Page 104 of Havoc

After a long beat of silence, a door finally opens, and I straighten my back. Boots thump across the wooden floor, and then the hood is ripped off my head.

With sunlight streaming through the window, it takes me a moment to blink the face into focus. And when I do, I find Titan grinning at me.

“Welcome home.” He steps back, and I take in the too-familiar room.

The one that haunts many of my nightmares. And now, being here. Seeing it and smelling it, I’m surprised I don’t vomit. Especially when a figure across the room steals my attention.

Locked in the chains bolted to the ground is my father. His ankles are tied together so he can’t run, and a messy wrap, soaked in blood, covers where he’s missing a hand.

The shuffling I heard wasn’t someone guarding me. It was him.

“Dad.” I shoot to standing, but Titan moves into my path.

“You remember the deal, Aimee.” He tilts his head to the side, watching me. “Behave and I won’t hurt your father.”

“Don’t listen to him, Aimee.”

“I thought I told you to be quiet, or I’d gag you.” Titan glares over his shoulder. “Don’t tempt me, Anderson. You’ve already lost one hand. You won’t be much use without the other. And then I won’t have any reason to keep you. But I’ll keep her.”

Titan smiles, and my father fights against the chains.

“It’s okay, Dad,” I lie. “I’m okay.”

“There she is.” Titan grins, stroking my cheek with the back of his hand.

But when I step back, his hand falls, and his amusement falters.

“I’ll forgive that once since I know you’re just readjusting to your surroundings,” he threatens.

“You have me now. I turned myself over. Let my father go.”

“Did you turn yourself over?” Titan steps closer. “From what I recall, you said you refused to come with me. Forced me to drag you here when you know how much I hate using effort to retrieve what’s mine. You were difficult on purpose.”

“Let my dad go, and we can work this out.”

Titan’s slimy gaze slides the length of my body, and I can’t help but shiver as he pauses at my chest. “I suppose we can.”

“Don’t do this, Aimee—”

Titan spins around, backhanding my father to cut him off. “I told you to be quiet. Do you really want her to pay for your mistakes any more than she already has? And to think I once considered you a friend.”

Something solidifies in my stomach as that last word falls from Titan’s lips. “What do you meanfriend?”

“He really never told you?” Amusement blooms in Titan’s eyes as heat drains from my cheeks. “What do you think your father was doing all those years you were away? Why do you think he’s still here? Your father is one of my most trusted business partners.”

“No.” I shake my head. “You made him help you.”

“When he tried to back out of his obligations, yes.” Titan shrugs like it’s nothing. “But no one forced himto get involved when this all started. He was more than happy to assist with anything I needed, so long as I paid for that pretty house you lived in and funded your private education.”

I swallow, but my throat feels like burning coals. “What are you talking about?”

“Your father and I have been business partners for years, Aimee. Long before I ever knew what a true prize he was hiding in that big house of his.” Titan grabs my chin and angles it up. “I suppose I should thank him for losing me all that money a decade ago. He was very good at keeping you off my radar until he had no other option.”

“You’re lying. You’re just trying to turn us against each other. If that was true, I would have known.”

“How?” He angles his head. “Your father certainly wasn’t going to admit to anything when he was the one who got you kidnapped. It was easier for him to let you hate Havoc and the Twisted Kings than for him to admit to his mistakes.”

“You could have told me.”