Page 183 of Titus

Then, slowly and reluctantly, I extended my wrists. I watched, hating my father more than I had growing up, as the cuffs clinked in place around my wrists.

I’d spent my entire adult life preparing for the possibility that one day my father’s enemies would come looking for me. And here we were.

The agent began leading me toward the waiting SUV. I took three steps, then stopped to see her once more, not knowing when we’d be reunited, given the charges.

The entire group with me froze as I looked back toward Cat.

She was more than beautiful, but seeing her standing in the doorway, wrapped in a blanket and heartbroken over this? For the first time this morning, I felt anger.

Anger because someone had created this moment, and she ended up being fucking traumatized by it. Not just that, someone had interrupted the one thing I’d spent months trying to build. Someone had frightened her.

My eyes narrowed, and suddenly Christian Jameston’s future looked considerably shorter.

I turned back and climbed into the SUV, the door slamming shut behind me and the locks engaging with a heavy mechanical click.

Through the tinted glass, I caught one last glimpse of Cat standing alone in the doorway, still wrapped in a blanket and barefoot. She was completely unaware that she looked like home to me.

The cottage disappeared behind a line of trees, and then she was gone.

And for the first time this morning, I felt something dangerously close to fear.

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

I stood in the doorway long after the SUVs disappeared down the gravel road that snaked through the trees. Eventually, they were gone, but I still couldn’t seem to convince my feet to move.

If I moved, this became real… if I walked back inside, Titus was really gone.

The morning breeze shifted around me, carrying the scent of roses and citrus through the gardens. A smell that once made me feel so peacefully happy and content.

Now? I felt nothing.

Three hours ago, I had been wrapped in his arms, and now he was sitting in the back of a federal vehicle, wearing handcuffs.

My throat tightened. What the fuck just happened?

I hated this. I hated every bit of it. Eventually, my legs gave out before my stubbornness did, and I walked back into the cottage. As I expected, the silence hit me the moment I stepped inside.

It was everywhere. The blankets remained tangled on the bed, the bathroom door stood open, and worse than all of that, his scent still lingered throughout the room.

Everywhere I looked, there was a feeling of emptiness I didn’t think this room could hold. Only a few short hours ago, this place was filled with love, laughter, and us making plans about what to eat for breakfast.

I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the pillow where he’d slept. This was fucking insane, and I was really struggling to process it.

What the hell did this man do? Why the fuck were federal agents at our front door, arresting him first thing in the goddamn morning?

“Damn it, Titus.”

I had no idea how long I’d sat there before a sharp knock at the door made me jump.

I walked toward the door, opened it, and saw three men standing outside. The man in the center was impossible to miss. He was tall, with broad shoulders, dark hair, and gray eyes.

He wore a sharp black suit and looked more like an elite special forces officer than someone working as personal security.

His expression softened slightly when he saw me. “Ms. Veléz.”

I nodded.

“I’m Mr. Hawk’s head of security, Marcus Bosch.”