Page 139 of Wicked Empire (Knight's Ridge Empire 3)

When Selene suggested they take the kids back to her house to get them away from all the men who were coming in and out, she reluctantly agreed and took them out for a playdate with her mom. She wasn’t happy about leaving, but she’s more than aware of how this all works. And the second I can talk, I’ll tell her everything, because her days of being kept in the dark are over.

The door opens when the sun is just about to sink behind the trees at the end of the yard and someone I’ve been expecting to see all day joins us.

“You got yourself in a right mess here, hey Doukas?”

“Fuck off, Daemon,” Alex barks, his top lip curling in disgust as he runs his eyes over his suited brother.

“Nice. I’ve been out all fucking day getting intel for you fuckers and that’s how you thank me.”

“Whatever,” Alex mutters, pushing from the couch and storming across the room.

“What’s his problem?” Daemon asks, looking genuinely confused.

“It’s been a long day,” I tell him. “Coffee?”

“Sounds good,” he says, dropping into the seat his brother just vacated.

“Don’t tell me. You take it black?”

“How’d you guess, Princess?”

“I dunno,” I joke. “Something about your aura.”

Right as Daemon takes the first sip of his still boiling coffee, the door swings open and Damien and Evan stand side by side. Charon slips into the room behind them and comes to stop beside his grandson, placing a supportive hand on his shoulder.

I smile at the two of them, glad that Toby has someone he can actually trust and look up to in all of this.

“The Reapers have a party happening at their compound tonight. Everyone is there. Joker is there,” Damien says more specifically.

“Jonas?” Theo asks.

“I’ve got him out on a job. His whereabouts aren’t in question.”

Theo nods while Toby swallows somewhat nervously. I have no doubt he’s got what it takes to finally get this done, but I can only imagine how he feels right now.

“Theo, Seb… Stella,” he says, holding my eyes. Pride swells within me, because I can’t imagine he instructs women to get involved in this kind of shit often, and I’m so fucking relieved that he isn’t going to attempt to keep me here safely with his wife and kids.

That’s not the kind of person I am.

“You three and Daemon go to the Reapers. Toby, Nico, Alex—you’re with us.”

A rumble of agreement goes around the room before Damien walks toward us and lowers his ass to the coffee table.

“I shouldn’t need to tell any of you this but… keep the death count to a minimum. The Reapers have toed the line for years. I’d prefer not to completely fuck that up in one night.

“Ram knows that something is coming, but he doesn’t know what, so you’re going to be taking the entire club by surprise. Or at least that’s the hope.

“Take that motherfucker out however you see fit, but do not leave until you’re confident he’s taken his last breath and every other fucker knows not to touch my family.”

Damien meets all our eyes until we each agree.

“You’ve got it, Boss,” Theo states. “We’ve got this. Right, Princess?”

“Joker’s played his final card. Time to wipe the fucking floor with him,” I agree.

“Ten PM. And not a second sooner. I’m trusting that you can handle this.”

Then as fast as he appeared, he’s gone, leaving the weight of the job at hand pressing down on all of us.

“I’m hungry,” Alex says from the corner of the room where he retreated to earlier. “Shall we order pizza?”

“Is he for real?” I ask Seb, who just shrugs as if this shit is fucking normal.