Page 101 of Reckless Princess (Knight's Ridge Empire 8)

“Why the fuck do you think I’m drinking? Another night in Lovell babysitting Archer and his fucking minions. Jesus, can life get any more fucking boring?”

I stare at him as he paces back and forth.

“So it’s got nothing to do with Bri—”

“Don’t,” he spits. “Don’t say her name.”

“Dude, you’ve got it fucking bad.”

“Fuck off have I. It was one night of fun. That’s it.”

“You mean another night of fun. One you didn’t tell me about. Which is weird, because you usually tell me the ins and outs of every girl you hook up with, literally.”

“I was thinking of you, actually. I didn’t want to rub it in your face when things are weird with Jodie.”

My lips part to respond, but I quickly find that I’m at a loss for words. That kind of consideration is out of character for Nico, but for once, I find that I don’t want to call him out on it.

Maybe he’s bullshitting me and trying to cover up his feelings for Brianna, or maybe he is being genuine. It doesn’t really matter.

“So what’s the deal tonight, then? Same shit as the rest of the week?”

“Apparently so. Theo and I tried telling the boss that we should just go after the OGs and get this fucking over with, but we were told quite clearly that this isn’t our fight. We’re just the support act.”

I can’t help but laugh. I bet that went down like a sack of shit with Nico.

“Shit could be worse,” I mutter, thinking of some of the bullshit jobs we’ve been sent out on over the years.

“Could it? I need some fucking action, man. I’m gunning for a decent fucking fight and they’re not taking the bait.”

“It’ll happen. They’re playing the long game, waiting for us to think it’s not going to happen. And when we show weakness, they’ll strike. They know they stand less of a chance of taking the Wolves over if they’ve got us on side. They’re not stupid.”

He stares at me, and I swear I can see the fucking cogs turning behind his eyes.

“You’re right.”

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he swipes the screen, finds a contact and marches toward his bedroom as he puts it to his ear.

“I’m going to shower. Be ready.”

I salute him as he disappears down the hall.

“Theo,” he barks when the call connects. “This is fucking happening tonight. I’m sick of waiting.”

He pauses.

“Yeah. Yeah, so what I’m thinking is…”

A door slams and his thoughts are cut off. It’s probably for the best, because Nico’s plans never are the most fucking sensible.

* * *

Just over an hour later,the five of us are in Theo’s car on the edge of the Wolves territory, waiting for the nod that something is about to kick off.

Usually, we’d already been in sight by now, parked up at the Den and making our presence known. I just really hope these two know what they’re doing, because I could really do without the wrath of the boss if this goes tits up tonight.

“What the fuck are we actually waiting for?” Seb barks after we’ve been sitting here in the dark for thirty minutes. “If I knew tonight was gonna be this shit, I’d have taken my girl’s offer of continuing what we started in the shower.”

I roll my eyes at him, knowing full well that he’s just trying to get a rise out of me. There’s no way Stella didn’t march back into their flat and tell him exactly what we talked about.