t be leaving his sight. “Good afternoon, Kendra. I have a reservation for Keys Royal.” He already had his ID out, figuring she’d need that to verify who he was.

  Kendra blinked, licked her lips then blinked again.

  He waited, knowing she was gathering her wits. “Oh, let me check the system. Sorry, I was...um, doing homework.” Her hand shook as she took his driver’s license.

  “No problem. Nice place you got here,” he said in a soothing tone.

  “Thank you. It’s my parents. Oh, here you are. Ah, you don’t have a checkout date?” She put a piece of paper on the desk along with his ID.

  “No, I don’t.” He signed the paper where he needed, not saying any more than that.

  “Do you have some luggage? I can get you a cart,” she offered.

  “This is it. I travel light. Is there anything else I need to sign?” Keys could see she was nervous but unless he could change from...well him to a man in a suit there wasn’t anything he could do.

  “Ah, yeah, no. Here’s your key.” She rattled off the times they ate and offered to show him the amenities, which he declined.

  “I’ll find my way, thank you.” He fished his wallet back out, the chain connected to it jangling as he did so. Inside he had credit cards and probably more cash than the young girl thought a biker like him would have, if the widening of her eyes was any indication.

  “Oh, the general store is open until seven on weeknights and nine on the weekends,” Kendra said.

  “Huh, so that’s not changed. The Thompsons’ still own it?” he asked.

  Her eyes widened. “Are you from here?”

  Keys could’ve kicked himself. “Nah, I’m from California, kid. Here you go.” He gave her a fifty-dollar bill. “Make sure you study hard and don’t mess around. Hard work and grit will get you far.”

  He turned away from the counter, lifting his duffel into his left hand, always keeping his right free. Supper time was a good hour away, so he didn’t expect to see any guests in the main part of the converted old home. He’d purposefully requested the master suite, paying twice the fee in order to secure it with an open-ended reservation. Since young Kendra hadn’t been able to see all that, her mother must not have put those details into the system. Again, a condition of his rental. Having money did a lot for a person, greasing a few palms got you into places that were locked tight before.

  PALMER HEARD THE WHISPERS at the grocery store. Lionsville had no clue who the man in black riding the Harley truly was, but she did. Her stomach did a slow roll. She placed her hand over her mouth, hiding the grin. Good lawd, it had been years since she’d seen the bad boy who’d captured her teen heart, then ripped it out when he’d up and left without a word. She didn’t blame him, not when she was aware of the abuse he suffered. Oh, she was sure it was worse than even she’d suspected since it had only been the one time she’d stumbled upon him, but there had been more than one occasion he’d come to school sporting a black eye, limping, or holding his arm too close to his side like he’d been injured. It wasn’t until she’d gone to look for him one fall day, getting a whole lot more than an eyeful, that she realized exactly how awful his homelife had been. One couldn’t actually call it home. They’d all known it, the town, the teachers, even her grandfather. Yet nobody had lifted a hand to intervene, not back then.

  That was until she found him lying on a rock in a stream near the river. Her heart pounded from the memory. He was nearly three years older than she’d been, almost eighteen to her barely fifteen, but she couldn’t have looked away if a bomb had gone off. He’d been bruised, and completely naked. Just the memory of his young lithe body was enough to make her blush.

  “Why, Palmer Kincaid, if he’s not the cutest little thing. He’s the spittin’ image of you as a baby.”

  She smiled up at Lauralei, the woman who’d been running the store since the dawn of time, or so it seemed.

  “Good afternoon, Lauralei. I don’t know about that, but I do think he’s adorable,” she agreed.

  Lauralei, waved her right hand in a shooing motion, making a tsktsk sound. “When you gonna let me babysit him for you? We were really sorry to hear about Thomas.”

  It took monumental effort for her not to growl at the older woman. Her husband had been an abusive bastard. Would she wish death on anyone? God, if she’d been asked two years ago, she’d have said no to most cases, but that had been when she’d had rose colored glasses. On her wedding night they’d been ripped off, stomped on, and tossed in the garbage for good.

