Page 82 of Dark Knight (Knight's Ridge Empire 10)

DAEMON

“Where the hell are you? I told you to be here an hour ago,” Dad growls down the line not two seconds after I started my car and the call connected.

My grip on the wheel tightens, my knuckles turning white as I squeeze my eyes closed, the image of Calli sitting on top of Alex the only thing I can see.

“I’m on my way,” I grit out, desperately trying to keep my cool.

Losing my shit with Alex in the ring earlier was one thing, but if I allow Dad to see any weakness in me then I’m fucked.

He expects me to act a certain way, to put on a cold hard front and not cave to my emotions.

Usually, it’s not something I have a problem with, seeing as I don’t give a fuck about most things in my life. But Calli is an entirely different story.

And seeing her grinding down on Alex…

The call cuts without him saying another word, and I smack my hand down on the wheel.

“Fuck. FUCK,” I bellow, my fury refusing to stay bottled inside.

I sit there for another ten seconds, giving myself a talking to, forcing images of them together from my head before I finally put my car into drive and pull out onto the street.

Seeing her with Alex hits so differently from seeing her with Ant.

Finding him between her legs on Friday night was like a punch to the gut, but deep down I knew that even if he did get a taste of her, it could never last. No one would allow it, and if by some miracle it did get serious, something tells me that before long Ant would turn up dead and put an end to the whole situation.

But Alex…

If there is something between them, if he cares for her even half as much as I do despite not allowing myself to have her, then they could be a possibility.

Evan and Cassandra would approve… well, maybe. He’s not exactly the perfectly well-behaved Greek boy I’m sure they want for their little princess. But he’s a hell of a lot better than Ant, and I’d imagine more preferable than me.

I might have spent all these years watching her from the shadows, convincing myself that she would be better off with anyone but me. But could I stand by and watch her fall in love with Alex?

I shake my head as the car in front of me suddenly slams on his brakes, causing my heart to jump into my throat.

I just about manage to stop in time before a dog struts out from the front of the car as if nothing ever happened.

“Fucking stupid mutt,” I mutter to myself. “Go then,” I hiss when the driver in front hesitates to get going again.

By the time I pull up at the old warehouse in the woods on the outskirts of the city where I know Dad is waiting for me, every single muscle in my body is locked up tight and my fingers are cramping from the wheel and my need to put them to better use.

Alex might have helped me take the edge off earlier, but since then, he’s unknowingly woken the monster within me that constantly battles to get out.

“About fucking time,” Dad barks as I push through the door to the viewing gallery we’ve got on our prisoners.

There are three Italians strapped to the chair beyond the glass. All broken, bruised and bloody.

One of them was Jonas’s contact who helped him escape from our basement and damn near killed his mistress and daughter, and the other two are the ones Dad took from their compound on Friday night. Ones we’re hoping to get more details out of about Ricardo’s takeover plans.

But so far, they haven’t squealed any more than we already knew from our rat on the inside.

War is imminent, and while we might be ready for it, we sure as fuck would like a little more information on when exactly they’re planning to hit us.

“I’m here, aren’t I?” I growl, stuffing my busted knuckles into my trouser pockets.

It’s not like him finding me with war wounds is unusual or unexpected, but I really could do without the lecture right now if he finds out that Alex and I have been fighting. He might encourage us to spar, to improve our skills, but he wants our aggression to be kept for work. For us to be able to channel our anger toward those who deserve it. AKA those cunts barely clinging to life beyond the windows.

There was a time that I never would have spoken back to him. All our lives, our father and grandfather have been these larger-than-life mafia capos. Dangerous enigmas that I craved to be yet was told I’d never achieve.