Theirs to Corrupt (Titans Captivated #5)

Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Three Weeks Later

Tessa

The neon sign of the Rusty Nail flickers in the humid Houston night, casting an eerie red glow over the cracked asphalt of the nearly empty parking lot.

I swipe away a bead of sweat as I push the bar’s heavy back door just a little farther open. The two a.m. air hits me like a wall, thick and heavy with the promise of an approaching storm.

For moments I stand there, surveying the parking lot, glancing at the shadows, watching for any hint of movement or unexpected vehicles, making sure I’m safe.

My beat-up car is beneath the parking lot’s only lamp, and I see nothing out of the ordinary.

“All clear, sugar?” Marge asks from behind me.

I glance back and force a smile. “Yeah. Looks good. Thank you.” I appreciate her so very much. “Good night, Marge.”

“Be safe out there, honey. Call if you need anything.”

Going home this late unnerves me.

The door clicks shut behind me, and she turns the lock, leaving me alone in the stifling darkness.

I dart toward my vehicle, clutching my small purse tightly, keys threaded between my fingers—a makeshift weapon I pray I’ll never have to use. Of course, I also carry pepper spray, but I’m afraid of pointing the nozzle in the wrong direction.

How is this my life?

I ask that question daily.

My parents loved me and supported my dreams of going to college, having a career, and eventually getting married. Two years ago, my future was bright and shiny. I’d enrolled in college, and I was thriving.

Now I’m scraping by, barely able to buy groceries, jumping at shadows, all to escape the cruelty of the one person my parents counted on to protect me.

The image of Axel’s cold, calculating eyes flashes through my mind.

Once, he’d been my hero.

Until greed turned him into an unrecognizable monster.

I’m so lost in my thoughts that I almost miss the sound of approaching footsteps. Almost.

Keys raised to strike, I whirl to find myself face-to-face with two men who’ve detached themselves from the shadows.

My blood ices as I recognize one of them. He works for Axel.

A wave of nausea hits me. This is my worst nightmare come to life.

“Well, well.” He sneers. “What have we here? The boss’s runaway sister.”

My heart thunders as I bring up my keys, my hand shaking so badly I can barely hold them. “Stay back!” Despite my best efforts, my voice is squeaky and weak. Inside, I’m screaming at myself to run, to fight, to do something, but terror rivets me to the spot.

The men laugh, a cruel, mocking sound that sends chills down my spine. Suddenly I’m small, helpless.

“Time to come home, little girl. Your brother’s been worried sick about you. And Emiliano is getting impatient.”

The name almost makes me heave. Emiliano. The man my brother sold my virginity to.

Run!

How close am I to my car? Can I make it? My mind races, calculating distances, but panic muddles my thoughts. A knife blade flashes, and my world narrows to that glinting point of metal.

He takes another step.

“I said no!” The words burst from me, fueled by desperation, determination, and a surge of adrenaline. “Help!” I scream.

Nearby, a motorcycle roars.

As they advance, I stumble, my back hitting the cold metal of my car. The contact jolts me, and I grab for the door handle. Only seconds from safety…

“Drop the fucking blade.”

My gaze swings toward the newcomer, and the assailants look behind them.

Two men emerge from the shadows, their presence commanding and intimidating.

Link and Pax.

Pax steps forward, his eyes cold and focused. “Do I need to repeat myself?” His voice is low, dangerous.

Axel’s men hesitate, their confidence wavering.

“The lady’s under my protection,” Link says, his voice equally menacing.

The knife glints in the dim light, and the man flashes a grin, a silver tooth shining. “Don’t mind cutting you up either.”

Paxton and Link exchange glances.

“Get her out of here,” Pax nods at Link.

Then everything happens at once.

Pax lunges, a blur of motion as he disarms the knife-wielding attacker with a swift, precise strike. The weapon clatters to the ground.

Before the second man can react, Paxton has him pinned against the car, his arm twisted painfully behind his back.

“Let’s go.” Link grabs my elbow, jolting electricity through me, and I drop my keys.

Not slowing down, he pulls me toward a sleek black SUV parked nearby.

“Wait!” I gasp, my voice hoarse. “My keys?—”

“Forget them,” he snaps, practically lifting me off my feet as he yanks open the car door and shoves me inside.

The sudden shift from danger to relative safety leaves me dizzy and disoriented.

Through the tinted windows, I watch Pax take down the remaining assailant with brutal efficiency. A part of me is horrified by the violence, but another part—a part I’m not proud of—feels a grim satisfaction seeing my would-be attackers subdued.

Just when I think it’s over, a van screeches into the lot, and more men pour out, heading straight for Pax. “We’ve got to help him!”

Ignoring me, Link slides into the driver’s seat, the engine roaring to life

Pax doesn’t hesitate. He meets the new attackers head-on, his movements precise, powerful.

Each strike calculated and effective, he takes down one after another.

One of the men gets a punch in, and I scream in horror.

Pax barely flinches, retaliating with a blow that sends the attacker sprawling.

Sirens pierce the night air, growing louder with each passing second.

The men freeze, their gazes darting toward the source of the noise.

Link glances back at me. “Stay down.” He revs the engine, ready to move at a moment’s notice.

Through the rearview mirror, I watch Pax finish off the last of the attackers, his chest heaving slightly from the exertion.

The remaining men retreat, jumping into the van and gunning the engine, fishtailing as police approach.

