Broken King (King Brothers #3)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

R onan

The silence threatens to drive me crazy, just as it does every night around this time. I lean over and pick up my phone off the nightstand. 3:22. God, I’d give anything to sleep through the night for once.

That hasn’t happened since the accident. At first, the doctors thought I kept waking up because of pain. Then they guessed it was because I was having a hard time getting off the pain pills. That was three months ago.

Now they think my sleep is off because of anxiety.

They’ve been wrong every time. I can’t sleep because I can’t stop thinking about all I lost. It’s got nothing to do with the drugs they pumped into me right after the accident or how fucking hard it was to break free from their hold, and it’s certainly not because of anxiety.

What the hell do I have to be anxious about? I have my entire life in front of me. On top of that, I have more money than nearly every person on the planet. Even if I found a way to spend every last dime of my billions left to me when my parents died, my family would help me.

So you see, I have nothing to be worried about. At least, that’s what everyone wants me to think.

That’s what the shrink I see every week wants me to believe. She’s very nice and doesn’t speak in that irritating social worker voice so many in healthcare do, but she really has no clue how to help me.

The problem is to anyone looking in from the outside, my life isn’t that bad. I’m wealthy and have people who care about me. The accident didn’t hurt my looks, which wasn’t obvious for the first few weeks after. I knew when Matthias and Ava walked into my hospital room that I was in rough shape. He tried to put on that stoic, miserable guy thing he sometimes still does, and she was all smiles and cheeriness, but I knew by the fear in their eyes that I looked bad. The cuts and bruises healed, though, so I look like I always have.

Like the youngest version of my brothers.

Except for one difference.

Nobody wants to think about that, though. Not that I want to either, but I can’t escape it. They have no idea how much I wish I could wake up each day and be the person I was before. Then again, I don’t sleep through the night, so it’s not like I get even a few hours reprieve from the reality of what my life is now.

I look around the room for the bottle of pills Ava insists on moving further away from me every afternoon. It’s only an inch or two difference each time, but every day they’re in a new place. I think she’s scared that if she doesn’t do something, I’m going to become addicted to them. Or something worse. They’re only sleeping pills, so it wouldn’t be a big deal like the drugs they gave me in the hospital, but she’s worried, so she does her little rearranging routine in my room every day right before dinner.

She means well. I know that. She’s just afraid I might do something to hurt myself again. That’s why she makes sure there are never more than a handful of pills in the bottle at any time. I have the feeling she thinks I haven’t noticed these little tricks she’s playing. Even though I haven’t mentioned any of it to her, I know what she’s up to.

Not that she’s alone in her concern. Every time Matthias is in the same room as I am, his face tells the entire story of what he’s thinking. Even when he tries to make it seem like he’s happy, smiling like he’s on top of the world, how he truly feels can be seen in his eyes. Same with Kellen and Marius. Everyone acts like they’re walking on eggshells whenever I’m around, forcing smiles and acting like nothing happened.

But it did. And in that one moment when some stranger made the wrong choice, my life was changed forever.

That lady shrink keeps telling me to focus on the good I have in my life. Sometimes I can, but when I lie in this bed staring up at the ceiling in the middle of the night, I can’t help but let my mind drift off to when I had everything.

It’s been seven years, yet when I close my eyes, I’m right back there on a cold winter’s night with everything in front of me. I had it all. The girl. The life. The dream.

As I fuss with my tie trying to get the Windsor knot right, I walk into the game room to find my brothers all dressed for the party. Theo and Kellen take turns trying to beat Marius at a game of pool, and Matthias sits sulking on the sofa watching a football game.

“What’s wrong with you? Why do you look like someone just killed your best friend?” I ask him.

He shoots me a glare that’s typical of him lately, and Theo answers, “You know Matthias. He’s always surly. He wishes he was anywhere else but here for this party tonight.” Turning to face him, Theo asks, “Anywhere in particular you wish you were, Matthias?”

I don’t know whatever inside joke my two oldest brothers have going on, but Matthias shoots him a vicious look that makes me think if someone doesn’t change the subject, the two of them are going to be throwing punches any minute now.

“Can someone help me with this tie? I keep screwing it up,” I say to no one in particular.

Marius looks up from eyeing up his shot and smiles. “Big night for you, huh, Ronan? The girlfriend’s parents are finally coming over to meet us. We better be on our best behavior.”

Kellen rolls his eyes and then shakes his head. “What’s the big deal? It’s Dad’s usual holiday party.”

Finally, Theo walks over to where I’m standing with both ends of my tie in my hands and takes them from me. “Here, I’ve got it.”

