Page 50 of Reckless Princess (Knight's Ridge Empire 8)

TOBY

I lay with Jodie locked in my arms for the longest time, but every time my eyelids fall, all I see is that fucking cunt with his hands on my girl, his fingers curling in the waistband of her leggings seconds before he—

I force myself to stop thinking about it once more and instead cave to my need to move, to pace, to do anything I can other than fuck her into oblivion to empty my head.

“Shit,” I hiss almost silently as I pull my arms from her soft, warm body and roll out of her bed without waking her.

Aware that Joanne is still downstairs, I take myself to the bathroom for a piss and head down. Every single one of my muscles is pulled tight with tension as I descend the stairs. What I really need right now is to blow off some steam in a gym, but I highly doubt they’re hiding one in a secret basement here—although knowing the man who owned the place, I guess the chance of him having a basement isn’t out of the question.

“Toby,” Joanne breathes when I emerge into the kitchen/diner and find her staring into what I can only assume is an empty mug. “How is she?”

“Sleeping.”

She nods, pleased with that answer.

“Can I get you a drink? Coffee or something st—“

“Anything stronger than coffee, if you’ve got it,” I answer for her.

She thinks for a beat. “I’ve got just the thing.”

I’m left standing in the doorway as she rushes past me and heads toward the living room.

Assuming I wasn’t meant to follow, I pull out a chair and take a seat. I last two seconds before remembering why I felt the need to get out of bed and move in the first place, and when Joanne returns she finds me pacing back and forth between the kitchen and dining room, my fists curling and uncurling at my sides while I silently battle the monster that always lives inside me.

I might have killed that motherfucker. But it wasn’t enough.

He touched her. He fucking touched her and he was going to—

I startle when a hand lands on my shoulder. When I turn, I find a soft, supportive smile staring back at me. In those few moments, she reminds me so much of Mum that I almost reach out and pull her into my arms. But I don’t.

“Here,” she says, holding up one very expensive bottle of whisky.

My brows pull together and my stomach twists painfully as I assume who that bottle belongs to.

“He was saving it. It only seems right that you get to be the one who drinks it.”

She pushes it closer to me, giving me very little choice but to take it.

“Tip it down the drain if you don’t want it. But it feels right.”

Unable to argue, I twist the top and lift the bottle to my lips.

I lose just a tiny bit of my tension the second the rich, spicy taste hits my tongue.

I swallow mouthful after mouthful, letting the strength of the alcohol burn down my throat before it sits warming my belly.

Finally, I pull it away and lick my bottom lip.

“To the end of a monster,” I say, tipping the bottle in a fucked-up salute to the sky.

Joanne’s breath catches at my words, but I don’t react.

Grabbing herself a glass and making her own drink, she takes a sip and turns to me.

“What really happened tonight, Toby?”

Blowing out a long breath, I decide to tell her the truth, revealing where Jodie had actually got a job and how her first night really ended.