Page 44 of Deviant Reign (Knight's Ridge Empire 6)

“No, he’s not. Your dad’s faked his death to give his other family closure. Apparently he ‘died’ before Christmas.”

I scrub my hand down my face and rub at my rough jaw. “Jesus fucking Christ. Why does he think that’s a good idea?”

“No clue. Toby is fucking pissed.”

“I can imagine. When is it happening?”

“Next week.”

I blow out a breath and fall back on the sofa, trying to imagine just how Toby is feeling right now.

That fucking cunt doesn’t deserve a funeral or for anyone to mourn his passing.

The only place he should be going right now is hell for what he put his real family through.

“I think your dad is just trying to make things easier for his other family.”

“Why the fuck are they his problem?”

Seb shrugs. “Fuck knows. They’re not, and maybe he’s trying to keep it that way.”

“I swear to God, if anyone other than Toby and Maria gets even a penny of that fucker’s money, I’ll have something to say about it. They deserve to bleed that cunt dry after what he put them through.”

“Bro, you won’t hear me arguing,” he says before taking a pull on his beer.

Silence descends around us, and it quickly turns uncomfortable as the elephant in the room becomes more and more obvious.

“Have you spoken to her?”

He shakes his head. “No, but Stella and Calli went over there after school. I’m sure I’ll get a full report soon.”

“I need to know what’s going on,” I confess. “If someone doesn’t find something out soon, I’m going to be shooting up fucking Lovell trying to find that cunt.”

“I’ll be right behind you, man. It’s something to do with Cora.”

A growl rips from my throat. Emmie might have told me over message last night, but hearing it hits harder somehow.

“That’s what Emmie told D when he found her yesterday.”

“Motherfucker. After everything that’s happened? She must have a fucking death wish if she’s been lying to all of us.”

D and Cruz were pretty tight-lipped about it all, but I’m pretty sure they know more than they’re letting on.

“Where the fuck is Ram in all of this?”

Seb shrugs. “Your guess is as good as mine. From what I’ve heard from Mickey’s, he’s not been seen in a while.”

“You think he’s run?” I ask. I’ve heard the same gossip from the gym, and I’ve seen the same suspicion on his members’ faces.

“He’s got half the fucking club after him for what he did to Emmie. I wouldn’t be surprised. He has to know that we’re right behind him after the Joker stunt too.”

“This is all going to blow up around us, isn’t it?”

“Hey, it’s been a while since we’ve all had an all-out war.”

“And we could all fucking well do without one.”

Seb sits back, draining his beer and letting it rest on the cushion, probably knowing that the condensation is rolling down the side of the bottle and is about to leave a damp ring on the fabric.