Link lowers the window, and Pax walks over. “I’ll handle the authorities and let Marge know what happened.”

Link nods.

“Meet you back at home.”

“Tessa lost her keys.”

“Roger that.”

With a nod, Link smoothly accelerates, leaving the lot before law enforcement arrives.

“Oh God,” I whisper, slumping back against the leather seat. “Oh God, oh God.” My whole body is trembling now that the adrenaline has worn off, and I’m left hollow and wrung out. Tears threaten to spill, but I furiously blink them back. I haven’t shed a single tear since this whole thing started, even when I boarded a bus and found my way to a shelter, and I refuse to now.

“Breathe,” Link orders, his eyes never leaving the road as he expertly navigates through sparse traffic.

His matter-of-fact tone snaps me out of my panic. I force myself to inhale, focusing on the rise and fall of my chest. As my pulse steadies, a new fear takes hold. Why were they in the parking lot?

My head snaps up, and I blink. He’d called me Tessa.

How does he know my real name?

“You’re safe,” he says softly, as if he’s read my mind.

Safe.

Am I? Or have I just traded one danger for another? “Thanks for the rescue, but you can take me home now.”

“You’re not going back to your place.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Mr. Merritt.” Despite the fact the car is moving, I reach for the door handle. All I need is a stoplight…

“Doors won’t open unless I put the car in Park.”

Frustrated, I squeeze my eyes shut. Does he miss anything? “Just go ahead and drop me back at my car. I’ll be fine.”

Gripping the steering wheel expertly, he shakes his head. “You’re going home with me. With us.”

Fear turns my stomach inside out. I’ve escaped Axel’s men only to land in the clutches of Vulture.

In the rearview mirror, our gazes meet. “You can relax. If I meant you harm, I would have simply left you to those thugs.”

His cryptic answer sends a fresh wave of fear through me.

At a stoplight, I try to escape, testing his words. But the door won’t open.

He shoots me a knowing smile.

When he takes off again, the city lights blur past us, and I hug myself tightly, trying to hold myself together. I’m hurtling into the unknown, trapped between the devil I know and two men who might very well prove far more dangerous.

A part of me wants to leap from the car, to run and never look back. But where would I go? Axel found me once. That means his resources are deeper than I ever imagined.

And despite my fear of Link and Paxton, a tiny voice in the back of my mind whispers that they might be my only hope.

As we turn into a neighborhood with tall, brick fences shielding mansions, my anxiety spikes. After a couple of turns, Link steers the car through a gate that seems to open automatically for him. I watch in the side mirror as it slides shut behind us with a soft mechanical whir, sealing me in.

Link parks near a massive mansion. “Let’s go.”

I’ve been anxious to get out of the car, but now the back seat feels like a sanctuary.

He opens my door and offers his hand. I ignore it. “Where are we?”

“Home.”

His place—with its meticulously manicured lawns, a pool, and swaying palm trees—is a stark contrast to the dingy apartment complex where I live.

We enter through an imposing back door. The interior of the ultramodern two-story home is every bit as imposing as the exterior.

Link shrugs off his suitcoat. “Have a seat,” he says, gesturing to the island with its line of bar stools.

Because it might offer me some distance from him, I slide onto one, setting my purse on the chair next to me. He drapes his jacket over the back.

“Something to drink?” he offers. “Water? Tea? A glass of wine to calm your nerves?”

“I’m fine. I won’t be here that long.”

Link studies me for a moment. Then he heads to the refrigerator and returns with a bottle of water. After twisting off the cap, he places the beverage in front of me.

Reluctantly I drag it toward me. The coolness against my palm is grounding, and I take a small sip, grateful for the distraction.

We’ve only been here for a few minutes when a motorcycle roars, the sound growing closer. Light fills the driveway.

Moments later, the back door swings open with a soft creak. Pax strides in and pulls the door closed behind him, then types a series of numbers on the nearby keypad.

He shrugs out of his motorcycle jacket and carelessly tosses it on top of Link’s suitcoat.

The sight of the ruthless bodyguard makes my breath catch in my throat.

He continues past me to stand next to Link. They’re two massive, implacable male powerhouses, and being at their mercy makes me shiver.

As I look at Pax, I notice the small cut above his right eyebrow. Another, angrier gash slices across his cheekbone. “My God.” I jump off my seat. “You’re hurt. Let me?—”

“It’s nothing.” He waves a hand dismissively, and something glints in his free hand.

My keys.

He sets them near me with a soft clink. “Thought you might want these back.”

“Thank you.” A wave of relief washes over me, followed quickly by a renewed sense of guilt. He’d thought to take care of that, even though he was hurt—because they wanted to protect me.

But why?

I’m nobody to them—a cocktail waitress. I shouldn’t matter.

But then Marge’s words echo in my mind, fragments of conversations we’ve had over the past weeks .

Pax isn’t just a bodyguard. Though I’ve searched, I haven’t learned anything about him since that first night. That leaves most of his past shrouded in mystery and danger.

I play with my keys, and both men fix their gazes on me.

“It’s time for the truth, Tessa” Pax says, his voice low and firm, cutting through the silence.

His shocking green eyes unnerve me. Pax isn’t looking at me. He’s seeing through my constructed walls and half-truths.

My mouth dries, and I struggle against the urge to fidget under their scrutiny.

He leans forward. His voice is cold when he lashes out with, “All of it.”