4. Mia
MIA
“What are you still doing here?”
“What do you mean?”
“You didn’t hear the news?” Darby looked absolutely thrilled as she announced, “Dad lifted the lockdown!”
“Oh, really?” I’d been locked away in my room working and hadn’t talked to a soul since the day before. “I had no idea.”
“Yeah, Susana has already headed back, and I figured you had, too.”
“Nope. Still here.” I shrugged. “I think I might stick around for a while.”
“Really?”
“I think so... at least for a couple more days.”
“Hmmm, I see.” Darby walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Does this have anything to do with Wrath?”
“Maybe.” The words had barely left my mouth when doubts started to creep in. “I don’t know.”
“Have you talked to him?”
“Yeah, but not about anything that mattered.” I lowered my head to my hand and sighed. “If I’m being honest, I have no idea what I’d even say to him.”
“I’ve always believed that less is more.”
“I agree, but I can’t really say anything to him with the guys around all the time.” I looked up at her as I said, “I need to find a way to get him alone.”
“You could ask him over to your place.”
“Yeah, but I’m afraid to ask him over to dinner. He might shut me down before I ever get started.” I thought for a moment, then added, “I need an excuse like I need help replacing a door or something, but I can’t think of anything that needs to be fixed.”
“Then break something,” Darby suggested with a giggle. “Knock out a light. Rip out a wire. Anything that he might be able to fix for you.”
“I guess I could try that.”
“It's worth a shot, but first, you need to be sure you wanna go through with this.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well... I know Stitch and the brothers think a lot of him, but...”
“But what?”
“He can be a little intimidating.”
“He can be very intimidating, but you gotta remember who my father is.” I laughed as I told her, “He’s the king of intimidation. I can handle Wrath. I’m just...”
“If you’re worried if he’d be interested, he will be.” She gave me a warm smile as she said, “You’re gorgeous. He’d be a fool to pass up a chance to be with you.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not exactly his type.”
“I wasn’t aware that he had a type.” She thought for a moment, then said, “I’ve never even seen the man go on a date.”
“That’s because he’s always with one of the hang arounds.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“It means he likes what he likes.”
“Or maybe he hasn’t found the right woman yet.” She fluttered her eyelashes as she teased, “Until now...”
“Oh, please.” I rolled my eyes. “We’ll see about that.”
“Yes, we will.” She stood as she asked, “So, when are you going to talk to him?”
“I have no idea, but you’ll be the first to know when I do.”
“I better be!” She stepped over to me and gave me a quick hug. “I gotta get going.”
“Okay. Have a safe trip back.”
“I will.” A bright smile was plastered across Darby’s face as she started for the door. “Mia and Wrath... Wrath and Mia. I like it.”
“You are such a dork.”
“Yeah, but you love me!”
Before I could respond, she stepped out of the room and closed the door.
As much as I hated to see her go, I knew she was eager to get back to her campus.
It was a thought that had me thinking about my parents.
I couldn’t believe that neither of them had come by to tell me about the lockdown, so I decided to call my mother and find out why.
I grabbed my cell phone and dialed her number.
As soon as she answered, I asked, “Where are you?”
“I’m at the house.”
“What about Dad?”
“He just left. He should be at the clubhouse by now. Why? What’s going on?”
“I’m just sitting here wondering why neither of you came by to tell me that the lockdown had been lifted.”
“Oh, my goodness! I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” she gasped. “I thought your father told you.”
“Afraid not, but it’s okay. I’m in no rush to leave.”
“Really? Why?” Mom asked, sounding surprised. “Is there something wrong with your apartment? Are you...”
“No, Mom. Everything’s fine. I’m just not ready to go back.”
“O-kay.” She thought for a moment, then asked, “So, how long are you planning to stay?”
“Just another day or so.”
“Okay... And you’re sure nothing’s wrong?”
“Mom.” My mother had always been a bit of a worrywart, especially where I was concerned. I didn’t want to get into a big discussion with her, so I said, “I have some work to finish up, and I can focus better here. That’s all. Now, stop worrying.”
“Okay. Okay, but if you need me, you know I’m always here.”
“Yeah, until Cotton lifts a lockdown, and then, you are AWOL.”
“Mia, you know...”
“I’m kidding! Seriously, it’s fine.” I glanced over at my laptop and cringed when I spotted a new email from my boss. “I better go. I’ve gotta get a report sent into the office.”
“Okay. Have a great day.”
“I’m gonna try.”
I hung up the phone, and then I spent the better part of the day hiding out in my room.
While I told myself I was using the time to get ahead with some of my images from work, that wasn’t the case.
I was feeling a little anxious about running into Wrath—which was crazy because I was fairly certain that he wasn’t even at the clubhouse.
Most of the guys had gone home, and there was a strong possibility that he had done the same.
My stomach was starting to rumble, so I decided to take a chance and headed to the kitchen.
I grabbed myself a bite to eat and went to the family room.
I was both surprised and pleased to find that the room was empty.
It was usually filled with kids or the guys, and it was a fight to actually watch something decent.
