Page 58 of Rio (Knight Empire #3)

RIO

Dex texted to say that tonight we’re having a Knight brothers’ dinner at the rooftop sky garden in The Bluebell Manhattan, Luke Hunter’s hotel. The entire garden has been reserved just for us.

Fitting really, since it was here that Dex proposed to Dani. And it was in the upscale bar inside, The Midnight Lounge, where Dex and Dani had their first date. It was also where I first met Raquel.

Dex organized it all. He claims he’s proud of what I did, and we need to celebrate standing up to the old man.

But I didn’t just wake up and do this. I saw Jett stand up for what he believed in, and then Dex fought his battle. Sure, we helped, but seeing my brothers rise up, slowly, but surely, pushing back, inspired me to do what needed to be done.

But what I’m celebrating tonight is getting Raquel back.

We’re late, and by the time the elevator doors open, and we step out to find everyone seated around a long rectangular table. Thick white candles in glass jars are dotted around the table. The lighting is low and warm.

All the brothers are there, and Dani and Cari.

No sign of the old man. This feels like a family get-together.

Not a Knight family dinner night. Jett is sitting at one end, arms folded.

Dex is next to him, looking into Dani’s eyes like she’s the only woman on earth.

Dani’s laughing about something and the dude is just watching her.

Zach stares out at the city skyline probably wishing he wasn’t here.

I suck in a breath. He’s one of the youngest of the Knights, not the youngest, Enzo is, and that dude is far wiser than his twenty-six years.

Problem with Zach is that he’s deluded when it comes to the old man.

He still thinks the old man might change.

Another problem is that he loves him and still looks up to him.

Matteo is tapping away on his cell phone and Enzo is silently surveying everyone.

“Brother. Raquel. Glad you could both make it.” Dex nods.

Everyone quiets. Raquel and I are holding hands.

I give her hand a gentle squeeze, knowing how daunting it can be to walk in and find seven pairs of eyes on you.

Cari and Dani spring out of their seats and rush to Raquel. They don’t even acknowledge me.

“You okay, hon?”

“How’s it going?”

She’s bombarded with questions, and hugs and kisses, even though they were all together earlier, watching the live stream.

“Thank you,” I say, when they finally, finally , turn to acknowledge me. The girls took care of the livestream, and setting it all up, getting Raquel to come over to Jett’s place and getting her to watch it.

“Want to come sit by us?” Dani asks.

“I’m fine, thanks. I’ll sit by Rio,” she says softly, looking a little shy. She’s nothing like the velociraptor in the courtroom—the fierce, unstoppable woman I know. I hate that because of me, my father was able to get to her.

The girls go back to their seats.

We’re still holding hands. “You ready?” I ask.

She nods, Jett gets up first and comes over to shake my hand, before greeting Raquel warmly by giving her a light kiss on her cheek.

The others follow, murmuring, “Hey”, and “Hi,” and “Good to see you.”

Raquel is right. There are so many of us. It takes a while for all the greetings to subside, but by the time the boys all sit back down again, I feel Raquel relax beside me.

I’m touched by these guys. When we meet without the old man, and its only happened once before, it really does feel like we’re a family.

We need to make this a regular thing.

At my place setting, a cut-crystal bottle of my favorite aged tequila waits, condensation just starting to form on the glass. Beside it, a matching tumbler, already poured. Dex knows me so well. The champagne has been poured in glasses.

He gets up from his seat. “Welcome, Raquel. Just glad you could make it to dinner.”

The girls beam at her, like she’s one of them, and I guess she is.

She smiles. “Thank you for inviting me.”

“To Rio. For paving the way. Way to go, brother.” He raises his glass, and everyone else raises theirs. “And to Raquel, who came tonight, despite knowing our surname.” This gets a laugh from everyone. “I’m sorry our old man dragged you, an innocent woman, into his power games.”

“She was collateral,” I reply, anger rising in my chest. He ruined her life, or tried to, to teach me a lesson. What a psycho.

“She wasn’t just collateral,” Enzo says. “He probably enjoyed it.”

Jett swirls the whiskey around in his glass. “Unfortunate, but strategic, according to father.”

“Her career was destroyed,” I bite out. “And her name dragged through the mud.” My jaw tightens. Raquel squeezes my hand gently.

“Let it go,” she whispers. “Don’t spoil this evening.”

“The old man’s an ass,” Matteo says. “He shouldn’t have taken his grudge against Rio, and the rest of us, on you. You still sure you want to date my brother?”

“More than sure,” Raquel answers.

