Page 124 of Sinful Kingdom

Taking my hand, Alex leads me to the sofa where the others are all sitting, dumbfounded by the tragic turn of events.

I’ve no idea how long it is before Emmie speaks, but when she does, it only rips another piece from my heart.

“Jessie isn’t going to deal with this after everything else.”

I don’t know Jessie personally, but I know of him from life in Lovell. From what I’ve heard, he’s a decent guy. And if Emmie vouches for him, I’ve no reason to believe otherwise.

“Archer and the guys will be there for him, Em. They won’t let him break,” Theo says softly.

Silence falls once more before heavy footsteps move closer.

When I look up, I find a familiar face scanning the room, although he’s not the one who speaks.

“Uh… I thought there was a party.”

“Yeah, there was,” Ant says, getting up to join Matteo and the other guy. “Jodie just got some bad news and—”

“What can we do?” Matteo offers.

“Any chance you could take Rhea home?” Theo asks. “We’re all wasted and—”

“Theo,” Rhea whines.

“Rhe, please. Em wants to go to Lovell, and we all need to be there for Jodie. Please can you just—”

She nods, accepting her fate.

Solemnly, she gets to her feet, but she doesn’t leave until she’s downed what’s left of her drink.

“It should go without saying,” Theo starts as she walks toward their Italian counterparts, “that no one so much as looks at my little sister the wrong way. I’m not opposed to restarting that war.”

“Bro, she’s a kid,” Matteo states.

“Oh goodie,” Rhea pipes up, her voice a little slurred. “This is going to be about as fun as riding with Dad.”

“Exactly as it should be. Behave, Rhea Cirillo.”

With a quick goodbye from Ant, he disappears with his boys and Rhea.

“Go get changed, Hellcat. I’ll sort a car for us.”

Emmie rushes down to their room as the rest of us stand.

“You need us, call, yeah?” Alex says. “We’ll be right there.”

He shakes his head. “Go and try to enjoy the rest of your night.”

Tucked under Alex’s arm, we follow Seb, Stella, Daemon, and Calli down to our floor. With quiet goodbyes, we break off to our flats and lock ourselves away.

“Well, that wasn’t quite how I thought the night would end,” Alex confesses, kicking off his shoes and dumping his phone and wallet on the kitchen counter.

“Life is so fucking unfair sometimes,” I muse.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “But other times, it gives you all the luck in the world and lands you exactly where you’re meant to be, gives you everything you’ve ever dreamed of.”

After tucking my loose hair behind my ears, he cups my face in his giant hands.

“I truly believe that we were meant to meet, Evie Moore. You were meant to be mine. And sometimes, life needs to be a little bit shit so that we can really appreciate just how fucking epic it can be when everything is right.”

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