  “Ah, there there, I didn’t mean to bring up such an awful subject. Why I know you’ve just buried him and all. At least you have this beautiful little boy as a memory, something to hold onto of him for all time.” Lauralei patted her arm.

  Palmer didn’t correct her; didn’t tell her she had buried everything there was to do with Thomas Kincaid in that grave. Nor did she tell her she hated the man she’d married. She just nodded, letting her think what she wanted. “I just came by to pick up a few things for little man here. He’ll be a year old in a few weeks. I want to get him a few more things to try to eat. I’m weening him,” she said, feeling the loss, yet knowing it was time.

  “You did so good. Lots of young girls nowadays don’t nurse no more. Not that formula isn’t good, but nothing can replace mama’s milk. If you need any help you holler.”

  Palmer nodded, pushing the stroller with her sleeping son inside. She’d thought about grabbing a grocery cart, but since she was only picking up a few things for him, she figured she’d just add them to the bottom of his stroller. Small towns had their perks. Gah, she couldn’t believe she even thought that. With the bastard’s life insurance, her plan was to move as far from Lionsville as she could get.

  She’d set up a time to meet Silas when Jaxson slept. Her son being the little bugger he was decided his sleep schedule was when he chose and well, he was now out. Palmer had learned that little ones decided when they slept and she just rolled with it, mostly. Since he was cutting teeth, he was a little more irritable than normal, which was why she had him out of the big house her grandparents owned. Plus, she didn’t feel at home there any longer, not since that fateful day she’d all but been sold off to the Kincaid’s. Nope, not going there. She’d rented a suite at the B&B without telling anyone in her family, expecting a huge blowout after her revelation, or as she was calling it, her ticket out of Hell.

  Even now she could see the anger in her grandfather’s face as the lawyer had read the will, his clipped tone giving her complete ownership to the home which she’d already put on the market. If she ever stepped foot in the place again it would be too soon.

  Her mind went back to the night before Thomas had died.

  “Come on, Palmer, you know I love you. Put the boy down and let me suck on them titties.” He leered, stumbling to the side.

  Palmer cuddled Jaxson closer to her, the little boy’s hand kneading her chest as she fed him. “Thomas, you’re a sick bastard. Either you si
gn those papers, or I will make sure you lose everything. And don’t think I haven’t made a contingency plan in case you decide to do something crazy. Just sign the papers and you and I can go our separate ways. Go find one of your side chicks or dicks,” she sneered. Inside she was shaking, glad her son hid it from the man who looked angry enough to commit murder. All she wanted was his signature and then once she had her son safe, she’d help save the others.

  It had been a stroke of luck that she’d caught him with his pants down, literally. Video doesn’t lie and with him being the paranoid prick he was, he’d had them installed all around their property. She’d been recovering from giving birth to their son, which again luck had been on her side since she’d conceived within a month of their marriage. Thomas didn’t find a pregnant woman appealing in the least. As soon as he’d found out she was pregnant, his attraction had disappeared. Or maybe it was his need to abuse during the act, but not being able to out of fear he’d make her miscarry that did it. They couldn’t afford for her to lose the next Kincaid heir.

  “I was drunk,” he roared, raising his hand as if he was going to backhand her.

  “What you were or weren’t is not my problem, Thomas. You strike me and everyone in Lionsville and the counties surrounding us will have a copy of that tape and the others I found. Oh yes, did I forget to mention I did some digging? Sorry, darling, but I’m not the dumb little housewife you thought I was. Now, if you’ll please shut the door on your way out, I’d appreciate it.” She didn’t let him see her shaking as she spoke, keeping the gentle rocking as she fed her son. Not their son, she never called him that. No, Jaxson was hers, not the bastard standing in front of her, the evil glower on his face was the only thing she’d seen since, forever.