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I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “You have five seconds to tell me why you’re bothering me.”
“Party pooper. Just know that I’ve been making a list and I plan on sliding glass cocks into every conversation for the next year. Ha! Get it?”
“Three, two…”
“Okay, okay, don’t hang up. It’s about Mia,” Roe rushed out. fully aware that he’d said the magic words to prevent me from ending the call.
Moving the phone away from my ear, I glanced to my bed, a sinking sensation filling my gut. Mia was propped against the headboard, covers pooled in her lap while she rubbed lotion on her hands. It hadn’t escaped my notice that the nightstand on that side of the bed was covered in various personal items of hers. I’d felt immense satisfaction at seeing them. That was Mia’s side of the bed now and I’d do whatever was necessary to keep her in it.
“I’ll be right back.” My throat was tight, the thought of leaving her even for a minute making me feel nauseous.
“All right,” she beamed at me, wrapping another tether around my pathetic heart.
I stomped through my house, opening the back door and crossing the yard until I was at the edge of the tree line. Not only would this be far enough away that Mia wouldn’t overhear what Roe and I talked about, but it provided me with an excellent view of my bedroom and Mia waiting in my bed while she read another one of those slutty books she enjoyed so much.
“Talk,” I barked, sliding into the persona I’d used for most of my career. The one that would alert Roe to the fact that I had no desire to engage in games right now.
“I was right, he’s looking for her.”
Ice filled my veins and my heart that had just been full to bursting froze in my chest. When Roe approached me the night of his and Sam’s engagement, I’d initially balked at his snooping into Mia’s personal life. Hilarious, considering I’d already been stalking her at that point. The folder he’d given me had contained proof that Miles was not Mia’s biological child. It had also contained documents about a man named Drake Avery.
Avery lived in Houston where Mia had grown up. He was well off, high enough in society that there’d been multiple newspaper articles discussing the horrific murder of Avery’s wife and disappearance of his son days after he’d been born. When Mia told me about her best friend being Miles’ birth mother and the surrounding circumstances, it wasn’t hard to connect the two stories and decipher that Drake Avery was Miles’ father.
Yet, there was nothing that should have put Avery onto the path of hunting Mia. Not only had they never met but as far as I knew she had no idea who Angie’s mystery husband had actually been. Now five years later and he was looking for them? Why?
“You’re sure?” I watched Mia laugh at something she read and turn the page. She and Miles were happy, they felt safe here, theyweresafe here. I’d do anything to keep them that way.
Roe scoffed, “I wouldn’t have called you if I wasn’t.”
“How do you know he’s looking for them?”
“You’ve heard of Google alerts? Let’s just say it’s similar to that but more intense and less legal. I have one set up for anyone who’s even remotely linked to Falls Security.”
“Fuck.” Mia lowered her book and looked toward the bedroom door, probably wondering why I wasn’t back yet. “Send me whatever you have. Don’t call Mia’s phone again, she’ll start to get suspicious, I’ll get a new one tomorrow and bring it in for you to set up the necessary security.”
“Sounds good. What are you going to do?” Roe was the only person at Falls Security that had personally been involved in some of the missions I’d completed while working for the government. He was very aware of what I’d done and what I was capable of. The question was loaded with subtext and was easy for me to answer.
Mia placed her book on the nightstand and slid under the covers, her body angled toward the door, awaiting my return. “Whatever I have to.”
* * *
Everything was dark.
No moon, no stars, no light at all. I swept the area, not sure what I was looking for but knowing I had to find…something.
The snap of a twig on my left, shuffling of leaves from the right, I continued to swing a second too late, gun pointing at nothing but emptiness.
This is a dream.
A voice that sounded like my own told me, yet the thought flitted away like a gnat at the edge of my vision.
A scream tore through the night, echoing around me until my ears felt like they bled from the repetition. My surroundings quickly shifted and became recognizable. I was in a backyard, the Turners’ backyard. Why was I here? I was looking for something important…no,someoneimportant.
Splash. I spun around, gun first.
“Get in, party pooper, we’re doing chicken fights!” Roe shouted from the middle of the pool. There was a unicorn float around his waist and Sam was propped on his shoulders in full tactical gear. Across from them, a wiggling Lily was climbing onto Gray’s shoulders, trays of cupcakes balanced in her hands, her apron soaked from the water. Sam flipped down her night vision goggles and each pair surged forward.
You’re dreaming.
