Page 57 of Reckless Knight (Knight's Ridge Empire 7)

“I’m so sorry, but I’m not going to make dinner,” I confess before I get too lost in her and end up bailing on the boss’s orders instead.

“The prospect of meeting my friends that scary, huh?” she teases.

“I’ve been called into work,” I say honestly.

“O-oh… okay?”

I pull out onto the road with the intention to drop her at the restaurant before heading home to meet Nico.

“What?” I ask, her attention making my face heat.

“Nothing,” she says, and when I look over, I find she’s frowning.

I lift my brow to encourage her to say more.

“I just assumed you didn’t have a job.”

“Is that right?” I ask, my heart racing with the confirmation I needed that she has no idea who I am, or who I’m connected to.

“You drive a custom BMW that’s probably worth a bazillion pounds.”

“You think my daddy pays for everything, huh?”

She cringes beside me. “I’m sorry, that was really judgmental of me.”

“You’re not entirely wrong. Daddy did buy the car. But not because I’m his precious little prince or anything, I can assure you.” Truth is, he ordered it for me after he discovered me disobeying his orders by allowing my aunt in the house to see Mum, and he locked me in our basement for longer than I want to admit to as punishment.

For some fucked-up reason, he seemed to think that buying me this outrageously expensive car softened the blow of his punishment. Fucking deluded cunt.

“You and your dad not get on?” she asks.

“It’s complicated,” I grunt.

“I think that’s fairly standard with families, isn’t it?”

“From my experience, yeah. Although my story is particularly fucked-up.”

“Oh?” she asks, clearly hoping that I’ll give her something more.

“I wouldn’t want to ruin your night with the truth. Maybe one day I’ll share.”

“I’m here if you want to talk about it,” she offers, reaching over to squeeze my thigh in support.

I look over at her and smile at the concern on her face.

If only she knew the truth. If only she knew how her family was even more fucked up than I’m sure she could imagine.

“What about your dad?” I ask, more than curious about him, seeing as he seems to not exist.

She blows out a long breath. “I have no idea. My mum and stepdad split up after my brother was born. She was seeing someone else for a brief time, and he got her pregnant. That ended and Mum and Dad got back together, sorted their shit out, and he raised me as his.”

“That was big of him,” I force out through gritted teeth.

“He was a good guy.”

How the fuck I manage to contain my reaction to that statement, I don’t know.

My fingers begin to cramp on the wheel I’m holding it so tight, and I can’t help but hope that whatever we’re being sent to Lovell for involves some fucking violence. I could really do with losing some of this anger on some cunt’s face right now.