THREE MONTHS LATER
The sound of my cell phone vibrating on the nightstand rouses me from a fitful sleep.
“What the fuck?” I grumble, fumbling in the dark for the offending item. Whoever’s waking me up at buttfuck o’clock in the morning better have a great fucking excuse.
Every ounce of anger in my body is replaced with dread when I see her name on the screen. If she’s calling me, especially this early, something’s wrong. I’ve imagined this moment at least a million times, all the things I’d say to her to make her come back to me, but now I’m only filled with panic.
“Mia? What’s wrong?”
A loud, guttural sob echoes in my ear, and every muscle in my body tenses. I fist my free hand in the sheets but keep my voice calm. “What is it, sunshine?”
“I-I …” She sobs again. “I k-killed him.”
Adrenaline courses through my body. “Brad?”
“Y-yeah,” she stammers.
He’s not even supposed to be in the country. I’ll kill Lionel when I get my damn hands on him. I take a deep breath. “Are you hurt?”
“I-I don’t th-think so.”
I throw back the covers and jump out of bed, putting her on speaker so I can keep talking to her while I get dressed. “Where are you, Mia?”
“H-home.”
“Is anyone else there with you?”
“N-No. I …” She cries louder, and my heart seizes in my chest.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Don’t leave the house. Don’t call anyone. You wait for me, okay?”
Her gut-wrenching sobs are her only response. Fuck!
“I have to make some calls. Then I’ll call you back and keep you on speaker till I get to you, okay?”
After several seconds of silence, she sniffs loudly. “Y-yeah. Okay.”
“I’m going to hang up now, tesoro. I’ll call you back as soon as I can.”
She doesn’t reply, and I reluctantly end the call. I throw on a pair of sweats, my sneakers, and a clean T-shirt as fast I can. As soon as I get to my car, I dial Max’s number.
He answers on the sixth ring, his voice thick and heavy with sleep. “What’s wrong, Loz?”
“I need you to pay attention, Max.”
“I’m here, buddy. What is it?” he asks, his tone laced with concern.
This man never fails to have my back, and that’s why I couldn’t stay mad at him for keeping Anya’s letter from me. It took me a few days to get my head out of my ass, but once I did, I realized that he was right. I wasn’t ready until I met Mia. Until I fell for her. And now she needs me and—fuck!
I quickly explain what happened while I head to my car. In the background, I hear him telling Joey to go back to sleep, then the sound of clothing rustling over the receiver.
“What do you need?” Max asks.
“I need you to get four of our best men and a removals truck over to her place in Iowa.”
“I’m on it.” He sighs. “She okay?”
“She will be. I’m on my way there now. I need you and the guys there as soon as you can.”
“I’ll make the calls now. We’ll be there an hour after you. Tops.”
“Can you call Dante too? I know they’re on vacation, but he and Kat will want to know. If you’d heard her … she was …” An image of Mia, broken and alone, makes anger and terror burn through my veins. I press my foot down on the gas. I need to get to her.
“I’ll call him. You focus on getting where you need to be. I got it all covered.”
I keep my eyes on the road and take a deep breath. “Thanks, compagno.”
