She crossed her arms as though shielding herself. “I had to try something. He’s been pulling the strings, manipulating you. Ithought if I could talk to him—”
“You thought what?” He leaned forward, voice low and hard. “That a polite conversation would make him back off? That he’d suddenly decide to play nice?”
“I had to do something!” Jazz snapped. “You weren’t doing anything and I was terrified he’d hurt you. Kill you.”
His jaw tightened. “You think I wasn’t handling it?”
The accusation grated against something raw inside him. Of course she thought that—because she hadn’t seen the moves he was making, the pressure he was applying behindthe scenes. She only saw what was in front of her, what she thought he wasn’t doing. But she didn’t know the pieces he’d already set in motion, the traps that were laid. And now, because she’d walked right into the fire, he had to accelerate everything before it was ready.
“I think you were letting him manipulate you.”
Titus counted to three before responding, anger and frustration threatening the calm he struggled to maintain. Then his gaze tightened, his body going still. “Did he touch you?” His voice was softer now, but not gentle. There was something lethal beneathit.
Jazz blinked, startled. “What?”
“Did. He. Touch. You?” Each word was deliberate, cutting.
She hesitated, just for a second, before she swallowed. “He grabbed my arm. He tried to intimidate me.”
Titus’s jaw tightened, his fingers flexing at his sides. Heat wound through his gut, dark and dangerous. He could picture it too easily—Vex’s hand on her, the way she must have looked,standing her ground but vulnerable. And he hadn’t been there. He’d been handling things, setting up the pieces, thinking he had control—while Vex had his hands on hiswife.
“That piece of shit! How dare he touch you. I won’t allow anyone to put you at risk. Ever.”
Before, Titus had intended to take Vex down, to dismantle him piece by piece. But that had been before he knew the full extent of Vex’s betrayal. Before he had seen the fear flicker in Jazz’s eyes when she recalled his grip onher.
Now? Now, he was going to obliterate him. He wasn’t just eliminating a threat—he was sending a message. No one touched what was his and walked away unscathed. Every move Vex had made, every attempt to get the upper hand, was about to be turned against him. He was a dead man walking—he just didn’t know ityet.
“He won’t make that mistake again,” Titus said, his voice like steel, cold and final. The fury inside him burned low, but it was there, simmering just beneath the surface. He hadn’t beenthere to stop it, hadn’t been there to rip Vex’s hand off his wife. That wouldn’t happen again. It couldn’t.
Jazz released a shuddering breath, her shoulders sagging slightly, but he wasn’t done. His voice remained cold, restrained. “And after you left his office, what happened?”
She hesitated, her arms tightening around herself. “I overheard him on the phone.”
Titus straightened away from the desk, arms unfolding as he pushed off it, his stance shifting from calm to unmistakable demand. “Who was he talking to?”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “I’m not sure. He was furious, saying he wanted you taken down. That he wasn’t waiting anymore. That whoever he was talking to needed to move now.”
Titus stiffened, the pieces locking into place. “He wasn’t just speaking to someone. He was speaking to the Feds.”
Jazz’s breath caught. “You think—”
“I know.” His voice was flat, final. “Vex was never just working against me. He was working with them. You showing up gave them exactly what they needed to move. They were waiting for you, Jazz.”
She froze, her expression twisting. “What?”
“My assets were frozen after you left his office.” Titus’s voice was like ice. “You didn’t know?”
She shook her head, her eyes wide, shock bleeding through her expression. “No… I—Ididn’t know.”
“Of course, you didn’t.” He raked a hand through his hair. “That’s why I got the call. That’s why the Feds moved when they did. You walked into Vex’s office and gave them exactly what they needed to justify taking their shot. Jesus Christ, Jazz. You didn’t just walk into his trap—you handed him the fucking knife.”
Titus saw it—the way she kept herself rigid, as if sheer will alone could hold her together. And for a second, italmost undidhim.
He wanted to look away, to ignore the tension rippling across her shoulders, how her breath came just a little too fast. But he didn’t. He forced himself to watch, to remember. Because this moment—the way she looked at him now, like he had broken something fragile inside her—was what he needed her to hold on to when he forced her to walkaway.
“Titus, I didn’t—”
“Didn’t what?” His voice was quieter now, but no less crisp. “Didn’t realize you were being played? Didn’t think that maybe, just maybe, there was a reason I was handling things my way?” He shook his head, his frustration laced with something heavier—something closer to disappointment. “My hands are tied without my assets, Jazz. And you just made damn sure I can’t move the way I need to.”
