CHAPTER 27
Ben
I wake up in my favorite place—tangled up with her. Now, I can tell her my secrets and hope she is accepting. We both agreed last night that we would have a quiet, calm dinner at home tonight and discuss our secrets with no judgement. We both have them, and we both have held back out of fear of what the other would think. I thought I knew her secret, but as it turned out, I only knew one of them. The more we talked last night, the more I realized whatever she has to tell me is way more complicated than I ever imagined. At least she is admitting she has secrets to share. The sooner we get this out of the way, the sooner we can leave here and start a new life away from the insanity surrounding Titus. I have to go into the office and track down all of Titus’s contacts who can get us some faked passports and social security numbers. We need four of each. It took me less than a minute to convince Luca and his fiancé to run away with us. It’s what he’s wanted all along.
The moment I leave the bed, she sits up. “Where are you going? You’re not working today?”
“I need to go in and get some things worked out before our talk tonight.” I lean back over the bed to kiss her once more, “I’ll see you tonight, I promise.” With all of the excitement last night, I forgot about Nathan. The bastard tried to kill me. It was clear to everyone, and I know Titus realized he and I will never be able to work together. One of us will have to die. When I walk into the house, Nathan stares me down to the point that I prepare myself for a fight. He doesn’t move. He simply continues to stare as I walk away. “You’ve reached a whole new level of creepiness, Nathan. You should speak to a therapist about that.”
“I’m so happy you’re here, Ben.”
“And I’m happy that I’ve got better things to do than stand here talking to you.” That fuck is insane. I walk into Titus’s office as he’s getting ready to leave. “Are you going somewhere? Your schedule has you in all day?”
“Last minute business to handle,” he says, a cryptic tone in his voice. He finally takes a second to look up at me. “What are you doing here? You should be resting after yesterday. I told you to stay home.”
“Laila stayed with me last night.” Titus takes in a deep breath, sitting back down at his desk where he begins moving things around randomly, busying his hands. He selects each piece, looking at it carefully and then moving it to another place, sometimes even moving it back to its old place. I have only seen him do this twice before. The first time was when Donovan was killed. The one good thing Titus ever did for me was introduce me to one of his best security personnel—Donovan Lincoln. Donovan was an incredibly talented fighter, accomplished in every technique known to man, and he could focus in even the most chaotic moments. He was the head of Titus’s team, his most trusted advisor, and he was like a father to me and my brother until he was murdered. I accused Titus of doing it because he was the only one I could think of that Donovan would trust enough to let in his house and turn his back on. Titus swears it was a rival, someone who was trying to weaken him. Once Donovan was gone, Nathan took over, and he and Titus took revenge out on those they believed were responsible. Everything changed when Donovan died, and Titus became more distant.
The only other time I’d seen him so nervous was when I came to tell him my mother was sick. She lost her medical insurance when she couldn’t work anymore, and the care she really needed, we couldn’t afford. There wasn’t a job I could get or even two jobs that would help, at least not any normal job. When Titus began his random placement obsession, I took that to mean he wasn’t going to help. I left so angry that I went to an open fight competition just to relieve my frustration, but the money I bet on myself to win it all convinced me of what I needed to do. That was my first win, an easy one, but nowhere near my last. I used everything Donovan taught me and took the time to perfect it. The money got a lot better when a man who saw himself as my agent found me and booked fights around the world for me to compete in. The money was great, but the more I won, the bigger the target on my back.
When I was attacked, Titus brought me home, broken and bruised, on a private plane with nurses to keep my care at a high level. If not for wanting to get back to say goodbye to my mother, I would have told him to fuck off. Instead, I was working for Titus a few months later. He moved me up the ranks quickly, and with good reason. I saved his life multiple times, and in the process, I saved his dynasty. Now, I am sitting here, his most trusted advisor, trying to sneak out of here with contacts to help me leave him, alone.
