Page 28 of Wicked Empire (Knight's Ridge Empire 3)

CHAPTERSEVEN

Stella

By Friday evening, everything was beginning to get to be too much. Toby was still in the hospital despite being told he should be able to be discharged soon. Seb and I have spent all week out of the house, wandering aimlessly around London in the hope of dragging this fuck out of hiding, forcing something to happen.

Nothing has.

And I’m going out of my mind.

I know he’s doing it on purpose to freak me out. It’s how it’s worked in the past. He leaves it long enough for me to think he’s got bored and found someone else to torment, and then boom, there he is, blowing shit up right in front of my face. I mean, not literally. Not yet, anyway.

I think everyone else is feeling a little the same, because it’s the beginning of the weekend and we’re all just lounging around at Theo’s, drinking beer. I can’t imagine it’s the guys’ usual way to spend a Friday night—Nico and Alex especially, as they seem to be the biggest party animals of the group.

I’m just about to suggest we do something when all of their cells ping simultaneously.

Glancing over at Seb, I watch as he pulls his cell from his sweats and stares at the screen at the same time everyone else does.

“We should go,” Nico says.

“Go where?” I ask, feeling left out.

Seb passes his cell over for all the fucking good that does, because all I find is an address staring back at me from an unknown number.

“Helpful,” I mutter, passing it back.

“It’s for a fight,” Theo says, filling in some of the blanks.

“Like, an underground fight?” I ask, my interest more than piqued.

“Yeah. It’s in an hour in an old hotel across town.”

“So… what are we waiting for? Nico is right, we should go.”

“I’m not sure it’s—”

“Seb,” I say, scooting to the edge of the couch. “We need to be out. We need to lure this fuck from his hiding place. And I can’t imagine a better way to spend our Friday night than to watch a couple of guys beat the shit out of each other.”

His brow quirks. “Really?” he asks, his eyes darkening as other ideas for how we could spend the night.

“Do you know who’s fighting?” Theo asks Alex.

“No. Xander has been gunning for another shot in the ring, though, so maybe him.”

“We’re going,” I announce, jumping to my feet and placing my hands on my hips, waiting for one of them—Seb mainly—to argue.

But to my surprise, when he speaks there is no argument.

“You heard the princess. Get your shit together.”

“Give me thirty, I need to change.”

I glance down at my sweats and oversized hoodie and cringe. Yeah, I definitely need to change.

Theo catches my eye as I spin around, and an idea hits me.

Grabbing my cell the second I’m in the bedroom, I shoot Emmie a message.

This kind of thing has her name all over it.