Page 74 of King of Rage

“To pick up my girlfriend,” he said casually. “She’s angry with me, so I have some making up to do. She’s been threatening to take my weekends away ever since she gave them to me.”

Elias chuckled, shaking his head as Lucius turned away again. Lucius moved through the club, disappearing into the crowd until he was completely out of sight.

Elias glanced at Xavier, one eyebrow raised.

“Are you really going to stop?”

Xavier leaned back in his chair, a smug smile spreading across his face as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

“Of course not.”

Elias shook his head, already knowing what was going through his mind.

Xavier took a leisurely drag from his cigarette. “That man has spent the last year being miserable over Stella. Now we finally have something interesting to investigate.”

Elias let out a disbelieving laugh.

“Something interesting? Silas is involved. His men are following Shane, and they seem to be protecting him from some kind of dangerous situation. This could turn into something deadly.”

Xavier waved a hand dismissively, smoke curling between his fingers.

“Yeah, yeah. That too.”

Elias stared at him.

Xavier took another drag, entirely unbothered by his expression.

“What?” he asked. “I can be concerned about the danger and still want to know what the fuck is going on.”

Elias dragged a hand down his face, then burst out laughing.

“For fuck’s sake, Xavier.”

Chapter 12 Calm Down, Darling

Nial pulled the car to a stop outside Licius. It was already dark, but the café was still lit up as the staff finished closing for the night.

Lucius remained in the back seat, waiting patiently. He had told himself he would simply pick Stella up and take her home. He didn’t want to ask her questions she wasn’t ready to answer. He only wanted to see her and spend whatever time she was willing to give him.

He watched through the window as the café gradually emptied. Eventually, the lights inside were switched off, leaving only the glow of the streetlights outside.

About a minute later, Stella finally walked out of the café.

Lucius immediately reached for the door, ready to step out and go to her.

Then Stella suddenly smiled at something.

She lifted her hand and waved.

“Sorry for the wait! I’m coming!” she called out before jogging toward the left side of the street.

Lucius frowned.

His hand paused on the door handle as his eyes followed her. Something about the sudden smile and the enthusiasm in her voice made him look in the direction she was heading.

A car was waiting there.

He hadn’t noticed it before.