Bones (Dark Kingdom, #5) — Chapter no 9

CHAPTER NINE

MIA

I OPEN MY heavy eyes, my vision a little blurry. Reaching up, I rub my eyes and open them again. This time, I see I’m no longer in the waiting room but lying in a hospital bed. I sit up, and the room spins. “What?” My hand goes to my pounding head. “What happened?” I ask myself.

“You passed out,” a voice announces from my right.

Looking over, I see the back of Bones standing at the window that I hadn’t noticed. Lying back into the bed, I sigh, running a hand through my hair. “Why am I in a bed? Dear Lord, did they admit me?” Please, no. I need to be with Luca. Not here in a bed of my own.

He slowly turns to face me, hands in the front pockets of his jeans. His eyes drill into mine as if I did something wrong. He knows. “Not yet.” He finally speaks, breaking the tense silence.

“Yet?” I shriek. “I can’t—”

“They wanted to run some tests first,” he adds, leaning back casually against the windowsill and crossing one ankle over the other.

I look up at the ceiling, unable to meet his intimidating stare right now.

Once again, I’m vulnerable. I don’t have time for this, and neither does Luca. I knew going three days and nights without sleep would catch up with me. “Luca?” I manage to get out even though my chest tightens. I’ve done this. Haven will never forgive me. I’ll never forgive myself. I should have run the moment he left me in California. But I have nothing to my name.

Not my real name. Dillan tried to give me everything that I needed, but I’ve never been fully on my own. I wasn’t sure what to do or where to go. No job experience. No life skills that any adult would need to survive. I was raised to depend on someone else for survival.

“Still in surgery,” he answers.

“How long has it been?” I swallow the knot in my throat.

“Almost six hours.”

I bury my face in my hands, trying to calm my racing heart. Six hours? I know nothing about surgeries, but that seems like a long time. “This is all

my fault.”

“Why are you here, Mia?”

I open my eyes to see he has moved to stand at the foot of my bed. His dark blue eyes glare at me.

“I … Luca—” My heart pounds in my chest at my betrayal. At what I’ve done. I can never take it back. I should have taken my brother’s promise as what it was—a threat. I just never thought they’d go after Luca. But now it makes sense. He’s been the one on my side. Why not take out my only ally?

He crosses his tatted arms over his chest at my lingering silence. “I’m going to ask you one more time. Why are you here?”

I fist my hands. “I told you. My brother was shot.”

He tilts his head to the side. “Let’s try this again. You show up with bruises in multiple places, a busted lip, and a concussion, and you expect me to believe you came back for Luca?” Shaking his head, he adds, “For the last time—why are you here?”

“What?” I breathe. I press my hand to my sore side and close my eyes.

Run tests. They know. I hadn’t thought about what I looked like when I ran to Las Vegas to be with my brother and sister-in-law. I haven’t looked at myself in days, knowing it isn’t a pretty sight.

“Mia.” He snaps my name at my silence.

I bow my head and whisper, “I didn’t tell them anything.” He has to know I was never going to do it. That’s why Luca is in surgery in the first

place.

“Who?” he demands.

I want to laugh that he hasn’t put it together yet, but why would he? He doesn’t know my father’s plan for me. For him. He’s just as in the dark as Luca was.

I lift my chin and look up at him standing at the end of my bed. He’s got his tatted arms crossed over his chest and legs spread wide. He’s dressed in a black T-shirt and faded blue jeans. His jaw is so sharp it could cut glass.

He looks extremely pissed. And he’s going to want to kill me after I tell him what I know, but he deserves to know the truth. I may have been born into the Mafia, but I don’t live by their moral code. I will not die protecting my father’s secrets. “They came to me. Told me this would happen.”

“Who the fuck is they, Mia?” he growls.

I ignore his impatience. “They want Kingdom,” I say instead.

He snorts. I guess this isn’t a surprise. Like my brother has a long list of enemies, I’m guessing the Kings do as well.

“Mia!” he shouts, and I flinch.

