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I struggle for breath. I wouldn’t put anything past Richard, but my mother? How could she go along with hiring a private investigator? I imagine the images they could’ve taken of me over the years, with the men I saw and the places I frequented. The wrong judge could easily be convinced I was as irresponsible as my mother and Richard want me to seem. I force down my anger to focus on the information I need to know for my case.
“Was Stiel able to get everything off their computer?”
“Yes. And I was able to get the hard copies. I have them, Julianna. You can give them to your lawyer.”
I pace the short length of the bedroom’s back wall. I should be grateful, I should be happy. I worked so hard to win my battle in court, and it seems like everything Titan and Stiel collected could help me. I don’t care if Richard lives or dies, but this all feels wrong.
“So you got everything before Richard even arrived?” I hiss out, betrayal from my mother, from Richard, from Titan twisting itself through my veins.
“Yes, but—”
“You could’ve left, couldn’t you?” I shout, searching out the closest piece of available clothing. “You could’ve told me what your plan was before you even went there. And you and Stiel could’ve flown out of there with no one the wiser. Richard unharmed. I’d have the information I needed, and they wouldn’t be gunning for me now. Assault, attempted murder— they’re going to say I hired a hitman. A big stone hitman with wings.”
I’d laugh at the absurdity of the situation if I wasn’t just so hurt.
His voice is calm and slow, like I’m a child he doesn’t trust to understand big adult words. “I took care of it, Julianna. They will end the lawsuit and give you your money. I made sure he knew what would happen if they didn’t.”
“What? That next time you’ll finish the job?”
“Yes.” He says it without a single note of remorse or hesitation.
I laugh, sharp and high-pitched, as I yank on the sweater and jeans from yesterday.
“This has gone on long enough, baby girl. Someone needed to end it.”
“Someone? Someone?”
Anger boils beneath the surface of my skin. I feel the heat on my cheeks and the redness of my chest. Years of strain have pulled my nerves taut, and this is the moment they snap.
“As if I haven’t been handling it myself for ten fucking years!” I yell. My face feels like it’s on fire and my stomach like it’s bubbling. “You asshole. You like playing the white knight with me, and I let you, but I never thought you actually believed I couldn’t handle myself. This is about you and your ego, not me. You’re exactly like my mother and Richard, thinking you know what is best for me, but really, you’re just in it for yourself.”
“You needed my help, simple as that, but you are too stubborn to ask for it.”
Fury overtakes me. Without thinking, I pull back my right hand and release it towards Titan’s face. Inches from his cheek, he grabs my wrist, stopping my hand in midair.
“If you want to slap me, baby girl, you better do it when I’m in my human form because I won’t let you break your hand,” he growls. “I protect what is mine.”
He lets me yank my hand from his grasp. I rub at my wrist, not because of pain, but because I can still feel his touch on me. I won’t be able to go through what I need to do if the ghost of his skin is haunting me.
“Well, I’m not really yours, am I?” I spit out. “This arrangement was meant to be one night. We extended it because it worked out in both our favors, but you aren’t working out for me anymore.”
My words are coming out faster than I can process. The only thing that has ever mattered to me is getting my money—my power—back all on my own and proving my mother and Richard wrong. He took that away from me.
“What are you doing?” he hisses.
I run to the closet and grab whatever purchases I can from the last several days, stuffing my arms.
“Ending our arrangement.”
That shuts him up. He stares at me for a long moment as if stunned into silence, but then his features shift. His hard angles normally soften when he looks at me, but now the cuts and grooves of his face are harsh and cold.
“You agreed to go to Freddy’s unveiling event with me, Julianna.” His voice is calm but firm, almost cold. “I held up my end of the bargain. You need to hold up yours. Freddy is expecting you, and I can’t take the chance.”
I want to slap him, broken hand be damned.
“Of course you can’t take the chance. You can only take chances on what’s important to me,” I mutter under my breath.
“You were the one who’d proposed the deal,” he says sternly, “and I paid you for it.”
