Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 102546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 513(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
“Then I’ll stay here with Luca,” she offers. “But I think it’ll be fine. Honestly, I’ll have Nite hire extra security for the house. He can stay there with Mia.”
“No. Haven …”
“I understand that you’ve never loved anyone, Dillan,” she snaps my real name, and my jaw tightens. “But my husband has been shot! And I’m not fucking leaving him.” With that, she stomps off down the hall.
Titan arches a brow as if to ask me what I expected her to do. Not everyone is as coldhearted as me. Instead of defending myself, I walk away, needing to get a few things in order for Haven since she’s going to be stubborn. But she was right about one thing, Luca’s and her house needs extra security. Even though Mia thinks this has to do with her, it doesn’t mean that whoever did this doesn’t have other opportunities in mind.
CHAPTER TEN
MIA
I’M PULLING MY socks and shoes on. The doctor came and saw me an hour ago. He filled Haven and me in on Luca and said that the paperwork had been started for my release. He gave me a couple of prescriptions but said the main thing I needed was rest.
I’m not going to get any. Not when my brother is here in a drug-induced coma. Haven has been keeping me updated since the doctor informed us what happened to him. Turns out, Luca had been shot twice. Once in the chest and the other in his leg. That’s why surgery took so long. They thought he was going to lose his leg but were able to save it. He’s stable, but it’s still an uphill climb.
The door opens, and I look up to see Dillan entering. I finish tying my tennis shoes and grab my purse off the bed. “I’m leaving.”
“You’ll wait for the nurse to escort you out in a wheelchair,” he replies flatly.
I push my hip out. “I’m fine.”
“It’s hospital policy.”
“Oh.” I’ve never been in one before. He could be lying to me. I look up at him, and he’s staring at me intently. Blue eyes scrutinize my busted lip and ratted hair. I tried to brush it, but it needs to be washed. I have long, thick hair. It’s always tangled easily.
“Do you have any news on Luca?” I ask, wondering why he’s back in here. I haven’t seen him since he left when Haven came to see me.
“You’re coming home with me,” he states.
I laugh at that. A deep, doubled-over laugh that makes my already sore side hurt. “I would have never guessed you to be a comedian, Bones.”
“I’m serious, Mia.”
My laughter stops. His eyes give nothing away, but his fisted hands do. He doesn’t want me to go with him as much as I don’t want to be around him. “I don’t need your help,” I growl and head toward the door.
He steps in front of me, making me halt. “Actually, you’ve proven that you can’t take care of yourself.”
“I don’t need a babysitter,” I snap.
He steps forward, closing the small distance between us, and I tilt my head back to look up at him. His height is intimidating.
I hate the way my stomach flutters when he’s this close. That all I can think about is the kiss he gave me before he turned and left me behind at his beach house. And the way he stared at me in the limo. The way his eyes looked over my body like he wanted it. Feeling anything for him is a big no. Not like he’d feel anything other than annoyance for me, but still. My family will make sure that I’m never happy. And I hate the fact that I even like how he stared at me—I’m not a piece of meat. Not to him, not to anyone. But when you’ve been ignored all your life, the first sign of any attention makes my body heat rise.
“When was the last time you slept?” he demands.
I frown at the odd question. “I just woke up …”
“You passed out,” he corrects me. “When was the last time you ate anything?”
Huffing, I cross my arms over my chest. “You are not my …” I trail off.
“Not your what?” He smirks, liking the fact that he intimidates me.
Fuck him. “I almost said father. But in a way, you’re just like him.” I’m not going to hold back when it comes to this King. I don’t have to. If I piss him off, maybe he’ll let me go.
That smirk falls off his face, and he steps even closer, his chest now bumping into mine, and I hold my breath. “Be very careful about what you say, Mia,” he warns.
It just makes those butterflies intensify. “Why?” I ask, straightening my shoulders, not willing to back down from him. Weakness is deadly in my family. And no matter how terrified I am of him, I won’t show it. “Are you going to ship me away again?” Please do. It’ll save us both a lot of trouble.