Page 4 of Sunrise (Monarch Club #3)

Vault

Racing down the hall to Sophie, I’m beat by one of the extra security staff members we have working tonight. He barrels into the room and I’m hot on his heels.

“I got you.” Wrapping my arm around her shoulder, I get her out of there while security deals with the couple that scared her.

She’s shaking like a leaf.

The problem is, I didn’t see anything go wrong, and I was watching the entire time.

“I’m… I was just…”

Her trembling exhales makes me more worried. “Did they say something? Threaten you?”

“I…”

“What happened?” Dmitri asks, running towards us.

“I need a minute to think!” she yells.

My hands fly up and I step back. Dmitri stops on a dime.

Sophie’s eyes are wild. She looks like she wants to bolt.

“Here.” I rip off my dress shirt and hold it out for her to take, because I don’t think she wants to be touched .

Sophie snags it from me and puts it on, covering her bra and underwear.

“What the fuck happened?” Ryker asks, storming over to us.

I’m tongue-tied and lost. Sophie looks like she’s going to cry. Fucking hell.

“Come on.” Dmitri brings her in for a hug. “You’re safe. We’re not ever going to let anything happen to you.”

Her hand slowly glides up his back until she’s halfheartedly hugging him back.

I wish she’d have clung to me instead.

But I didn’t force myself on her, hugging her without her permission, and Dmitri did. They’re close, so I let it slide. Besides, I have no claim to this woman, and if we’re all fighting to protect her, that’ll make it worse.

Ryker tips his head. “Let’s go back to my office.”

“No.” She peels away from Dmitri. “I need to leave.”

“Soph, what’s going on?”

“I… I don’t know. I’m just… not myself right now.”

Guilt slams into me. That Shibari show fucked everything up. First Knox, now Sophie. I should have taken her on a bike ride instead of saying I wanted to get back to work. This is my fault.

“How about that ride?”

She turns to me. “What?”

“Let’s go on a bike ride. Get you some fresh air.”

My girl swallows hard and stares at me.

“Do you want to go on a ride with Vault?” Ryker asks cautiously.

She nods, still staring at me .

“Come on, let’s go.” I take her hand and pull her away from the guys and out of the club. Neither of us seem to care that she’s not wearing pants.

“Where can we go?” she asks while I put her helmet on.

“Anywhere you want, Sunrise.”

Fuuuuck. Second slip of the night. What the hell is the matter with me?

Her chest rises and falls with the deep breaths she’s taking. “Anywhere at all?”

“Absolutely.”

“Take me to Knox.”

???

I’m not surprised she’d ask to see Knox. Like I said, he’s the one who holds us all together, and that very much includes Sophie because she’s become part of our little chosen family. We pull up to his place, and I quickly see his bike isn’t parked in its normal spot.

Shit.

Busting a U-turn, I go to the only other place he could be.

Midnight Run.

Sure enough, his bike is out front. I pull up behind him and shut my engine off. I have no idea what I’m going to walk into, but he won’t turn Sophie away, even if he kicks me out.

“Are you okay?” I ask her for the dozenth time. She nods and tugs my shirt down. The damn thing barely covers her ass. “Come on.” I reach for her hand, grateful for the physical contact when she laces her fingers with mine.

I always flashback to the days when we’d get smacked in the face with stale beer and cigarettes any time we came here.

What used to be a rundown shithole is now one of the hottest destinations in the city.

My bone marrow rumbles from the bass of the DJ’s music, perfume saturates the air, and there’s a neon sign over a set of leather couches that says, “ Ride it like you stole it ” and another by the large glossy black bar that says, “ People like you need to fuck people like me .”

Sometimes I wonder if Knox wishes he had the damn sex club instead of Ryker.

We head back to what used to be the large kitchen and is now a massive storage space and hit the stairs. There’s a sign above another set of double doors that are painted deep purple. This one says, “ Don’t just stare at it. Eat it .”

The underground restaurant, Midnight Run, is bustling with socialites and influencers.

Between Tara’s networking and Ryker’s membership list, Knox’s business is booming.

But the biggest reason Midnight Run is a huge success is because of Knox’s dedication to it.

