Page 34 of Wicked Empire (Knight's Ridge Empire 3)

“Uh oh… looks like you poked the already angry bear, Princess,” Alex mutters lightly.

“He needs to get over himself,” I mutter, watching him get swallowed up into the crowd.

Alex shrugs. “Your friend gets him all kinds of crazy.”

“He’s a dick, and we’re better off without him,” Emmie announces, tipping her bottle to her lips. “What time is the main event?” she asks, forgetting all about Theo’s reaction to her.

“Thirty minutes. Just a few warm-up fights first.” Nico cracks his knuckles as if imagining stepping inside the ring himself.

“Boys!” a deep voice booms as an older, tattooed, rough-looking guy steps up to us. He’s got scars on his face and a nose that looks like it’s been broken one too many times. Mickey, I assume.

“Mickey, how’s it going, man?” Alex asks. “Long time no see.”

“Had to keep our heads down after the bust on the last fight.”

My brows lift as I listen, intrigued.

“That was a fucking crazy night.”

“Well, fingers crossed tonight runs a little more smoothly.”

“Fucking better, I need the money after that shit show. So who are you betting on, boys?”

I drift off when they start talking about fighters’ stats and turn to Emmie, who’s got an unusual smile on her face.

“What’s got you so happy?” I ask with a smile of my own. Hers is infectious.

“This. I’ve wanted this for as long as I’ve known it’s existed. But Dad keeps everything about this side of our lives locked up tight. Cruz is helping me discover it all, but he’s not exactly happy about it. Something tells me he’s actually scared of my father. Not that he’d ever admit it.”

“Your dad’s in the club though, right?”

She shakes her head. “No. He got out when my mum was pregnant with me. He didn’t want this life for me.”

“How’s that going for him?”

“Well, right now, he’s too busy with Piper to notice what I’m up to. So I’d say good.”

“Piper?” I ask.

“Miss Hill.”

“Ooooh. He’s gonna lose his shit when he finds out. I bet he’s hella hot when he’s mad.”

“Shut up, you idiot.” She slaps me on the shoulder lightly, laughing at my comment. “He’s actually scary as fuck, but I’m sure I can handle it.” She winks, and the innocent face she puts on makes me laugh.

“Who’s scary as fuck?” Seb asks, wrapping his arms around my waist, pressing his front to my back.

“Emmie’s dad.”

“Should I start getting worried that I don’t ride a motorcycle?”

“There’s always time to learn.” I pat his arm patronizingly. “You’ve got the ink down. Although a little more wouldn’t go amiss.”

“Oh?” he asks, his voice deep in my ear, sending a wave of need through me. “You ready for a fight, baby?” he breathes.

“Uh… I wasn’t trying to— Oh,” I say with a laugh as he turns me to see two fighters, both wearing nothing but shorts and taped-up hands stepping into the ring. “The warm-up?”

“Yeah, although they’ve been known to be pretty brutal. Consider it an audition for the main event.

And as if the fighter closest to us hears Seb’s words, he flies at the slightly smaller man, throwing punch after punch until he taps out only moments later. The crowd goes wild, making me wince as the winner celebrates with his taped fists high up in the air. Smug fuck has barely even broken a sweat.

“Okay, that was…”

“Brutal.”