Page 19 of Seeking Salvation

“Oh.” Her voice was a squeak, making him grin.

“Yeah, oh. But I know we need to focus on getting you and Tyrique safe, so I denied it.”

“I’m not sure we’ll ever be safe.”

“Why haven’t you run? You got this far, why didn’t you just keep going?”

“Because they told me if I run they’ll hurt the girls I work with.” She shrugged. “Plus you need cash to run and they already stole every penny I have. I can’t run like that with a child and I won’t let those girls get hurt because of me.”

Titan felt his skin prickle, a wave of anger burning under his skin at what she’d endured and was ready to endure to keep others safe. “So you were just going to go back?”

“The girls they have working for them are barely out of school. I can’t have that on my conscience.”

The look she was giving him implored him to understand and he did, to some extent. “Where do they think you are now?”

“I puked on the shoes of the douchbag who runs the girls and he sent me home, thinking I’m sick. Told me not to come back until I stopped. Apparently, he’s happy to murder someone but a little vomit makes him squeamish.”

His brow furrowed at the lengths she’d had to go to alone. “How did you make yourself sick?”

“I bent so he couldn’t see and put my fingers down my throat.”

“Smart girl.”

Maya snorted. “Not smart enough it seems.”

Titan cupped his hand around the back of her neck and forced her chin up with his thumb. “Plenty smart. You found me, didn’t you?”

Her eyes twinkled like he’d hoped and she rolled her eyes at him and a growl rumbled in his chest. The air stilled between them and Maya bit down on her lip as her eyes widened, remembering his words from earlier.

A thick dense fog of desire slammed into him, his dick hardening to steel in his jeans and it took everything he had not to lean in and kiss her like he wanted to. She’d let him too. He could see it in the way her gaze traced his lips, feel it in the way her body swayed just a fraction into his hold.

“Will you two hurry up! I have places to be.”

The sound of Watchdog’s irritated voice snapped the invisible shield surrounding them and Maya jumped back guiltily.

Titan held out his hand for her to proceed him into the living room and he took the moment to adjust himself, his aching cock unimpressed by this turn of events.

Maya took the same seat and he leaned against the door, folding his arms.

“Maya, would you like to tell us everything?”

He watched as Maya pulled her shoulders back and lifted her head high, and felt pride swim through his veins.

“Rose was my younger sister and a bit of a wild child. She wasn’t malicious. If anything, she was the opposite. She believed everything she was told and, if there was trouble in a ten-mile radius, she’d find it. She fell in with a bad crowd when we were younger and got herself hooked on heroin. I got her clean and she was working in a nail salon and seemed to be getting her life together.”

Maya rolled her lips to hide the tremble and Val reached across to squeeze her hand. Maya blinked in surprise but squeezed back and Titan hated how shocked she was by a simple kindness.

“She met you when she was the best she’d been. Her life was going so well and then she found out she was pregnant and she was so excited. I can honestly say I hadn’t ever seen her happier. She adored Tyrique from the second she knew about him. She got her own flat and life was good. Then an old friend of hers moved into the building and they re-connected. I was worried sick she’d relapse into her old ways but she promised me she wouldn’t.” Maya shook her head, her shoulders heaving a sigh. “I was silly to believe her.”

“No, you weren’t. We always want to believe the best, it’s human nature. Unfortunately, it’s also human nature to self-destruct. Humans have gotten so emotional that, unless we evolve, we won’t survive.”

Titan’s gaze flew to Watchdog in surprise. It was the deepest thing he’d said in a good while.

“You really think that?”

Watchdog nodded. “I saw a study which suggests that the increasing diagnoses of neurodivergence are actually an early sign of human evolution.”

“Wow, okay.”

---