“My father,” I rush out, looking at him through my dark lashes, and add softly, “he wants your Kingdom.”

He just stares at me with a look of annoyance in his cold eyes. I’m nothing more than a problem for him. Just like I am for everyone else.

Licking my busted lip, I sigh. “A few days ago, my brothers came to me —the twins and Matteo—and told me to go back to you. To do whatever was necessary to make you fall in love with me and marry me.” I sniff. “My father wants you dead along with the rest of the Kings. He wants your Kingdom,” I lower my voice. “And he wants me to do it.”

His silence continues.

“I wasn’t going to do it.” I shake my head, unable to meet his eyes after my confession. How stupid my father must think Bones is to fall for me—a woman he didn’t even know existed. He knows that I have no experience.

He kissed me, and I froze. I didn’t even know what to do. I have nothing to offer other than my body. A woman is only good for one thing in my family. And I’m sure Bones gets that anywhere. “I swear. I—”

“How are you feeling, miss?” a nurse enters the room asking, and I’m thankful for the interruption. It’s hard to breathe in here with Bones also occupying the room. I need some space and fresh air. It’s like I’m back in the limo with his hand around my throat.

“Fine.” I throw the blanket off me. “How is Luca?”

“He just got out of surgery and is being moved to the ICU. The doctor will come and speak to you further about it.”

I nod.

“This is good news, miss.”

“Thank you. May I see him?” I ask.

She gives me a kind smile. Practiced to perfection. I feel she’d give me the same if she had to tell me he’d passed away due to his injuries. “I’m sorry, but not at the moment.”

The door closes, and I’m left alone with him once again. I can’t even meet his eyes now. Too ashamed. Embarrassed. Luca is all that I have, and my own family wanted to take him from me. How far will they go now if Luca dies? They’ll blame me for that as well.

BONES

“SAY SOMETHING,” SHE whispers, keeping her eyes on the bed.

I have nothing to say. I know what her father wants. Does she think he just decided to take what’s mine? He’s not going to get it. No matter how much pussy he tries to throw at me.

I uncross my arms and run my hand through my hair. My newest concern is her and my best friend, who is fighting for his life.

Three days ago, they showed up and smacked her around. Informed her she would pay the ultimate price for not obeying their command. “Why

didn’t you call me?”

Her eyes slowly look up to meet mine.

“Why didn’t you call me when they showed up at the house? I told you to call me if you needed anything.” I had only left her one number in her cell, and it was under Dillan. I was afraid if she knew me as Bones, she would have been too afraid to reach out to me. I thought Dillan made me sound more relatable and kind. Thinking about it now, I realize that sounds stupid since I almost choked her out and then drugged her.

“You kidnapped me. Drugged me,” she growls, hearing my thoughts, and my eyes narrow on her. “Then shipped me away. Why would I call someone who didn’t want anything to do with me?”

I fist my hands. I did that to save her. To get her as far away from me as possible, yet here she is with bruises. They used Luca to get what they wanted. How far are they willing to go?

She glares up at me, looking so small in that big bed. Her dark hair is down and tangled in multiple places. Her silvery-blue eyes look dull and tired. Her pouty lips are dry. She looks as malnourished as she was when I bought her. Why hasn’t she been taking care of herself? “How long were they there?” I ask instead, needing to know the details.

“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “After he shoved me to the floor and kicked me, I passed out. When I woke up, they were gone.”

My jaw clenches. “Did they all touch you?” Three men against a woman is horrible enough, but then for it to be someone her size? Not to mention they’re her fucking brothers. They wanted to scare her, rough her up, but not to the point of killing her. No, they wanted her to come crawling back to me, pretending to need help. Giving me the chance to be the savior and fall for the damsel in distress. And when she didn’t, they went after Luca,

knowing that would do it. It’s the one person who means anything to her.

He’s never betrayed her—not like the rest of her family has anyway.

She shakes her head. “Matteo did all the work.”

Just then, the door opens again, and Haven runs in. “Oh, my God, Mia.”

