Page 128 of Titan

“Do you? Is that how you’ve kept this from your husband all this time?”

Pippa shrugged.

“Dino isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. When Zayn gave you Gennaro’s empire, I knew I had to pave the way for him. You had to go make it difficult for me.”

“The staged bodies at my headquarters. Those were your handiwork.”

She scoffed.

“Of course. Not me personally, but I ordered them.”

“And the shipments?”

She waved a hand.

“Oh well, those were to teach my dear husband a lesson. And when I give them back to him, he’ll have no choice but to listen to me. I’m going to make us great, more powerful than you and your brother. More powerful than Gennaro ever was.”

Power-hungry people always stepped on everyone else to get to the top. They didn’t care who they hurt in the process.

“Now, I suggest you lower those weapons and hand them over to my men. Don’t make this any harder on yourselves unless you want to watch your little plaything die. It’ll be a waste of her talents, of course, but if you want that to be the last thing you see before you die, then by all means.”

Gil let out a breath as two of Pippa’s men approached him and Edric. His best friend glanced at him. Whatever he saw on Gil’s face had him handing over his weapon. Gil did the same. The men backed off. The other two kept their weapons trained on Gil and Edric.

Pippa clapped her hands together.

“Well, since you proved to be quite the adversary, I’ll give you a choice of how you’d like to die. How does a single bullet to the skull sound?”

Gil’s fists clenched at his sides, but he didn’t respond to Pippa. I almost broke down into more tears. I didn’t want to watch him die. I couldn’t. It was too much. Too fucking much. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself, but my emotions were running riot inside me.

I can’t go back. I can’t let any of this happen. Get it together, Theia. You have to do something. You can’t sit here like a lemon. DO something!

My eyes darted up towards H. He looked more relaxed now Gil and Edric had been disarmed. The gun he had pointed at me was laxer in his hand, and it was no longer pressing so hard against my temple. He was distracted. Could I use that to my advantage?

It was right then it occurred to me where I was sitting. I was reminded of the conversation I’d had with Gil right by this chair. I’d given him shit over the fact he had knives strapped underneath all of the armchairs and the sofa.

There’s a knife underneath me.

My eyes darted back to Gil, who was staring right at me. My hands shifted in my lap, dropping to the soft fabric beneath me. There was a slight twitch of his mouth as if he knew what I’d remembered. Then he gave me a subtle bob of his head. And I knew exactly what I had to do.

This was a life or death situation. Either we’d get out of this alive or we’d go down trying. Regardless of the outcome, I was never going back to that place Pippa wanted to take me. Hell would have to fucking freeze over before I allowed that. If I had to save us, so fucking be it. I’d do anything for the man I loved. And I’d do it for myself too.

Forty Two

Gilberto

Remaining calm was growing ever more impossible the longer I stood there, helpless to fix the situation we were in. Edric and I had been disarmed. I didn’t have access to the knife in my boot. Any wrong move right then could result in both of us being gunned down. I couldn’t afford to do something stupid.

“No? Would you rather feel a little pain before you die?” Pippa asked when I didn’t say anything to her earlier question.

I angled my head towards Edric, who was standing right next to me.

“When I say duck, do it,” I whispered.

Before he had a chance to respond, Theia dropped her body forward, letting out a rasping sob and dislodging the gun from where it was pressed against her temple. From where I was standing, I could see her hand fumble underneath the armchair she was sitting on.

“Hey, sit up,” barked the guy holding the gun.

Pippa didn’t turn around, but her mouth thinned into a grim line at the distraction.

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