Mia
“You lied.”
“About what?”
My brother’s brows furrowed with anger. “You and Wrath.”
“I didn’t exactly lie. I just said it wasn’t what you thought.”
“But it was what I thought! You are fucking around with him!”
“It’s not like that, Wyatt.”
I’d woken up feeling a little off-center. I’m not sure why. Things were going great with me and Wrath. I should’ve been on cloud nine, but I wasn’t. I was consumed with doubt and in need of a little guidance, so I decided to pay Wyatt a visit.
I knew the second I walked into his office that he wasn’t in a good mood, but it was even worse than I thought. I didn’t want to make matters worse by spouting off, so I remained calm and rational as I told him, “I really like him, and I’m pretty sure he feels the same way about me.”
“You gotta know better than that,” he grumbled under his breath. “Wrath doesn’t feel anything for anyone.”
“If you truly think that, then you don’t know him at all.”
“He was chosen as the club’s new enforcer for a reason, Mia.”
“What?” I was stunned. Wrath hadn’t mentioned anything to me about it. Neither had Dad. “When did that happen?”
“He was voted in a couple of days ago.”
“And what about Dad?”
“He stepped down.”
“What?”
Wyatt shook his head. “You knew it was coming. He’s been talking about it for months.”
“I know, but I didn’t think he’d actually do it. The club and his position mean everything to him.”
“Which is why he’s spent so much time making sure Wrath was ready to step up and take his place.” He cocked his brow. “I can’t believe Wrath didn’t tell you about all this, especially with you two being so close and all.”
“I’m sure he had his reasons.”
“I’m sure he did, too.” His tone grew serious as he explained, “You know, this is going to be a tough transition for him. A lot is riding on him, and he doesn’t need any distractions, Mia. Not from you or anyone else.”
“A distraction. Really?” Those were not the words I was hoping to hear.
I was falling for Wrath. I was falling hard and fast—and if the kiss we shared was any indication, he felt the same way about me.
And I hoped that was the case, but I wasn’t good at relationships and feared I might have it all wrong.
And hearing the resistance in my brother’s voice wasn’t helping matters.
Knowing what he’d just gone through with the love of his life, I asked, “Is that what Elsie was to you? A distraction?”
“That’s different.”
“No. Actually, it’s not. In fact, it’s the same damn thing, and you know it.” I couldn’t hide the hurt in my voice as I told him, “I would’ve thought you, of all people, would’ve been more understanding. Clearly, I was wrong.”
I immediately turned and started walking out of the room, but stopped when I heard him shout, “Mia, wait.”
“It’s fine, Wyatt.” I turned to face him. “I got it. I will do my best not to be a distraction. Not to Wrath or anyone else.”
“Come on, Mia. Don’t be like that.”
“Don’t be what?” I snapped. “Hurt? Angry? I mean, I know this isn’t an ideal situation. I know it won’t be easy. I know Wrath isn’t easy, but you are my brother. You’re supposed to have my back, just like I’ve always had yours.”
“It’s not like that. I do have your back.”
“Then, act like it.”
Without saying another word, I turned and stormed out of his office.
I was both angry and disappointed as I trekked down the hall.
I was hoping for some advice from the person who knew me best. I was delving in uncharted waters, and while it felt unbelievable to be there, I was terrified that the fast pace of the current might take me under.
I wanted him to tell me that everything was going to be okay and that I had nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, my dear sweet brother was too focused on the club and what the brothers needed to care about what I wanted or needed.
But then again, it wasn’t just about me. It never was.
The club came first.
Period.
It was something I should’ve been used to.
Everything was always about the club, but on this particular occasion, it stung and I wanted nothing more than to get as far away from my brother and the clubhouse as I possibly could.
I rushed out to the parking lot and went straight to my car.
I was about to pull out the gate when Rooster stepped out and stopped me.
I rolled down my window and smiled. “Hey, Rooster. How’s it going? ”
“Can’t complain.” A smirk crossed his face, and I knew right then why he’d stopped me. “I heard you ran into some trouble the other day.”
“You heard about that, huh?”
