Page 18 of Reckless Princess (Knight's Ridge Empire 8)

TOBY

“I get the feeling you’re following me for a reason,” Archer quips as I tail him out of the room after he announced he was going to take a piss.

“What gave me away?” I mutter, not giving a shit that he’s sussed me out. It’s not like I was hiding, I just didn’t want to have this conversation in front of everyone. I don’t want them to know where to find her. Not yet, anyway.

He pushes through to a bathroom but leaves the door open as he comes to a stop in front of a toilet.

“Go on then,” he says, sounding more than a little suspicious about what I could possibly want.

“I need a favour,” I confess as he takes a piss.

“Well, that was fucking obvious. What is it?” he asks, flushing the toilet and moving to the basin.

“Foxes is under your control, right?”

He glances over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed in confusion.

“You want a job shaking your ass for money, Doukas?” he quips, a smirk pulling at his lips.

“No. You have a new girl starting that I need eyes on.”

“Ah, of course it’s about a girl,” he laughs smugly. “So what is it you’re really asking? You want her sacked before she’s even started to stop the scumbags who frequent that place getting their hands on what’s yours?”

“No,” I state. “I don’t want to stop her from doing what she thinks she needs to do.” Despite how much I really fucking want to. I would if I didn’t think she’d hate me even more than she already does.

She explained to me on our waffle date about how she harboured some deep desire to be a stripper. I’m sure she never expected things to play out how they have for that dream to come true, but here we are. And I’m not going to take that away from her as well as everything else I’ve ruined.

“So…” Archer prompts, his brow quirked in a way that tells me he’s enjoying this little interaction.

“I just want an eye kept on her. Make sure no one steps out of line, and take action on anyone who might.”

“Right,” he mutters.

“She’s mine. Jodie Walker belongs to me, and if any of your scumbag patrons try taking a single fucking thing from her, they’ll have me to answer to. As will you,” I threaten, stepping closer to him and holding his eyes.

He might be the gangster from the wrong side of town, but I’m not fucking scared of him if he wants to try something. I’ve been taught all the dirty ways to fight and am more than capable of holding my own against him.

“Careful, Doukas. Remember who you’re talking to.”

“The gang leader who can’t keep his own troops in line?” I ask teasingly.

“Careful. Did you want your girl protected or not?”

“Just proving a point, Wolfe. You might be the boss over here now, but you can’t deny that you need us. When all this shit hits the fan, you know that we’ll have your back. I’m just asking for a small favour in return. And after all, Jodie is connected to your guys.”

“Oh yeah, how’s that?”

“She’s currently inside Jesse Madden’s place, hanging out with Sara,” I inform him, knowing just how important Jesse is to him.

“Right. I’ll ensure my boys keep a close eye on her.”

“Appreciated, man.”

He nods once before taking off toward his sanctuary, but I don’t miss the way he mutters, “Fucking pussy-whipped motherfucker.”

Shaking my head, I walk into the bathroom and close the door behind me, shutting myself off from everyone else for just a few minutes.

I’m sure the guys are right and this is probably exactly what I need, but it’s not helping me forget or be able to ignore the pain in my chest. Especially knowing that she’s close. In a few short minutes, I could be at Jesse’s place. They’ll probably be alone too at some point, because there’s no way he won’t leave them to it and show his face here once the party starts kicking off.