Page 95 of Tyrant (The Villetti Chronicles)

“You didn’t answer my question. Would you have believed me? Justin betrayed us. He betrayed you. And it goes beyond taking me. He was going to have you killed. Derek was going to kill you and let Justin run Hackney for him.”

“You what? Nah, nah, nah, man wouldn’t do me like that.”

“See? You wouldn’t have believed me.”

He turned on me, a mixture of annoyance and contrition on his face.

“You’re my daughter, course I’m going to believe you.”

I shook my head, hating how untrue it was when it came to my uncle. He’d said himself, Justin wouldn’t have done him like that. But he had.

“Justin wanted the gang, Dad. I know because Derek told me himself.”

“When the fuck was you with Derek?”

I let out a sigh. Zayn hadn’t told me I couldn’t tell Dad what happened.

“The day he died, right before you turned up. Derek kidnapped me and… and Zayn killed him for it.”

Dad took a step back, his eyes widening.

“You telling me Zayn Villetti killed Derek? Why would man do that? Man owes me nothing.”

“Me. He did it for me.”

Dad’s brow furrowed.

“You?”

I nodded, biting down hard on my lip.

“I told you, I made a deal with him. He killed Derek to make sure you didn’t go to war. I asked him to keep you safe.”

“What did you give him in return?”

I looked down at the floor.

“Me. I gave him me. And before you ask, he didn’t ask me to sleep with him. It wasn’t about that. I just did what he told me to. Kept him company. It’s hard to explain, but it wasn’t… sexual.”

The ground needed to swallow me right up. Telling my dad I’d become Zayn’s pet was embarrassing as hell.

“You telling me he didn’t make you his side ting?”

“He doesn’t have a girlfriend, Dad, so no. I’m not his bit on the side.”

Zayn wouldn’t treat me that way. He’d assured me there would be no one else when I was with him. And now we were together… or, at least, I assumed we were still together even though his father made Zayn send me away. It was different. All of it was.

“What does that even mean, Ari? I don’t get it. If he didn’t want to bang you, what did man want?”

I stood up, nervous energy flowing through me. I couldn’t keep still any longer.

“It means I made a deal with the mafia prince to be his little pet, so he could have complete control over me.”

“Like that dom and sub shit?”

“Yeah, like that.”

Dad looked at me as if he didn’t know who the fuck I was any longer. And to be honest, I didn’t know. Being with Zayn had changed me.

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