Page 31 of Tyrant (The Villetti Chronicles)

I recognised the second voice as one of my father’s men, Jamal.

“Don’t trust him.”

“Swear down, he ain’t got Ari.”

“Then who the fuck has, huh? My fucking daughter is gone. And Justin, where the fuck is he? Got to be McGovern. Them Peckham boys got my girl. I ain’t standing for it.”

“What you going to do?”

I heard the slap of a hand on a table.

“We’re going to make them pay for taking Ari. No one fucks with my family, you feel me.”

My hand went to my mouth, holding back all the words wanting to spill from it. I’d known running would cause trouble, but I didn’t imagine Dad would try to blame my disappearance on McGovern. It was exactly what I had been trying to avoid. If things escalated, people would end up dead. It’s what happened in gang wars. The knives would be out. Not to mention the illegal guns they’d get their hands on. My father owned two of them himself. I wasn’t meant to know about them, but I’d seen him with them one day, so he’d ended up showing me how to use one without allowing me to hold it. No matter how much he tried to keep me out of his gang life, I was all too aware of what went on. Dad only told me what he thought was important to keep me safe and protected.

“That’s all he managed to get,” came Arlo’s voice.

“Did he say anything else about what Bennett is planning?” Zayn replied, his deep voice sending a shiver down my spine.

“Not yet.”

“Find out more for me. We need to monitor it in case it escalates.”

“If he goes after McGovern, it will start a war.”

“You think I don’t know that? Get me more information before it does.”

The shuffling of feet made me tense up.

“You going to tell her about it?”

Zayn didn’t respond immediately. I held my breath. This involved me. I’d come to Zayn for protection and to prevent a war. My disappearance had only made it worse.

“No.”

“Fair enough.”

The word no echoed in my ear. What the fuck? Why wouldn’t he tell me? I had a right to know. I had a right to be involved. This was my family. My life.

Before I knew what I was doing, I shoved open the door and stormed into Zayn’s office. He was standing by the fireplace. Arlo was nearby, holding out his phone as if that was how they’d listened to the recording of my father.

“Not going to tell me my father is planning a fucking war over me?”

Zayn turned his head slightly and met my eyes.

“Arianna.”

There was a warning note to his voice, but I ignored it, slapping my chest instead as I spoke.

“I deserve to know what’s happening with my father. He’s my family. Why wouldn’t you tell me about this?”

I watched him straighten and turn to me fully. Arlo tucked the phone into his pocket, but his face remained as stoic as Zayn’s.

“This is business. Something I have explicitly told you has nothing to do with you.”

I took a step towards Zayn.

“Business? My dad starting a war over me is business?”

---