Page 21 of Last One Standing
“Me, dumb?” Noel shouted. “Me?”
Phoenix patted Noel’s arm. “Let it go. Mason’s got this.”
Mason did, in fact, not have this. He was a deer in the headlights. “Well, okay. So think of it like this. A nautical mile is defined as one minute of latitude, which is a unit of measurement for navigation on Earth.” His eyes were darting to each of us, but we weren’t jumping in. I was actually considering not finishing breakfast and running.
“A statute mile is land based, which is the unit of measurement that uses. It’s not directly linked to Earth’s coordinate system.”
I was watching Gabe’s face the whole time. He was trying to get it, but there was nothing.
“It doesn’t have to do with the fact that one is on the water and the other is on land?” he asked.
“No.” Mason grinned. “Pilots will use nautical miles also.”
And now he was completely lost. “But it’s called nautical, not aerial miles.”
JJ stood, his chair scraping on the floor. “Gabe, sweet cheeks. It just is. Some sciency people were all like, ‘Oh, so it takes fifteen minutes to go this distance in my car, but this in the water and in the air, so let’s name it something that is not the same as to not confuse people. It just is.” He picked up his plate and left the dining room.
“But I’m still confused,” Gabe whispered just as I was taking my last bite. I needed to start eating in my room from now on.
I was going to broach the subject about the Dead Kings, knowing Phoenix would back me up on how Kona had reacted to Brick’s name last night.
Phoenix had even wondered if Kona was maybe being hurt. The few times I’d seen Kona, he’d appeared physically fine, but I wasn’t dumb enough to think that meant nothing. Many abusers left marks where others couldn’t see.
The room began to scatter, and I realized I’d have to wait until later. Matt was headed to work. He was a physical therapist. Nick and Noel were going to some tech store a couple of hours away for something. Phoenix, JJ, and Mason were going shopping, and I believed the others were headed to Saintly Sweets for the day.
I was going to continue to do some digging into the Dead Kings. If I wanted my brothers to do something about them without anyone asking us to, they needed proof…and I’d give it to them.
CHAPTER TWELVE
KONA
My head was throbbingand anytime I moved, my stomach rolled. I’d been lying in bed with an ice pack over my eyes and chewing pain killers like they were M&M’s. I should’ve known Brick would be livid to find out about Angel. As predicted, he didn’t believe the fact that they were Leo’s friends at this point, especially once Cindy had told him Angel and Phoenix had been marked down as Pika’s friends.
I’d argued with him to talk to Leo. I’d told him how Pika and I had bumped into them around town, and Pika had thought it would be nice to invite them. It had all fallen on deaf ears. He wouldn’t believe a word I said.
The more I’d argued the angrier he’d gotten, until he’d grabbed me by the neck and slammed me against the wall not once but three times. The sole reason he hadn’t done it more was because Tank had stopped him. Not because he cared about me but because my body had left a dent in the wall.
I’d stumbled into my bed and passed out only to be roused by Pika, who’d been livid. He had been giving me pills, soup, and ice packs since then. He’d wanted to go talk to Brick to explain, but I’d begged him not to. Brick had never touched Pika, but when Brick got angry sometimes, I didn’t think even he understoodwhat he was doing. It wasn’t an excuse, but it was as if one minute he was there, in the moment, and other times it was like looking into the eyes of a demon.
The door creaked open, and I couldn’t bring myself to see who it was. Maybe it was Brick wanting to apologize. He didn’t always, but sometimes he did. Maybe he wanted round two.
“Kona?” Pika whispered. “You awake?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you need anything?”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
I really just wanted to sleep and not wake up until my headache was gone and I didn’t feel dizzy. I likely had a concussion, and Pika wanted me to go to the hospital, but that would have made Brick even angrier.
“Okay. I’m going out for a little, but I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Want me to pick anything up?”
If it didn’t hurt so much, I’d whip my head around to stare at him incredulously. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Even the slight rise of my voice hurt.
“Into town to get something. My friend Baxter is picking me up.”
Who the fuck…?
