Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
NATE
N ate crinkled his nose, his heart thudding against his chest as he stared at his mother’s pinched features. “What problem? Did something happen to Dad?”
“No, he’s fine…so far.”
Nate screwed up his face. “What’s that supposed to mean? What’s wrong?”
Victoria shook her head, her lips pinched as she rubbed her temples. “Stephen was arrested.”
Nate’s eyes went wide as his jaw dropped open. “What? For what?”
Visions of his own drinking after his break-up with Chloe danced in his mind. That woman did a number on people, and he’d only escaped with the help of his family and Elena. Pity welled inside of him for his brother who had likely become Chloe’s next victim.
Victoria’s eyes clouded with worry as she shook her head. “He went to talk to Chloe. She says he…assaulted her. ”
Nate scoffed, setting his hands on his hips. “Wow. She’s a piece of work.”
“I told him to stay away from her.” Victoria’s voice cracked with emotion.
Nate set his hands on his mother’s shoulders. “Mom, it’s okay. She’s lying.”
“But it's his word against hers, and in these cases, women usually win. His reputation will be ruined.”
“Dad’s never going to let that happen. I can’t believe he doesn’t have a fleet of attorneys down there already.”
“He does. But I don’t know what we’re going to do with him after he makes bail. He just…can’t stop doing stupid things. I mean, he saw what happened with you after…why…oh, I’m sorry, Nate.”
Nate pressed his lips together, swallowing hard. “It’s okay. I…screwed up after Chloe, too. I guess she just has this way about her that makes you think it’s you, you know?”
Victoria heaved a shaky sigh. “I don’t because I never saw what either of you boys saw in her. She’s brought out the worst in both of my boys.”
“Look, Mom, why don’t I take Stephen to Eldoria with me once Dad gets him out of this? It’ll keep him away from Chloe, stop him from doing something else stupid.”
“I can’t ask you to do that. In fact, I shouldn’t even be stopping you from going there. You need time with Elena to start talking about your future. I just…didn’t want to be here alone.”
Nate rubbed his mother’s back. “I’m not leaving you until we have this sorted out. And you’re not asking me to take Stephen, I’m offering. Heck, I’m taking Maddie. What’s another sibling?”
“I hope the royal family doesn’t think we’re pushing in.”
“It’s fine, Mom. If they’re that unhappy about it, I can put them up at a hotel, but somehow, I don’t think Elena or her parents will mind.”
Victoria pulled him into a tight hug. “Thank you, Nate. You’re a good brother.”
“Yeah, well, don’t thank me yet. Stephen will probably say no or try to crash the plane if we put him on it.”
“Or ruin your wedding. Honey, he did threaten you. I don’t want him making things uncomfortable for you over there.”
“It’s okay, Mom. I think Stephen’s bark is worse than his bite. What is he going to do?”
“Honey, who knows? Who’d have ever thought he’d do this?”
“He’s innocent, Mom. It’s Chloe, playing her usual games. After the cheating scandal, she’s clawing at anything to salvage her standing. This is just her way of trying to gain some leverage.”
“She may have found it,” Victoria answered, blowing out a shaky breath as she wiped away a tear that fell to her cheek.
“Don’t cry, Mom. We’ll figure this out.”
She bobbed her head, trying to stop any other tears from falling.
“Hey, you waited for me. I thought you’d try to run without me,” Maddie said with a grin before she slid her gaze between the two of them.
“Sorry, Maddie, we’re going to be delayed a little bit,” Nate said.
“What?” Maddie’s features flashed with concern. “Are you ditching me? Mom, tell Nate he has to take me.”
“Honey…” Victoria said with a sigh.
“I’m not ditching you. We’re waiting for Stephen.”
“Waiting for Stephen?” Maddie asked, her features pinching with confusion. “Why? So, you two can kill each other on the plane? ”
“No,” Nate said with a shake of his head. “Just…hang out in your room for a while.”
“Hang out in my room? Why?” She shifted her gaze to her mother. “What’s going on?”
“Nate’s right–”
“No!” Maddie said with a stamp of her foot. “No, I want to know what’s going on.”
