Page 7 of Avenging Azalea

“Fucking pricks.”

Titus shook his head and crossed his arms, and I once more pictured a bear. He was so physically large that he could easily snap my neck with one hand.

“First of all, you’re not going to my father. You will remain in my care. Second, I don’t toss anyone into trafficking rings. My family isn’t into any of that shit. Lastly, you’ll never offer your body like that again to anyone, especially not me. Have a shower, and by the time you’re done, some clean clothes from the gift shop will be here for you. Then we’ll eat.”

Without another word, he turned and left, closing the door behind him and leaving me in shock. Like a statue, I didn’t breathe or move as I tried to comprehend what he just said. I was going to be in his care. There was no trafficking ring.

A tiny spark of hope glowed in my chest, but I stomped it out. One thing I’d learned about men was that they could change their minds at any time. I could clearly remember my stepfather telling my mother he loved her, and then he snuck into my room. He’d told me the same lie, and then, when he needed money, I was dragged to smelly motel rooms to be used as payment. I hadn’t met a man yet who didn’t lie, and one who offered the tantalizing world that Titus just had was more dangerous than the rest of them.

I looked at the shower. Until I figured a way out of this mess, I would follow his orders. Then I would get my brother and disappear. That was the plan.

Chapter

Three

FAWN

THREE WEEKS LATER

Titus’s sunroom had very quickly become my favorite spot in the entire house. It was private, doubling as a breakfast area, and looked out over the gardens. It gave me all the warm, comforting feels of a great hug. It also happened to be the girl’s favorite room. Whenever they weren’t out with Titus, they were in here on cushions bigger than my bed back home.

Looking over at the four sleeping dogs, I knew I was going to miss this. Daisy and Bella were my favorite, but Sheba and Shadow were a close second. Titus mentioned getting another pair of pups in a year and promised that I’d get to choose their names. I stupidly sat up all night with excitement and picked out Holly and Hailey. Titus loved them, and you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face when he said they were perfect.

The dogs had become my best friends, but I had to go. My heart didn’t want to leave. Titus had immediately enrolled me in a fancy private school, and I loved my classes despite the stuck-up kids. I could handle the rude comments and dirty looks. They were nothing for me. I’d even made a friend, Steph, and it was nice never to worry about a meal.

I’d stepped out of hell and into paradise, but my baby brother was still back there. Staying even one more day might tempt me into never leaving. That couldn’t happen, not when my stepfather didn’t have anyone other than my little brother to use for his debts. Just the thought of someone hurting him the way they did me…I closed my eyes and shook my head to rid it of the disgusting images. I was going to wait until nighttime, sneak in and steal him away and go on the run to someplace where Neil would never find us.

Titus’s words had played through my mind every day since that first night. He was adamant that I never offer my body again. How damaged would he think I was if he knew the truth of what had already been done to me? Until he’d come along, I’d cringed at a simple touch and felt dead inside.

I’d tried to leave once, but my mother was beaten so badly by the men my stepfather gave her to that she ended up in the hospital. The guilt ate me alive. She told me quietly that even though she couldn’t leave if I ever got the chance at a new life, I was to take it, run, and never look back. I thought I could, but every minute that passed in this beautiful home...made my heart ache.

Titus took me in out of pity without knowing the horrors I’d faced. He already saw me as a broken little bird, one that he’d placed in a gilded cage to heal. There was no fixing the demons that had crawled inside my head and kept me up at night, but Titus had shown me that there was a life outside of the loop of abuse I’d been living. It was possible to have something different.

“Fawn?”

The dogs jumped up from their beds as I walked to the doorway. My heart pounded erratically at the sound of Titus’s voice and not out of fear. Every day, he made a point of spending time with me and caused all sorts of new longings to appear inside my head. Things I truly never thought I wanted. It was obvious that I was far too comfortable, and if, for some reason, it was all yanked away from me, then it would hurt far more than if I just left now.

“Yes, sir,” I said, staring at the floor. It was a habit I was struggling to break despite Titus telling me to look him in the eyes when he spoke to me.

“We’ve been through this, Fawn. Please call me Titus.”

He laid his hand on my shoulder, and I wanted to sigh and lean into him. My eyes darted up, and just like that, my heart took flight.

“I know, and I’m sorry. It’s just hard. I’ll try harder, though,” I said, my pulse racing as I stammered over my words.

Burying myself in the hoodie, I wanted to wrap my arms around him and disappear at the same time. Titus never raised his voice. He’d been kind and was way too generous. He hadn’t done anything inappropriate, and yet…just a single word from him made me blush.

“I’m not angry. This is your home now, and I want you to consider me a friend. Calling me ‘sir’ feels very formal, like I’m your teacher or some stuffy old guy.”

I smiled as his hand fell away from my shoulder. Titus might be twenty-eight, but there was nothing stuffy or old about him.

“I have to head back into the office for a couple more hours and I’ll take Sheba and Shadow with me. I’ll leave Bella and Daisy with you.”

At the sound of their names, Bella and Daisy rubbed against me, looking for attention as if they knew exactly what he said. It hadn’t been very long, but Titus, the dogs, and this place of serene beauty had stolen my heart. When old fears kept me awake, all I had to do was whisper their names, and Daisy and Bella came running no matter what. Holding them all night was the safest feeling in the world.

“Okay.”

“Naji is ordering pizza for dinner. You still want it vegetarian?” I nodded, and he shook his head. “One of these days, I’ll get you to try a really good steak dinner, and then you’ll stop eating like a little bird.” He smiled, a deep dimple appearing on his cheek, and my body heated. How had I gone from being terrified around men to wanting to fan myself whenever Titus was in the room? It confused me as much as his kindness.