Arranged love

MIA

I’M PULLING MY socks and shoes on. The doctor came and saw me an hour ago. He filled Haven and me in on Luca and said that the paperwork had been started for my release. He gave me a couple of prescriptions but said the main thing I needed was rest.

I’m not going to get any. Not when my brother is here in a drug-induced coma. Haven has been keeping me updated since the doctor informed us what happened to him. Turns out, Luca had been shot twice. Once in the chest and the other in his leg. That’s why surgery took so long. They thought he was going to lose his leg but were able to save it. He’s stable, but it’s still an uphill climb.

The door opens, and I look up to see Dillan entering. I finish tying my tennis shoes and grab my purse off the bed. “I’m leaving.”

“You’ll wait for the nurse to escort you out in a wheelchair,” he replies flatly.

I push my hip out. “I’m fine.”

“It’s hospital policy.”

“Oh.” I’ve never been in one before. He could be lying to me. I look up at him, and he’s staring at me intently. Blue eyes scrutinize my busted lip and ratted hair. I tried to brush it, but it needs to be washed. I have long, thick hair. It’s always tangled easily.

“Do you have any news on Luca?” I ask, wondering why he’s back in here. I haven’t seen him since he left when Haven came to see me.

“You’re coming home with me,” he states.

I laugh at that. A deep, doubled-over laugh that makes my already sore side hurt. “I would have never guessed you to be a comedian, Bones.”

“I’m serious, Mia.”

My laughter stops. His eyes give nothing away, but his fisted hands do. He doesn’t want me to go with him as much as I don’t want to be around him. “I don’t need your help,” I growl and head toward the door.

He steps in front of me, making me halt. “Actually, you’ve proven that you can’t take care of yourself.”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” I snap.

He steps forward, closing the small distance between us, and I tilt my head back to look up at him. His height is intimidating.

I hate the way my stomach flutters when he’s this close. That all I can think about is the kiss he gave me before he turned and left me behind at his beach house. And the way he stared at me in the limo. The way his eyes looked over my body like he wanted it. Feeling anything for him is a big no. Not like he’d feel anything other than annoyance for me, but still. My family will make sure that I’m never happy. And I hate the fact that I even like how he stared at me-I’m not a piece of meat. Not to him, not to anyone. But when you’ve been ignored all your life, the first sign of any attention makes my body heat rise.

“When was the last time you slept?” he demands.

I frown at the odd question. “I just woke up …”

“You passed out,” he corrects me. “When was the last time you ate anything?”

Huffing, I cross my arms over my chest. “You are not my …” I trail off.

“Not your what?” He smirks, liking the fact that he intimidates me.

Fuck him. “I almost said father. But in a way, you’re just like him.” I’m not going to hold back when it comes to this King. I don’t have to. If I piss him off, maybe he’ll let me go.

That smirk falls off his face, and he steps even closer, his chest now bumping into mine, and I hold my breath. “Be very careful about what you say, Mia,” he warns.

It just makes those butterflies intensify. “Why?” I ask, straightening my shoulders, not willing to back down from him. Weakness is deadly in my family. And no matter how terrified I am of him, I won’t show it. “Are you going to ship me away again?” Please do. It’ll save us both a lot of trouble.

I watch the way his blue eyes darken while he glares down at mine, hands fisted by his sides, and I know by the way he’s breathing that he’s trying to calm himself. I can only imagine what kind of man he is when he doesn’t hold himself back.

“Do it.” I bait him. “Put your hands around my throat and choke me out. Just like you did the last time I was with you.” Dillan is a fucking bastard. I remember the stories about him and the Kings as kids. It was my thirteenth birthday when my father shipped me away. The Kings and Luca were six years older than me. Well, except for Grave, who was a year younger than the rest. He was only five years older than me. But I overheard stories about the Kings, and they were already tearing up Vegas. It wasn’t hard to figure out what kind of men they would grow up to be.

He lifts his hand, and I flinch. That smirk returns to his lips. He opens his fist and runs his tatted knuckles down my face. The skull ring is cold against my skin. My breathing hitches, and my knees threaten to buckle. The last time he touched me, he kissed me. My lips part on their own at that thought. “If that’s what will get you some rest. I’m a problem solver.”

My heart begins to pound in my chest at how easily he threatens me. That memory of him choking me out in the limo comes to mind. He was strong, and I was too weak. I swallow the fear, trying to calm my heart and arch a brow. “Then fucking do it.” I’m not sure if I want him to choke me or kiss me. At this point, I think I’d welcome either one.

The door opens, and I step away from him, taking in a shaky breath. His hand falls to his side. “Hello, miss.” The nurse from earlier enters with a wheelchair. “You ready to get out of here?” She smiles at me, then looks at him. “I’ve been told by Dr. Lane that she’s going home with you.”

My stomach sinks. The doctor? What did he say for the doctor to allow this?

“She is,” he confirms.

“Great.” She nods once. “If you want to pull your car up to the entrance, we’ll meet you out there.”

He exits the room, and I sit in the wheelchair with my purse on my lap. “Have you seen Haven Bianchi?” Maybe if I can find her, I can talk her into going to her and Luca’s house.

“Yes, ma’am. Bones spoke to Dr. Lane, and he pulled some strings. Luca was placed in a private ICU room in his own wing, and she is going to be staying with him.”

Bones spoke to Dr. Lane? Haven gets to stay with him?

I slump back in the wheelchair and cling to my purse. Why would Dillan do that for her? Maybe it’s for Luca? All of them are friends. I’m the outcast. The burden.

She pushes me out into the harsh afternoon light. My eyes squint to see a matte black car sitting at the entrance. Looks like something he would drive. Sleek and expensive. Probably a limited edition. I’m sure it cost him what would feed a small country for a year.NôvelDrama.Org (C) content.

“Here we go,” the nurse says cheerfully. She’s happy that I get to leave the hospital. That’s their goal. I want to trip and fall flat on my face, so she’ll have to admit me again. At least that’d mean I’d get to stay closer to Luca.

I stand from the wheelchair, and he walks around the front of his car to open his passenger door for me. I fall into it, and he slams it shut. Just further showing me how aggravated he is about this situation.

I look over the black interior and close my eyes. The car smells like his cologne that night in the limo. Clean, like fresh linen. When his hands were on me, his face inches from mine. Then I remember the kiss. It would be innocent to someone else but to me? Goose bumps rise along my arms at that thought, and I shiver. It was my first. I doubt he knows that. And if he had, I doubt he would have done it.