Page 158 of Wicked Empire (Knight's Ridge Empire 3)

It’s hard to know where any of them are just by their cars because they’re always driving each other’s—Theo’s Ferrari the exception, of course. As it stands, only Seb and I have had the pleasure of racing that through the city.

We’re currently borrowing cars from Damien, seeing as both my Porsche, my poor baby, and Seb’s Aston were completely destroyed in the explosion.

We’ve both got new ones on order though, and I can’t wait to get back behind my own wheel.

“Come on, I’m starving.”

We make our way through the entrance and step into the elevator that’s waiting for us.

I study Calli with suspicion when she starts chewing on one freshly-manicured nail as we climb through the building.

“You’re hiding something.”

“What? No, I’m not,” she argues unconvincingly.

I narrow my eyes at her but let it go.

The second we step out of the elevator, I breathe a sigh of relief as my feet sink into the carpet. I love it here. I love having a home with my man.

Who would have thought that I’d be living with that boy from the graveyard that night only a few months into my life here? And not only that, but that I’d be totally head over heels in love with him.

Pressing my palm to the biometric pad, the locks disengage and allow me to push inside.

At first, as I kick my shoes off and hang my coat up on the row of hooks, I don’t realize that anything is amiss. But the second I step into our living area, I soon discover that Calli was very much hiding something.

“Happy Thanksgiving,” everyone shouts, making me pause as a giant lump crawls up my throat.

Seb steps forward, taking both of my trembling hands in his.

“Surprise, Hellion.”

I blink at him a couple of times as I fight with the tears that are blurring my vision.

“You did all this?” I ask, looking around at the decorations and the perfectly laid table.

“Well,” he says a little nervously, shooting a look over his shoulder, “I had a little help from the experts.”

I follow his gaze, scanning the mass of people standing behind him, and find my dad, Calvin and Angie smiling at me.

That lump in my throat only grows bigger at the sight of them.

“Thank you,” I croak out. “Thank you so much.”

“Anything for you, baby. You know that. Did you really think we’d let it pass you by?”

I nod as my first tear drops, because yeah, I didn’t think he’d even realized what day it was.

Swiping the tear away with the back of my hand, I curse myself for being so emotional. Before falling for Seb, I can’t even remember the last time I cried. He’s softened a part of my black heart, and secretly, I love it.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Dad says as I step up to him and wrap my arms around his waist. “Surprised?” he asks with a laugh.

“Just a little.”

Maria—Mom—is standing right at his side with a wide smile on her face as she watches me.

“Hi, sweetie,” she breathes as I lean in for a hug. It’s still early days for us, but we’re starting to get to know each other, and hopefully we’ll fully embrace our mother/daughter status soon. She’s moved in with Dad now that Jonas’s reign of terror over her has come to an end, and I’ve never seen my dad happier. There’s a constant smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye that I didn’t even realize existed until the first time we visited them.

I say quick hellos to Calvin and Angie before turning to another person who I know will have had a big hand in organizing this surprise.