My stepdad had also told me Mia’s mom knew nothing about what these four had come to him to ask. He wasn’t even charging them for it, even though I was still getting paid. Apparently, he still felt guilty after Mia got kidnapped not once, but twice while on his watch.
I wondered how Mia’s mom would react to finding out her husband and brothers went behind her back. Mia said her mother was a hothead, and I could easily imagine it if it was anything like how pissy Mia got at times. To me, that was adorable when it came to her, but I’d heard horror stories about Emmie Armstrong making grown men cry.
Armstrong blew out a heavy sigh, but he nodded his confirmation. “If she’s happy dating you, then no, I’m not against it. All I want is to ensure she’s safe.”
Some of the tension began to leave my muscles, and with
out looking away from the man, I told him the truth. “I want you to know, this isn’t about the job for me. In the beginning, I took it because Seller left me no choice. From the time I found out about the assignment until the day I met Mia, I hated my stepfather for putting this off on me. But the second I met your daughter, everything changed for me. I love her, sir.”
“Of course you do,” he said with a laugh, not even the least bit surprised. “It’s hard not to love that girl.”
“No, sir. You don’t understand. I’m in love with her.”
That had the laugh drying up, and his face tensed for all of a second before he blew out a heavy sigh. “You were honest with me. Now I’m going to be honest with you, son.” As he leaned forward, the look on his face changed to something darker. “I went to Seller for help because Mia’s mom was going to let her have her way no matter what I said or did. But Seller had his own motives for choosing you. He could have picked anyone. He has staff younger than you, who could have blended in and never made themselves known. Yet he picked you. Why was that?”
I gritted my teeth, but I shrugged. “Because he’s a bastard who wanted to make my life a living hell?”
“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “Because after we talked, we decided this was the best fit for both of you. I know my daughter, and whether you want to admit it or not, Seller knows you. We suspected the two of you would hit it off, and even if you didn’t, there was always that cousin of yours—Braxton? Yeah, I’ve seen pictures of him too. He would have been my second choice after you.”
“Choice for what?” I demanded, pissed at the idea of Mia with my cousin. I knew there was nothing between them. They acted like brother and sister so much, it was hilarious. But more than that, Mia was good for Braxton. He hadn’t had nearly as many mood swings since she’d come into our lives, and when he did, they didn’t last long. Brax smiled more these days, laughed so much it was like the old times, before he’d lost his leg.
“Look, I know Mia is technically an adult now, but I can’t sleep at night thinking of her out in the world all by herself. Anything could happen to her. Fucking anything. And it drives me crazy just imagining all those things. I nearly lost her, son. Twice. No father should ever have to face that kind of loss, and I can’t let that happen again. She needs someone in her life who can and will take care of her like I have all these years. Someone capable of handling her sassiness. And yes, at times, her pure bitchiness. I think that is you, Barrick.” His clear blue eyes bored into me, trying to see beneath the surface and straight into my soul. “I’ve hoped, at least.”
Chapter 14
Mia
Cole Steel could have been sixty—he wasn’t, but he could have passed for it—or he could have been ninety. I wasn’t really sure how old he was, but it was somewhere in between. I doubted anyone really knew his age, even him half the time.
Even at his age, he was a good-looking man. A silver fox, as Momma had called him plenty of times. Women of every age acted like they wanted to hump his leg, and many of them did if given the chance. It was sick and pathetic the way they clawed and begged and cried whenever a horde of chicks saw him.
One such horde was waiting outside the hotel when the limo pulled up in front of it. Cole had two members of his own security to help us through the pack of wild beasts, holding the crowd back. Braxton was on edge until we made it into the hotel, but it wasn’t until we got up to the huge presidential suite that he finally started to relax.
“I’ve got a party I need to get to, pretty girl,” Cole told Nevaeh not two minutes after we got settled. “Order room service. Order a movie. Do whatever you want, but do not leave this suite.”
Nevaeh blinked up at him behind her huge glasses. “Okay, PopPop,” she said with a smile. “Have fun. Will we see you for breakfast?”
“Probably not,” he said with a shudder. Mornings were not Cole’s thing. “You three be good if you go sight-seeing. Take security with you, or your mom will skin me alive. And your dad will hold me down while she does it. We’ll leave for the event tomorrow night at six.”
“Okay. Goodnight.”
“Night, pretty girl.” He kissed the top of her head, hugged me, then threw a salute at Braxton on his way out the door.
As soon as the door was closed behind him, Nevaeh had the phone in her hand. “What do you two want to eat? I was thinking pizza, steak, burgers, and every dessert on the menu.”
“Yes, please!” I laughed as I flopped down on the couch beside Braxton.
“Brax, what do you want on your pizza?” Nevaeh asked.
“Whatever. I’m not picky.” He was playing with his phone, not even looking at her, something he hadn’t done much of since we’d gotten on the plane back in Virginia.
It was like it was impossible for him to look right at her, and I found it beyond weird. He normally met a person’s gaze every time he spoke to them, giving them his full attention. Yet when he did that to Nev, he reacted as if he were in physical pain.
I loved Braxton, but if he hurt Nevaeh’s feelings, I was going to kick his ass.
“Pickles and anchovies, it is, then,” she said tartly, standing there eyeballing him like she wanted to stab him in the throat with a fork.
His head snapped up, and she wasn’t quick enough to hide what she was thinking. Pink filled her cheeks, but she didn’t look away from him. Instead, she just smirked when his jaw dropped, and then he laughed.