Theirs to Corrupt (Titans Captivated #5)

Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Tessa

“This is where I say goodnight.”

Link’s words hang in the air, heavy.

I frown.

We just had an amazing dinner, and I had no idea he wasn’t planning on us spending the evening together.

He reaches past me to press the Down button on the elevator.

“Leave?” I ask.

“I have an appointment.”

With who?

All through the meal at a table tucked away in a private alcove, both men were totally attentive.

A candle had flickered on our table, next to a small vase filled with tiny flowers. Soft jazz played in the background, and the nighttime view of the city took my breath away.

We’d dined European-style, and for the first time since this nightmare began, my tension slipped away.

Now, as we wait for the elevator, that bubble of normalcy bursts.

“I’ll be back soon,” Link promises, his voice low and reassuring.

He leans in, dropping a casual yet intimate kiss on the top of my head. The tender gesture sends a shiver down my spine.

His elevator arrives with a soft chime, and he enters the compartment, Torin a silent shadow behind him.

Link pulls out his phone, and a moment later, he vanishes from view.

“You knew he had plans?” I ask Pax.

“I did.” He offers no explanation.

For a moment, I stand there, staring at the closed doors, a thousand questions swirling in my mind.

Pax presses the button to summon an elevator for us.

Its arrival interrupts my thoughts, and Pax gently guides me inside with his palm against the middle of my back. His touch is both grounding and electrifying.

We’re not alone. Mira steps in, followed by a man I don’t recognize. He’s wearing a suit that screams security, and he positions himself in front of Pax and me, his stance mirroring Torin’s earlier posture.

When we reach our floor, Mira and the unknown agent step out first, scanning the hallway in both directions before giving a subtle nod.

Mira takes up a position next to our door while the man continues toward the stairs.

Leaving nothing to chance?

As Pax presses his finger to the nearby pad, Mira nods. “Have a nice evening, ma’am.”

“Tessa,” I correct automatically, still uncomfortable with the formality. “Please, call me Tessa.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she replies, and I can’t help but shake my head as I grin.

My new world is so foreign.

Pax and I step into the sanctuary of our suite.

When the lock engages, I exhale.

Suddenly I’m away from the outside world with its millions of complications.

Pax loosens his tie, and I kick off my stilettos.

“Nice dinner,” he says.

“What was all that about?” I ask. “Link, I mean. Where is he going?”

Pax continues into the living room area and shrugs out of his suit coat.

The sight of the gun holstered at his side catches me off guard.

I gasp, but I shouldn’t be surprised.

“Glass of wine?” Pax offers, his voice calm, as if he hasn’t just revealed that he carries a deadly weapon.

I hesitate for a moment. “Will I need it?”

Pax looks at me, and his expression softens slightly. “Offering a nightcap, Tessa. Nothing more.”

I nod. Despite the fact I had a glass with dinner, I’m still wound up.

While Pax busies himself with opening a bottle, I curl up in one of the plush armchairs, tucking my legs beneath me.

Pax returns with two glasses of white wine.

“Thank you.”

He settles into the chair across from me, placing his own glass on the coffee table between us.

“So what’s going on that I need to know about?”

Pax’s eyebrow arches. “Need to know?” he repeats, his tone maddeningly neutral. “Nothing.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “Semantics,” I counter. “If we’re going to be married, don’t I have the right to know what’s going on with my husbands?”

Pax unbuttons the top button on his shirt. “Link is meeting with Lorenzo,” he explains. “And Matteo Moretti.”

A known mobster is in the hotel?

“After that, he’s heading to the high-stakes poker room.”

I wait for the shock to hit me, but it doesn’t come. Instead, I feel a strange sense of resignation. “He doesn’t shy away from risk, does he?” I muse, more to myself than to Pax.

A ghost of a smile touches Pax’s lips. “He’s more calculated than you might imagine.”

“Does he do this often?” I press, hoping to understand this aspect of the man I’m about to marry.

“This?” Pax echoes, and I can’t tell if he’s being deliberately obtuse or genuinely seeking clarification.

“Gamble,” I clarify. “Visit Vegas.”

Pax takes a sip of his wine before answering. “Gamble? Isn’t all life a gamble?”

Maybe to men like Pax and Link, it was.

A shiver runs through me as I remember the first night I met these two men. The story Link had told, so casually, about Pax shooting someone while balancing a tray of champagne.

“He’s not like your brother, if that’s what you’re worried about. He doesn’t take unnecessary risks, and he doesn’t live his life on the turn of a card or the roll of the dice.”

The memory surfaces unbidden, and I find myself asking, “Is it true? That story Link told that man in the bar? Or was it just meant to scare the hell out of him?”

Pax’s expression turns serious, his green eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that steals my breath. “It was effective.”

I nod.

“Given that, does it matter?”

I think about his question.

If it is true, do I want to know the answer?