Page 15 of Wicked Knight (Knight's Ridge Empire 1)

“Bro, you’d fuck a tree if it had a hole,” Theo barks.

All Alex does is shrug. He can’t really argue.

“I need to get laid. All this talk of revenge fucks is getting me horny.”

Before either of us can respond, Theo’s cell dings with an alert that makes us all sit up.

“He wants us in.”

Both of us look at Alex, who’s smiling to himself as he stares at the wall.

“What the fuck was in his joint?”

“Dread to fucking ask, bro. We’ll get him a coffee on the way. The boss will have his fucking balls otherwise.”

The three of us pile into Theo’s Maserati and head deeper into the city where the boss is waiting for us.

The street we pull up on is lined with clubs, bars, and most importantly, The Empire, the Cirillo casino and hotel.

“So we’re assuming this is Nico’s doing, then?” Alex mutters from the back, sounding a little more with it.

“Nah, he wouldn’t. And I doubt the boss really gives a shit that we skipped,” I say. He leaves most things that happen under Knight’s Ridge roof for us to deal with, including our presence.

“We can only hope. He’s been in a bitch of a mood recently,” Theo mutters.

“So maybe he does know about Doukas,” Alex adds as we climb from the car.

“I guess we’re about to find out.”

Together, we make our way through reception, our shoes clicking against the black tiles beneath us.

Eyes land on us as we cut through the small crowd, and I can’t help but stand a little taller.

Holding everyone’s attention at school is one thing. They’re all kids who don’t really understand all of this outside of the gossip and the stories we fill their heads with if we need some entertainment. But the clientele here is mostly more than aware of who we are and what we do, and it earns us a different level of respect.

There’s a young woman standing by the casino doors whose eyes eat up my body like she wants me for her next dessert.

A knowing smirk curls at my lips, and I’m about to sidestep the guys to go to her when a hand wraps around my upper arm.

“Work first, pussy later,” Theo growls, sounding more like the heir to all this, than I’m sure he realises.

“Fine,” I mutter, continuing forward to the lift.

Anyone who was heading in this direction hangs back, allowing us to climb into the car alone.

Theo unlocks the panel above the standard floor buttons, revealing an extra set before punching the code in to take us to the top floor.

The air is thick as we ride in silence. We never know what Theo’s father, the boss, is going to demand of us. And after the day I’ve had, I’m not sure I’ve got the energy for it.

“Afternoon, lads,” Alex’s dad says when we step into the security room that leads toward the deepest part of the floor, where we’ll find Theo’s father waiting for us.

“All right,” Alex slurs, earning himself a raised brow from his father.

“Good day at school?” He winks, telling us that he’s more than aware we didn’t make it through the whole day.

“Yeah, you know how it is.”

“Sure do, kid, but you want to earn your place here, you gotta not be a useless drop out.”