“We all did.” He chuckled. “Damn. I would’ve given my left nut to see you two going at it.”
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, it didn’t last long.”
His smirk widened. “Nah, it was a chick fight. Five minutes or two. It don’t matter. It’s still fucking hot.”
“Ah, I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
“Come to think of it, Bones never said what you two were fighting over.”
He clearly had no idea about my involvement with Wrath, and I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. Regardless, I didn’t want to be the one who broke the news to him, so I said, “Use your imagination. I’m sure you can come up with something.”
“Oh, I already have, and all I can say is damn. That shit is hot.”
“You’re a mess.” I started to roll up my window as I told him, “Catch ya later, Roost.”
He gave me a wave, then watched as I pulled through the gate.
I was still feeling out of sorts, even more so after my conversation with Wyatt, so I decided to hold off on going to work and took a quick detour.
I stopped and grabbed a couple of cups of coffee, then drove over to my parents’ place.
I knew my father was at the clubhouse, so I hoped that meant that I could have a few minutes alone with my mother.
When I pulled up, I spotted her in the front yard potting plants. She had on no makeup, a pair of baggy denim overalls, and a floppy sun hat, and she still looked positively stunning. I carried her cup of coffee over to her as I said, “Good morning.”
“Mia!” She stood and opened her arms, pulling me in for a giant hug. “I didn’t know you were coming by.”
I hugged her back as I told her, “It was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing.”
“Well, I’m so glad you came.” She reached for her cup of coffee and took a long sip. “Ummm, my favorite.”
She led me over to the front porch, and we both sat down on her swing. She took off her hat, then took a sip of her coffee before asking, “So, how have things been going? Any new projects at work?”
“Things are good. No new projects. Work’s been a little slow, but it's fine.”
I let out a little sigh, and that’s all it took. Mom leaned back on the swing and said, “Okay, tell me what’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong. Well, not really.” My mother and I had always been close. She’d always been there for me—no matter what. I knew today would be no different, but I was still nervous. I took a deep breath, then said, “I just wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Okay.” She settled back on the swing and gave me her full attention as she asked, “What’s on your mind?”
I hesitated for a moment, gathering my thoughts, then said, “I’m not sure if Dad told you, but I’ve been seeing someone.”
"He hasn’t mentioned anything.” Mom’s brows furrowed slightly, curiosity mixing with concern. “I guess he was waiting on you to tell me.”
“Maybe... or maybe he was thinking it wouldn’t last.”
“Why would he think that?”
“Because I’ve been seeing Wrath.”
My words hung in the air between us, and I could tell by the look on my mother’s face that my answer had taken her by surprise. “Oh...”
“We haven’t been seeing each other long.”
“I see.” She studied me for a moment, then asked, “And you like him?”
“I’ve always liked him, Mom. We grew up together, but things took a turn a few weeks back when I tricked him to come to my apartment.”
“You tricked him?”
“I kind of lied and told him my ceiling fan was broken when it wasn’t... at least, not until I broke it.”
“Oh, Mia,” she scolded.
“I know. It was wrong, but I had to come up with a way to get him alone and that was the only way I could think of to do it.” I shrugged. “And it worked.”
“And you started, ummm, seeing each other after that?”
“Pretty much.”
“Hmm.” After a brief silence, she reached out to hold my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "So, tell me all about it. I want to hear everything.”
It meant the world to me that I had my mother's support, so much so I started telling her everything from the dates we had to the way I felt whenever I was with him.
Thankfully, my lip had healed, so I could skip the bit about the fight with the neighbor.
But I told her everything else, and Mom listened to every word.
She’d been where I was with Dad.
She knew how hard it could be and whether or not it was worth it. Her opinion mattered to me, so as soon as I was done telling her everything, I asked, “So, do you think this thing with him could work?”
“I don’t know. You tell me.” Her eyes never left mine as she said, “You’ve grown up in the club. You’ve seen how hard it can be... what it’s like to have someone you love walk out the door and not know if they’re ever coming back.”
“Wait... Are you saying you regret being with Dad?”
