Jagger’s cell rings and I wait with bated breath as he answers. “Jagger, get Mia to 128 Texas Street. A doctor will be there in minutes. She’ll make sure Mia is well looked after.”
“On it,” Jagger responds as he glances in his side mirror and does a U-turn, the wheels spinning as he does so. “We’ll be there in less than five minutes.”
“Hear that, Mia? We’ll see the doctor in five minutes. You’ll be okay,” I tell her, even though I’m not sure if she can hear me or not.
She’s still breathing but it’s very faint. “Love you, Mia,” I whisper into her hair.
“We’re here, Boss,” Jagger says as he comes to a screeching halt outside a house. Thank fuck.
Jagger’s out of the car and around to the back in seconds, as soon as he opens the door, he helps me get Mia out of the car. Gingerly holding her in his arms as I climb out. Hushed whispers get my attention, peering across the street, I see my men forming a line. They want to know what’s happened. They’ll have to wait. “Jag, fill them in on what’s happened. I’ll let them know how Mia is once I know myself.”
He nods handing me Mia, “I will do, Boss.” His eyes are on Mia’s fragile frame, she’s not once moved since I picked her up off that shitty mattress.
As soon as I enter the little house, Mia’s immediately taken from me by a couple of nurses and brought into one of the rooms. “Mr Brady, I’m Dr Erika Telemann. I’ll be looking after Mia. I’ll keep you informed when I know anything.” Erika gives me a small smile before following the nurses and Mia into another room.
I lean against the wall and bow my head as relief crashes through me, she’s in safe hands, I can finally breathe again.
“Son,” Dad’s low hesitant tone makes my head lift. His hands in his pockets but his eyes are focused on me. I’ve never seen my dad look so uncomfortable before. “How is she?”
I shrug. “I have no fucking idea, Dad. The doctor’s with her now. I don’t know where you managed to get her from, but I’m grateful.”
He waves it away as if it were nothing. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Right now, there’s nothing anyone can do. She’s unconscious and I won’t know what happened until she wakes up. God knows when that’ll be.” My voice is hoarse as I try and fight back the tears that are threatening to fall.
“What about Lacey? Can she tell us anything?”
Pain hits me and I rub my chest as if that’s going to help. “She’s dead, Dad. We got there too late. Mia was cradling Lacey’s body.”
His eyes widen. “Fuck,” he bites out.
I nod. “Where’s Tina?” I thought she’d be here.
He sighs. “She’s at home, I haven’t told her we’ve found her yet.”
I hide my shock. “And why is that?”
He looks away, almost if he’s ashamed. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, Hudson, most of them involve you and how I was. Since Tina met you, things between us have gone downhill. She’s not the woman I married,” he admits and I know how hard it is for him to say that he’s got anything wrong. “The way she’s acted since Mia was taken just hasn’t sat right with me.”
At least I’m not the only one. “When will you be getting the information?”
He raises his eyebrow but laughs. “Nothing can ever get past you. I had Galen look into her a bit more thoroughly than the last time. I’ve also had him look into all the men. Someone’s a rat and I want to find out who it is.”
“You don’t think it was Barney?” I question, I want to see if anyone else thinks the same as I do.
He shrugs. “I don’t know, what has he said?”
“He got the money for doing a job for Landon King and Landon’s been paying him sporadically. He met Tianna at his sister’s baby shower. Lisa married Dante Mancini.” Even as I say the words, it sounds far-fetched but why would he lie about something that is so easily confirmed?
“Wait… Dante married Barney’s sister?” Disbelief in his words.
“Apparently. Hell, I didn’t even know he got married.”
Dad laughs. “It was an arranged marriage, one that was meant to help bring two families together.”
“That makes no fucking sense, Dad. Barney wasn’t Mafia.” I know that for a fact, there’s no way, no how.
“No, Son, he wasn’t but Lisa has a different dad. Lisa’s mom ran off with Lisa when she found out the truth about her father. It took Orlando and his men almost fifteen years to find her, by that time Lisa’s mom had remarried and had another child… Barney. When Barney’s mom died before they reached eighteen, Orlando took Lisa in and has groomed her to marry.”