AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dad nods. “They’re tight lipped, they’ve not said a word and I doubt they will.”
“Probably, but it’ll be fun trying to get them to.” I smirk. “Jagger, you up for getting a little creative?”
He starts the engine and grins. “Hell fucking yes.”
I nod and wait for Mia to get off the phone, I can only hear one side of the conversation and so far all it’s been is Mia apologizing.
“Will it be okay if I were to come to her funeral?” Mia asks and everyone in the car freezes, the fact she even has to ask that damn question pisses me off, what the hell have Lacey’s parent’s been saying to her? When Mia begins to weep softly, I want to find them and kill them. “Thank you,” she whispers and ends the call.
I reach for her, pulling her onto my lap and she curls up into my body. “What did they say?”
“They thanked me.” She hiccups as she tries to regain her composure. “Thanked me for being there with her, they wanted me to know that they’re grateful that Lacey had me there with her until the very end. They also wanted me to thank you.”
“Me?” I frown, what the hell did I do?
Mia nods against my chest. “Yes, they wanted to thank you for finding us and allowing them to be able to bury their daughter.”
Fuck. I swallow harshly, trying to get
past the lump in my throat. “Why did you ask if you’d be allowed to go to the funeral?”
She shrugs. “I thought they’d hate me, they’d blame me for her death. I didn’t think they’d want me there.”
I pull her tighter against me. “But they do.”
She nods. “Yes, they don’t blame me at all.”
“Princess, no one blames you except you. You aren’t the reason she’s dead.” It doesn’t matter how many times I tell her she won’t believe it until she’s ready too. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
“I need to do this, whether I’m ready for it or not.” There’s that steel again, she’s a fucking fighter.
The car ride was quiet, no one really spoke. Mia stays curled up in my arms, but as soon as we pull up into the driveway of the abandoned bar her entire body tenses beneath my hands. I bought this bar years ago it was originally planned to be synergy, but there was so much wrong with it that I couldn't go ahead and build what I wanted to build for my nightclub. So I bought in a different neighbourhood, this building however has been kept in a state of despair on the outside.
Once you’re inside it's completely gutted except for the cellar, that cellar cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars to ensure it’s soundproofed. It’s deep underground, the perfect place to hurt someone, nobody is ever going to hear them scream. Everyone that was captured yesterday is here, there is no way for them to escape. They’re tied to chairs with zip ties and I have the best locks in place even a fucking escape artist couldn't escape from here. It's locked up tighter than Fort Knox.
“Mia, are you ready?”
She nods and climbs off my lap and out of the car “Ready or not here we go,” she grumbles and Jagger laughs, he thinks she's hilarious. He really does love her and I know that he's the one that told her that he’d take a bullet for her and I'm glad that he views her that way. Grateful that she’s able to have someone else in this world other than me.
I grab her hand after exiting the car and together we walk towards the vacated bar. “Whatever's about to go down here you cannot stop it. You are going to see me as the boss, therefore you have to treat me as such. You cannot publicly disobey me or challenge me, to do so is seen as an act of disrespect. Do you understand?” I try to keep my voice as soft as I can but also let her know what she has to do to be a part of this world.
“Hudson, I would never disrespect you, that's just not me. If I have a problem with something, I wouldn't say it publicly. I'd wait until we were alone to talk to you about it,” she replies instantly.
“Good, but what I do is my choice as the boss, you may not like that and that's fine. You can vent to me about it but you will not change the way I am.”
She tuts. “I don't want to change who you are, Hudson. I fell in love with you. That includes the parts of you that are sweet, loving, and caring, but also the parts of you that aren’t. I fell in love with the Boss and I understand these things. I've had so much time to think about this. You are what I want and that means taking you as you are. Just as you're taking me as I am.” Fuck she’s amazing.
“How the fuck do you get to be so wise?” Dad asks, eavesdropping on our conversation.
Heat rises up her cheeks and she glances away down at floor. “I didn't realize everyone was listening,” she confesses quietly.
“Ignore them. Both Dad and Jagger love you, they're teasing you because they do care about you,” I inform her and am rewarded with a bright smile.
“He's right, just as Jagger and Hudson have said they would lay their lives down for you, I will too. Mia, you have made my son the happiest I have ever seen him. Not only that, but hearing you tell him that you are not going to change him just proves what a truly special young lady you really are. I’m going to protect you, Mia, not because you are my wife's daughter or my son's future wife, but because of the special unique young lady you truly are.” Damn Dad. That’s the most meaningful thing I’ve ever heard him say to anyone.
Mia’s eyes fill with tears. I smile, she cries when people are nice to her but steels herself when they’re not. She's one of a kind, that’s for sure.
Fourteen
