King

by Gwendolyn Grace

  “If it wasn’t for that shitbag, Knight. I would already be inside you right now.” Then he kissed me hungrily and I wrapped one leg around his waist. “Here, let me show you something.” He stepped back and opened the glove box. It was completely empty except for my pale pink panties. I narrowed my eyes when he grinned back at me.

  “Mack.”

  “What can I say, I’m superstitious,” he said with a shrug and a wink, threw in my red thongs, and then closed the little door. “I hope you didn’t need those back.” When I swatted him on his chest playfully he pulled me toward him and pressed his nose into the curve of my neck and inhaled.

  Out of nowhere blue lights were flashing as tires screeched around us. We were totally surrounded by police officers getting out of their cars and shouting for people to get onto the ground. When I tried to follow instructions Mack pulled me back up.

  “No, Jonna,” he said angrily then turned to the line of officers. “Rollins, this has nothing to do with her. Take me.” He raised his arms out to his sides. Detective Rollins stepped forward with a shit-eating grin on his face.

  “With pleasure. Turn around,” he commanded as he roughly gathered Mack’s wrists together. “Adam King, you are under arrest for . . .”

  Adam?

  “Illegal street racing, loan sharking, possession of firearms . . .” Mack’s eyes met mine as Rollins led him to the back of a police car.

  “Mack,” I called after him as Tayia ran up to stand beside me. I watched as the officers pushed his head down as they shoved him into the car then slammed the door closed. The windows were dark so I couldn’t see him.

  “Mack,” I repeated much louder as I tried to step forward, but Tayia wrapped her arms around me, stopping my movement. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I stood and watched helplessly as the car drove away.

  Next, the red Mustang was being loaded onto the back of a tow truck and carried away in the same direction. We all stood around, completely stunned for a while, not sure what to do.

  “Well, that’s unfortunate.” I turned to see Knight stepping into the middle of the crowd. “Is this a bad time to bring up the rules of forfeit? We had set up a clear callout and it looks like one of the racers is unable to fulfill his end of the deal. This, by all rules set forth by the man himself, makes me the new King of the Carolinas.” Then Knight proceeded to laugh in a sinister way that caused my blood to boil. It was all his fault! Mack was caught in the act because he couldn’t secure both sides of the road, and Knight had demanded a race tonight. That’s when I knew all of this was planned. Rollins might not have been able to fully convince Woody to turn, but he was able to get to Knight.

  “You dirty son of a bitch!” I screamed.

  “Now, now. Let’s not get emotional here. I feel like King would have wanted it this way.” He placed a hand over his heart mockingly, and I saw red. Suddenly I was on top of Knight wailing on him with my fists. I was faintly aware of people trying to intervene and tugging me back, but I was all arms and legs as I swung at any and everything.

  “Jonna!” Drew was carrying me away as I struggled against him. “Stop it. Enough.” But I couldn’t. I wanted to fight for Mack, against the anger I felt. I’d just lost him and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “I’m here to see Mack, er, um, Adam King,” I said to the man behind the glass. It took me two weeks to locate Mack. I didn’t know where Rollins had taken him. I called every jailhouse I could find in South Carolina, but he wasn’t listed, and the prison employees weren’t exactly known for their helpful customer service.

  “Your name?”

  “Jonna Fox.”

  The guard nodded then began typing information into the computer. I glanced around at other people in the room behind me. There were mostly women. Some older, some who seemed very young. I knew each had a story. I’m sure most were there to see their sons, brothers, or husbands, plus there were a few children in the room probably there to visit their fathers and it made my heart ache. I’d been putting off taking a pregnancy test for two days now. I thought about the possibility of having to bring my baby here to see his or her father and tears stung my eyes. It wasn’t the life I wanted.

  “Ma’am?” The person behind the glass called out as he glared at me impatiently.

  “Yes, sorry.”

  “That inmate doesn’t have you on his visitation list.”

  “What?”

  “That inmate doesn’t have . . .” he began to repeat louder this time like I was deaf.

