Page 2 of Titan

Zayn walked over to me, his annoyed expression clearing. I stepped down off the dais to meet him.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Mr Villetti. No harm done,” I replied, not wanting to make more of a scene.

I knew Zayn preferred to deal with anything like this in private. He wasn’t a showy man who wanted everything on blast. More like someone who worked behind the shadows and had everyone dancing to his tune without even trying too hard to manipulate them.

His brother arrived next to him. The way he looked at me made me swallow all over again. It wasn’t leering nor curious. His dark eyes were almost devoid of emotion, which was incredibly unnerving.

“I’m glad to hear that, but I do think you should take five, okay?”

I nodded. Zayn smiled at me. Then he glared at his brother before walking off toward the private rooms and his office. For a moment, his brother and I stared at each other. His mouth twitched slightly, and he stepped closer.

“Thank you.”

The words erupted from my throat in a rush, not wanting to seem ungrateful that he’d dealt with the man for me. I didn’t like being touched by people without my consent. It made my skin crawl. Having someone defend me the way he had meant a lot to me.

He cocked his head to the side but didn’t open his mouth. My eyes were drawn to it for some reason, taking in the fullness of his lips and wondering what they would feel like against me.

And now I’m having extremely inappropriate thoughts about my boss’s brother!

“Gilberto. Now.”

I almost jumped at the sound of Zayn’s voice. His brother raised his eyebrow and walked away from me. I turned, watching him make his way across the club with Zayn until they disappeared through the doors to the private rooms.

My breath whooshed out of me. I shook myself, flexing my hands by my sides before I darted away towards the bar and the staff rooms behind it. The moment I was alone, I sat down on a bench and put my head in my hands.

“What the fuck was that all about?” I muttered to myself.

The man who’d touched me would be dealt with appropriately. I wouldn’t have to worry about him again. That hadn’t flustered me. No, it was Zayn’s brother, who he’d called Gilberto… Gil. The way he’d stared at me with little emotion in his expression. The fact he’d so casually stabbed a man in the hand like it meant nothing should terrify me. When you’ve spent years witnessing violence against the people around you, not to mention against yourself, you get desensitised to it. It became commonplace. Maybe it was why I didn’t have any issues working for a man who was the heir to his father’s mafia empire.

Zayn had always treated me and his other employees with respect. Almost everyone who worked here had a shitty past they were trying to escape. We were a family. A strange, dysfunctional one, but a family all the same. That was the atmosphere Zayn and Liza always fostered amongst the staff.

Still, I shouldn’t have been thinking about how attractive Zayn’s brother was or what he could do with his mouth. I mean, sure, I’d always thought my boss was hot with all those tattoos and the way he carried himself, but it didn’t mean I was interested in him… or his brother. I wasn’t interested in relationships full stop. No one needed my damage, nor did I want to feel like a burden. I was happy alone, working here where I’d found safety in sex work. Where I’d rebuilt myself from the ground up. I still had a few old wounds left to heal, but I was moving forward. That’s what mattered the most.

I let out a breath and rubbed my face with both hands. Then I got up and checked my makeup before fixing my hair. I adjusted my clothes as I stared at myself in the mirror.

Time to go back out there and let yourself get lost in the music, in having people watch you perform. That’s your happy place, remember? You don’t need to think about the past any longer, Theia Louise Nowak. You never have to think about it again.

Turning around, I walked out of the staff room and back into the club. I wasn’t going to let this little incident ruin my night. He could go fuck himself. I didn’t give a shit if he’d been stabbed in the hand. He wasn’t worth my time. And I swore to myself I really wouldn’t think about the fact that Gilberto Villetti had seared himself into my mind permanently after he’d come to my rescue, when he didn’t even know me.

No, I wouldn’t think about him at all.

Two

Gilberto

Three Months Later

My brother sat behind his desk with a neutral expression on his face. I’d known my whole adult life that Zayn did not want to take over the mafia from our father. Ever since he’d toldPapáto go fuck himself when I was nineteen. Now our father was dead. Everything had changed. Yet I don’t know why I expected his stance on it to have changed in light of recent events.

“You want me to take over his role?”

Zayn nodded slowly, his eyes flickering with emotions I wasn’t sure I understood. To be honest, I wasn’t good with emotions full stop. They made my skin itch.

“Why?”

My brother let out a sigh before rising from his seat and coming around his desk to stand in front of me. Perhaps he thought I’d respond better if we were on a level playing field. I’d always respected Zayn for who he was and how he stuck to his principles no matter what. However, what he was suggesting was unorthodox, not to mention would be an incredibly hard sell to our men.

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