Home > Deviant Reign (Knight's Ridge Empire #6)(17)

Deviant Reign (Knight's Ridge Empire #6)(17)
Author: Tracy Lorraine

Scooting up, I sit with my back against the headboard as he lets himself in.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” he asks, his brows pinching in concern.

“Better, seeing as you have coffee,” I say, my eyes following the mug as it moves toward me.

He passes it over and I immediately wrap both of my hands around it and lift it to my nose, breathing in the rich scent as he lowers himself to the edge of my bed.

“How are you doing?” he asks again after I’ve had a sip that I instantly regret when it burns a layer of skin off my tongue.

“I’m okay,” I say, but the pain in my voice makes my words sound less than convincing.

“Emmie, you don’t need to pretend with me.” He wraps his giant inked hand around my leg and squeezes in support. I hold his eyes as emotion and exhaustion, despite just having woken up, swamp me.

“Y-yeah, I know,” I force out through the lump in my throat as tears burn red hot at the backs of my eyes. “It’s just… it’s easier to pretend right now, you know?

His shoulders drop in defeat as he takes me in. “Shit, Em. I’m so fucking sorry.”

Tears finally fill my eyes as I take in the wrecked expression on my dad’s face.

In this moment, it’s clear to see that he’s shouldering the blame for this entire situation.

“Dad, no,” I say, sitting forward, placing my mug on the side and wrapping my arms around his shoulders and squeezing him tight. “None of this is your fault.”

“Em—”

“You’re wrong,” I assure him. “None of this is on us.”

His body shudders against mine, making my chest ache.

My dad is the best man I know. I hate the fact that he’s hurting because of my stupid decisions.

“I told you it was safe, that the Wolves weren’t a threat. If I hadn’t told you that, you wouldn’t have ended up in the middle of them.”

“I trust you, Dad. If you say they weren’t a threat, then I believe you genuinely didn’t think they were. They lied to you, and there’s nothing we can do about that.”

“I should have been more cautious. I shouldn’t have taken Luis goddamn Wolfe’s word when he told me he had no interest in you.”

“He doesn’t. Not really.”

Dad pulls back from our embrace and looks at me inquisitively.

We didn’t talk last night. After I disappeared up here with Stella and Calli, he mostly stayed downstairs. Piper told me he was too angry after everything and was debriefing Cruz and the guys.

I got it. I didn’t really feel like rehashing it all either, despite the fact that I needed someone, something. The exact reason why I reached for my phone and messaged Theo.

I needed that connection to someone to remind myself that I was safe, that it was over.

“You told me on the way home that he wanted your mum,” Dad says softly. “But did he say anything else?”

I shake my head. “No. He just wanted to know where she was. Do you think…” Dad squeezes my leg again when I pause. “Do you think she’s lied to us about her involvement in all of this?” I finally ask, terrified of the answer.

I believed her when she explained to me both in the hospital after her overdose and in that house in the Cotswolds what happened with Damien. How the Wolves had tricked her into believing they could help her make a quick buck off the back of the Cirillo Family.

I believed she was an innocent, desperate drug addict being played by men who were more powerful than I wanted to think about.

I believed her when she assured me that the only reason I’ve found myself tied to Theo is that she wanted me protected. That she wanted me away from the Wolves.

She looked so sincere when she held my hand and relayed it to all of us in that house. Her pain was palpable. Her fear for what she thought both Damien and Luis would do to her when they found her was too chilling to ignore.

So what are we missing?

Was she never trying to protect me at all?

Were my initial thoughts correct? Did she sell me? Am I a bigger part of this fucked-up mess than she wants to admit to?

“Yes,” Dad states regretfully.

That one single word carves another deep hole in my already tattered heart.

Why do I always give her the benefit of the doubt? Why do I always believe her? So what, she carried me for nine months? So what, she was the one who gave me life? Not when it’s been one full of pain, heartache, hunger, and neglect.

“There’s more than she’s telling us. She might not know everything, but I’m convinced she knows something that will help us put all the pieces together.”

“This is a mess,” I groan, falling back and tilting my head to the ceiling.

“You’re telling me, kiddo. But we’ll sort it. You might not want to hear it, or accept it, but you’ve got some of the city’s more powerful men standing right beside you. Cruz, Damien, Theo, me. We’re not going to let anything happen to you, Em.

“Think of yourself as powerful, huh?” I tease.

“I may have been out of the game for a few years, but it’s in my blood. Just like it is yours.” He winks. “So, did you want to tell me why you broke some rich girl’s nose at school Monday morning?” he asks, desperately trying to fight the smirk that wants to pull at his lips.

“Other than because she deserved it?”

“She was the one who spiked your drink?”

“Yeah, for that and the fact that she’s a raging bitch.”

“Like the last one you made bleed?”

“They’re friends. They can have matching war wounds.”

He doesn’t comment, and any amusement that was on his face vanishes in the blink of an eye, making my stomach twist with nerves.

I might not give a flying fuck what most people in this world think of me, but my dad is a different story.

He’s my hero, always has been and always will be. I want him to be proud of me, and I desperately want to be the daughter he deserves.

“You’ve been suspended for a week, Em. What was our agreement when you started at that school?” His brow quirks, and I see the disappointment swirling in his dark eyes. It makes me feel about an inch tall.

“I promised I’d keep my head down and behave,” I mutter like a naughty kid who’s just been caught stealing the sweeties out of the tin. “Please, don’t take my bike, Dad. Please,” I beg.

If I lose that, my freedom, my way to escape when things get too much—although never to Lovell again—then I’ll lose my fucking mind.

“Emmie, I—“

“Things are so out of control,” I try to argue. “When I started school, I was just the girl from the wrong side of town everyone looked down on. But now…” I blow out a breath as my reality comes back to me. “I’m half MC, half Cirillo, with a fucking husband, and I’ve just been abducted, after being held captive by said husband. You can’t actually expect me to be holding it all together right now.”

“Em, you’re doing a way better job than most, I assure you.” A sad smile tugs at my lips, although my heart is still in my throat at the thought of him taking my baby away. “I’m not taking your bike, Em. I’m pretty sure all of this has been punishment enough. But…” he quickly adds, “you’re not going to spend this week moping about. You get today, and today only to do what you need to do. Tomorrow, I want you either here doing the work your teachers have set you, or you’re at work showing Mickey just what you’re made of.”

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