Page 74 of Tyrant (The Villetti Chronicles)

“What the fuck, Zayn? You tagged me like a dog! Why the fuck would you do that?”

I wanted to rip it out of my ear, but I didn’t. My hand shook as I dropped it into my lap and curled it into a fist.

“I needed to know where they were taking you.”

It was then I realised why this situation was so off.

“You… you knew they were going to take me? You knew Derek was going to kidnap me!”

He inclined his head once.

“Why? Why the fuck would you let that happen to me? You’re supposed to keep me safe. That was the deal. That was our fucking deal.”

“He was a threat to you and your father that needed eliminating. You asked me to save Bennett and stop the war. That’s what I did.” He cocked his head to the side. “I had no other way of getting to Derek. You were my way in because he wanted you. I would’ve never let him have you, Ari. You were perfectly safe. I was always coming for you. And besides, I had to get to you before your father arrived. We tipped him off to Derek’s location, but I couldn’t let him find you there. You’re mine.”

I wanted to shove him. I wanted to fucking scream. And most of all, I wanted to cry because this felt like a horrific breach of trust between us. He’d allowed me to get kidnapped. He’d planned this whole thing and left me in the dark. I didn’t even have time to process the fact he’d tipped my father off. That he wasn’t letting me go back to my dad. I was too angry about everything else.

“Safe? I was safe? I wasn’t fucking safe, Zayn. He was going to cut my face up!”

Zayn looked out of the window behind me. I was going to shout at him again to get his attention when I realised the car had stopped. Turning away from him, I fumbled with the door and shoved it open, scrambling out of the car. Zayn got out the other side and before I knew it, he’d grabbed a hold of my arm and was hustling me down the back alley to the club. Glancing behind me, I noticed Enzo and Arlo following. Zayn’s brother was looking between us with a strange expression on his face. I didn’t have time to examine why as Zayn shoved me through the back door.

The next thing I knew, we were in his office, and he’d slammed the door shut behind us. I wrenched myself out of his grasp and backed away, curling my hands into fists.

“Arianna, if you’d let me explain…”

“You let me get kidnapped when you promised to keep me safe. How the hell did you think that would make me feel?” I all but screamed at him.

There was nothing but hurt and anger fuelling me right then. My heart burned in my chest, crippling me with its intensity.

“Nothing happened to you.”

“That isn’t the fucking point! You allowed this to happen, and you didn’t tell me. You didn’t fucking include me in your plans. Do I even mean anything to you, Zayn? Or am I really just a fucking pet to you, huh? Just the girl you made a deal with.”

I let out a shuddering breath.

“Well, guess what? That fucking deal is over. Consider yourself free of me because there’s no war anymore. No fucking threat to me. Derek’s dead. Justin’s dead. All the people who wanted my father to die are fucking gone.”

Zayn stared at me like he was unable to comprehend what I was saying.

“What do you mean?”

“Derek was going to kill my father,” I choked out. “He was going to kill my father and put Justin in charge as his puppet. That’s why my uncle took me. It’s why all of this happened! My uncle betrayed me and my father in the worst fucking way.”

Tears slipped down my cheeks. I hated the fact I was crying when I was so angry, I could barely control it.

“And now you? You’ve fucking betrayed me too. You betrayed my trust in you. I thought I meant something to you because why else would you have slept with me when it wasn’t part of our deal. But this? This proves I don’t mean shit to you.”

The fact his expression didn’t change, and he didn’t flinch at my words, had my heart tearing into shreds. I’d been stupid enough to fall for this man. To let him make me believe we had something real that went beyond the deal I’d made with him. It was all a lie. One big fucking lie.

“You do mean something to me, Ari.” His voice was quiet and soft. “I didn’t do this to hurt you. I did it to protect you.”

The fact he was so fucking emotionless over it killed me further.

“Why should I believe anything you tell me? You didn’t trust me with this, so why should I trust you? Why should I listen? You’re not even sorry, are you?”

“I’m not sorry I let you get kidnapped. Derek is dead. That’s what I needed to happen. But I didn’t want this.” He waved at me. “I didn’t want to upset you.”

I swiped at my face. It was too late for that. It was too late for all of it.

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