"We're good Mom, I miss him." I tell her honestly, “I've been doing a lot of thinking, as Sarah may be coming home and things with Hudson are going well, I've applied for college in San Francisco, I want to be close by, I miss Sarah and Allie. I want to be close to you, to Dad." I hate that I've not visited him since I've been gone. Hell, I've yet to visit him since I've been here, but that's going to change. I'm going to go this week, spend some time in Oakland, be closer to my dad.
Mom's eyes widen in surprise. "Really?"
I nod, "Yeah Mom."
She smiles, "Okay, so giving you these means so much more."
Frowning, I'm confused. "Giving me what?"
She reaches into her pocket, "These." She tells me as she pulls a set of keys out of it. That shoehorn keyring makes me smile, I bought it for Dad for Father's Day one year, it was such a goofy present but he didn't care. He carried it every day with him, treasured it as if it were the best present in the world.
"Mom." I whisper, is she doing what I think she is?
"I spoke to Harrison, I told him that I wanted to take the house off the market and give it to you. He agreed, thinking it was the perfect thing to do. It'll be transferred into your name soon. But it's yours to do as you want with."
Tears spring to my eyes, I can't believe it. "Thank you." I say hoarsely, trying not to cry.
"Maybe if Lacey wants to switch colleges too, she could live with you?"
I like that idea, "Yeah, and I was thinking if Sarah does come home, that she and Allie could move in with me too."
Mom's face lights up. "You are your father's daughter Mia, you want everyone you love to be close. I think having your girls with you is a wonderful idea. But it also means you'll be close for me to visit you."
"Always Mom, you know that." It's true. I'd love to have her around me, she'll only be a couple of hours away from me instead of the ten that we're currently apart while I've been living in Arizona. "Okay, Mom, I want to ask you something."
Her face falls, "You're going to ask about Hudson's mom."
I nod, "I couldn't believe that you got with Harrison while he was married, Mom. That's not who I thought you were."
"When I first met Harrison, you'd gone to college. I was alone in a house that used to be so filled with love. As much as your father and I weren't in love with each other, he was my best friend, Mia. I loved him like that and him dying hurt, it pained me and watching you break hurt even more."
Tears slip down my face, and I wipe them away, God, I hate talking about Dad dying. It feels like yesterday that I was told. It's the worst thing in the world and I never want to hear the words, ‘I'm sorry, he's dead’ again.
"Mia, I was lonely. I went to a bar and tried dating, but nothing was helping. My loneliness was consuming me. Until I met Harrison." Her eyes light up as a smile forms on her lips. She truly is happy, and I can't fault her for falling in love with him. I don't think I've ever seen her this happy.
"I didn't know he was married. I got to know him, I was drawn to him. I can't explain it; it's like he's a magnet, pulling me toward him. By the time the truth had gotten out, that he was married, I was in deep Mia. I knew that he was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. That he was my one."
"So what did you do?" I ask. I understand what she means, what she's described about how she feels about Harrison is exactly what I'm feeling with Hudson, so I can't fault her for that. I don't think I could give Hudson up but if he was married, that would change things.
The smile she gives me is a weak one. "I made a mistake Mia. I should have told him no more when I found out about Paula. But I was weak, being with Harrison, it brought back the real me, the woman I had lost. So I continued seeing him until, eventually, he came to the decision to divorce Paula and for us to get married."
I feel bad for her. I don't think I can be mad at her, I'm not sure what I'd have done in her situation. "Okay, Mom, I understand. I think it was the wrong decision, but there's nothing that can be done about it now."
She nods, "I think that's why Hudson dislikes me." Her tone once again has that bite to it that she gets whenever she talks about Hudson.
I sigh, "Mom, please don't." I beg. I don't want to get into it about Hudson.
"Look, Mia, there are things about him that you don't know. He's not a good man." She says, her eyes flashing with anger.
"Mom, I know Hudson, he's a good man. Please don't do this. I don't want to argue again."
She doesn't listen. "Mia, that man is dangerous. He's a drug dealer for crying out loud."
I laugh, "Yeah okay Mom." I roll my eyes, the lengths she's going to, just so that we won't be together. It's ridiculous.
"Mia," She tells me, and I look at her. I mean really look at her, her eyes so full of worry. Whatever she's about to say, I know that I'm not going to like it. "Mia, Hudson owns Synergy, it's a front as such. He's the drug Kingpin. His dad was one before him and his grandfather before that. When Harrison proposed to me I said yes on one condition. That he'd leave that life and he did, but in doing so, he passed the title onto Hudson. Mia, Hudson is a dangerous man, not that I think he'd hurt you in any way but the life he leads could. Please listen to me." She pleads with me.
I sit here in stunned silence, what am I meant to do with this information? Hudson never once told me anything about this, he's gone out of his way to keep this from me.
"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.
"I'll call you when I have her." He promises as he leaves the office.
Fuck, it's always one thing after another. I want to get back to Mia, I've been gone long enough. I'm like a bear around here, my mood is positively pissed every day. She's like a balm, whenever I speak to her my mood lifts for a couple of minutes and then I'm like the devil. Hell, the devil would probably hide from my ornery ass.
My cell rings, "What?" I ask, and if it were anyone other than my men, I wouldn't be surprised if they hung up.
"Son." Dad's voice full of worry has me standing up. "Hudson?"
"Mia? Where is she?" My mind is whirling with every fucking possibility going.
"I don't know son, she left hours ago and we've not heard from her since." He tells me.