  “No, I heard you but I don’t understand. How can he possibly add the name of every person who wants to visit him on that list?” The man shrugged at me.

  “It’s his responsibility to keep up with that. Now, can you step back so I can clear this line.” He dismissed me with his hand and waved the next person forward. I backed away feeling numb. It had taken me two weeks to find him, and then I drove four hours to the prison, which was almost to the North Carolina border. Now, there is a list? A list? What if Mack didn’t know that he had to make a list? I was about three seconds away from having a mental breakdown when I saw Brando walking through the heavy doors and through the waiting room.

  “Brando.”

  He turned his head in my direction and stopped walking. “Jonna?”

  “Were you just visiting Mack?” I went to stand in front of him. He clearly looked uncomfortable as he shifted his eyes to the ground.

  “Were you?” I repeated my question, and Brando jerked his head into a nod. “That means you’re on the list, and I’m not.” I felt like I’d been kicked in the chest and all of the air left my lungs. Brando was on the list and I wasn’t. On purpose. He didn’t want to see me. I backed away until I felt the edge of a chair then I fell into it.

  “Jonna, he doesn’t want you to see him this way.”

  “Why? I don’t care that he’s in here.”

  “He does.”

  I let out a long breath and slumped further down into the seat.

  “Did you know he was here this whole time?”

  “No, I just found out a couple of days ago. He was in two other places before he was transferred here.”

  “Will you please tell me the situation? I can’t stand not knowing what’s going on.” Brando let out a long sigh then ran a hand over his face.

  “He wasn’t granted bail, so he’s hired a lawyer.” He dropped down in the seat next to me, and then looked around before he continued speaking in a low voice. “He refused to give any names. If he had I would have been in here, too. I told him not to cover for me, but he wouldn’t listen.”

  That definitely sounded like something Mack would do. I studied Brando and how similar his features were to his brother’s. Same dark hair and brown eyes. Brando was a bit taller and leaner than Mack’s shorter but bulkier build. So sitting here next to him was oddly comforting, since it was the closest I’d get to Mack for a while.

  “Will you tell him that I came to see him?” When he nodded, I tilted my head up to study the brown water stains on the ceiling.

  “What’s going to happen now? What do we do, Brando?”

  “Wait, I guess.”

  “This whole thing is so fucked up.”

  “I agree.”

  ****

  “I can’t look.”

  “You have to.”

  “But what if it’s positive?”

  “Then it’s positive. You’ll be fine, Jonna.” Tayia squeezed my shoulder. I’d taken two pregnancy tests and left them in the bathroom, because I couldn’t stand in there and watch the little indicator windows. I was terrified and felt like I was going to throw up. I’d never thought about having kids. Of course I wanted them eventually, but I didn’t think it was something I would be thinking about this soon in life. This morning I went to the drug store and bought five different tests, just in case I needed more than one opinion.

  “Has it been two minutes yet?”

  �
��Jonna, it’s been ten minutes.”

  “You go look.” I nudged Tayia into the direction of the bathroom. She shot me a glare, then sighed.

  “Fine,” she said as she stomped forward. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move, and it was as if time stopped. What would I do?

  Tayia returned with two pregnancy tests in her hand. My eyes were glued to them, and I couldn’t look away. She raised both sticks so I could see. Both only had one faint line, no double lines. No double lines!

  “Negative?” I whispered, and Tayia nodded her head. I sunk down to the floor and covered my face with my hands. I felt so many things at once, relief for not being pregnant, heartbreak that I wasn’t carrying Mack’s baby, longing because I missed him, and sadness that he had no idea that any of this was going on right now.

  ****

  I was locking up the back entrance to the restaurant when what sounded like footsteps on gravel caused me to turn my head. The light from the streetlamp illuminated a figure, and I blinked several times trying to identify who was standing there. Then a glare flashed over a pair of glasses and I knew it was Detective Rollins.

  “What do you want?” I called out, not at all masking my dislike for him. Rollins stepped forward but didn’t speak. He just placed one foot in front of the other methodically as he closed the distance between us, and I couldn’t seem to make my feet move. Maybe it was the look in his eyes that terrified me.