“Honey–”
“No, Mom!” Maddie whined. “I’m not a little kid. No one tells me anything. I’m always left out of the loop.”
“Maddie,” Victoria said, her voice a warning.
“Maddie, just cool it for a second, okay? Mom, let me know when you hear from Dad, okay?”
Victoria fluttered her eyelashes as she nodded. “I’m going to call him now and see what’s going on.”
“Okay.” Nate squeezed her hand before she twisted, pulling her phone out to make the call.
Maddie crossed her arms. “What is going on that no one wants to tell me?”
“Stephen was arrested.”
“What?” Maddie’s eyes went wide. “For what?”
“He got into it with Chloe…she says he assaulted her.”
“OMG, seriously? She’s such a liar.”
Nate wrapped an arm around his sister as he led her down the hall toward her room. “I think so, too, but no matter what, we need to stick together as Kingsleys, right?”
“Yeah, I guess. I mean, Dad will get him out of this, right?”
“I’m sure Dad isn’t going to let this stand, but it’s serious, Maddie.”
“I know, but…I mean…it’s going to be okay, right?”
“We’ll make sure it’s okay, no matter what happens. But, given everything that’s happening, I think we should wait to leave and take Stephen with us. He needs to get away from all of this. ”
She pouted. “Yeah, I guess so. I’m just surprised you care.”
“Of course, I care,” Nate answered. “Stephen and I have had some rough times but he’s still my brother.”
“Okay,” Maddie said as they arrived at her door. “You’ll come get me when it’s time to leave?”
“Yep. We’re all going to Eldoria today…just a little later than we expected.”
Maddie kissed his cheek with a grin. “Okay. I can’t wait to see Ellie.”
“Hey, you didn’t text her and tell her we’re coming, did you?”
“No, why? Do you want me to?”
“No. I want it to be a surprise. I bought her a carousel and everything. Don’t spoil it.” He wagged a finger at her.
“I won’t.” She stepped into her room and dumped her bag on the floor. “Come get me when it’s time to go.”
“I will.”
Nate sucked in a sharp breath as her door clicked closed, and he spun on a heel to search for his mother. Instead of combing the house, though, he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed his father’s number.
“Nate,” the man answered a moment later. “I just talked to your mother. I’m going to have Stephen out of here within the hour. This is all trumped up and bogus.”
“I have no doubt it is, but Mom’s really upset.”
“Well, with any luck, we’ll have these charges dropped in less than a week.”
“So, he’ll be out soon?”
“Yeah. Even without the conflicting statements Chloe keeps giving the police, we’ll have him out of here. Mom says you’re taking the jet?”
“Yeah. To Eldoria. I need to see Ellie. But I was going to wait for Stephen. Mom’s really worried he’s going to do something else stupid, so I figured maybe a little time away could help him.”
“That’s a very kind offer, Nate. Especially after what happened with you two this morning. Stephen told me.”
Nate sucked in a breath as he bobbed his head, descending the stairs while he propped the phone on his shoulder. “Yeah, just…brother stuff. We all say things we don’t mean when we’re hurt.”
“You’re a good brother, Nate. Tell Mom we’ll be home within the hour.”
“I will. Bye, Dad.”
Nate ended the call and pushed through the closed doors into the living room. He found his mother perched on the edge of an armchair, her phone still clutched in her hand.
“Hey, Dad said he’ll have Stephen out in no time.”
“Yeah,” Victoria answered flatly.
“You don’t sound happy about that.”
“How much more is this woman going to cost this family?”
Nate eased onto the chair next to her, taking her hands in his. “Mom, we’re not going to let Chloe cost us anything else. Okay? I promise. I know…my stupid decisions after our break-up cost us a lot. And now Stephen’s aren’t going to be a walk in the park, but it ends here.”
Victoria blew out a shaky breath as she nodded. They waited in tense silence until a car finally pulled into the drive. A shaken Stephen stepped out of the car, followed by his father.
They shuffled into the house, appearing in the living room a moment later.
Victoria leapt from her seat and hurried to pull Stephen into her arms. “Oh, honey.”
Stephen wrapped his arms around his mother, his eyes squeezed shut .
Nate joined his dad at the drink cart. “What’s it look like, Dad?”
