Royally Broken by Elle Boon Page 0,79
stuff she wasn’t sure how they accomplished, but the town underwent a lot of shifts. Paul Simmons became the sheriff shortly after Sheriff Stroud was found at the bottom of a ravine with the retired sheriff beside him. His cruiser had veered off the road with Claire Langley in the back along with her two grown boys, Blaire and Blaine. The autopsy showed all five had died on impact, crushed skulls making it impossible to ID any of them without dental records. Palmer had a feeling that had been in part to whatever had gone down with Keys and his brothers. He’d asked her not to ask questions and she hadn’t. Trust was easily given when her life and that of Jaxson was no longer in danger. She feared her MeMaw was going to be devastated at the death of her grandfather, but when Keys had told her, the woman who had always seemed fragile stood straighter when they’d given her the news. Of course, nobody told MeMaw how he’d died, but Palmer had a feeling she knew it wasn’t a heart attack.
“Well, that’s done then. I guess that makes me a widow, doesn’t it?” MeMaw had announced then she smiled, the grin making her look younger.
Keys nodded, his own smile every bit as infectious. Palmer could see why women loved him. Or at least she did.
“Alright, I suppose I should organize a funeral. Palmer, would it be bad if we just toss his ass in the incinerator at the funeral home and be done with him?”
Palmer had looked at her MeMaw, stunned for a moment, then she’d wrapped her arms around her, hugging the woman who had more than likely suffered for years. “I love you, MeMaw.”
“I love you too, child. Now, go on. I’ll handle everything from here on out. I suspect your man there made sure there wouldn’t be any more issues like we had before. I think I can sleep easier tonight and every night to come. Ain’t that right, Keys?” Her MeMaw looked at Keys with love and respect in her blue eyes.
Keys opened his arms, taking MeMaw into his big tattooed arms. Palmer couldn’t hear what he whispered to her, but she saw the way her grandmother shook and the tears that she didn’t try to hide as he rocked her in his arms. Keys wiped MeMaw’s cheeks before releasing her. “You go on and rest easy knowing ain’t nobody going to ever hurt you or my family as long as I’m alive. Even if something were to happen to me, my brothers will always ensure you all were safe, Mrs. Coker.”
IT TOOK THEM LONGER than he’d thought to get Palmer and Jaxson settled in California. Not because she wasn’t ready to leave Lionsville, Missouri, but because her MeMaw insisted they get married before she traipsed across the country with a man who wasn’t her husband. Keys didn’t point out that her first husband had been a bastard groomed by the late Mr. Coker. In truth, he was happy as fuck to have Palmer be his in name and deed. Silas DeMarcus was dead. He may be the descendant to the founder of the town, but that wasn’t who he was. He was Keys Royal and now his woman was sporting his last name as well. The only thing left was for little Jaxson’s paperwork to be finalized. They’d be a Royal family in name and deed.
Most of the men from The Domicile had been loaded up and taken to Koyn’s Slaughterhouse to be disposed of. They were men that Keys didn’t give two shits if they were missed. They were the bottom of the barrel sadistic fucks who if they had time, Keys would’ve let Koyn and the boys torture a lot longer. As it ended up, Palmers grandfather, the Strouds, and the Langley’s were the only ones that showed up right away, the others were reported missing but never found. Most had gone out on the river it seemed on a fishing excursion or so their wives said. Their boat had not been found nor had they until bones were discovered, a gruesome discovery leading the FBI to find some incriminating evidence of their sick little world. A network that needed to be dismantled that branched out from The Domicile in Lionsville to across the United States. King vowed to find just how and who had put the two twins in touch with Mr. Coker.
“Why’re you so nervous?” he asked Palmer, her