Page 78 of Just My Luck

Sylvie took a small step forward, horror shining in her eyes. “What do you mean, he made the problem go away?”

My gut churned. I hated having to give voice to my darkest thoughts. “I think there is a very real possibility that he killed her.”

“Whoa!” JP raised his hands as various levels of shock rippled through my siblings. “Are you kidding me? That’s a serious accusation, Abel. You have no evidence.”

“We have her driver’s license,” Royal corrected.

“She wouldn’t have left, not without us.” Sylvie’s arms wrapped around her middle. “As a mother, I can guarantee that. She would have found a way to take us with her if she’d been given a choice.”

MJ looked at us, sadness weighing down her shoulders. “Maybe he didn’t give her a choice. Maybe he scared her enough to make her think we were safer if she left on her own. She could still be out there.”

“It’s possible,” I conceded. We had all experienced the wrath of my father at one point or another. Perhaps his threats were enough to force her hand.

“What do we do?” MJ asked.

Royal stepped forward. “I think we’d all be safer if we distanced ourselves from Dad. Just until we have more information and figure a few things out.”

A disgusted scoff rattled the back of Sylvie’s throat. “That’s not a problem.”

Our sister had been all but banished from the King family after her relationship with Duke Sullivan was outed. Our father couldn’t fathom choosing them over us. Still, we stood behind Sylvie in silent support, much to his disgust.

“John is still tracking down a few leads. If there is any new information, you will all be the first to know,” I said.

JP nodded slowly, as though he was carefully gathering his resolve. “I can reach out to Veda Bauer. When it comes to business, there’s no one more skilled—or ruthless—than her. Ifshit hits the fan, we need to be protected. I wouldn’t put it past Dad to leverage everything he has to save face. If he finds out we’re going behind his back, he’ll be out for blood.”

We all stared at JP with a mixture of shock and awe. In all his years, he’d never spoken in opposition to our father. If anything, he was the wild card I was half-convinced would turn against us. If anyone would tip our hand to Dad, I suspected it would be him.

“How much do you think Aunt Bug knows?” MJ’s sad eyes nearly gutted me.

Whip frowned and shook his head. “She doesn’t know about this. All our lives Bug has put herself in his path to keep us safe. She never really wanted to work with him or take part in any of the family business, but she did it to keep us close. I can’t imagine she would have known all this and not done or said anything about it. She loved our mother.”

She also loved this town. Bug was as tied to Outtatowner as any of us.

Sylvie frowned. “She’s his sister. She might know more than she has let on.”

A smirk tugged at Royal’s lips. “You don’t know everything I’ve been up to.”

Collectively, our heads whipped to Royal. He stood tall, realizing he’d spoken aloud, and cleared his throat. “What? All I am saying is that people can have secrets. It’s possible Bug didn’t know.”

“Fair enough.” Whip nodded. “For what it’s worth, I can confidently say that when Bug discovered the box of Mom’s things, she was visibly upset. I think she knows there was something very, very wrong about those items being left in the basement.”

I mulled over that information. At some point, we’d likely have to bring our aunt into this. If not for more information, but also for her protection from our father.

“So we agree?” I looked each of my siblings in the eyes. “We’re in this together until we get to the bottom of it?”

“Together,” Whip said.

Royal nodded. “I’m in.”

Sylvie leaned into him. “Me too.”

“Yeah,” JP said.

“Same.” MJ was near tears, but JP patted her knee, and she offered him a watery smile.

And just like that, the King siblings found themselves unified for the first time in decades.

TWENTY-EIGHT

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