Page 59 of Wicked Empire (Knight's Ridge Empire 3)

“Helen’s in the hospital,” I offer.

“Fuck. I’ll dri—” His face drops when he remembers the state of his beloved car, and his fists curl on the counter.

“We’ve got it. Thanks, though. I’ll call you when I know anything,” Seb promises, steering me from the apartment as Theo’s eyes hold mine.

He’s one hard motherfucker to read, but I’m pretty sure there’s an apology in his mysterious depths somewhere.

It’s totally unnecessary. His threat might have been a little more detailed than required, but I got it. He was only doing exactly the same as I did to him a few minutes before.

I wouldn’t expect anything less from any of them if something were to go wrong between Seb and me. I might be a part of this Family, but I’m fully aware of where these boys’ loyalties lie. And it’s not with me.

‘Call me,’ Theo mouths to me before we break eye contact.

I nod, silently promising him that I’ve got Seb’s back before we disappear around the corner.

“I’m glad to see you got my car back in one piece,” he mutters as we approach his Aston.

“Of course.”

“I can’t believe she crashed,” he says with a slight laugh, which is totally at odds with the wrecked look on his face.But as much as I want to focus on our current drama, I let him lose himself in Theo’s for a bit.“You think she did it on purpose just to get a rise out of him?” he asks.

"I wouldn’t put it past her,” I confess, knowing just how feisty Emmie can be when she wants to be.

Something tells me she’d quite happily do something that dramatic just to push his buttons.

Seb falls silent, his fingers holding the wheel with what looks like a painful grip.

Reaching out, I run my fingertips over the scabs on his knuckles.

“I should have cleaned these up last night.”

“It’s fine. Wasn’t the first time, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.”

“That’s not the point.”

He shrugs. “My knuckles are the least of our worries right now, Hellion.”

I blow out a heavy sigh as I rest my hand on his thigh. I really want to tell him that everything is going to be okay, that he’s not about to lose yet another member of his immediate family. But I think we both know that I’d be clutching at straws.

He’s said before that he’s feared this day for years. His mom’s been on the brink of this for almost as long as he can remember.

She just seemed so good on Sunday. Not that I really have anything to compare her to. Okay, so she didn’t exactly scream healthy, but she looked way better than the image Seb had painted of her. I was expecting her to be a complete mess, but instead, I got a woman who quite clearly loved having her family around her but was more than a little bit broken. And after the loss she’s suffered over the years, I’m not sure anyone can really blame her.

I’m not sure how you deal with losing both your husband and your daughter.

I glance up at Seb, my heart swelling in my chest as I think about just how much he means to me.

Even after only these few short weeks, I can’t imagine a life without him, let alone after years of marriage and four kids. How do you even begin to deal with that kind of loss?

“You okay?” he asks, feeling my stare.

“I’m here, you know. Whatever happens.”

Dropping his hand to mine, he twists our fingers together and lifts my knuckles to his lips.

“I know,” he whispers, his voice cracking with emotion.

We’re silent once again, and only minutes later, we pull up at a different hospital to the one we’ve all spent time in recently.