Page 75 of King of Knights

I sit in the back of my car with a growing headache. This is a day straight from the pits of hell. I’ve had call after call come in, each raising my blood pressure. Now this.

“I don’t know what you mean, my friend. I can’t find my daughter either. Maybe the two took off together. Did you ever think about that?”

I know it’s total bullshit, but it’s worth a try. Something smashes on the other end of the phone. This guy wants answers about his son, but I can’t give them to him.

I found the poor bastard dead in Ray’s room. My guys cleaned things up after all the guests were gone. Lucky for me, Lombardo’s flight was delayed and he missed the entire party.

“Get the fuck outa here. You know that’s bullshit. My niece said your whore daughter showed up with some other guy and sucked face with him right in front of Angelo and everyone else.

“What kind of shit show are you running, Ricci? If this is the kind of bullshit you’re on, you can forget about ever doing business with me. You better pray to God I find my son, you slimy piece of shit.”

“I don’t give a fuck about your business. You call my daughter a whore again and I’ll send you pieces of your son once I find him. You cocksucker,” I snarl.

“Fuck you and that whore. Find my son, Ricci. He was last seen going upstairs in your home. Find him,” he barks and hangs up.

I rub my temple and groan. Ray has really left me in a bind. First, a body in her room. Now I have to deal with this. Not to mention, no one is handling the fucking books.

I wish I could say all of that was the least of my worries. Nope, I look out the window of my car at my brother’s home. It’s all turning to shit.

I step out of the car and fix my tie. Taking a calming breath, I then storm into Pauly’s house. This is un-fucking-real.

“How the fuck did you lose her? What the fuck happened?” I roar as I enter the house.

I march into the living area, where I find my brother pacing. He stops to glare at me. I fold my arms over my chest and glare back.

“I don’t know why I allowed you to talk me into this. Do you know what we’ve done?”

“What have we done, brother?” I say, tilting my head to the side.

“You have talked me into signing my life away. Dealing with those… those things comes with a price. We promised them a bride. They accepted her and now she’s fucking gone.”

“And whose fault is that? You allowed her to stay with them before they carried through on their end of the bargain. They lost her. That’s not our problem.”

“Are you insane?” Pauly roars. “This isn’t one of the families. We can’t go to war with those people, things, whatever the fuck you want to call them. They’re going to kill us, and for what?”

“For all of this,” I bellow back, holding my arms out to gesture toward his eighty-million-dollar gaudy-ass home. “You had no problem with my plan while you were spending like there was no tomorrow. You haven’t taken that ring off your finger either.”

“You and Dad made it seem like this would last forever. All we had to do was make sure there was a male. We had the brothers; why get involved with more of them? This is bad, Candido. It’s really bad.”

“It’s nothing we can’t fix. I’ll find Ray and that motherfucker and I’ll fix this,” I seethe.

“I hope it’s that simple because I’m going to need to cover my ass from now on,” he mutters. “Fuck.”

Where is He?

“Ray.”

“Um,”I mumble in my sleep.

“Ray, wake up.”

“What? No, I’m sleeping, Venus. Leave me alone.”

“Knox is gone. Wake up, now,” she growls.

I sit up and look around, then reach for my belly. She’s right; my stomach is flat and I feel so empty. I toss the covers back and that’s when I realize Kendrick isn’t in bed with me.

I jump from the bed and rush to the mirror. My reflection shows my naked body as I remember it before I started to share it with supernatural beings. I once again look like I love to eat but hit the gym religiously to keep my curves firm.

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