Her Titans by Genevieve Jasper

Madelaine

23

I walk through the lobby with Jeremy on the way to get lunch when I spot all three Titans hanging by the doors. Everyone is giving them a wide berth with looks filled with either envy or lust. Seeing them all here makes me instantly worry that something is wrong, but they’ve all got peaceful expressions on their faces. Atlas steps towards me, but I take the same step back, looking around at everyone milling about and giving him an arch of my brow. Atlas clearly takes that as a challenge as he continues forward, grabbing my face and kissing me deeply. Asshole. Super hot, amazing kisser asshole.

“Didn’t we talk about your work outfits?” he says as he pulls away.

I ignore that completely. “What’s up?” I ask them all, hoping it’s nothing bad.

“I came to take you to lunch, but then these bastards caught wind and tagged along,” Quincy complains.

“Oh, okay. Great!” Beats taking a sandwich back to eat at my desk.

We head around the corner to my usual lunch spot at a little cafe. I normally take my lunch to go, but we find a table near the back and settle in. We’re halfway through our sandwiches when the guys’ phones seem to go off all at once.

Atlas glances from his phone back to me, then answers. “Yeah?”

The general hubbub of the cafe muffles the sound from the other end, but the call doesn’t last long, anyway. “Okay.”

“What are your plans this afternoon, baby?” he asks, putting the phone down.

“I’m just in the office.”

“Great, don’t leave with anyone except Jeremy.”

“What’s going on?” I ask him, worry setting in.

“Just work, but we’ve got to go.”

I wasn’t sure I ever wanted details of the darker side of their world. “Am I safe?”

“Do you think we’d leave you if you weren’t?” Maxton asks, which is a fair point.

Atlas leans across the table to kiss me goodbye, quickly followed by Maxton, who then trails after him out of the cafe. My cheeks heat at the looks we’re getting from the other patrons, and Quincy scoots round to sit on the seat next to me that Maxton just left.

“You’d better get used to it. None of us have any intention of not showing everyone that you’re ours,” he says before kissing me on the corner of my mouth and following the guys out. Jeremy comes in as he leaves and hovers by the door. I beckon him over.

“Come on, Jeremy, you don’t have to be a doorman. Don’t make me finish my lunch alone?”

He smiles warmly at me. “Never, Miss Lai.”

Jeremy and I get home a few hours later and the guys’ cars are all there, but no one seems to be around. Figuring the office is the best place to start, I dump my stuff on the dining table and give the door a knock, but there’s no answer. Having not been dismissed, I push open the door but find it empty. I’m about to pull the door closed again and search elsewhere when I notice another door in the corner. It’s been panelled, and I’d never noticed it before, only standing out now because it was ajar. I shouldn’t snoop. It’s a secret hidden door in a gang leader’s office. So, obviously, I go through it.

It opens to a huge conference area, a gigantic table able to seat at least 40 in the middle with more chairs stacked either side. Someone’s entirely covered one wall in images and text. Everything to do with the creep is there: photos of the fire, photos of me that must’ve been sent in, photos of my office. I wander along, reliving the timeline so far. As I get to the end, I freeze in place. There’s a note pinned to the wall. Not a photo, but the real thing. The handwriting matches the messages scrawled before and it reads ‘If you won’t come to me, maybe you’ll come for Amelia’. My blood runs cold and I stare at it, transfixed. I need to find out what’s going on.

There are more doors at the end of this room. Jeremy comes in as I head towards them. “Miss Lai, maybe you should wait for Max, Atlas or Quince?” I ignore him and push mystery door number one open to reveal a massive garage, completely empty. I guess the sports cars being here doesn’t mean the guys are, after all. I didn’t even know there was another exit to this place. I step back into the main room and try the next door. It leads to a set of stone steps with another door at the bottom. Even without the huge lock on it, you couldn’t have paid me to go down there.

I run back through the room and the office to the living area, picking up my phone.

“What’s wrong, Madelaine?” Maxton asks when he answers.

“Please tell me she’s not actually involved. Please, Maxton,” I beg, pacing the open area.

Long pause. “Shit. I can’t.”

Silence comes from both ends of the line.

“Belle, please,” Maxton says softly, but it’s not enough.

“Is she okay?” I practically whisper the question, dreading the possibility of not getting a yes.

“We don’t know yet.”

“I can’t believe you kept this from me, she’s my best friend! If anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive any of you for not involving me in this.” Anger simmers in my veins.

I hang up and he immediately tries to call back, but I ignore it. I can’t bring myself to answer. The longer I hear nothing, the longer I can pretend she’s absolutely fine.

I sit at the table for hours, tears slowly falling until my eyes run dry and my throat aches. Then I just stare into space for a little while longer. I can’t lose Lia, it’s not an option. After losing Dad and G, she’s my person. When my mind clears slightly of the fog, I decide to call Caus, wondering if the guys have already told him what’s happening.

“Hey, Lie,” he greets sunnily.

“Coze, he’s got Lia.”

He obviously knows exactly who I mean. “Where?”

“I don’t know, the guys have gone.”

“Where are you?”

