Page 126 of Titan

“I’m not looking forward to it.”

Stepping closer, I wrapped myself around him and pressed my face into his chest.

“I know.”

He curled his arms around me and rocked me from side to side.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be her, but it’s all making sense now.” He sighed and buried his face in my hair. “You’ll be safe here. I need you to be safe so I can do this.”

I hugged him tighter. He would be strong and handle it. I had every faith in him.

We held each other until his phone went off. He pulled away to check it, his expression turning grim.

“They have the location. I need to go.”

I nodded. He leant down and pressed a kiss to my cheek. Then he stepped by me and unlocked the front door, holding it open for me. I walked through, placing my hand on it. Turning back, I stared at him as he let go. Something inside me protested at the fact he was leaving, but I knew I couldn’t go with him. Gil gave me a sharp nod before he started to walk back towards the lift.

“Gil!”

He stopped halfway there and turned back to me. The next thing I knew, I was running towards him, and the door slammed shut behind me. I faltered when I reached him. It was the wrong time. There were so many reasons why I shouldn’t have stopped him, but I couldn’t hold back any longer. Things might go to shit tonight. No matter how much I believed in him, I couldn’t account for what other people would do. He was going after Pippa. She had proven herself to be dangerous. No one could afford to underestimate her.

“I… Gil, I…”

He stared down at me, waiting patiently for me to get my words out.

“I love you.”

I fidgeted on the spot, my hands wringing together. I’d never told anyone I loved them before, but I couldn’t allow him to leave me tonight without knowing how I felt.

He didn’t say a word, but his nostrils flared as he exhaled. It was the only sign my words had affected him.

“I just needed you to know before… before you—”

Gil reaching out, grabbing me by my hair and tugging me against him, had my words dying in my throat. Then he was kissing me, his tongue shoved in my mouth and his arm wrapped around my back. I gripped his clothes, kissing him back with the same intensity he gave me. The relief I felt was palpable. He hadn’t freaked out on me.

“Theia,” he whispered against my lips, “mia bellissima ragazza, tornerò presto per te.”

He kissed me one more time before releasing me. He had to unlock the door for me again. This time I let him leave without complaint, even though I still watched him from the door.

“Get inside,” he told me before the lift doors shut.

I closed the door and turned on the light. Shrugging my coat off, I hung it up along with my bag and kicked off my flats. I trudged into the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water. I turned and set it on the kitchen island before I looked up to find I wasn’t alone.

“Hello, Theia.”

I swallowed hard as everything came crashing down around me. Standing in Gil’s living room was Pippa Villetti flanked by four men I recognised, including, strangely enough, the guy from the club whose friend Gil stabbed in the hand. How I remembered him, I don’t know, but I guess he stuck out in my brain as it was the first night I met Gil.

I froze when a hand wrapped around the back of my neck. The touch made my skin crawl.

“Would you look at that? It’s my favourite whore,” came a voice from behind me.

I clenched my fists, realising the person who had a hold of me was H.

“Let’s go.”

He hustled me out from behind the counter, pushing me towards an armchair before forcing me to sit down. He kept a hand on my shoulder and cold steel pressed into my temple. I glanced at the gun and swallowed again. This was bad. Really fucking bad.

Pippa stepped closer, giving me a bland smile.

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