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She puts her hand on my cheek. “I’m okay, Mac.”
“I know you are, but there for a minute, when you stopped breathing… fuck… Mia, I thought I was going to lose you.”
“What happened?”
I pull back from her and sit on the edge of the bed, still gripping her hand. I explain to her what I told Jaxon earlier. Surprise and some other emotion enter her face when I mention Shady’s name. Her face turns hard with anger when I tell her that he and Tessa threatened T and me.
“Who in the fuck does that to their own child?” she asks angrily.
“Someone who’s completely fucked in the head,” I tell her honestly. There’s obviously something mentally wrong with Tessa. “I’ve got someone heading over to Shady’s place right now to pick him up. With any luck, he’ll be there, and we can get to the bottom of this.”
She looks at me skeptically, as if she doesn’t believe it’ll be that easy. I don’t blame her. Nothing’s ever that easy.
“Trent, Jaxon, and Bailey are outside waiting. I wanted to talk to you first. T’s really scared and worried about what he did.”
Mia grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze before saying, “I hope you know I don’t blame him. I could never blame him for trying to protect himself and you.”
I give her a tender smile, not surprised at her words in the least.
“I know you don’t. That’s just one of the reasons why I love you.”
After bending down and giving her a lingering kiss that has my blood pumping and my cock twitching, I get up from the bed to letthe others in. Jaxon and Bailey quickly step through the door and immediately go straight to Mia’s side. T’s steps are slower, like he’s unsure he’s welcome. The uncertainty in his movements has me angry all over again. Tessa did this to our son. She’s made him scared and feel unwanted. That woman better pray to God I have the strength to hold back from killing her when I get my hands on her. Shady as well.
“Trent,” comes Mia’s sweet voice.
T’s frightened gaze flickers to me, and I smile and nod in encouragement. He takes a tentative step toward the bed. I watch as Mia gives him a smile and holds out her hand to him.
“It’s alright, Trent. Come here,” Mia says.
T walks the rest of the way to the bed and places his shaky hand in Mia’s. Mia sits up in bed and pulls him into her arms. I see T shut his eyes, tears leaking out the corners. She pulls back and puts her hands on both of his cheeks, wiping away the tears.
My heart swells even more with love for this woman as she says, “Please don’t be scared or worried. I understand. We all understand, okay? I don’t know you that well yet, but I’ve heard a lot about you. I know you would never hurt anyone unless you felt you had to.”
“I’m so sorry, Mia. I didn’t want to do it,” T says, his voice breaking at the end.
“I know you didn’t, sweetie.” She pulls him forward and kisses his forehead.
Fuck. How in the world did I live the last ten years without this woman in my life?
I have no answer to that question. But the one thing I do know is that I will do whatever it takes, take out who ever I need to, before I let anyone take her away from me again.
27
Mia
Her hands…
MAC’S PARENTS ARE DUE to arrive any minute now, and I’m a nervous wreck. Although this is Mac’s house, not my own, and was pretty much clean all the way through, I still went on a cleaning binge. I scrubbed from top to bottom, side to side, even tackling Mac’s gym in the basement. I want everything to be perfect. I know it’s irrational to be so nervous, but I can’t seem to help it. His parents already know me very well and have adored me in the past. Nothing’s to say that will change, but I still feel the need to impress them.
It’s been two days since I was released from the hospital and things have been going well. Ever since Trent finally opened up about what his mother and Shady were doing, he’s changed dramatically. He’s been such a sweet boy, always asking me if I need any help with anything or offering to get me things. I keep telling him he doesn’t need to do anything for me, that he doesn’t need to try and win me over. He’s had me from the beginning. Iharbor no ill feelings toward him. Any decent person would know that any ten-year-old child would have reacted the same way.
Mac explained to Trent that if he heard from his mother again he needed to tell him. So far, there’s been nothing. I don’t know if that’s good news or bad. Of course, I don’t want Tessa to try and rope Trent into doing anything else, but it’s also worrisome that she hasn’t contacted him again to find out the outcome of my poisoning. You would think she would be chomping at the bit to discover if it worked or not.
Mac sat down with Trent and had a more in-depth conversation with him about what his mother asked him to do. It was then that we found out Tessa knew about my and Mac’s horseback riding and picnic the other day. The night Tessa had left Trent at Taekwondo, she had told him to call his dad and tell him she forgot him there. The whole thing was planned. Trent was to go to Mac’s house, and he was to call her the first time I came over. He called her when we left for our picnic the next day, and she came rushing over to Mac’s house. That’s when she got the key to my house out of my purse and was able to go in without breaking in and leave her little surprise all over the walls.
More disturbing news is that when the deputy went to Shady’s house to bring him in for questioning, he wasn’t there, and it looked like he hadn’t been there for quite a while. We’ve asked several trusted people in the community to keep an eye out for both Shady and Tessa and that if they see them to contact Mac or someone at the station. Again, nothing so far.
While I was in the hospital, Mac had the same deputy that fingerprinted my house come in so I could make a formal statement. It was hard to witness, but Trent gave his statement as well. After we got home, Mac had Andrew come stay with me while he went to the courthouse to obtain warrants for both Tessa and Shady. I argued, telling him Trent and I would be fine, but he refused to leave us by ourselves. I relented when I saw the deep worry in his eyes. I didn’t want him to worry more than he neededto. Needless to say, with mine and Trent’s statements, the judge agreed to the warrants.
