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"Mia, baby, talk to me."
My throat lodges, I have no idea what I'm thinking or feeling. "He's never once said anything bad about you." I whisper, "He may hate you Mom, but he's never once shown me that." I want her to know the Hudson I know. I don't know why, but I think it's important, "He's always saying that I need to talk to you, make things right between us."
"Mia?" Mom breathes.
"Every chance you've got, you've tried to bring him down." A lone tear falls from the corner of my eye down my face and onto my top lip. "He doesn't deserve your hatred."
"Mia, that man is a drug dealer. There's nothing I wouldn't do to protect you." She says vehemently.
I’m not listening to her. I’m so hurt that she’s trying to turn me against Hudson. "He's the man I love," I whisper. I'm so scared. What do I do?
"He's a killer." She spits out, "That man kills people."
My eyes widen, "What?"
She shakes her head in disgust. "Mia, he supplies drugs to everyone, including children. He has no problem using a gun to deal with his problems."
The walls are closing in on me; I need to breathe. This is too much. Pushing away from the table, I snatch the keys off it and get to my feet. I need to get out of here. Running into the house, I rush past Harrison and make my way to the front door, just as I place my hand on the handle I hear shouting.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Harrison shouts, but I don't stay around to hear Mom's response. I rush to my car and get in, starting it up, the motor purrs to life, and I get the hell out of there.
God, I'm stupid. There was always something about Hudson that screamed at me, but I put it down to my naivety. He was my first, and I thought that I wasn't well versed in men and the way they acted. I just presumed it was him, but now I know it was the secrecy. The hush-hush calls he got, the way he'd look at Jagger, Martin, and Barney whenever he got a call or a text. The meetings they had, nothing was about the club it was all about his business. Mom's words play over in my head. "He's a killer." But she knew that before I got here, she's known for a very long time and yet she let me get close to him, she let me fall in love with him. Why? Why would she do that? I can't wrap my head around this. I don't understand why she thought to tell me now? What would it achieve? All it's done is make me hate them both. The lies, that's all I think, I've been lied to so much, I'm sick of it.
I don't know how long I've been driving for, but when I see the sign for San Leandro, relief washes through me, I'm so close to Oakland. I've not stopped crying since I left Mom's house and it's been hard to see, I honestly can't remember m
uch of the drive. Hopefully I'll be able to have time to reflect, see what to do next. Right now I'm so confused, so hurt that I can't think straight.
My cell ringing has me looking at the screen. Lacey's name flashes, and I answer it. "Hey Lace, you okay?" I say bubbly hoping she won't hear the tears in my voice.
Of course, she doesn't buy it. "Hey Mia, I'm better. Are you?"
"Not really, but I'll tell you some other time." I'm not really ready to tell anyone yet.
"Well tough, I'm in San Fran, well leaving it now, I've got a rental, so I'll be driving up to your mom's house. You can tell me when I get there." She tells me, and I know Lace. She won't stop until she finds out what's wrong.
"Change of plan, I'm going to my old house. I'll give you the address, will you put it into your GPS?"
She doesn't miss a beat, "Sure, tell me what it is." I rattle off the address to her, "Okay, it's saying I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
I smile, "You'll be there before me. There's a gnome in the front yard that has a key in the bottom of it. Let yourself in. I'll be there soon." I tell her, grateful that I have her to vent to when I get there.
"See you soon, Mia." She says and ends the call.
The thirty-minute drive from San Leandro to Oakland doesn't seem that long, my cell has been ringing non-stop since Lacey hung up. Each time it's Mom calling me. Pulling into the driveway, there are two cars parked here. One in the drive beside mine and then one out front. Who else is here? Shaking my head, I get out of the car and walk toward the front door, surprised that Lacey hasn't come out to me yet. Usually she would. When we’re in Arizona, if Lacey and I haven't seen each other in a while we'd always greet each other outside the house.
Pushing the door open, I peer inside the house, it's silent. Where is everyone? Just as I open my mouth to call for them, something flashes in the corner of my eye and as I turn to face it, something connects with my face, pain erupts and I crumple to the floor before blackness takes over.
Eighteen
Hudson
"Boss, what are we going to do?" Aaron asks, his anger is at the forefront as is everyone else's. Not only have Carmine and Jorge been shot, but we've lost three other men. We don't know if they're dead or alive but I'm not holding my breath for them to turn up out of the blue. The one thing I do know is Juan is one hundred percent behind this. That fucker has chosen the wrong man to go to war with.
Looking down at the picture Aaron has just shown me, my teeth bare. "Get me that bitch, and I don't give a fuck what anyone says, she's mine," I tell him and a sinister smile forms on his face. "She's alive when you bring her to me Aaron, if she's not, then you'll face my wrath."
My threat doesn't bother him. "Fuck Boss, you do take away all the fun." He chuckles to himself, "She's yours, but I can't guarantee that she won't be banged up when she gets to you."
I shake my head, "As long as she's alive. Do what you want with her." She's gone too fucking far this time.