“I’m going to tell her everything.” Titus glances my way briefly before returning to his game. “I need your permission to talk to KP.” Again, he pauses, but he gives me no response. “Are you going to continue to play or are you going to answer me Titus?!”
He finally reacts with raised hands and a growl of frustration. “I don’t like any of it!” he exclaims.
“Give me the number, Titus! It is all over. Everyone thinks you tried to kill me yesterday. Nathan tried to kill me, yet he is still here, alive. Where do your loyalties rest Titus, because they aren’t with me?” I continue, getting angrier with every word he doesn’t respond to.
“Don’t you dare question my loyalty! I have done everything to keep you and Luca alive—your whole lives.” He gets up, goes to his secret safe, and opens it, taking out an envelope. “Take this. You will find everything you need inside. If you make this decision, be silent. Completely silent,” he says, reminding me to be careful when contacting anyone outside of us. “This is not a decision I want to hear. There is something …” He shakes his head, sitting back in his chair and looking worried. “Something is going on I can’t figure out. It’s right here under my nose, and I can’t see it. For the first time, I can’t see what’s going to happen. And I honestly don’t want either of you here when whatever it is goes down.”
I hesitate to respond, feeling a wave of concern rush over me, not for myself, for Luca, or even Laila, but for Titus. He always senses the right thing to do, but he genuinely looks afraid right now, and I feel the need to help. “I still have some connections with the police?”
“Whatever this is, it’s buried so deep that none of our contacts can help us, but maybe one. An old one, but I will meet with him on my own. He wouldn’t talk to anyone else.” I wait, trying to think of something that might help. “You’re so much like you’re mother.”
“That’s Luca.”
“You both are. She was right, by the way. She was always right. She was better than I deserved.” He sits back in his chair and waves me off.
I only look back once before walking away. There’s nothing I can do for him now. He said so himself. I have other people I need to protect now. Before I can go, Jolie intercepts me. Taking my hand, she pulls me into a room, just the two of us. I am instantly frustrated and annoyed.
“I have an offer that can make you very happy.”
“I am not interested.”
“Give me a second to explain what I have in mind. It’s a plan that will let us be together openly and forever.” I take an interest in what she says, but only because her confidence has returned. The desperation she has been sinking deeper into the last few months has completely disappeared. “I knew you would be interested.”
“I’m not interested in you or a plan that includes you. I don’t know how you’re going to deal with Titus leaving you, and I don’t care. I would accept your destiny, Jolie, and go find another rich bastard to latch onto and do it before Titus makes you disappear for good.”
I try to leave her grasp, but she won’t let me go without a fight. “Ben I didn’t leave you for his riches.” I look at her sideways with a laugh. “Okay, not entirely the reason. I knew if I could get in that I could help you and keep you safe until I could take over. Now, I have renewed hope that can still happen. The two of us together can do anything.” She looks so positive and hopeful. She clearly thinks it’s actually possible. “We could have everything we ever wanted—money, power, and dedicated servants. All you have to do is help me.”
“No.”
“No? What do you mean no? Ben?”
“I mean, no. Laila and I are back together, and I plan on making it permanent.” She looks stunned. “Okay, nice talk. Good luck with your evil takeover, by yourself.”
“I’m not by myself, Ben. You would be wise to work with me, rather than her.” I am not sure how many things she breaks as I walk away, but it sounds like the entire room is destroyed during her raging moment. I don’t bother to care. It feels odd to be walking out and knowing I won’t return. What’s odder, though, is Jolie following me out with Nathan taking a close personal spot right beside her. I groan with a shake of my head. I just can’t get away from this shit. I need to get out of here and make a call. There’s no answer, so I leave him a warning message as my last call of a duty. “Titus, I think I found your snake, or snakes rather. Nathan and Jolie are working together. You might want to avoid going home until you can get a hold of that. Good luck.” I leave, feeling good that Titus can handle the two without me having to worry, but just in case, I am stepping up my efforts. We are packing tonight and getting out of town until I can get us a safe exit out of our lives.