Page 14 of Deviant Reign (Knight's Ridge Empire 6)

THEO

I’m staring at the ceiling when the door to the room I was forced to stay in last night swings open, causing the space to illuminate around me.

“How are you feeling?” Alex asks, inviting himself inside.

I didn’t want to stay here. I wanted to get back out there and do something to find her, to help her, to rescue her. But after the vodka, and then the painkillers Gianna almost forced down my throat once she was happy I didn’t have a concussion, I was in no fit state to even leave the house, let alone drive or fight for my girl.

In all honesty, the painkillers have worn off and I’m in fucking agony, but that’s not going to stop me from doing what I need to do today.

Flipping the covers off me, I sit up.

“Never been better,” I hiss as the room spins around me.

Schooling my reaction so he can’t see how hard every fucking movement is, I turn my back on him and start pulling on my clothes from last night.

“Here,” he says before there’s a dull thud on the bed behind me. “I brought you more clean ones.”

“Thanks,” I mutter, spinning back around and pulling them on instead.

He stands and watches me with his brows pulled, but he thankfully holds back the million and one questions that I know are on the tip of his tongue.

“I need coffee, then we’re leaving. I need to find her.”

He trails behind me as I make my way to the kitchen.

Thankfully, Gianna is already at the coffee machine and must have predicted what I was about to do when Alex came to get me, because she’s got two travel mugs ready to go.

“How are you feeling?”

“Fantastic,” I say, forcing a fake smile on my lips. “Thank you for last night.”

She gives me a sad smile before walking over and inspecting her handiwork.

“It shouldn’t leave too much of a scar,” she says softly.

“I don’t care about that.”

“You should,” Alex pipes up. “You’re already ugly enough.”

I glare at him across the kitchen but hold my tongue as he grins at me like a fucking idiot.

“You ready to go?” I ask once his mum has finished faffing with me.

“Yep, let’s go and find your girl.”

I’m almost out of the kitchen with my mug before he’s even finished speaking.

“Move your arse or I’m going without you,” I shoot over my shoulder, swiping his car keys from the dresser by the front door.

“You’re not driving my car, prick,” he shouts before saying goodbye to his mum.

“Whatever.”

Knowing he’s right, and not stupid enough to risk another fucking car accident, I unlock it and drop into the passenger seat to wait for him.

“Where we going then, bro?”

I let out a heavy sigh, knowing that there’s only one place we can go first.