I rise and clear my throat, wanting to make a toast. I lift my glass of tequila, the amber liquid catching the light. “No reporters. No legal teams. No boardroom. Just us. A band of brothers. A family.”

The table is quiet, the candlelight catching in every glass.

“Thanks for putting this together, dude,” I nod in appreciation at Dex. “It’s been tough. Really tough, but it’s been hardest on the woman I love.”

I look down at Raquel. She does something I’ve never seen before—she looks coy, her eyes dropping to the table as if she can’t meet anyone’s gaze.

It hits me how much losing her job and her reputation has broken her.

Even though I stood up to the old man in the boardroom, I know it’s not a quick fix. This will take time to heal.

“You stood up to him, bro. That’s a big thing.” Dex is trying to make me look good, but I wish he’d tone it down. He means well, but this wasn’t all me.

Raquel looks up at me. “It can’t have been easy.” She reaches for my hand, her fingers curling over mine. Her voice is soft, because she knows. She understands me, knows what it took.

“And on that note,” Jett says, standing. “Won’t take too much time, Rio, just wanted to say that what you did was a big thing.”

“You inspired me,” I reply, feeling a lump in my throat that surprises the hell out of me. I’m suddenly overcome with emotion. Suddenly feeling like we’re so much more than who we used to be. The corners of Jett’s mouth lift just enough for me to know he appreciates the comment.

Looking at Raquel, he says, “I hope you’ll be a part of this family. You can ask Cari and Dani—we’re not that bad when you get to know us. We’re not like our father.”

Zach shakes his head and sits back. Jett continues, “I just want to welcome you and hope that whatever wrong’s been done to you, we can somehow make it right. Being fired, having your reputation attacked—it’s too big a price to pay.”

“Thank you,” Raquel says quietly. “I appreciate that. But for this man? There’s no price I won’t pay.” Silence falls, and something tightens in my chest. Heat crawls up my spine. She said this in front of everyone, and now she stares at me lovingly.

Glasses are raised, and there’s a chorus of cheers.

The servers begin setting out steaming platters of steak and sides, the scent of charred meat filling the air. The conversation picks up again, laughter mixing with the clink of cutlery and glasses.

Raquel’s eyes are shining as our gazes lock.

The earlier meekness, the timidity—those things that were so unfamiliar in the woman I love—have vanished.

Leaning closer, we can’t help it, our lips meeting in a quick, heated kiss that sends sparks tingling through me. I know things are going to be okay.

I know we’ll be more than okay.

The food is good. The insults fly. Each of the brothers throws in a jab or a laugh. It’s loud, it’s warm, it’s family.

It’s everything I never dreamed we could have, and yet, here we are.

Raquel’s sitting back in her chair, relaxed and content. Looking happier than I’ve seen her. My heart warms.

I feel on top of the world.

The servers have cleared the plates, and refilled all our drinks, and they’re about to serve dessert.

A phone rings somewhere, then Jett’s voice cuts through the air.

“What? When?” The words are sharp, and loud, causing every fork to freeze midair.

“What fresh drama is this?” I mutter under my breath.

Everyone sits forward. The air chills. The sound of laughter and chatter disintegrates with the weight of impending doom.

Jett’s face turns white.

“We’ll be there.” He hangs up, swipes his hand over his face, looks around the table at us all.

“That was the housekeeper. The old—” A muscle ticks in his jaw before he corrects himself. “Father ... was rushed to the hospital. He collapsed. Chest pain and vomiting and confusion. EMT’s took him straight to the hospital.”

A chair scrapes across the floor. Zach stands, looking deathly pale. “He’s alive, isn’t he?”

“She didn’t say otherwise so I’m assuming, yes.” Jett deadpans.

Anger flashes in Zach’s eyes. “Can’t you have anything good to say about him-”

“Let’s calm down, shall we?” I get up. “We should go.”

“He just tried to destroy Raquel, and you ,” Matteo counters, sitting back in his chair, like this isn’t shocking news.

Enzo stands up. “We should go. He is our ... father. It’s the right thing to do.”

“Amen, brother.” Dex gets up.

Everyone rises, and the warmth and laughter, the easy conversation, the delicious meal, and rare moment of unity, they vanish.

***

We walk through the quiet and sterile corridor of the Manhattan private hospital. The rooftop celebration feels like another timeline ago, and the mood has shifted from joy to something heavy and morose.

The girls are in the waiting room, and now we, the Knight boys, file into the private room. The old man’s eyes are closed. He’s resting. Or maybe he’s pretending to be asleep, so he doesn’t have to deal with all of us looking at him while he’s at his most vulnerable.