Page 68 of Titan

She didn’t immediately respond. Instead, she crawled out of my lap and used some tissues from the box on the coffee table to wipe her face.

“Okay, but where will I stay?”

I got up off the sofa.

“With me. I’m going to need you to hurry. I still have business to deal with.”

She nodded, then got up herself and left the room. I paced her living area, running my hands through my hair. This was a fucking mess, but there was no way in hell I was letting her out of my sight. I walked into the hallway and found her leaving her bedroom with a bag. She’d pulled on a pair of jeans and a jumper. I expected her to be longer. My eyes narrowed on the bag.

“Is that everything you need?”

She nodded.

“I already had it packed.”

I stepped closer.

“Why?”

Her eyes darted to the floor.

“I packed it the first night they sent me a letter because if they came for me, I was going to run and never look back.”

My stomach dropped to my feet, but I shoved the sickening feeling away.

“We need to go.”

I grabbed the bag from her and went over to the door. Theia stuffed her feet into shoes, shrugged her coat on, and went into the kitchen to grab something. She came out with a few envelopes, staring at them with distaste. I assumed they were the letters, so I took them from her, unzipped one side of her bag and stuffed them in. I opened the front door and strode out, looking from side to side to check our surroundings.

“Come.”

Theia dashed out, locked up, and followed me to the lifts. We were silent as we rode down and I walked her out to where I’d parked. I dumped her bag in the boot and got in. Theia was already in the passenger seat and had her belt on. I turned the engine on and started off. Reaching over, I put my hand on her knee. She looked at me, but I kept my eyes on the road.

“I’m going to keep you safe, okay?”

She slid her hand over mine and squeezed it.

“Okay,” she whispered.

I had to move my hand to use the gear stick, even though I wanted to hold her hand and reassure her. She might have stopped crying, but I knew the incident was still affecting her. I could tell by the stiffness of her shoulders.

She was silent next to me for the drive. My mind was racing at a million miles an hour. What if she hadn’t called me when that guy came? What if she’d run? I’d have never seen her again. I couldn’t abide the thought of it. It made my stomach churn again. If I didn’t have her, I think I might have come apart at the seams. She was the only good thing in my life. The person I looked forward to seeing and couldn’t get out of my head.

You’re mine, Theia. I won’t let you go. I’ll protect you from them.

I didn’t know when I started thinking of her as mine, but I knew it deep in my bones. No matter what it took, I would keep this woman by my side.

When we pulled up outside the warehouse, I turned to her. She was looking out of the window, her fingers curled together in her lap.

“Where are we?”

“A warehouse thefamigliaowns.”

There were other cars parked outside, one of them being Edric’s.

“Why?”

“I have to deal with business first, okay?”

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