She rushes over to her bed and hugs her tightly. “The nurse told me you were up and talking,” Haven adds. “I had to see you.”

I turn and exit the room and begin to pace the empty hallway. Looking up, I see Lane walking toward me, still dressed in his bloody scrubs. I

swallow, meeting him halfway.

“Luca—?”

“He’s stable. For now.” He places his hands on his hips, and I let out a long breath. “But he’s not out of the woods.”

I nod, figuring that would be the case. “And Mia? Were you able to look at her test results?” I didn’t want anyone else looking at them. One less person we have to give an NDA to.

I already knew nothing was broken, but they ran other tests as well once it was clear she had been beaten. Add the fact that her brother had been shot. I wanted him to be very thorough.

“Rape tests came back negative, along with pregnancy test. As you were told earlier, she most likely had a concussion from the head laceration found, but it’s too late for us to tell now.”

I didn’t expect her brothers would rape her, but you never fucking know.

I wouldn’t put anything past them at this point. “Anything else?”

“She was dehydrated, and my guess is she hasn’t slept in days. Maybe due to the attack. Victims react differently to any kind of trauma. Add sleep deprivation, starvation, and stress regarding Luca, and that could be your cause of the fainting.”

“What do you suggest for recovery?” I ask. My concern now is to make sure I keep her safe. I can’t allow her and Luca to both die.

“Honestly, it won’t take her long to bounce back. She needs to eat regularly. Even if she’s not hungry. I’m going to write her a prescription for nausea pills in case she gets sick. The best thing for her now is rest.”

I nod, stepping back.

“I need to speak to Haven.”

“She’s in Mia’s room.” I point at her door, and he walks past me to speak to them privately.

Leaning back against the wall, I close my eyes, running a hand down my face. Now what the fuck do I do?

“He’s been placed in a private ICU room,” Titan speaks, walking down the hall to me. “As you requested. And in his own wing. NDAs have been signed.”

I nod toward Mia’s door. “Lane is speaking to Haven and Mia now.”

His eyes slide over to it, but he doesn’t bring up the elephant in the room —who is she, and how do I know her. Instead, he says, “I’m going to order around-the-clock private security for Luca.”

“You can never be too careful,” I agree with him.

“And her? Want the same?”

“She won’t be here much longer.” She’ll get released today. There’s nothing they can do for Mia. She should have sought immediate treatment when she was assaulted. I would say that the fact Luca was shot helped her.

Otherwise, she would have passed out alone in my beach home. But then again, he was shot because of her, or so she thinks.

Hearing the door to Mia’s room open, I look over to see Haven exit and literally charge toward me.

“You and Mia can stay at my house,” I tell her. Titan, Grave, and Cross will be next door. It’s our very own private, gated community. No one goes in or out without the Kings’ knowledge. “Your house won’t be safe, and someone needs to watch over her.” I’m never home anyway. I live at

Kingdom.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she states.

“Haven …” I grind out her name, not in the mood to argue with her.

“When I’m not in Luca’s room, I will be at our house.”

“I’m afraid you can’t stay there,” I tell her. Luca is going to live, and I can’t risk the Bianchi brothers going to their house and hurting Haven. Luca wouldn’t want to live if his wife was killed.

“Then I’ll stay here with Luca,” she offers. “But I think it’ll be fine.

Honestly, I’ll have Nite hire extra security for the house. He can stay there

with Mia.”

“No. Haven …”

“I understand that you’ve never loved anyone, Dillan,” she snaps my real name, and my jaw tightens. “But my husband has been shot! And I’m not fucking leaving him.” With that, she stomps off down the hall.

Titan arches a brow as if to ask me what I expected her to do. Not everyone is as coldhearted as me. Instead of defending myself, I walk away, needing to get a few things in order for Haven since she’s going to be stubborn. But she was right about one thing, Luca’s and her house needs extra security. Even though Mia thinks this has to do with her, it doesn’t mean that whoever did this doesn’t have other opportunities in mind.