  “You seemed like such a nice girl,” he murmured, ominously. Looking around, I realized I was all alone. Carina took off at least a half an hour ago, and I’d watched my parents pull away as I was locking the front doors.

  “A pretty girl.” Rollins continued speaking. “Such a shame.”

  “Wha . . . what are you doing here, Rollins?” I stammered as panic crept up my spine.

  “I just wanted to get a good look at the woman who would stick by a piece of shit like King.” He was so close that I could smell liquor on his breath. I took a step back, and he followed, well staggered, to stay in front of me. While he was older, I still knew that I couldn’t overpower him even if he tried to grab me.

  “Let me tell you a little story of the King family, and we’ll see how you feel about your precious man afterward.”

  “I don’t want—” I started to say as I tried to step away, but Rollins grabbed my arm firmly. I shrieked loudly as he jerked my chin in his direction with cold fingers, forcing me to look at him.

  “Nobody gives a shit what you want. Hell, nobody ever gives a shit what I want. But somebody better care about what my Laurel wanted.” His eyes were glassy and wild as he studied my face. “My Laurel was beautiful just like you. Her hair was golden and her eyes were so blue.” I jerked my head away and tried to pull free of his hold, but he squeezed my upper arm causing me to yelp. “I said that I have a story to tell you and you better damn well listen, you hear me?” He shook me a couple of times as if he expected me to answer, so I nodded my head. When he seemed satisfied, he loosened his grip but still held my arm firmly.

  “Good. Now, where was I. Oh, yes. The Kings.” His face curled up with disgust, and the wrinkles around his eyes and forehead became much more pronounced. “Patrick King. The drunken bastard. I can’t tell you how many times I pulled him over for drunk driving when I was on patrol. I knew him from school so I kind of felt bad for him. The last time I pulled him over I drove his sorry ass home instead of locking him up. God, I was so stupid back then.” Rollins’s bloodshot eyes focused on something in the distance as if he were seeing the story play out in his mind.

  “I got a call the next day that my Laurel was in the hospital. She was driving home from teaching ballet class. Laurie loved to dance. She was such a beautiful dancer.” His voice cracked and then with his free hand he pulled a bottle of something I hadn’t noticed he was holding to his lips and took a long swig, then twisted his wrist and swiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “I thought for sure she’d been killed. I was relieved when they told me she was alive. The doctors said she was paralyzed from the waist down, but I didn’t care as long as she was still breathing. ‘Laurie, thank God, you’re alive,’ I say. And you know what she says to me?” He threw his head back and laughed like a madman before turning his face to me, his eyes flaring with anger. “She said she wished she’d died! Instead of wanting to live for me and our boys, she said if she couldn’t dance, then she wanted to die.”

  “Listen, I—”

  “Did I say you could fucking speak? This is my story, and I’m going to tell it!” he snarled, spraying spit as he spoke, and my body went still. “I found out that Patrick King was the stupid motherfucker who crashed into my wife’s car. But I knew that it was my fault. If I’d taken his ass in like I was supposed to, he would have been locked up instead of driving around that day. My beautiful Laurel would still be able to dance and she would be happy. She would still be mine.” Rollins’s eyes lowered to the ground, and I thought he was done with his story but he kept speaking.

  “Laurie couldn’t take it. She just couldn’t take it anymore. I found her in our bed. Her skin was so cold. There was an empty bottle of pills on the nightstand, and I knew. I just fucking knew she was gone. My beautiful Laurel went to be with the angels where she could dance just like she used to.”

  I didn’t know what to say. What happened to his wife was awful, but I didn’t understand why it was Mack’s burden to bear. My voice struggled to the surface and my throat was dry, so I swallowed several times.

  “B-but Patrick King is in jail. He’s paying for his crime. What does it have to do with his son?”