I watch as he goes through the motions to get the Windsor knot right, his fingers moving fast as he slides the tie over and under, and when he’s finished, I look up to see him smiling at me. He doesn’t say anything, so I shake my head and ask, “What’s so funny?”

As the youngest with four older brothers, I’m used to them busting my ass about everything from how I look to what I’m doing at any given moment. Marius and Theo especially enjoy teasing me about whatever they can.

Theo pats the finished Windsor knot. “Nothing. Like Marius said, tonight’s a big night for you. Are you ready?”

Even as I’m secretly worried one of my brothers will do something to make this night a disaster, I shrug off Theo’s mention of it being an important thing to me. “Dad has met Kate dozens of times. It’s not a big deal.”

My brother isn’t buying my nonchalant attitude, though. “Yeah, but now she’s bringing her parents to see us. You worried we’re going to fuck things up?” he asks with a chuckle.

I glance around the game room and can’t help but think one of my brothers is going to do something embarrassing tonight. Will it be Marius drinking too much and saying something stupid? Or Kellen acting like a fool for laughs? Or maybe Theo playing a practical joke?

Likely, it’ll be Matthias who makes the worst impression since he looks downright miserable. Then again, knowing how he’s felt all week since he missed going to the city with Theo, Marius, and Kellen, he’ll probably just sit up here stewing in his bad mood during the whole party.

“Kate knows all of you too. It’s really no big deal, Theo. Her parents already love me. You guys would have to do something really terrible to change that.”

Theo’s eyes light up, and he turns his head to look at Marius and Kellen. “Did you hear that? Ronan thinks we’re going to do something really awful tonight.”

As the three of them laugh and make plans to ruin the party, I try to explain what I mean. “I never said that. Theo, tell them the truth. I don’t think you guys are necessarily going to do anything tonight.”

Nobody is listening to me, so I look over at Matthias for help. “Dude, feel free to jump in here whenever you want.”

He grimaces and shakes his head. “Don’t get me involved in your little night of romance. I’m going to avoid this whole thing as much as possible.”

“What’s wrong with you? And it’s not a night of romance. Has it ever occurred to you that you might be a happier person if you had someone?”

My oldest brother practically seethes at me before he storms out of the room, leaving me baffled at what just happened. Looking at my other three brothers as they shoot a game of pool, I wait for one of them to explain why Matthias is as miserable as cat shit.

When nobody says anything, I ask, “What was that about?”

Marius and Kellen shrug, but Theo laughs and says, “I think Matthias needs to get laid. That would put a smile on his face.”

I don’t have time for this, so I ignore him and walk downstairs to check on preparations for tonight’s party. Kate texts me as I reach the first floor to tell me she can’t wait to see me and her parents are excited to finally meet my father.

Smiling, I respond by telling her how it’s going to be great and I’ll see her soon and head down the hall to the kitchen to find Eleanor busy cooking. I sit down at the table and sneak a vanilla cookie dusted with red and green sugar, my mouth watering when the first taste of her delicious creation hits my tongue.

“Don’t eat them,” she scolds me, even though I could have sworn she never turned around from what she’s cooking on the stove. “I only made enough for the party tonight.”

“I only took one. I swear.”

Eleanor turns around and smiles when she sees me. “Look at you! You look all grown up.”

“I clean up nicely, don’t you think?” I ask as my hand goes to my tie to loosen it just a little. “I had to get Theo to do this Windsor knot because I kept messing it up. It looks okay?”

“You look wonderful, Ronan. You and Kate are going to be the talk of the party. What is she wearing?” Eleanor asks before turning back to focus on the stove.

“She couldn’t decide between a green dress and a red one, so I’m not sure,” I answer just as Marius walks into the kitchen and grabs two cookies from the tray in front of me.

“You know what she’s going to wear?” he asks with utter disgust.

Ever since he and that girlfriend of his broke up, he’s been the most miserable bastard when it comes to women. Even Matthias isn’t as negative about them as this brother.

“You know, it’s normal for people to mention things like that,” I say to him, but it’s no use. He merely rolls his eyes and strolls out without saying another word.

Walking over to where I’m sitting, Eleanor sighs. “I worry he’s going to become jaded if he keeps up like this.”

I laugh at how she puts that. “Going to? I think it’s too late for that. I swear every time he hears I even talked to Kate, he has to bust my chops.”

“Don’t listen to him, Ronan,” she says sweetly. “What you and Kate have is a good thing. I only hope Marius sees that someday soon and finds someone who makes him happy.”

I nod without saying anything else, but all I can think is that brother and Matthias are fighting to be the most jaded men ever when it comes to love. I doubt either of them will ever find anyone who wants to be around such moody bastards.