"What the fuck, Dad? Hours, she left hours ago and you're only telling me now?" I yell, wanting to throw the damn cell across the room. "Martin!" I yell needing him in here right now.
"Hudson, Tina and her were talking. They needed to clear the air..." He begins.
"What did she say to make her leave?" I'm barely holding on right now.
"She told her about you."
I close my eyes. "What about me?" My tone clipped.
"Everything, son."
"You let her? What the fuck?" I'm raging right now. He's lucky he's not standing in front of me because I'm pretty sure I'd knock him the hell out.
"I didn't let her. Leave Tina to me, we need to find Mia." He responds, not once raising his voice at me.
The door opens and in walks Martin, his laptop in hand ready for whatever it is I need.
"I'll find her. Keep Tina away from me, Dad. I won't be held responsible for my actions if she's anywhere near me." I end the call.
"Boss, is everything okay?" Martin asks, setting his laptop on my desk.
"No, find Mia and Martin, do it quickly." His eyes widen at my words, but he nods instantly and gets to work.
My cell rings, and I ignore it, I don't want to talk to anyone, I need to find Mia.
"Okay Boss, I'm pinging her cell as we speak," Martin tells me just as his cell begins to ring. He reaches for it in his pocket and frowns before answering it. "Jag?" He listens to whatever Jagger is saying before handing me his cell.
Sighing, I take it and put it to my ear, "This had better be important." I say through clenched teeth. It must have been him who was calling me.
"Boss, is everything okay?" Whatever the reason he called is now gone, his attention is on me.
I turn my attention to Martin, "Martin, did you find Mia?"
"Shit. What’s happened?"
I ignore Jagger and focus on Martin, "Boss, her cell is in Oakland." He tells me the address, and it's one that I know. It's where she used to live when she was growing up. "Boss, what do we do?"
"Hear that?" I ask Jagger as my feet move toward the door.
"Yes, I'm getting in the car now. What’s happened?" He asks again.
“Tina told her about me, and what I do. She’s been gone for hours.”
"Fuck." He says through clenched teeth, “I’m leaving now.”
"I'll meet you at the house," I tell him and end the call. "Martin, you coming?" I call out as I continue to walk toward the exit of the club.
He catches up to me as I reach the car, "I'm driving." I tell him opening the driver's side. "Get in."
He does as I say and I put the car in drive and put my foot down. "Hudson, want to tell me what's happened?" Martin asks.
"Tina and my dad got home last night," I say through clenched teeth, my knuckles white as I grip the steering wheel. "Tina decided to have a talk with Mia, which was needed but then she decided she'd tell Mia everything about me."
"Shit, what did she think she was going to accomplish by telling her that?" Martin sounds pissed, he knows what Mia means to me and having someone else tell her about me and what I do for a living means that she'll think I'm a liar.
"Call Barney and put him on speaker," I tell him, I want to know why she was allowed to leave the house.
"On it Boss." He replies, and the sound of the dial tone hits my ears.
"Martin, is everything okay?" Barney asks as he answers the phone.
"Where are you?" I growl, pissed that he allowed her to leave the house.
"Boss?" He questions.
"I asked you a question. Where are you?"
"I'm at home. Your dad told me to go home, get some rest. That he had it covered from there. Why, what's happened?" He's on edge now.
Fucking Dad. "Mia's gone. Tina told her about me, everything about me, and Mia fled back to Oakland."
"Shit, do you need me to help search?"
My anger toward him has diminished. "No, get in contact with Aaron and ask him if he needs assistance."
"On it, call if you need me." He tells me and ends the call just as we pass the Welcome to Oakland sign.
I'm pulling up outside Mia's house within five minutes, and I immediately notice two cars parked here, both parked in the drive. As I get out of the car
Jagger's truck pulls up behind my car. He's out of it within seconds.
"She here?" He asks.
"I don't know, her car’s here, I've not been inside yet," I reply and start walking toward the house. As I get closer, I notice the front door is ajar. "Fuck," I bite out as I reach for my gun at my back.
Walking to the front door, Martin walks in front of me, and I roll my eyes, he always makes sure that he's in front in case we're ambushed. His foot nudges the door open, his gun raised high as he glances around the house. I immediately still as I see blood on the floor. Jagger pushes past me and into the house, Martin is checking each room as I glance back at the blood. It's at the door, what the hell happened to make someone bleed here? Is it Mia's blood? Glancing up, my gaze hits a set of luggage, frowning I walk over to it, looking at the tag, it has the name Lacey Kane on it.
"Boss." The low tone of Jagger's voice has my blood running cold. Walking over to him, he's looking at the floor, Following his gaze I spot the pool of blood. Whoever the hell bled, needs to get medical help and quickly.
"Boss, she’s not here," Martin tells me. All I see is a haze of red.
“She’s gone?” Jagger whispers his eyes on me.
"Boss…" Martin begins.
"No, no ‘Boss’. Lacey and Mia are gone." I tell him. "I don't care what's going on; someone has my woman, the love of my life. I want her back. I want both of them back, and whoever took them I want their head on a fucking platter. Do I make myself clear?" I ask not bothering looking at Jagger.
He nods, "I'll get every man, woman, and child on it now."
"Call Barney, tell him that he and Aaron need to find that bitch. This shit has Juan written all over it." He turns and leaves, leaving Jagger and me alone.
"Hudson..." Jagger’s voice is strong. This is why he’s my right-hand man.
"Don't!" I growl, my emotions are on the surface. "Just don't. I’m going to find her Jag, and I'm going to make this city bleed until I do."
Forbidden Lust (The Kingpin Book 1) Page 17