  “Adam King.” He let out a loud and bitter laugh. “He’s a cocky bastard who has no respect for the law, much less innocent people on the road. He hasn’t learned a thing from his father’s mistakes, and I felt it was my duty to make sure I put him where he belonged. So I made sure to start the investigation all on my own. I knew if I looked deep enough I would find what I needed. Nobody wanted to believe me. They told me to drop it, but I refused to give up. And see, I was right.”

  Oh. That’s when I realized this man was obsessed. It was beyond doing his job, it was about revenge. His face was worn and haggard, but judging by the strength in his grip he wasn’t as old as I first believed. Heavy drinking and, perhaps, depression aged him prematurely.

  “I just want to hold her again,” he choked out in a whisper and released my bicep. Then he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me against him. As much as I struggled, I couldn’t break free. “Stop now, Laurie. Just let me hold you for a while,” he mumbled as he squeezed me tighter.

  “Let me go!” I screamed and thrashed my arms with all my might as I tried to break free. “Help!”

  “Stop it, I said.” Rollins barked into my ear. “It’s been so long since I felt you against me, Laurie. Felt your legs around me, darlin’.” He shoved a hand under my T-shirt and roughly squeezed my breast.

  “No, no, nooo!” I cried as tears began to spill down my cheeks. Then out of nowhere Rollins was shoved away, and I looked up to see Woody standing over Rollins, who tried to get to his feet.

  “Stay the fuck down or I’ll put you there again,” Woody growled as his fist clenched and unclenched at his sides. Rollins sputtered and swayed as he tried to awkwardly get to his feet.

  “You just assaulted an officer of the law, motherfucker. Turn around and put your hands behind your back,” he slurred. His legs wobbled but managed to support him as he stood.

  “Yeah, well I just caught you assaulting my sister, so I’ll make sure that your ass is in the cell right next to mine.”

  “I am the law! Who’s going to believe you? You’re a piece of shit with a gambling problem and a rap sheet.”

  “I don’t know, let’s find out,” Carina called as she stepped forward, her bright red hair flowing behind her as she led two police officers our way. When her eyes landed on me she immediately hurried over and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. I didn’t realize until th
at moment that I was shaking.

  “Arrest him!” Rollins called over to the uniformed officers as they headed straight for him. “No, you idiots. Him.” He pointed to Woody. “I’m Detective Luther Rollins, and this is my investigation!”

  The officers ignored Rollins protests as they hauled him away.

  “Serves you right, you dirty old man!” Carina yelled after him. “What’s the matter with you? Trying to feel up a nineteen-year-old girl!”

  “I . . . I’m twenty,” I stammered as my body still shook from shock and adrenaline. “I never thought I’d be so happy to see you’re annoying face.” With quivering lips, I managed a watery grin.

  “God, you’re such a bitch.” Carina laughed as she pulled me into a hug. “But seriously, are you okay?” she asked as she pulled back to study me.

  “Yes,” I replied, and then hugged her again. “Thank you,” I whispered, and I felt her hold tighten around me. “I thought you left.”

  “No, I was in the office. I told Annette I would make the schedule for next month. I heard you scream and saw you out here with that guy. So I called the cops and every person on the emergency contact list. Woody was the first to answer.”

  I didn’t even want to think about what might have happened to me if she hadn’t been there to help. Maybe she wasn’t so bad after all and was worth getting to know better.

  Woody continued to talk to the police and helped me make a report against Rollins. It all felt surreal, and the worst part was that even though his actions terrified me, I couldn’t help but feel a little bad for the way things turned out for him. He’d lost his wife as a result of something Mack’s father, Patrick King, had done, and was still suffering. I thought about how devastated my father would be if he lost my mother. Rollins had turned into the arms of darkness for comfort, and I hoped one day he would find light again.

  Chapter Twenty

  “I hate lawyers!” I growled as I hit end on my phone and flopped back into the booth. I’d been trying to reach Mack’s lawyer in order to get information about his upcoming hearing, without much success. It had been three weeks since Rollins attacked me, and I was told that he’d been put on administrative leave while internal affairs tried to determine what to do with him.