Page 60 of Forever King

A thought comes to me after a few minutes. If Eleanor doesn’t know, then Eden has to know. The probability that both women have no idea about where Ava has gone to is infinitesimal. I’d bet money Eden knows.

I call my brother’s number and lie back on the bed, exhausted after the flights to and from London and the ride back from the airport. As I wait for him to answer, I think to myself I’m too damn old for that shit. Yes, I’m in my mid-thirties, but that doesn’t mean all that damn traveling is anything I want to have in my life.

A twinge of guilt pinches at me when I remember the reason why I had to do all that flying in the first place. I had it coming for the way I acted. In fact, I likely got off easily. I shouldn’t forget that.

Finally, Marius answers, and he barely gets the words out of his mouth before I know something’s up. “Hey, big brother. Did you forget Kellen works in the same place as you do?”

Jesus Christ. I went away for one damn day. What did he do?

“No, I didn’t forget. What are you talking about?” I ask as stress begins to fill my body.

“If you’re going to lie, trust a pro. You want to cover all your bases. If you don’t, people find out and get cranky.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about, so I take a deep breath and let it out before saying, “Could we try not being the fucking Riddler today? I just got back from a round trip to London. My family is nowhere to be found, and I get the feeling Kellen did something to the business in the twenty-four or so hours I’ve been gone. So enough of the cryptic bullshit, okay? I’m just calling to see if your wife knows where my wife and kids are.”

He doesn’t say anything for a long moment, and I get the sense he’s walking in the silence. Finally, he answers, “Your wife and kids have taken up residence with my wife and Lily. Seems Kellen blew your cover, big brother. All I want to know is why you lied to your wife about what you were doing and who you were doing it with.”

How the hell did Kellen know what was happening with Cynthia and me? I didn’t tell him, and I made sure to instruct Donna not to tell a soul at the company what I was up to.

At least now I know where Ava and the kids are and that they’re safe. Unfortunately, now I know why they aren’t here too.

“I’m coming over. Don’t tell anyone.”

He doesn’t get the chance to say another word before I end the call and get up off the bed. Taking the stairs by two, I runout to my car and floor it. Thankfully, Marius and Eden only live a short ways from my house, so even if he opens his big mouth, Ava won’t have time to drive away since getting two boys and a newborn into the car is nothing short of a fifteen to twenty minute process on the best of days.

By the time I pull into their driveway, I’m furious with Kellen, but I’ll have to deal with him later. In the meantime, I need to come clean with my wife, who I anticipate is none too happy with me.

Marius stands in the doorway smiling at me when I walk up to the front door. “Welcome to the house of angry women and loud children. I’m blaming you for both problems.”

“Sorry. If you let me in, I’ll fix both and you can have your house back.”

He laughs and steps aside to let me in. “The only thing I’m mad about is all these people in my house has made getting Lily to sleep next to impossible today. Your family is loud as fuck, dude.”

“You forget how boys are, huh?” I say as I walk past him.

“It was your wife sobbing in my kitchen that kept her up.”

Damn. I hate to hear Ava was crying, especially when I’m the reason for her sadness.

“Sorry. Point me in her direction, and I’ll clear this up ASAP.”

My brother points toward the back of the house and not the kitchen, so I hurry out to the backyard to find Ava and Eden sitting on the patio while my sons run around chasing each other. Both the babies lie in a playpen in the shade, and if I didn’t know something upset both women, I’d say it was a nice, happy scene.

One glance at Eden and Ava tells me it’s anything but.

“Nice to see you again, Matthias,” Eden says as she stands to leave.

“Same. I thought I’d come over and get my family,” I say with a chuckle, but nobody laughs with me.

She lifts Lily out of the playpen and turns to look at Ava. “I’m going to go inside for a little while so you guys can talk. If you need me, just holler.”

Eden shoots me a look of utter judgment before walking past me into the house, leaving me with Ava and the kids. Theo and Matty run up to me the moment they realize I’m standing there, throwing their arms around my waist and telling me they miss me.

“I missed you guys too. How about you let me talk to your mom for a little while? I’m sure Uncle Marius has some popsicles inside you can have.”

That’s all they have to hear to run inside the house. My brother’s going to be thrilled I volunteered him to be the babysitter for the next few minutes. He’ll be fine. It’ll give him a preview of what his life will be like if he has any sons.

Ava won’t even look at me, so I walk around her chair and crouch down in front of her. I see by the redness around her eyes that she’s been crying. Fuck. I never wanted this to be her problem.