Page 54 of Hidden

“It’s late.” Titus’s mood shifted in an instant, and he looked over me. And this time, I realized he’d been trying to distract me from the inevitable. “Are you ready to head back now?”

My heart sank, and I pulled away, hugging my knees back to my chest. “I can’t,” I told him. “I yelled at everyone and ran away. It was rude.”

Titus let out a sound that suspiciously sounded like a laugh, and I peeked at him.

“Rude? How many times have you injured one of us already?” he asked. “And you’ve run away before.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but he’d already touched my forehead. “Besides, you yelling at someone isn’t uncommon. I can’t wait for you to scream at Miles.”

“What?” I gasped. Sweet, darling Miles? I would never.

“But I think there’s another reason you’re avoiding going back.”

“Yes,” I mumbled into my knees, my eyes drifting to the ground. “It’s not the same.”

“What’s not the same?” Titus said, unmoved.

“You know what,” I said, embarrassment racing through me. “You all know about it now. Everyone is going to be imagining it. Damen will keep asking questions. Julian will still try to help. I don’t even know how Miles will react. No one understands.”

The silence that followed was almost deafening. And when I thought he’d say nothing at all, his voice broke through my tumbling thoughts. “I might not be able to relate, but Ihaveseen it before.”

I glanced at him, but he was no longer looking at me. His focus remained at a point off to my side. “My work is client-based, and I’ve worked both sides of the law. I have been on teams hired to intervene in trafficking rings. I’ve seen what happens.”

My breath caught, and the sound of my heartbeat echoed in my ears. I would almost prefer the speculation. But… at the same time, if he knew, then it meant that he might be able to relate. At least a little.

I wouldn’t have to go over it again—I didn’t need to relive it.

“I won’t let them push you.” His arms surrounded me. “They have good intentions, but…”

“I don’t want to think about it.” I was trembling. “I can’t. For ten years, all anyone’s tried to do was ask about it.”

“They are trying to help. They want justice. I’m not going to push you, but… The reason you’re hesitating…” His words trailed off as his breath brushed against my ear. His fingers tangled in the hair at the base of my neck, and shiver shot down my spine. “Are you still scared of him?”

I clung to him. He was solid around me, an impenetrable force of mass and muscle. I knew without a doubt that if anything were to happen, Titus would defend me without hesitation.

But that didn’t stop the terror from racing through me.

“Bianca?” His thumb moved over the back of my head, and his voice soothed my fear.

“I’m scared.” I pressed my face further into his chest, his musky scent washing over me. “He’s gotten away before. He used to talk about it all the time. What if he found me? If he knew I’d told anyone…” Titus’s hand continued to caress my neck, and I tried to steady my shaking. “I know it’s stupid.”

Titus was silent while I shivered against him. Only when my shaking subsided did he respond. “I’m going to find him.” His reply was so direct that my vision wavered with unshed tears.

He was staring at a hard point over my head, his face a devastating statue of retribution. There was dark stubble over his chin, and that, combined with the faint red reflection in his eyes, made him look deadly.

“I’m going to find him,” he repeated, the calm growl of his voice laced with the fury banked in his expression. “He won’t be able to get to you, I can promise you that. But,” his tone turned darker, “I’m also going to promise you’ll have no more doubts about your safety once I bring you his spine.”

A chill passed over me, and I didn’t doubt the truth in his words. “I might not want to see it,” I whispered. “Can’t you just tell me, in detail, how you kill him? Can you make it hurt?”

His eyes were deep recesses that pulled me in, and the world hummed in the back of my awareness. Everything, my worries and fears, faded away as his presence cloaked me.

“Oh, princess.” His voice didn’t hold an ounce of hesitation. “Between me and Julian, we’ll make him wish he’d never been born.”

Chapter Eleven

Bianca

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