Page 57 of Between Brothers

“What the fuck?” I scoffed, unable to hide my disappointment.

I sauntered up the sidewalk and knocked on his front door.

Forty mumbled something beyond the door that I didn’t quite catch, but it was enough to alert me to his presence inside. He was still groaning when he opened the door and squinted against the early-morning light.

“What the hell do you want?” he grumped, once he was finally able to fix his gaze on me.

“G’morning to you, too, Prez.” I winked and didn't fake the smile.

The knowledge that I could have blown his ass away before he even got the sleep cleared from his eyes almost made me giddy.

I could have, it was my decision not to.

A fact that made me twitch in all the right places.

He made a low sound that almost registered as a growl, before leaving the door open and venturing into his house.

“Kennedy,” He gruffly bellowed.

I followed him inside, where he silently trudged toward his bedroom. I wasn’t offended, I knew he was still waking up. I turned the coffee pot on and prepared for the show to come.

An unexpected muffled sound of a female voice left me suddenly edgy.

“You got company?” I called after him, “Ey, I’m just here to see Ken…” My words trailed off when Roach appeared at the top of the steps.

“Kal will be out in a minute.” She smiled, tucked a bit of hair behind her ear, and went to the coffee pot. A soft, but pleasantly surprised, giggle escaped her when she discovered it brewing already.

“Thanks,” she chirped.

“You bet,” I awkwardly mumbled.

Kal made his way down a short time later with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. It was unlit and he was doing a pocket dance in search of something.

“You just put those fucking pants on, how the hell did you lose your lighter already?” I laughed.

He raised a lazy shoulder and groaned as he lowered himself onto the kitchen chair opposite of me.

“Say again?” he asked, his voice still carrying an edge of morning gruffness.

“You lost your…”

“I’m not talking about the lighter, dumbass. What the hell did you just say about my daughter?” He stared at me like I was some species of bug he’d never seen before.

The smile froze on my face, and I tried to look somewhat apologetic, “She’s a good girl.”

“She is, which is why I want you to cut this shit short and stay away from her, Kingston.” He probably would have kept right on chewing my ass, despite the sudden knock at the door, if it hadn’t been followed by the distinct sound of a police radio.

We both got up when a second round sounded against the door.

“Should I…?” Roach hitched a thumb.

“Open up, Sheriff’s Department,” someone official sounding called from the porch, before a third round of pounding began.

Forty jerked his chin up, saluting her idea.

Roach glanced back as she reached for the knob, and Forty gave a discreet little nod.

“Got that one trained, eh?” I teased, before growing quiet and straining to hear.