I flipped through the channels for few minutes, and eventually, I found an old romantic comedy. I settled back, and it wasn’t long before I was enthralled in the movie. So much so, I hadn’t noticed that I was no longer alone until I heard, “Mia? What are you doing here?”
I looked over to the doorway, and my stomach did a somersault when I saw Wrath standing there.
He was wearing a pair of tattered jeans and his cut, and his hair was pulled back, revealing his intense ocean-blue eyes.
I swallowed, hoping it would help ease the knot that had formed in my throat, then replied, “Just watching a movie.”
“There a reason why you’re watching it here and not at your place?”
“Well...” I figured now was as good a time as any to try and bait him to come to my place, so I lied, “I’ve been having some issues with my apartment.”
“What kind of issues?”
“Just some electrical stuff.” I shrugged. “My fan in my bedroom stopped working, and I can’t sleep without it. And then, there’s the whole thing with my bathroom light.”
“What’s going on with it?”
“The stupid thing keeps flickering, and it kind of freaks me out at night.”
“You tell somebody about it?”
“Yeah, I called maintenance a week ago, but they haven’t gotten around to fixing it yet.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“I know, but there’s not much I can do about it.”
He thought for a moment, then offered, “I could come by and take a look at it.”
“Really?” I asked, sounding a little more excited than I meant to. “That would be great.”
“Tomorrow night good with you? Around seven?”
“Yes, that would be perfect.”
He gave me a quick nod, then turned and started to leave. Before he got too far, I called out to him, “Hey, Wrath?”
“Yeah?”
“If you don’t mind, can we keep this whole thing between us? I don’t want Dad getting bothered that I didn’t come to him about this... I would’ve, but he’s always so busy, you know?”
“Yeah, I get it.”
“So...”
“I’ll keep it between us.”
“Thanks, Wrath. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He gave me another nod, and then, he was gone.
I couldn’t believe it.
I’d actually done it.
Wrath was coming to my apartment. I should’ve been thrilled, and to some extent, I was.
But I was also terrified. I had no idea what I was going to do or say.
I just knew I had to get my butt to my apartment, so I could fiddle with my fan and bathroom light.
I needed to make sure they were on the fritz before Wrath showed up, or he’d figure out all too fast that I was up to no good.
It was that thought that had me jumping up from the sofa.
I turned off the TV, cleaned up my mess, then rushed back to my room.
I had to go to the office in the morning, or my boss would kill me.
So, if I was going to pull this whole thing off, I had to get home sooner than later.
I quickly gathered my things and headed out to my car.
I’d just made it to the parking lot when I heard Dad call out to me, “Mia! Hold up!”
I stopped and waited for him to make his way over to me. “Hey, Dad. What are you doing here?”
“I had some things to go over with Wrath. We just wrapped things up, and I thought I’d come and check in with you.” He glanced down at my bag as he said, “Your mother said you were planning to stay here for a couple of days.”
“I was, but I changed my mind.”
“You good?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I’m just ready to get back to my own bed.”
“I feel ya there. Mine’s been calling me all damn day.” He studied me for a moment, then said, “Been nice having you around. Don’t make us wait so long to see ya next time.”
“You see me all the time,” I argued. “We just had dinner together last week.”
“It’s not the same, and you know it.” Looking at him with those pitiful puppy dog eyes made it hard to believe that he was the club’s most feared brother. “Your mother misses you. And for that matter, I do, too.”
“Okay. I’ll try to do better.” I eased up on my tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ve gotta go, Dad.”
“Be careful getting home.”
“I will!” As I started toward my car, I told him, “I love you!”
“I love you more.”
He stood there and watched as I got in my car, and he remained standing there until I had pulled safely through the front gates.
It meant a great deal that my father cared so much about me, but I was concerned that his overprotective nature might make it difficult for me to get something started with Wrath.
But I refused to let my worry or anything else stop me from following through with my plan. One way or another, I would make my feelings about Wrath known—even if it meant upsetting my father.
When I got back to my apartment, I put my things away and got busy picking up the place. I hadn’t been home for several days, so I only had a few dishes to wash and a little dusting to do. Once I had the place looking presentable, I started fiddling with my fan.
I gave it a hard tug, then gave the cord a quick pull. When it started spinning, I quickly turned it off and gave it hard push to the left. I pulled the cord, and once again, it started spinning. That’s when I realized I had no idea what I was doing.
Out of pure frustration, I grabbed one of my throw pillows and hit the center with all my might, and the light flickered out.
I gave the cord a firm tug, and to my surprise, it didn’t move.
I was feeling pretty good about myself as I made my way into the bathroom.
I looked up at the light and considered whacking it with my pillow, but I feared I’d knock the entire thing off the ceiling.
I didn’t want him to spend the whole night working, so I stepped up on my stool and barely unscrewed the light bulb, causing it to flicker. Hoping that would suffice, I put my stool back and returned to the bedroom. It was getting pretty late, so I decided to call it a night.
I changed into my sleep shirt, and as I crawled into bed, I remembered something my mother used to tell me—sometimes big things have little beginnings. I wasn’t sure if this was one of those times.
But a girl could hope, and I was certainly hoping.