Page 62 of Wicked Titan

There’s not a muscle in my body that doesn’t ache. The hot shower didn’t bring any relief to the throbbing. Neither did apologizing to Nathan and Candace.

I know climbing without safety was reckless. And Asher was right, my dad would never have been okay with it. But it still doesn’t ease the anguish that he isn’t coming back.

The walls of my room are closing in, so I head out the back door, slowly making my way to the garage. Stepping inside, I flip on the small lamp as my car comes into view. Something else to remind me that my dad isn’t coming back.

Grasping the metal handle, I pull the door as it scrapes open before I slide inside, the worn seat scratching against my legs as I pull the door securely shut behind me.

An envelope sitting under a set of keys—my keys—on the center of the seat, catches my attention. Picking up the envelope, I study my name written across the crisp paper before opening it. Pulling out a folded slip of paper, I flip it open as I read the words. It’s ready when you are.

Asher. When did he? How did he do this without me knowing?

Trembling fingers grip the metal keys as I examine them for a moment before inserting one into the ignition, twisting as the car roars to life for the first time in decades. Yanking the keys out of the ignition, the engine shuts off as I bail from the car.

Hurrying up the stairs, my bare feet slap against the cold marble as I make my way back to my room, slipping inside as I ignore a concerned glance from Candace when I pass her in the hallway.

Sliding under the comforter, I bury my head under a pillow as I clamp my eyes shut. The bed shifts beside me as a warmth embrace encloses around me, pulling me in. Tucking my head against his chest, I take a deep breath, inhaling the comforting scent surrounding me as Asher’s hand strokes my back.

“I’m not ready.”

His lips brush against my head as he says, “I know.”

Silence engulfs us as I snuggle closer to Asher, wanting to embed myself in him, to feel only the comfort he provides and forget about everything else. But that’s not possible as my emotions are threatening to take over again. They’re overwhelming every part of me because I’m not ready … for any of what is to come.

51

“I’ll be right back.” Asher kisses me before sliding out of his bed, leaving me alone in his room.

His bed feels empty without him, so I slide out, tiptoeing to the window. I look over the yard, a picture of serenity while I feel nothing but chaos inside. The news about my dad from yesterday still hasn’t sunk in.

Candace tried to talk to me again, but I just don’t want to confront it yet. I want to live in a bubble where my dad still exists, not where he is gone.

So, I ran. Hiding again when I ended up in Asher’s room, slipping into his bed because I knew he would just let me be, just as he had the night before when he’d snuck into my room to be with me so I wasn’t alone. He didn’t ask anything of me in return.

Candace wants me to say goodbye to my dad. I’m not ready today and doubt I will ever be ready.

Distracting myself, I walk around Asher’s room, moving to his desk where I take a seat in the cold metal chair, anxiously waiting for him to get back. I feel odd in his room without him.

Standing from the desk, a familiar symbol catches my attention. Reaching down, my trembling fingers smooth over the ruby engulfed in gold flames.

Clasping the papers, I bring them closer to read, it’s a letter addressed to Golden Olympus on the letterhead from the same company my dad was working with, Ruby Flame Marketing. Except this time, Victor’s information is under the company name and it’s his signature at bottom of the page.

It’s Victor’s company. Ruby Flame Marketing is Victor Hastings’s company.

Dropping the papers on the desk, I’m searching through the desk’s drawers before I realize what I’m doing, but I don’t find anything.

This means something.

How could my dad have been working for Victor?

I rummage through everything I can find, looking under the bed, behind the nightstand after searching through the drawers.

Holding my breath, I slip into the closet as I continue searching. There’s something here and I’m not risking losing my chance to find out what’s going on. To find out what happened to my dad.

I push clothes out of the way, looking to the floor when red metal catches my attention.

The key.

The metal is the same exact color as the key Asher left in the red box on my bed the night of my birthday. Why would he leave the key for a safe in his closet for me?