Page 31 of Deviant Knight (Knight's Ridge Empire 4)

I mean, I get it. He thought I was involved. If the situation were reversed, I wouldn’t have wanted him there either. But shit.

How could he seriously think that after sitting with my arms around his shell-shocked siblings, after I dragged Stella across the grass and farther away from the fireball she’d been thrown across the driveway by, that I could have been a part of that?

Stella’s my girl. Just like he has his boys. I’d never—NEVER—knowingly let anything happen to her.

If I had any idea what Joker was playing at…

A violent shiver runs down my spine at the thought.

He seemed like such a good guy. But then again, just like I thought earlier, everyone has their weakness, and someone clearly found his.

“Is everything okay?” Stella asks quietly when she realises I’m staring at her.

“Y-yeah. Sorry. Got lost in my own head there,” I confess, feeling my cheeks heat a little.

“It’s okay, you know. All of that is over.” I nod as she smiles at me. But just like all the other times she’s tried to reassure me, guilt still twists up my insides painfully.

I should have known. I should have seen something. Helped. Anything.

Instead, I unknowingly allowed him to track my phone and help his little stalking mission.

He knew I was with her alone that night. He also knew that I’d left the building.

If Stella had hesitated for even a few more seconds while she ran back inside… well… she wouldn’t be sitting here beside me now.

“I know,” I lie, her face growing more and more concerned by the second. “It’s just gonna take me a while to get over it.”

“You’re not the only one,” she whispers, only making me feel even more guilty.

I’ve distanced myself from both Stella and Calli since that night. This is one of only a handful of lunches when I’ve caved and followed them to the restaurant to eat instead of making my excuses, and I hate that I haven’t actually asked her how she is. How she’s dealing with what she did that night.

Stella might be fierce and the baddest bitch I know, but she’s also got a heart of gold, and I’m not naïve enough to think that taking Joker’s life hasn’t left a stain on her soul.

I smile back at her, suddenly seeing a darkness in her eyes that she keeps hidden from everyone else.

“We can talk tonight,” I promise her, reaching for her hand and giving it a squeeze. “I’m sorry I’ve been distant.”

“You have nothing to apologise for, Em. Let’s just… start over, yeah? Get wasted and dance the night away like none of that ever happened.”

“Sounds good to me.”

The rest of lunch passes like normal. The guys chat about football, work, and other bullshit I’m not the slightest bit interested in while I attempt to drown them out, ignoring Theo’s hate-filled stare while chatting to my girls. It doesn’t work, though. I have no idea what he’s trying to achieve, but all it does is piss me the fuck off.

Halting Calli mid-sentence, I turn to Theo and meet his glare.

“Do I have something on my face or what?” I snap, my lips pursing in frustration.

The corner of his mouth twitches in accomplishment, and I instantly know that I just fell into his trap.

“What?” I hiss when he fails to say anything.

Pressing his palms to the table, his eyes continue to hold mine as he rises.

“I need to go and talk to Coach. I’ll catch you all later.”

And with that, he picks up his tray and marches away from the table.

“What the fuck is his problem?” I mutter.