Page 3 of Deviant Knight (Knight's Ridge Empire 4)

“Yep, can’t wait,” I deadpan. “You know how much I love that place.”

She chuckles at me. “Three weeks off can’t come soon enough then.”

Three weeks of no school, and more importantly, no Theo Cirillo. I have no fucking clue what his game plan is, but recently he seems to be popping up even more than usual.

If he liked me, I might think he was doing it on purpose. But we all know that can’t possibly be the case.

He’s just… driving me fucking crazy.

“You all sorted for next week?” I ask, although I already know she is.

Dad and Piper might have only been planning their Christmas wedding for a few weeks, but everything is already in place. And thankfully, their plans involve us all leaving London for five days.

I can’t fucking wait.

“You know it. I’m picking up our dresses after school. I’ve got my hair and nails appointment tomorrow night. I can still add you if you want—”

“No, I’m okay,” I say, for what I’m sure is the millionth time.

I like Piper. No, I love Piper. She’s given my dad everything he’s been missing all these years, made him smile in a way I don’t ever remember seeing before. For that, I will forever be grateful for her.

Plus, she also helped open my eyes to the side of my family that Dad has tried to keep me away from for the past seventeen years.

If it weren’t for Piper, then I might not have discovered just the kind of men my pop and uncle are.

I’ve always known they were scary, and a few years ago I overheard Mum telling someone about their ‘club’. I thought it was a joke until I Googled the Royal Reapers and discovered just how scary the men I’m related to really are.

The fact that my dad was ever involved in that kind of life shocked the hell out of me. He might be a tattooed, bike-loving, hulk of a man. But part of a motorcycle club? I had no fucking idea they even existed outside of Netflix and films.

My internet searches and the gossip I heard when people discovered my surname should have been enough, but after my uncle made the dumb-arse decision to abduct Piper a couple of months ago to settle some old bullshit feud with a club that doesn’t even exist anymore… Well, I was more curious than ever about the life my dad had been brought up in, and the lives some of my relatives still live.

Piper eyes my chipped black nails but wisely keeps her opinions to herself.

She’s going to get me in a proper dress next week, and fucking heels. She must be aware that she’s already pushing her luck.

“I’ll redo them, I promise,” I assure her. I also plan to re-dye my dark hair just for the occasion.

“It’s going to be perfect,” she tells me, her eyes going all sappy as she thinks about tying the knot with my dad.

“It will.”

The thought of getting dressed up in a white gown and committing my life to another isn’t something I’ve ever thought about for myself. It’s just a bullshit piece of paper that people seem to think means something. As if spending a ton of money to feed a lot of other people, most of whom you don’t actually want to spend time with, ensures a happy and successful relationship.

I laugh to myself and roll my eyes so hard it hurts.

“What was that?” Piper asks, dropping some bread into the toaster.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t to myself.

“Nothing. Just remembered that I need to be in early to hand something in,” I mutter, lying through my teeth.

“Do you have time for breakfast?” she asks, her brows pulling together.

Watching her slide into her stepmother role makes my heart ache.

Not because I don’t want her to—I’m more than happy having her in my life. What hurts is watching her being a better mother to me than my own has been in seventeen years.

Pain slices through my chest as I think of that woman.