He might have hated this place once, but he loves it with his whole soul now and it fucking shows.

From the plush leather seating to the chandeliers, to the custom designed wallpaper, to the weight of the silverware… it screams Knox in here.

Sophie noticeably relaxes as we slither past several tables, and she squeezes my hand just before letting herself into the kitchen.

Knox’s head is down and he’s sautéing something with a huge flame under the pan.

As if sensing someone new is in his domain, he turns and sees us, his eyes widening in surprise. “Sophie! What the fuck are you—” His gaze lowers and he frowns. “Where are your pants?” He drops his pan down on the flames and rushes over. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Knox finally looks at me. “What’s going on?”

“There was an incident at the Monarch.”

His gaze darkens as he calmly turns to Sophie. He’s guarded. A hair-trigger. I know the signs well. “Tell me what happened.”

“It was nothing. I just… panicked.”

“Did someone hurt you?”

She shakes her head.

Instead of asking what made her panic, Knox brings her in for a hug. “It’s okay,” he says, stroking her hair. “People panic all the time. I once saw Dmitri freak over a spider. He screamed like a little girl.”

Sophie chuckles and pushes back to look at him. “He’s not afraid of spiders.”

“Fine. It was me.” Knox flashes her one of his best smiles. “Freaky ass fuckers. Nothing natural should have eight legs.” He shivers dramatically, and Sophie smacks his arm.

But she laughs.

And that’s one of the many reasons I love this man. He’s able to shake us out of our heads and make things better, even when he doesn’t always understand what’s wrong with us.

He escorts her out of the kitchen and to the table that’s reserved for his family—us—and I follow like a lost puppy. A third wheel.

They take a seat while I second-guess everything about tonight. “I should probably go.”

Sophie asked to be brought to Knox and now that I’ve accomplished that, I need to go back to the club and do a little digging into the couple that scared her.

“Don’t leave us,” she says. Her eyes lift to mine, pleadingly.

No man in his right mind would leave a woman like this.

“Are you okay if I stay?” I ask Knox.

“Sit your ass down, Vault.” He slides over to make room for me, then grabs Sophie’s hand and leans into her.

For all the venom he has for me, he’s got nothing but sugar for her.

“What can we do for you, Soph?” His thumb runs along the tops of her knuckles in a soothing way.

He’s patient with her. Gentle. I remember when he used to be that way with me.

Until I fucked everything up.

And now I’ve done it again.

Sophie shakes her head. “Can we just forget about it? It’s nothing. I mean it. I just didn’t feel right and panicked. I’m sorry I caused so much drama.”

I lean forward and Knox’s thigh brushes against mine. “Don’t ever apologize for doing what you think is right for yourself.”

“Vault’s right. No I’m sorries up in here.” He looks over at me. “What did Ry and D do?”

“No clue. My priority was Sophie. We left and came straight to you.”

He stares at me for a heartbeat, his gaze softening a little. “Good.”

We relax into an easy, neutral conversation, and Knox cracks a few terrible jokes. I let him take the reins, steering the night however it needs to go until Sophie is back to her normal, calm self. Before long, she’s laughing loudly and whatever happened in the Monarch no longer clings to her.

Finally, I’m able to take a full breath. I’ve been wound up tighter than a drum all goddamn day because I was so nervous about tonight. This day has lasted seventy million hours, and it’s not even midnight. When was the last time I actually slept?

“Do you guys want something to eat?” Knox snaps his fingers to get the server’s attention. “Vault, you want a steak?”

“Yeah. I’m starving.”

“Three steaks, medium. Roasted vegetables for her. Potatoes for me and him.” Knox snags the server before he goes. “Tell Tristan if he burns the fucking garlic, I will same day ship him to Jesus.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Knox watches him walk straight to the kitchen before gifting me a second of his attention.

I arch my eyebrow. “You’re a violent boss.”

“Gotta keep them scared of you, so they listen.” He winks at Sophie. “Except you. You, I’ll forever be sweet to you because you always listen.”

She smiles like a devil. “What about Vault? He listens.”

“Mmm.” Knox side-eyes me. “He likes me violent sometimes.”