Kate and her parents walk into the living room and stop in front of the fifteen foot Christmas tree lit up with all white lights for the party. My father smiles at me across the room and begins to walk toward them, so I hurry over to join him. Kate looks beautiful in a dark green velvet dress she showed me last week when she bought it after exchanging a sweater her grandmother gave her. I’ve never seen her in it before tonight, but she’s breathtaking.

Her mother’s eyes light up when she sees me, like always. Mrs. Abbott has always liked me from the first time Kate introduced us right after we started dating earlier this year.

“Ronan, you look so handsome,” she gushes as she hugs me.

“Thank you, Mrs. Abbott,” I say when she steps back. “You look beautiful. Thank you for coming tonight. I know my father is eager to meet both you and Mr. Abbott.”

Kate smiles as I compliment her mother, and out of the corner of my eye, I see her father nod his approval. My father joins us and shakes his hand, welcoming them to our house.

“I’m so happy to finally meet you. I have to tell you Kate is a lovely young lady. We love having her here whenever she comes to see Ronan.”

Her parents beam their happiness at hearing my father’s words about Kate. “Oh, she raves about everyone here too,” Mrs. Abbott gushes.

It’s the perfect meeting between our parents, and as Kate takes her place beside me, I see she’s happy. My father begins to guide them toward the bar on the other side of the room, so I take the chance to pull her aside into one of the alcoves where we can find a little privacy, even for a few moments.

She slides her hand down the length of my tie and smiles. “You look so handsome tonight, Ronan.”

I lean down and kiss her on the lips, tasting that peppermint lip gloss she received for Christmas. “Thanks. You look great in that dress. I wish we didn’t have to hang out here all night.”

Kate blushes before rolling her eyes. “You have a one-track mind, Ronan King. Do you know that?”

Twirling the end of her dark brown hair around my forefinger, I smile at her description of me. “I’m a red-blooded boy in love with a beautiful girl. I’m supposed to think about sex twenty-four hours a day.”

She slides her palm down my shirt and over the front of my pants, making me instantly hard. “Now you have to walk around this party with a hard-on,” she says with a giggle.

I nuzzle her neck and groan against her soft skin, “Thank God I’m wearing black pants then.”

The feel of her body next to mine and her hands stroking the back of my head makes my cock get even harder. If we keep it up, I’m not going to be able to stay at this party for long.

“I wish everyone would disappear so we could be alone,” I whisper in her ear.

She begins to say something, but I feel a tap on my shoulder by someone interrupting us. I turn around to see Marius giving me a look of irritation.

“Dad’s looking for you, so you and Katie better cut out whatever you two are doing and get back out there.”

“How is it possible in a house this big I can’t find anywhere to be alone?” I ask, knowing he won’t give me an answer I want.

He walks away without responding, and I turn back to face Kate. “I guess we better go find our parents.”

“Why is he always so surly? Or is it that he doesn’t like me?” she asks as we make sure we look okay to join the party again.

“Marius doesn’t like any women ever since that girlfriend of his broke up with him,” I explain. “He and Matthias are in some kind of contest to see who can hate women more. I think he’s winning, but never count my older brother out.”

Ready to be around people again, we sneak one last kiss before I take her hand in mine. “Time to go hang with the parents. I’m sure my father has bored your mother and father senseless with his talk of business.”

“Or my father has been droning on about the weird things he’s seen as a plastic surgeon. My mother made him promise not to bore people with those stories like he always does when they go to parties, but it’s like he can’t stop himself.”

Curious since I’ve never heard any of these stories, as we make our way toward where the three of them stand near the bar, I ask, “What kind of weird things?”

Kate rolls her eyes and laughs. “I try not to listen. It’s all so gross to me. Do you know people’s faces are actually nearly taken off in a facelift? Yuck. I’m never going to do that to myself.”

“Well, if you ever change your mind, you know someone who will do it for you for nothing, I’m sure,” I joke.

“No, thanks,” she says, shaking her head as we stop next to our parents.

My father smiles when he sees us and asks, “Where have you two been hiding?”

Kate’s parents look over at us with expressions that say they aren’t anywhere as pleased about us disappearing, even for those few minutes. Hoping to smooth things over, I quickly answer, “We were helping Eleanor in the kitchen.”

Of course, my father knows that’s a lie. Eleanor has a staff of half a dozen people helping her with this party, so she doesn’t need our assistance. Kate’s parents buy the lie, though, and return to beaming smiles.

“You should be very proud of your son, Max,” Mr. Abbott says. “He’s a fine young man. He’s got a great future ahead of him.”

“Thank you,” my father says, puffing out his chest with pride. “His mother would be so happy with how he’s grown up.”

I stare up in the darkness at the ceiling above me as those words repeat in my head. A fine young man. A great future ahead of him.

And in one horrible moment, it was all ripped away.