Mia: A Standalone Romantic Suspense: A Luke Fletcher and V Mafia Crossover Novel (Luke Fletcher Series Book 4)

by Karice Bolton

  I let out a groan. The conversation earlier with Drake didn’t help. I polished off my champagne and set the empty glass on the dresser.

  Whatever was going to happen to Drake and his family wasn’t my concern. Luke would take care of our people, our family, and we’d move on. We always survived and made our own way in the world.

  This situation was no different. I only hoped Drake would take my brother’s advice and stay away from Anton.

  I grabbed a black satin wrap, covered my shoulders with it, and walked slowly down the stairs, feeling the dizzying rush of the bubbles. The music greeted me, and I walked through the open French doors and made my way back to the reception.

  I couldn’t imagine a better setting for Luke and Hannah’s wedding. Everything about tonight was so laid back and filled with love. I spotted my brother feeding Hannah a chocolate-covered strawberry, and I giggled.

  They were so alike it was scary. I never in a million years would’ve guessed the Hannah I first met years ago would thrive on this kind of lifestyle.

  “Still hard to believe they walked down the aisle, isn’t it?” Alex came up behind me and wrapped his arm around my waist.

  “Isn’t it though?” I giggled. “I mean, you’ve seen them over the years.”

  “True.” Alex chuckled, and a slow song wafted over the beach. “Would you mind giving me one dance?”

  I smiled as he took my hand in his and escorted me to the wooden platform laid across the sand.

  “I looked up some stuff about your boyfriend.” His eyes connected with mine.

  “I thought we established he wasn’t my boyfriend.”

  “You can say it all you want, but I can see it in your eyes.” Alex smiled, my body swaying with his.

  “Well, I had a conversation with him before I came outside, and I can tell you it has officially been declared over before it ever began.” I chuckled and threw my head back. “I suck at picking ‘em out.”

  Alex spun me around and brought me back in. “You kind of do, but you can’t help who you like in this world.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered, feeling even loopier from the spin.

  “You were right,” he stated.

  “About what?”

  “Anton murdered Drake’s sister. His father died shortly thereafter from a stroke.”

  My stomach twisted into knots. I couldn’t imagine the grief I’d feel if someone took Luke away. He was all I had.

  But two family members?

  “Thanks for telling me.”

  “I’m not telling you this to excuse his behavior or anything. I just wanted you to know your instincts were right.” He licked his lips and glanced toward the water. “There was a motive beyond being a thug.”

  “Does Luke know?” I asked.

  “Not yet. I thought I’d wait until their honeymoon to drop that bomb on him.”

  I laughed, knowing he was only partially kidding.

  The song changed to a quicker pace, and Alex led me off the floor and over to a table.

  “His family won’t stop until Anton is taken care of. All the Volkov brothers are as ruthless as Drake. They have eyes all over the city,” Alex informed me.

  “Well, maybe they aren’t as good as you think. Drake didn’t notice you tailing me the other day.” I winked, and Alex twisted his lips.

  “Actually, he flashed me a grin full of his white teeth and flipped me off after he gave you a kiss goodbye.”

  I chuckled, picturing their little interaction.

  “See? Isn’t that cute?” I teased.

  “Only a Fletcher would think that’s charming.” He shook his head as if I were a hopeless case.

  I probably was.

  “Dufort,” I corrected.

  “Oh right. You’re extra fancy now with your big shows and stage names.”

  “It’s not a stage name,” I corrected.

  “A pen name?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not sure what it is, but it keeps me separate from Luke’s shenanigans, and that’s enough for me.”

  Alex touched my cheek, and his eyes filled with concern. “You gonna be okay?”

  “You mean about Drake?”

  He nodded.

  “I have no choice.”

  “You always have a choice.”

  “That’s true. Then my choice is that I’ll be just fine. I’ve never been much for taking advice or doing the cautious thing, but it’s over. There isn’t a reason in the world he’ll trust me, and I don’t blame him. I can imagine what it looks like.”

  “He’s the one in the mafia, and you’re worried about how you came off?” His brow arched and I let out a sigh.

  Mitch, a big, burly guy, walked over to our table and took a seat.

  “Well, this came for you. It was at the front door.” He pulled a single red rose from behind with a heart tag dangling from the stem, and my heart fluttered.

  Before reaching for the rose, I glanced at my brother, who was dancing slowly with Hannah even though the music was pounding.

  “How do you know it’s for me and not the lovebirds?” I asked Mitch.

  “Believe it or not, I learned to read last year.” He smirked.

  “Very funny.” I turned over the tag, and sure enough, my name was on it.

  “I think you misjudged how much you pissed off Drake,” Alex offered.

  “I suppose.” I laid the rose on the table and sat back, watching my brother dance the night away. “It’s not the first time he’s sent me roses.”

  “Does your brother know?” Mitch asked, leaning forward to take a sniff of the rose.

  “No.” I folded my arms over my chest. “How’d Luke get out of his agreement with the FBI?”

  “Luke informed them they needed to provide a team since he found out they were so willing to do away with ours.”

