“Yeah, well, we don’t always get what we want, do we?” I ask, arching a brow, and she ignores my question.
“I know you have feelings for her.”
I snort.
“But trust me, you want someone who would choose to stay with you, not because they’re forced.”
My eyes meet hers.
“Don’t be your father, Dillan. You have a chance to give someone what you never had. She needs your help, and she deserves to live a life, whether that is with you or not.” With that, she exits my office.
I pick up the picture. It’s of Cross, Titan, and me on our college baseball field. My brother, Grave, took the picture. He hated sports. Well, plus he’d never be able to pass the drug tests.
Leaning back in my seat, I sigh. “Fuck.” Jasmine is right. And I hate that.
_______________
IT’S A LITTLE after noon when my door opens, and my brother walks in. “Hey,” I say, sitting back in my chair and giving him my full attention. He seems to be doing better. But I thought he was better before, and he obviously wasn’t.
“How are things going?” I ask him.
He nods. “Good.”
“The wedding?” I push. I haven’t gotten to speak to him privately since that night at his house. After Titan arrived, we sent April and Grave to bed while we stayed behind and cleaned up the broken glass inside the kitchen. A crew was there the next morning to replace the windows.
“It’s still on.” He gives a soft laugh.
“That’s not what I meant.”
He sits down in the seat across from me. “Do you love her?” he asks.
I don’t answer.
“I love you, Bones. As a brother, as a best friend, and as a father.” He sighs. “You practically raised me. And if this is what you want, then I’ll support you.” He pauses, licking his lips. “But I want you to be happy. You deserve that.” Looking down at his hands in his lap, he goes on, “I want you to find what I have with April.”
I go to open my mouth when my cell starts to ring. Picking it up, I frown, seeing it’s Haven. “Everything okay?” I ask in greeting, already jumping to my feet.
“He’s awake.” She sniffs. “Luca’s awake, and he’s asking for you and Mia.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
BONES
MIA AND I rush into the hospital, her hand in mine. I ran out of Kingdom and went by my house to pick her up. I called her on my way, and she was already getting ready. Haven had called her too to tell her the good news.
I nod to the guard as we pass by him. I release her hand, open the door, and usher her in with my hand on the small of her back.
Luca sits up in his bed, his pale face instantly frowning at us. I figured he’d be pissed at me once he woke up and realized what I’ve been doing.
“Hey.” Mia goes over to him, gently hugging him. “How are you feeling?”
“Give us a second,” Luca tells her.
Her dark brows pull together. “Luca … I don’t think—”
“Give us a second!” he yells, making her jump.
She squares her shoulders and parts her lips, but before she can argue with him, my eyes meet hers. “It’s okay.” I’m trying to defuse a bad situation between them. He just woke up from a fucking coma. The last thing I need is a sibling feud.
She spins around, her dark hair slapping her in the face from the motion, and storms out of the room.
“You didn’t have to yell at her,” I tell him.
He turns his pissed-off attitude at me. “What the fuck are you doing, Bones?”
“What you asked,” I say, dodging the real answer.
He reaches for his remote and turns up the volume on this TV. I look up at it and curse myself when I see a picture of Mia and me making out plastered on the screen.
“One of the heirs to Kingdom—Dillan Reed, known as Bones—has been spotted around Sin City with who we know as the Mafia Princes—Mia Bianchi. The two apparently have been living together in his home right outside of Vegas. The couple has been spotted out a lot lately, but it’s clear that they’ve been together for quite some time. The two are not shy about their public affection. I see wedding bells in their near future …”
So this is what Marsha ended up going with after Grave put a halt to the story she wanted to run? I’m not surprised. She probably knew that Luca wouldn’t approve of what I was doing, and she was hoping to fuck me in the best way she could. Or she wants a target on Mia. Marsha had threatened that Mia’s life could be in danger if the public knew who she was and that her brother was in a coma.
“This is not what I asked you to do,” he snaps, clicking it off as if he’s seen enough. “I told you to ship her off.”