“Not for one second,” she answered without hesitation. “I love your father, and I would face whatever hardships I have face to be with him—just like he would, and did, for me. He’s my person, and he always will be. I wouldn’t be sitting here if he wasn’t. And if Wrath isn’t that for you...”
“Yeah, I get it.”
“You know, he reminds me a lot of your father.” Anguish marked her face as she said, “He’s been through a lot. More than most could handle.”
“I know all about his past, Mom. I was there. He tried to hide it and act like none of it mattered, but I could see the hurt in his eyes. We all could.” My throat tightened as I told her, “There was nothing anyone could do to ease the pain he was feeling. But he eventually got through it.”
“Yes, but that pain is still with him. It’s part of him.”
“Just like it was part of Dad.”
“Exactly. It’s what has made them the men they are today.” She reached up and brushed a strand of hair from my face. “Just listen to your heart, Mia. It will tell you everything you need to know.”
“I’m trying, but my head keeps getting in the way. I’ve just been overthinking everything. I even tried to talk to Wyatt about it, and he wasn’t exactly keen on the idea.”
“He’s your brother. It’s only natural that he’s worried about his little sister.”
“If you say so.”
“He’ll come around. You’ll see.” She paused for a moment, then asked, “So, do you guys have any plans to let the rest of the brothers know what’s going on?”
“Not that I know of, and honestly, I’m good with keeping things between us, at least for now. I mean, you and Dad know. Wyatt, too. And anyone Wrath’s told. I figure that’s enough for now. ”
“You’re probably right, but keep in mind, Willow’s birthday party is coming up. That could be an opportunity.”
“Maybe. We’ll see.” I glanced down at my watch, and when I saw the time, I stood up and said, “I better get going. I gotta get to the office and try to find something to keep me busy until Garrett gets back.”
“Is he still gone?”
“Yes, but he emailed me last night and said he was wrapping things up and would be back soon. I just don’t know if that means today or next week. It’s hard to tell with jobs like these.”
“Well, I hope he gets back soon, so you can get back to your regular routine.”
“You and me both.” I gave her a quick hug, then said, “I’ll see ya soon.”
I felt a little better about things as I walked back to my car and drove to work.
After receiving his email, I was hopeful that Garrett would actually be there, but sadly, there was no sign of him—which was probably a blessing since I was so late.
I checked the office voicemail and email, but there was nothing.
I wasn’t going to blow off another day, so I went into the office and tried to find something to keep myself busy.
I made a few calls. Talked to Darby and Casey. Caught them up with everything that had been going on. I worked on my planner and plotted out the next few weeks, and once that was done, I decided to do a little work on my portfolio.
I went through some of my older photos and picked out a few of my favorites, then compiled them all into one file. I played around with a few edits, but it didn’t take long for me to become bored. I needed something a little more challenging to keep my focus.
Before I thought about what I was doing, I’d gotten up and started down the hall.
It was late—well after closing. I should’ve gone home for the day, but instead, I went to Garrett’s office.
When I got to his desk, I was disappointed to find that his work laptop was gone.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. He would need it to upload his images, but that left me out of luck.
Feeling defeated, I turned and started back out of his office.
I was just about to hit the lights when I spotted his personal computer bag hanging on the coat rack.
I stepped over and looked inside, and I was pleased to see that his personal laptop was there.
I took it out and carried it over to his desk.
Even though I was just trying to be helpful and look for some old images that might need editing, I got a funny feeling as I sat down and pried it open.
But that didn’t stop me from turning it on.
As soon as the laptop powered up, it asked for a password. I didn’t have a password, nor did I have a clue what it could be. That should’ve been my sign to just let it go.
It wasn’t.
I was tired of being utterly bored and determined to find something to keep me busy while Garrett was gone.
So, I started putting in possible passwords.
I started with simple things like mypassword and password123; then I tried his name and his birthday.
None of them worked, and I was about to give up when I spotted a picture of Princess, his beloved Rottweiler, on the corner of his desk.
I thought she looked a bit scary, but he was crazy about that dog.
I typed in her name, and just like that, my day took a turn.
And the week ahead would become anything but boring.