“At the house.”

“Give me five minutes,” he says, hanging up.

True to his word, five minutes later Caus walks through the front door on his phone.

“I don’t care. He’s got my girl, now find the fucker,” he says, ending the call as he walks over, sitting in the chair next to me.

“What do you know, Lie?”

“Not much.” I don’t tell him about the conference room. I trust him, but it’s not mine to share, and I’m painfully aware that he is a rival gang leader to the guys. “He sent a note, he took Lia to draw me out.”

“Where?”

Before I can answer, the front door opens and Maxton walks in. He’s wearing a tight black long-sleeved top with a bulletproof vest over the top and black cargo pants. He looks amazing and the sight of Atlas and Quincy walking in behind him in the same gear causes my mind to go blank. Your best friend was just kidnapped, Madelaine, have some decorum.

Lia walks in right behind them followed by another guard, and I jump up and throw myself at her, causing us to stumble. Thankfully the guard catches us both as she hugs me back, just as tightly.

“Oh my God, Lia, are you okay?” I ask, pulling back and searching her face.

“Yeah, Lai. I’m fine, I promise.”

As I let her go, Caus is there to pull her into his arms.

“Why are you in my house again?” Atlas asks him.

“Why the fuck didnt you guys call me?”

“There are three of us plus our additional security, and one of you. We followed the trail as soon as the note was delivered. We had it covered.”

“She’s my girlfriend and under my protection, you should have told me! I should’ve been there. Where is he?” Caus growls at them over Lia’s head.

“We don’t know,” Maxton admits with anger in his eyes.

Lia pulls back from Caus’s hold. “He knew they were coming. He got really angry, then left about half an hour before they got there.”

“How did he get you?” he asks, cupping her face in his hands.

“I was getting into my car to head to a meeting, and the next thing I knew I was waking up in some derelict room," she shrugs.

“Did he hurt you?”

“No, he just ranted at me the whole time. He was clearly just waiting for Lai.”

“How did this happen? I thought you had an eye on him,” Atlas asks Caus.

“I did. He was supposed to be on a job. I guess seeing as he was grabbing my girlfriend, he thought it wouldn’t matter if he did it or not.”

“Well, fuck knows where he’s gone now. We’ve got everyone on alert.”

“The Vipers, too,” Caus offers. “You’ve got a rat.”

“It looks that way,” Maxton concedes, “but I’ll figure it out.”

“He won’t stop, he thinks you belong to him, Lai,” Lia says.

“What?!”

“That’s what he kept saying. You were meant to be his.”

This doesn’t make any sense. “I’ve never met him before in my life,” I tell everyone.

“Why don’t we sit down?” Quincy suggests as I sway slightly, feeling lightheaded. We all move over to the table and take seats, the guys on one side and Caus and Lia on the other. I take the seat next to Lia, gripping her hand in mine.

“What the fuck is going on, Causus? It’s time to put it all on the table,” Atlas demands.

He looks at me before deciding to answer. “Lai’s dad is Warren Nobes.”

They look at me like I just grew three heads.

“But you’re a Noxx,” Maxton says, disbelief in his tone.

“Yeah, my mum’s surname. Why does my dad matter?” I ask, thoroughly confused.

“He was the Vipers’ unofficial VP. He was due to take over that position before he died,” Caus explains.

“My dad wasn’t a Viper.” Impossible.

“He most definitely was. Now it makes sense why your background check was half empty,” Quincy says.

My head is swimming. Could Dad have hidden this from us for 20 years?

“You and Gia were hot commodities. With your dad about to be so important, everyone wanted you for themselves, or their sons. Leighton’s got his head full of shit about you being meant for him,” Caus tells us all, but it feels as real as a fairytale.

“But I didn’t even know who any of you were. Are!”

“Your dad never wanted either of you involved, but he wouldn’t have had much choice when he got to VP. Then everything happened with Gia and they cut you off, but Leighton obviously didn’t get the memo.”

“Why does Lai’s dad dying mean she’s exiled?” Maxton asks exactly what I was just thinking.

“Something I’m trying to figure out,” Caus says cryptically.

“That doesn’t matter.” I couldn’t fit many more unanswered questions into my head without it exploding. “What matters is this freak coming after me.”

“As soon as he pops up, we’ll find him,” Caus tries to reassure me.

“Because you did so well looking after him in the first place,” Atlas responds sarcastically.

“Says the guy with the leak who let him get away.”

They both glare at each other, and that’s the productive conversation officially over with.

“Come on, Lia, I’ll take you home,” Caus offers.

“Actually, I think I’ll stay with Lai tonight. That’s okay, right?” she asks me.

“Of course, we’ll eat Taco Bell in bed,” I tell her, mustering up a small smile.

That’s exactly what we’re doing an hour later, having both showered and Lia changed into borrowed pyjamas.

“How are you feeling?” I ask her.

“Stunned, I guess. I can’t tell if I’m in shock or what, there’s so much to take in.”

“I’m so sorry this happened to you, Lia.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I would’ve come for you in a second.”

“I know, and he did, too. Your big heart would’ve gotten you into serious trouble.”

