Just Between Us (The Kings)

Holy shit.

The Bluebird Book Club was something else. Veda had come home to recount what had happened at the club. She was vague about the details—an oath of silence, she called it—but the gist was that they were committed to helping my family uncover the truth while simultaneously taking my father down a peg or two.

In a matter of days they’d arranged for a huge billboard on the most traveled street in town to be erected with my mother’s smiling face and Maryann King emblazoned across it in bold letters, along with a plea asking for any information about her disappearance.

For one, it infuriated my father, and I expected that was exactly the point. He had already gone to JP, demanding it be removed. JP agreed in order to placate him and vowed he was doing everything in his power to have the billboard removed. In reality, he planned to do nothing but let our father stew.

After Veda dropped the bomb that Bowlegs might still be alive and posing as his brother, I realized that nothing was as it seemed in our small town.

Having Veda safe and at my home full-time was a comfort I didn’t know I craved. Inside those walls, she was mine and I was hers.

Old memories scratched at my skull. Childhood fears of being left behind came knocking, but when they did, I pushed them down and locked them away.

Veda wasn’t my mother, and I was not my father.

The corner of my mouth tipped up when I looked over at her frowning at a stack of papers. “Hey, Precious.”

Her head whipped up and she scowled in my direction. My heart flopped over in my chest. “I’ve got a taste for something sweet.” I sent her a hot look and waggled my eyebrows. Her cheeks pinked and I continued: “What do you say to playing hooky at lunch and getting an ice-cream cone with me? We can take a walk down the beach.”

Veda rolled her neck and groaned. “That sounds amazing, but I’m still swamped with King Equities files. Plus, after work I should probably check in at my apartment and make sure that it’s still habitable.” She sighed and her shoulders slumped.

My girl was overworked and overtired.

I walked to her and straddled the chair to slip behind her. I lifted her hips, plopping her onto my lap and caging her in with my arms. “What if”—I kissed her neck—“you don’t worry about the apartment anymore?”

Her head moved to the side. “And not get my deposit back? No way.”

“Fuck the deposit. You’ll get it back. Besides . . . I think Bug might be better off if she moved out of the King estate for a while—had a quiet, safe place to go.”

Veda was silent, and I could practically hear the gears churning in her brain. “I suppose Bug could stay with me at the apartment,” she said.

I chuckled and squeezed her tighter. “I think Bug is far too independent for a roommate.”

Veda looked at me over her shoulder, and a disgusted noise rattled in her throat. “I’m a fantastic roommate. I’m tidy, I don’t steal other people’s food, I pay the bills on time, I am always respectful of community living spaces.” She crossed her arms and pouted. “Anyone would want me as a roommate.”

A chuckle rumbled out of me. “I couldn’t agree more. Which is why I’d rather have you as my roommate.”

Veda stilled in my arms, and I rested my chin on her shoulder. Her tiny breaths were shallow as they sawed in and out of her.

I kissed the pulse point at the base of her neck. “Just think about it.” I slid out from behind her before she could answer. I kissed the top of her head and disappeared into the bedroom to get ready for work.

There was a new kind of energy that buzzed beneath my skin. It wasn’t the same familiar frenetic pulse that made me restless and crave something I couldn’t quite pinpoint. Instead, it was excitement—for my busy afternoon, for the future, for her.

I hummed as I made some final notes about the interview I’d just finished and slipped them into a folder.

“Well, you’re in a good mood.” Luna swiveled in her chair and smiled at me.

I wiped the grin off my face. “Yeah, I guess so.” I pointed at the man who had just left the shop and was walking down the sidewalk. “He’s the one.” I double-tapped the folder on the counter. “He starts next week.”

Luna’s arms rose to the ceiling as she twirled her seat in a circle. “Thank ya, Jesus!”

I chuckled. “He’ll have a week shadowing me, but then I imagine he can be let loose full-time after that.”

Luna clacked a few notes on the computer. “You got it.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “Ahh, this is going to be so much better. We won’t be so swamped.”

I swallowed. “Hey . . . I don’t think I’ve thanked you lately—for all you do around here. I know I’ve been dealing with my own shit, but you’ve been keeping this place afloat. It hasn’t gone unnoticed. So thank you.”

She blinked at me in stunned silence before she grinned. “You’re welcome.”

“Also”—I pinned her with a stare—“please don’t break Sketch’s heart. I’d like to eventually take him on full-time, too, but the last thing we need is him only inking depressed, emo tattoos because you made him sad.”

Her tongue curled across her top teeth in a wicked grin. “No promises.”

“Amazing. Thank you,” I deadpanned.

My phone buzzed, and my humor faded when I pulled it from my pocket.

JP

Have you seen Veda?

I frowned at the phone. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

I thought she was at work. Did she not show?

We hadn’t talked about her moving in again. She had left with a soft, dreamy smile and wave. I had watched her walk toward town until she disappeared down the roadway.

Had I pushed too hard in asking her to move in?

Maybe she needed time and space to think about my suggestion. My heart pounded as I waited for my brother’s reply.

JP

I’m not at the office but spoke to her earlier. Said she was going to check something out at the library and I haven’t been able to get ahold of her since. She isn’t answering my calls.

Instant worry coursed through me. I didn’t bother replying to my brother and instead dialed Veda’s number. It rang and rang until it eventually went to voicemail.

“It’s me. JP said you haven’t checked in. Call me, please.”

I hung up and stared at my phone, but dialed again. Same thing—it rang until voicemail picked up.

With a huff, I ended the call without a second message.

I sailed out of King Tattoo without an explanation. I stood outside my shop, glancing left, then right, unsure of where to even begin.

I dialed my aunt and headed toward my truck.

When she picked up, I didn’t bother with a greeting. “Was Veda at the library today? Is she still there?”

“Well hello to you too,” my aunt said.

“I need to know,” I demanded as blood ran hot in my veins.

She must have understood my urgency because she didn’t press the issue. “Yes, she was here looking at the archives for a bit, but I believe she left.”

“When?” I demanded.

“About an hour ago?”

Panic was starting to set in. In an hour she could have gone anywhere. “Did she say where?”

“No. Royal, what is going on?” Worry washed over my aunt’s voice, but I was too frantic to answer.

I ended the call without saying goodbye and sent out a mass text to the family chat, telling them to drop everything until we could figure out where Veda was. It was likely an overreaction, but every cell in my body was screaming that something was off.

I didn’t do anything to save Mom. I can’t let that happen again.

Desperation coursed through me, and I was frozen with indecision. Outtatowner wasn’t huge, but there were plenty of places she could be and had enough tourists for someone to go unnoticed. My eyes swept down the sidewalks.

When my attention landed on Bootsy—or was it Bowlegs?—panic flickered across the man’s face and my fists tightened. “Hey, Bootsy! Wait up!”