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Reg went down with a grunt and Kingston yelled, “Keep your fucking eyes off her! Don’t you ever look at her again, not after what you just said!”
I grabbed Kingston’s arm and said, “It’s not worth it, babe. It’s not worth getting yourself into trouble over me. I can handle it. What’s done is done and they’ll never do it again.”
“You’re right,” Kingston said, looking down at his father as Rick scrambled back on his hands and knees away from us. “He’s not fucking worth it.”
I took his hand and walked away, dragging him with me. It only took a light tug for him to rein in his aggression and follow me like a tamed beast. I could still feel the anger quivering just beneath his skin, twitching across his muscles like energy blasts of protective electricity.
We walked to my front porch, and I stood on a step so I was closer to his face. Over Kingston’s shoulder, I saw Rick scuttle back into their house and close their door.
“I’m sorry I let you down,” Kingston said quietly, now that we were alone. “It eats me up inside, Evie. Knowing you were here being hurt by them, and I was away thinking you didn’t want anything to do with me. It kills me to think about it. Knowing they were doing that when I was learning how to be their trained monkey. Fuck the Organization and fuck anyone who ever hurt you.”
“I forgive you,” I told him with my full sincerity. I reached up and put my hand on his cheek, holding him tenderly. “You did what you needed to do, but now you know better, so you’re doing better. I love you for that.”
“I love you, too,” he said and kissed me.
We fell into each other again, Kingston, my first love. My main love. The only one who had been by my side since the beginning.
But, I had to yawn at last, in mid kiss, so I was forced to stop. I did yawn, and held my hand up to my mouth while I did it. Kingston knitted his brows together and said, “I’m such a shit. You need sleep, and it’s much too late for all this. We’ll continue to kick ass and fight the Organization in the morning.”
“I would stay with you all night if I could,” I said. “I want to spend every night with you or one of the—”
I cut myself off because even though he let it happen, and he seemed really turned on by me being with the other guys, we’d never spoken about it. We’d never given a name to what we were doing and I didn’t know how he felt about it when face with it like this.
“The other guys?” he asked and I nodded wordlessly. “You don’t have to hide your feelings from me, Evie. I know you like them, too. And I know you want to be surrounded by us guys, which is weird to me because we’re such assholes compared to you, but I get it. Safety in numbers and what you don’t get from me, you get from one of them.”
“I love you the most, if that means anything,” I said with a sly little smile, like it was our special secret.
“Don’t tell the others that,” Kingston said and winked. “But I know that’s not exactly true either, is it?”
“You’re right,” I said. “Maybe not most, but different. I’ve known you longest and you’re obviously the natural leader, so it makes sense that I’d have a special relationship with you.”
“We’re the king and queen,” he laughed. “I’m the Dirty King and you’re my Dirty Queen, and together we’re going to burn Dirty Kingdom to the fucking ground.”
“Exactly,” I said. “Although I don’t have a crown. Should I get a crown?”
His face darkened and he said, “If I had the money, I’d buy you anything you wanted. But I don’t, so maybe we could ask one of the other guys. But not that Ryker dude, he’s even broker than I am. He grew up in a trailer, can you believe that?”
I frowned now, and said, “I grew up in a trailer, too, Kingston. You know that. There’s nothing wrong with it, some of the nicest people live in trailers and some of the worst human beings on the planet live in mansions.”
“Shit, I’m sorry, Evie,” he said and shook his head in sorrow. “I’m really such an idiot, but thankfully you have a thing for idiots.”
“That I do,” I laughed. “It’s okay, I just have a sensitive spot about people calling down folks who live in trailers. Besides, if the zombies ever come then who do you want on your apocalypse team? A bunch of rich soft jerks who can’t do anything for yourself, or a bunch of trailer trash who can stretch ten dollars to last a week in groceries and can repurpose any junk they find in the trash?”
“Good point,” he laughed, and kissed me one more time before we said our goodbyes.
When I opened the door to the house and slipped inside, I was taken with how quiet it was. It was eerie, like the inside of a tomb at night, and I didn’t feel connected to the house at all.
Instead of going straight up the stairs to my bedroom, I went into the dining room and stood in the spot I’d been when I shot Reg. I stayed there for a moment in the dark with just the light from the streets illuminating the scene before me.
And how I wished I’d hit my mark that day. God, how I wished I’d killed him.
But I would get another chance. I was sure of it.
I would get another chance to hurt them all.