  “And they agreed?” I asked, surprised.

  “It was that or Luke was going to inform Anton.”

  “The games he plays are just exhausting.”

  “His life is one big puzzle, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.” Alex nodded in agreement.

  “Well, I’m looking forward to getting back to LA on Monday. With no puzzle pieces to fit into my life or games to play. All I want is my paintbrush.”

  “That makes my job a lot easier,” Alex joked.

  “I guess it would.” I smiled, feeling the champagne wearing off. “I think I need a little more bubbly.”

  “Your wish is my command.” Alex stood up and walked over to the bar.

  “Too bad about you and Alex not working out.” Mitch rubbed his chin.

  “What?” My brow arched. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Of course you don’t.”

  “Did he tell you?” I asked, feeling my cheeks flush.

  “He didn’t have to.”

  “Does my brother know?”

  “Of course. Why do you think he sent Alex to watch you? He was hoping he’d be a distraction from Drake.”

  I shook my head and groaned in frustration.

  “Someday, there will come a time when my life is nothing more than painting pictures by the sea.”

  “Keep telling yourself that, but with a family history like yours . . .” Mitch chuckled and I smacked him.

  Alex brought me a full glass of champagne and sat down next to me. It really was too bad there wasn’t more of a connection. My eyes fell to the rose, and my body hummed with the unknown. Maybe somehow, some way, this could work with Drake.

  “Wanna go for a walk?” Alex asked, interrupting my near-trance.

  “I’d love that. You wanna come, Mitch?” I asked as I stood up and handed him the rose back. “For safekeeping. I don’t want to set Luke off on his wedding night.”

  Mitch laughed and nodded. “I’ll keep it safe and out of sight. You two go ahead, though. I’m just going to enjoy the fine gin and wonderful sea breezes.”

  Alex and I made our way toward the water. The sound of waves lapp
ing against the shore echoed into the night, and I couldn’t help but feel a little wistful that it wasn’t Drake by my side.

  “So has anyone caught your attention?” I asked, glancing at Alex out of the corner of my eye. He looked confused, so I thought I’d clarify. “Are you dating anyone?”

  He laughed and shook his head. “As much as I’d love to bring someone into my screwed up way of life, I haven’t really found anyone that does it for me. My hope is that Luke will send me on a job where I have to protect some hot actress.”

  “And she’ll fall in love with her bodyguard,” I concluded. “Could happen.”

  He laughed. “Actually, it sounds like my worst nightmare. I’ve met enough of them. Too high-maintenance.” He grinned.

  “Artists in general are probably pretty high-maintenance. I’d shy away from us all.”

  “Since you brought it up.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “You did wear me out.”

  “Hey, I could say the same. All that sneaking around . . .” I chuckled and let out a sigh. “The feds are going to get Drake, aren’t they? They’re close.”

  “I don’t know. They’ve probably had enough to arrest most members of that family for decades, yet they don’t. You know how that agency operates though.”

  My stomach clenched. They used you until they couldn’t, and then you were at their mercy.

  “That’s a fact.” I thought back to my parents and everything our family had gone through. Our life had become a game of cat and mouse, hiding from the wrong people and trying to protect ourselves from the ones we loved but should have feared. If it hadn’t been for Luke, I wouldn’t have survived.

  “Thanks for keeping an eye on me . . . this time and all the others.”

  Alex dropped his arm, and he let out a breath.

  “I consider you guys like family,” he said. “I would do it even if it weren’t my job.”

  “Well, thank you.”

  He nodded and looked back at the reception in full swing.

  “You can go back. Kimberly looked like she could use some rescuing from some of the guys.” Kimberly was Luke’s assistant and one of our close friends.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “I’ll be fine. I just want a little time on the beach by myself. You can come back to spy on me in the morning. You can even stay right outside my door.” I wiggled my brows, and Alex laughed.

  “It’s a date,” he said, giving me a quick kiss on my cheek before trudging back through the sand.

  I wandered down the beach a little ways and pulled out my cell, staring at the glowing screen and debating what exactly to say to Drake. The rose was a nice touch, a good opening, but I honestly had no idea what any of it meant. The logical side of me knew nothing good was going to come of pursuing this relationship, but my heart was overruling logic and the incessant need to contact him was overwhelming.

  So I chose a simple one-liner.

  Thank you for the rose.

  Bubbles quickly appeared on the screen, and an unexpected spike of heated adrenaline soared through my system as I waited for the text.

  Mia, I didn’t send you a rose.

  The warmth from seconds before turned to a frosty chill as I glanced toward the house. A spike of fear dotted each vertebra.

  “It’s nice to see you again, Mia. I take it you enjoyed the roses.” He was bathed in the shadows of my worst nightmare.

  It was him.

  From that night.

  I went to scream, but nothing would come out as his hand wrapped around my nose. The putrid smell from a piece of cloth swirled its way through my system as my body slumped into his and I fell into a world of darkness.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Drake

  “Shit.” I stared at my phone, the shock of the message racing through me.