“When have I ever—”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to admit it. But I know my unhingery is a turn on.” He sits back and crosses his arms. “Classic dark romance trope. No one says no to a hot guy who’s a little fucked in the head.”

“You’re not fucked in the head,” Sophie argues humorously.

“Baby, if I play my cards right, I’d like to get head fucked. My mouth works great, don’t you think? Gotta pretty sweet ass, too.” He waggles his brows at her.

Kill me now.

“And don’t even try to deny this jawline.” He tips his head to the side and runs the back of his hand along his razor-sharp jawbone.

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it.” Soph rests her elbows on the table and props her chin on her hand and bats her lashes at him. “It is unbelievably sexy. Don’t you agree, Vault?”

What the hell is happening here?

Knox slowly turns his gaze towards me. Am I actually supposed to answer that? My throat’s tight and palms are clammy. “It’s average.”

Knox cracks a laugh so loud half the restaurant turns and stares at us.

The server soon comes out with our food, and Knox personally inspects each dish. It’s not unnoticed that Tristan’s peeking out to check if our food passes Knox’s specifications. Once Knox nods, the poor kid’s shoulders slump in relief and he hides back in the kitchen again.

“You’re going to give that poor boy an ulcer before he’s thirty.”

“Meh, he’ll survive.” Knox cuts into Sophie’s steak and feeds it to her. “At least he’ll never burn garlic again.”

Her pretty lips wrap around the fork he holds out for her, and she groans when the flavor hits her tongue. “God, that’s good.”

Knox shakes the fork at her. “Don’t call Tristan God. He’ll get a complex like me and there can only be one of us.”

My steak bursts in my mouth with a buttery flavor that’s got a hint of pepper and garlic. “Damn, this is amazing.” I go for a potato next.

“May I try one?” Sophie asks.

“Absolutely.” I poke one of the fingerlings and feed it to her. “I thought you hated potatoes?”

“I do… but I wanted you to feed me.” She chews it and swallows.

Knox slides her a glass of water. “Drink.”

We take turns feeding her the entire meal and clean our plates, too. Satisfied, I lean back and hide a yawn. With a full belly, Sophie acting better, and the tension between Knox and I somehow lessened, I’m fucking exhausted.

“Want dessert?” he asks.

“Not for me.”

“What about you, Soph? I got a Guinness chocolate torte with raspberry coulis. Want some?”

She bites her bottom lip and looks at me for a long moment. I have no idea what’s going through her mind, but I have a feeling I’m not going to like it.

Sophie tips her head and looks at Knox. “What if what I want is something that’s not on the menu?”

Knox rubs his hands together. “Oh, a challenge. I’m down. What is it?”

She doesn’t look at me. No matter how hard I will her to fucking look at me before she says another word, she doesn’t fucking do it.

No, no, no, no—

“I want a night with you.”

Knox looks like he’s king of the fucking world.

“ Both of you,” she clarifies, and he freezes, mid-air fist bump.

Fuuuuck. He’s going to deny her. As he damn well should. She and I talked about a plan, but seeing how things went so goddamn wonky earlier, I figured the rest of our idea was up in smoke with it. Guess I was wrong.

He’s not going to agree to it. No fucking way.

Knox turns to me and glowers. “You okay with that?”

It was my idea… but I don’t have the guts to admit it. “Y-” I have to clear my throat. Twice. “Yeah. If you are.”

I’ve never been so terrified in my life.

After everything we’ve been through. Everything we left behind. Our past will be unburied and it’s because I’ve pulled out the shovel.

I’m ready , I think to myself while he eyes me like I’m an alien. It’s time to fix what I broke. Don’t chicken out.

His throat bobs when he gulps. Gaze falling to the table, he stares at nothing at all while I hold my breath. Knox finally looks over at Sophie, who hasn’t moved a muscle since making her request. No emotion shows on her face. No hope, no fear, no desire.

“Are you sure about this?” he whispers to her and something in me cracks because I know that tone. I know that look. They’re up to something just as sure as I was planning this whole night out with Sophie.

What the fuck is going on? Is she a double agent?

“I want this more than anything,” she admits and my heart plummets because it sounds like the truth.

I want it to be.

“Then you get us both,” Knox says with finality and directs his attention back to me. “Until sunrise.”