Page 30 of Deviant Knight (Knight's Ridge Empire 4)

Seb rolls his eyes at my dramatics but wisely keeps his mouth shut.

“It’ll be fine. And with you being gone next week, it’s our only chance to hang out before New Year.”

“You make it sound like I’m going for ages. It’s five days. I’m sure you’ll barely even notice I’m gone.”

“Trust me, I’ll notice at the Cirillo Christmas Eve party.”

“Wow, maybe I should stay then. Wouldn’t want to miss that excitement.” Calli’s eyes light up for the briefest moment before she realises I’m being sarcastic.

Shadows fall over us and my stomach twists, knowing that it can only be the four extensions to Seb’s side. The sudden tingling of my skin also clues me into whose eyes are currently on me.Apparently, he managed to lose his cling-on.

Four trays full of food land on the table before they join us.

“It’s a family event, Calli,” Theo growls, but his eyes, his warning, his hate, are fully directed at me.

“Emmie is my family,” Calli argues.

“Because that will fly with our fathers,” Nico scoffs, effectively pissing on her excitement.

“Not that it matters. She won’t be here. Where exactly are you going?” Theo asks, his fake interest in my life more than obvious to everyone around the table.

“As if I’m going to tell you,” I mutter under my breath.

He stares at me, his lips curling in amusement.

“I’m sure I could find out.”

My brows pull at his odd words.

Why the fuck would he even want to know? He should be jumping for joy that he gets five days without my poisonous stare burning into his face.

“Feel free. Turn up if you want. Join our party. Just remember who I’m going to be with,” I warn. Although, I hardly think he’d show any kind of fear over my dad and his friends, even if Titch is an ex-Circuit fighter. Champion fighter, I should add.

Theo motherfucking Cirillo doesn’t seem to be scared of jackshit. Which is annoying.

I’m desperate to find his weakness.

Anything. Just a tiny little chink in his armour that I can use for my own amusement and entertainment.

Everyone has them.

Seb has Stella.

Hell, even Toby now has Stella.

Nico has Calli. That and his reputation, just like Alex.

But Theo… Nothing seems to faze him, and it’s annoying as fuck.

Something will make that cunt crumble. I just need to find what it is.

I think of his brother and sisters the night his coach house burned to the ground. Is it them?

I never got to see how he was with them the night of the fire. Selene, his mum, had got them back to bed before he arrived, but I remember all too well the looks of love and adoration that covered his siblings’ faces when they spoke of their big brother.

The image of sitting with them on the sofa, comforting them as his coach house burned beyond the window morphs with the one of him viciously kicking me out.

It was almost as if getting rid of me from his family home, from watching his own home burn was more important than anything else.