“What do you mean?”

“He sent that note to your office, thinking you’d slip away from the guys. How do you think they knew where I was so easily? He left a trail to make it clear, not bothering to hide it, knowing you’d just run to me.”

“It doesn’t change my answer. Coze would’ve as well, if he’d known.”

“I know,” she says simply.

“What are you thinking?”

“I don’t even know. Would I have wanted to know about him if this hadn’t all blown up? I was happy just being a part of his personal life. I never would’ve wanted to enter the gang side. But then, that’s not a relationship, is it? Only knowing half of your partner’s life? He didn’t even tell me there was another side.”

“I guess so.”

“I feel mad that he let me fall for him without letting me decide that first.”

“That’s fair. What are you going to do?”

“I think I need some time. I might go home for a bit.”

Home was where her parents lived. They moved out of town a little while ago, so Lia hadn’t actually grown up where they were now, but they had the most beautiful country house an hour away.

“If that’s what you want. You know you can stay here for as long as you need, though,” I offer.

“I know, and I love you for it, but I think you’ve got enough to deal with.”

I don’t answer and we finish our tacos in silence, falling asleep to something rubbish on the TV.

The next morning, we lounge in bed until our stomachs growl. Jeremy takes us to the same diner Quincy took me to for breakfast but we decide to share a special instead of having one each. Two cars follow us, one from the Titans and one from the Vipers.

“How long will you be gone?” I ask her once we’ve filled up on all the food.

“I’m not sure. You’re not getting rid of me that easily, though. I’ll text and call regularly, like the needy friend I am.”

“You’d better!”

We hug goodbye and I watch her drive away with the Vipers. They’re taking her home to grab some bits and then driving her to her parents’ place. I tried to convince her to let me or Jeremy go, but she’s happy to let Caus provide security.

We head home and my mood deteriorates, like a black cloud is descending. When we get back, all three guys are in the kitchen area. I go to walk past and Quincy steps out into the way.

“Lai, come on. You would’ve wanted to trade.”

“Of course I would have, and that’s my decision to make.” My anger bubbles to the surface. “I’m a fully grown adult with a functioning brain, having a vagina doesn’t mean I lose all mental capacity. You had no right to take that choice away from me.”

“We would never and will never let you sacrifice yourself,” Maxton says calmly, and I turn my head to narrow my eyes at him.

“So who's next? A colleague? Lucy? One of you? You expect me to just let people pay the price for me?”

“None of this is your fault,” he insists.

“It doesn’t matter.” And it doesn’t. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to someone else in place of me.

“The whole world can fucking burn for all I care,” Atlas says, coming to stand next to Quincy. I’m done with the conversation and try to walk past them, but Atlas reaches out to grab my arm and stop me. “Madelaine, I mean it. You won’t be at risk for even a second, whether you want that or not.” We stare each other down, stubbornly butting against each other.

“Yes, sir,” I say sarcastically and shrug my arm out of his hold, walking to my room.

I spend the rest of the day curled up in bed, trying to process everything that’s happened. The guilt I feel for Lia being put through this is immense, it’s eating me up. The frustration at being cut out of the decisions by the guys stings, especially as they did it because they knew they wouldn’t like my choices. I thought we were equals in this relationship; I know they’re possessive and protective, but can I handle them making decisions for me? I at least want to know what’s happening. Then I try to think of the situation the other way around, and the thought of having one of them walk into danger makes my heart hurt. But it was Lia, my Lia.

My mind whirls and flips back and forth. As the evening draws in I feel drained, even though I’ve done nothing all day. I get up to take a shower and end up standing under the spray, motionless. I hear the door go and feel someone come in behind me, wrapping their arms around my middle and resting their chin on my head. Atlas.

“Please, baby,” he whispers. “Come back to us.”

He says nothing else but washes me, starting with my body, gently taking care of me. He moves onto my hair and when he finishes washing the conditioner out of my hair, presses a kiss to my head before silently leaving me to my thoughts again. I’m always comforted in his hold and as soon as he leaves I find myself missing being in his arms.

I dry my hair, then dress casually in some leggings and an oversized sweater before heading to the kitchen. Maxton’s eating at the island, but stops and spins on his stool when he sees me. I step between his thighs and hug him, letting him surround me with his body.

“Are you still mad?” he asks, breath tickling my hair.

“I wasn’t mad,” I clarify. “Sad, maybe. Overwhelmed, frustrated.”

“About what part?”

I let out a huge sigh.

“What Lia had to go through. That she’s gone. You guys taking my choices from me. That you don’t trust I’m strong enough to know what’s happening.”

“That’s not it at all. We know how strong you are, that’s why we didn’t tell you. We knew you’d want to be there, front and centre.” He lifts my chin and wipes a few stray tears away. “We can’t lose you, belle, we only just found you.”

I tuck my face back into his chest and breathe him in. I can’t think any more.

We stay like that for a while and I feel another set of arms come from behind and one more from the side. All three scents mingle together and I feel like my whole body relaxes, melting into their holds. Everything melts away as I stand there, safe and comforted by my Titans.