Page 77 of Havoc

“Don’t finish that thought,” I cut her off, my chest tightening.

“You’re fine if my father dies?”

“I’m not riskingyou.”

“That’s not an answer.” Her tone sharpens, but her eyes are filled with fear.

“Come here.” I snatch her hand off the armrest.

For a second, she resists, and I think she might keep physical distance between us to help maintain her emotional barriers. Thankfully, she doesn’t.

Aimee’s shoulders deflate, and she finally stands, allowing me to pull her onto my lap. Her legs hang off one side of the chair. And even if her hands stay in her lap, her body nestles close. She’s wearing nothing more than an oversized T-shirt with a blanket around her shoulders.

“I don’t want your father dead, Aimee. That’s why we’re having this conversation. I need you to trust me so I can get you both out of this.”

She wets her lips. “I trust you.”

Emotion clogs in her throat. It coats her eyes. I can only imagine how hard those three words are for her, given what she’s been through.

“What else did Titan say?” she asks after a long moment. “Did he say anything about me specifically?”

“It doesn’t matter what he said.”

Her face scrunches, and I’m sure she doesn’t agree, but it’s the truth. Titan abused her and manipulated her. He violated her in ways she’ll spend the rest of her life working through. His words don’t mean shit to me. It’s a picture he wanted to paint. An illusion he created in his head. He doesn’t know Aimee, and she was never in a willing relationship with him.

If she were, he wouldn’t have ordered a doctor to sterilize her to force her to submit to him. He wouldn’t have had to do everything in his power to make her hate me—forget me.

Or worse, do things he thought would make me turn against her.

It shows how little he understands us. I never needed my future with her to look any particular way. I just needed her.

“I promise, Aimee. It doesn’t matter to me what Titan says.”

Doubt stirs in her gaze. “He had me at his compound for eleven months, Levi.”

“I know that,” I reassure her. “And when I finally get my hands on him without an audience, I’m going to make him pay for every single thing he did to you. But you need to know that none of it makes me look at you differently. Not one fucking thing. I know who you are. End of story.”

“You know who I was.”

“No—”

“Levi.” My name is a plea and a grunt.

It’s frustration. Defeat.

A glossy sheen coats her eyes as she rests her hand on her stomach. Low, where I know her scar hides beneath her T-shirt.

“Look at me, Aimee.” I tilt her face to mine. “I know things have changed. We aren’t those kids we once were. But I see you, and trust me when I say that girl I remember is still in there. Stronger. Fiercer. She’s even more beautiful.”

“You only think that because you don’t know everything.”

“Then tell me.” I shrug. “Or don’t. But just know it won’t change a thing.”

Her fingers clench where they rest over the scar on her abdomen. “Did Titan bring this up tonight?”

I nod.

“I figured. He was always so proud of it.” She swallows hard.