  Devin and I were at a diner on the island. After everything that went down, we decided we didn’t need to bump into the other group at the airport. My guess was a plane was waiting for them as well, so we were buying ourselves a little time on Nantucket.

  “What?” Devin asked as I quickly typed back a response.

  “It’s Mia. She’s in danger.” I bolted from my seat.

  Without hesitation, Devin threw enough cash on the table to take care of our bill and followed me out the door into the crisp night air.

  “Take me to Fletcher’s house. We need to warn them. There’s no way the guy would try something with a place full of people.” It was like I was trying to reassure myself of something I really didn’t believe. This guy was nuts. He might try anything, anywhere, anytime.

  I climbed into the passenger seat so my brother could drive, and I pounded my knee in frustration. I texted another message.

  I’m coming. If you’re not inside, get inside and tell your brother.

  Devin threw the car into reverse and stepped on the accelerator.

  “That guy I told you about from that night, who I thought was part of . . .”

  “What about him?”

  “He’s after Mia.”

  “How do you know?”

  I couldn’t just explain to my brother that it was a feeling. That alone wouldn’t fly, but it was the truth. The moment I got that text, I knew she was in trouble. My mind flashed to her empty apartment and the lone red rose I spotted.

  He’d been playing with her, only she didn’t know it.

  She must have thought I sent that rose to her too.

  “She sent a text thanking me for a rose I never sent.”

  “Here on the island?” he asked, turning onto a side road.

  I nodded.

  “Shit.”

  When we pulled down the long driveway, my heart rate slowed slightly. There were at least ten cars parked along the grass, and all the lights in the house were on. My brother found a spot, and I hopped out of the car before he even turned it off. Music was wafting around the house from the back, and laughter rolled through the air.

  Certain we weren’t guests Fletcher would want, I kept both hands where they could be seen and jogged along the side of the house until I reached the back. Lights that had been hung over the dance floor bobbed up and down from a slight breeze, and a group of people danced under the soft glow. I searched the crowd for Mia but didn’t see her.

  Alex spotted me and immediately paled. He ran over to me and glanced at my brother.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  “I was going to ask you that.” I looked over his shoulder. “Where’s Mia?”

  “She was on the beach. She wanted some time alone.”

  “Damn it.” I heard my brother explaining the details to him, but I didn’t stick around as I bolted toward the beach, searching for any sign of Mia. I was only met with darkness, and my heart sank.

  “Mia,” I hollered. “Mia.”

  Alex and my brother came up behind me.

  “Where’d you last see her?” I questioned, my pulse pounding through my veins.

  “Right here.” Alex shook his head. “I’ll go get Luke.”

  I nodded and took off in one direction while my brother jogged in the other.

  She had to be here. Clayton couldn’t have gotten to her with so many people around.

  But her guard was probably down.

  No.

  I wasn’t going to think like that.

  This was a long stretch of beach, and she was probably just down a little bit further.

  “Drake,” Alex called from behind.

  The tone in his voice told me everything. I spun around, somewhat unstable between the sand and the worry running through my veins. My brother was next to him, and Luke was behind them both. Even in the shadows of darkness, his expression was stern.

  I ran over to the group, feeling lightheaded just like that night when my sister . . . I forced the thought away.

  “Your brother found Mia’s cell.” Luke’s eyes were fiery as he watched my reaction.

  “Where?” Panic pressed into every cell
of my body, causing a pain so deep I didn’t know what to do.

  I couldn’t stop functioning. I needed to find her, but it felt like my arms were suddenly made of lead and my mind was a mangled mess of regret.

  Nothing else mattered but finding Mia.

  “Just a little bit from where we stood,” Alex said, no doubt gauging my reaction.

  “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” Luke demanded. “You seem to know quite a bit for stumbling onto our property.”

  I shook my head, unable to speak, unable to move. If Clayton had Mia . . .

  “A rose was delivered to Mia, and she texted my brother, thinking it was from him,” Devin began.

  “The problem is that Mia’s been getting roses for some time. She thought they were from Drake,” he continued, explaining to Luke.

  “But she was wrong,” Luke whispered. I could barely hear him over the waves, and my heart shattered for him.

  “It’s the guy from that night.” I cleared my throat.

  “How can you be sure?” Luke asked, taking a step toward me.

  “I looked at his identification that night. I looked him up. He’s a crazy son of a bitch, and our criminal justice system keeps letting him off. He becomes obsessed. He doesn’t like rejection.” I shook my head. “I should’ve taken care of him that night. I never—”

  Devin shot me a warning glance, and I turned my attention to Luke.

  “What do you know about him?” Luke asked, motioning for me to follow him to the house.

  I quickly obliged. Recognizing his bride from the photos, my stomach twisted into a sick knot.

  “What’s going on?” Hannah asked, jogging over to us.

  “Mia’s missing.”

  “Oh, no.” Her voice was low.

  “Should we call the police?” It struck me odd that no one mentioned calling the authorities. That wasn’t how we handled problems, but I expected Luke to follow protocol.

  “It’s a waste of time we don’t have,” Luke grumbled as he pushed his way through the French doors.