His father heaved a sigh as the ice cubes clinked against the glass before he smothered them with bourbon. “Not great. Even if we get these dismissed, she’s going to try to use it in the divorce case.”
Nate huffed out a breath as he shook his head. “She’s the gift that just keeps giving.”
His father twisted to face him. “You said you were heading to Eldoria?”
“Yeah. I was going to talk to Stephen about going. The jet’s ready, we can leave whenever he is.”
“Mind waiting until morning? I’d like to talk to Stephen, and I know your mom will, too.”
Nate pressed his lips together. He wanted to get to Eldoria as quickly as possible, but given the late hour now, he didn’t want to show up on the palace’s doorstep first thing in the morning. “Uh, sure. We’ll leave bright and early tomorrow. Another few hours won’t kill me.”
Charles clapped Nate on the shoulder. “Thanks. I’m sorry to ruin your plans, but it’s probably better to fly out tomorrow anyway. There’s a storm coming tonight.”
“Yeah, I’d hoped to beat that weather system, but this is fine, too.”
Nate twisted, coming face to face with his brother. He cleared his throat as he offered him a slight, consoling smile.
“I guess you’d like to gloat,” Stephen said.
“No,” Nate answered with a shake of his head. “No, I did my fair share of stupid stuff after Chloe, too. I’m just sorry she’s still costing this family.”
“Thanks to my stupidity,” Stephen answered. “I didn’t touch her, though.”
“I don’t doubt that. I know you, Stephen. We may have had our issues, but you’d never hit a woman. Dad taught us better than that.”
Stephen bobbed his head, his eyes sliding sideways.
“Listen, umm, Maddie and I are flying to Eldoria early tomorrow. We were going to leave earlier, but we’re postponing until tomorrow morning. Why don’t you come with us? Get away from all of this…and her.”
Stephen smirked at him. “Yeah, I’m sure you want me around ruining your good times with the royal family.”
“I do want you around, Stephen. You’re my brother. And…I’d still like you to be my best man. I think some time away could be good for you. Head out with us.”
“I don’t know…” His brother answered.
“Well, I mean…it’s up to you, but I think you could really use a break. Think about it.”
Nate offered him another tight-lipped smile as he stepped around him and headed for the door.
“Hey, Nate,” Stephen called after him.
He twisted to eye his brother.
“Thanks. I, uh, I think I’ll take you up on it if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. Get packed. We’ll leave right after breakfast tomorrow.”
Stephen’s fleeting smile was more than he’d seen in a while from his brother. He headed upstairs, informed his sister, and retired to his room for a private meal before he went to sleep, eager to put the day behind him.
Severe thunderstorms raged through most of the night, tapering off just before morning. Nate rose before the sun, dressing and readying his suitcase to be stowed in the car.
He strode through the halls to Stephen’s room to check that his brother was still going with them. Stephen pulled his door open a few seconds after Nate knocked.
“Hey, you ready? ”
“Yeah,” Stephen answered as he reached for his bag.
Nate’s gaze fell to a heap of clothes on the floor, muddy and wet. Stephen’s eyes snapped to them, noticing Nate’s interest. He kicked them behind the door before he shifted his bag into the hall.
“I’ll tell them to grab your bag,” Nate said, his brow still furrowed as he took a step back.
“Thanks.”
Nate’s mind swam with curiosity as he considered the clothes on the floor before he dismissed it, descending the stairs and heading into the dining room. “Well, I think we’re all set.”
He eased into his chair next to his father.
“Unfortunately, Nate, I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere just yet.”
Nate’s stomach clenched. “Why not? Is there a problem with Stephen’s case?”
“You could say that.”
Nate creased his brow, shifting his gaze between his parents. “What is it?”
Charles leaned forward, clasping a fist in his other hand as he set his elbows on the table. His voice dropped to a gravelly whisper, the words hanging heavy in the air. “Chloe was found dead last night. They’re investigating it as suspicious.”
A cold shiver raced down Nate’s spine as reality settled in. Even in death, Chloe cast a long shadow over their lives. Memories of their tumultuous past mingled with a gnawing worry that her death would further complicate things for the Kingsleys.