Titan (Dark Kings 1)

“I don’t want to anymore.” It’s the first thing she’s said to me since we’ve left the alleyway. She sat in my car silent and shaking uncontrollably, rocking back and forth. I was afraid to say anything to her. She needed time to process it all. What happened to her, and what I did in order to protect her.

“Want to what?” I ask, running the soap up and down her cold arms, cleaning her skin.

“Be a Queen anymore,” she whispers.

I want to smile but refrain. The only way she was doing that again was over my dead body. “Okay. You don’t have to do it anymore.”

“But … I burned my parents’ house down.”

“That’s okay.” That house is the least of my worries.

“No.” She shakes her head. “I burned my father’s money.”

My hands stop moving. “What do you mean?”

She licks her lips. “He told me that he had money hidden in the walk-in closet. But now it’s all ash.”

“What makes him think that?” Most of the house was destroyed, but there are parts that managed to go untouched. The neighbors had called the fire department before it all burned.

“He told me he went back the night we returned to Vegas.” She bows her head. “I had burned it. He needed it. That’s why I took the job tonight.”

I grip her chin and lift her head, so she has to look at me. “Don’t ever do anything other than for yourself, Em.”

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

TITAN

THE SUN HAS been up for a few hours. We all sit around the conference table silently. I twirl a pen in my hands as Cross flips his Zippo. Grave’s hungover ass drinks Pedialyte out of the bottle. And Bones types away on his phone when the door opens.

Nigel shows Nick York to his seat across from me. I thank him, and he exits, leaving us alone with him.

“What is this about?” he demands, straightening his tie. “I was informed I had to attend a meeting with the Kings?”

I sent Nigel out to retrieve him an hour ago. I half expected him to already be on the run.

“I remember a time when you begged to meet with us,” Bones states, referring to when we loaned him money.

He swallows but squares his shoulders. “What does this pertain to?”

I almost laugh. This fuckface thinks he has leverage here, but he doesn’t. “We know you lied to Em,” I state, and his face drains of what color it had. “You see, we placed surveillance on the outside after the break-in. It was mainly to see if George came back, but it worked in our favor nonetheless.”

“I don’t know …”

“You told Emilee that you went back to the house to get the money you had hidden in your secret stash. You lied.” The guys and I watched it this morning after I filled them in on everything that happened last night and what Em told me. And just as I expected, he had lied to her. We kept it running in case George ever decided to show his face again. Now I’m glad we did.

“I’m guessing you were hoping that she wouldn’t share that information,” Bones adds.

He dips his head and starts breathing heavily. “What do you want?”

I ignore that question and ask my own. “Worried she may realize what a piece of shit you are and disown you?”

He picks his head up and glares at me.

“She will once we tell her how you set her up,” Bones growls.

“I didn’t—”

“You did.” I Interrupt him. “And I have proof.” I state, placing two cell phones on the table.

He pulls on his collar. “What is this?” he demands.

“Evidence,” I state. “You see, you owe several people money. One of them being Jacob. And when he saw that your daughter was a Queen, he wanted to go after her to get to you.” I press play on a video on Jacob’s phone. It’s of Emilee walking into the back of Kingdom the night of their first date. Jacob was already there, parked around the corner, watching her. Recording it. Then he sent it to Nick’s old number. But he didn’t send a message. The video comes to a stop, and I sit back in my chair.

“You can’t prove that,” he growls.

“But I can.” I open the phone once more and go back to the text messages. “She can work off my debt.” My eyes meet his. “Is what you replied to his video.”

“Is that true?”

He jumps to his feet as Nigel holds the door for Emilee to enter.

“Emilee …” he starts.

“Is that true?” she demands, tears in her eyes.

“What are you …?” He spins around to glare at me. “You set this up.”

I sit back and cross my arms over my chest. “She deserves to know.” Emilee has a big heart. She wants to see the good in people. I mean, look at the type of people she has surrounded herself with. Bones, me, the rest of the Kings. She believes in second chances, and I love her for that. Without her forgiveness, I would have never had my chance with her. But her father? Enough is enough. She needs to see that he betrayed her. And it could have cost her, her life.