Page 39 of Dark Knight (Knight's Ridge Empire 10)

“Cal, are you okay? You look a little… pale.” Her eyes dart around my face and I panic, lifting my hand up to cover my neck. From how bright those hickeys were when I stood in front of the bathroom mirror yesterday, I know there’s no way they’ve miraculously vanished overnight.

“Yeah, I just didn’t sleep very well,” I lie. Truth is, I slept like the freaking dead. It was probably a mistake. I should be sleeping with one eye open from now on, waiting for Daemon to strike back. I have no doubt he will. He’s known as the boogeyman within the Family. The one who is likely to sneak up on you when you least expect it. He’s deadly, brutal, the exact opposite of the person you want coming after you in the dark.

My stomach knots and my eyes shoot to the floor-to-ceiling windows which expose me to anyone who might feel like wandering down here. I really should have lowered the blinds before I crashed last night.

The sun is quickly rising, but there are still enough dark corners out there where someone could hide.

A shiver runs down my spine.

Would he risk coming here? Chance getting caught by my dad? By Nico—if he were ever to come back?

“Calli?” Stella shouts, dragging me back to reality.

“Shit, yeah. Sorry.”

“You really didn’t sleep well, huh?”

I shrug, keeping my hand locked on my neck, suspiciously I’m sure.

“You’re coming to school, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” I say with a sigh.

“Okay, awesome. Things are going to get back to normal now.”

“Really?” I ask sceptically. If Dad and Uncle Damien have a couple of the Marianos locked away somewhere, then I really doubt things are about to get easier.

My stomach turns at the thought of them having Ant. I have no idea if they stormed that place Friday night with targets in mind, but after finding me in Ant’s room, I can only imagine that Daemon would have been gunning for him.

“I’ll see you at school, yeah?” I bark at Stella before cutting the call and running toward the bathroom.

* * *

Istand in the middle of my basement with my heart thrashing in my chest and my hands trembling at my sides. I stare at the door I know I should have walked out of over five minutes ago, but I’m having a real hard time forcing myself to move.

I don’t want to go out. I don’t want to risk walking straight into him in the hallway, or for him to be sitting in the common room waiting for me.

Sucking in a deep breath, I force myself to move forward and put him to the back of my mind. With any luck, he’s still sleeping off the effects of those tablets.

Summoning up some inner strength, I jog up the stairs that will take me to the main house so I can borrow a car to get me to school.

I try not to think about where mine is, or my phone, or anything else I took to Ant’s place Friday night.

“Mum?” I call when I get to the top of the stairs, but unsurprisingly there’s no response. It’s been a long time since I would find her in the kitchen preparing our breakfast and ensuring we got ourselves to school on time, but every now and then, I can’t help hoping she might just show her face, to make sure I’m doing what I’m meant to be.

Even Jocelyn is absent this morning, probably off on some insane task that Mum has set her.

I press my hand to the scanner beside the cupboard with the car keys—total overkill, if you ask me, but Dad is all about the security in this place—and scan the black fobs for options. Grabbing the one for Mum’s Audi, I swing the door closed, leave a quick note letting her know that I’ve borrowed it, and head out.

I should probably be worried that admitting to borrowing her car will invite questions about the whereabouts of mine, but really, the chances of her even seeing that are slim let alone her noticing one of her least favoured cars is missing. So I take my chances. I can handle Mum, I think. My biggest issue right now is getting my car and phone back—or figuring out a way to get a replacement—and escaping Daemon’s wrath.

It’s not until I get to the bottom of the stairs that lead to our front door that I look up and I damn near trip over my own feet.

My car.

I freeze on the spot, staring at my white Mercedes parked in its usual space, and my brow creases in confusion.

Glancing over my shoulder, I look around for the culprit as dread seeps through my veins.