Dark Thief (The Two Sides of Me Book 2)

by Garcia, Amy Lynn

  “Place For My Head”

  Linkin Park

  They aren’t special, no not special, not better than me. The gods have chosen me to be their leader, I am special. They tell me I am all the time, all the time every day, yes they do. Look at him, pretty boy, thinks he’s perfect, they both do, but I will show him. I will show her too, and the new one, she is pretty with her golden hair, I like her, she is good, and she can stay. She will live. Dark hair means darkness is inside, golden hair is goodness. But not them, no they are evil, bad, killers, poison. They say I’m different, damaged, but they are the ones who are bad. I am special not different, glory be to Bridgette! I’m supposed to get rid of them, gone, gone, gone, they have to be gone, the gods told me so. Nobody wanted me, they didn’t know, didn’t know I was special and now they are gone and I can’t tell them. They loved that evil monster and his temptress sister, I was locked away, but I’m here now, watching them. I see the smoke that surrounds them, evil seeping out, the animals talk to me and even they know, they know the world is ready for their queen but it can’t happen until these two devils are dead.

  Now it is so easy, he is sleeping and that machine breathes for him, switch it off, easy, off, off, off, switch it off! But the good one guards him, she doesn’t know he is bad, she should know. Why don’t the gods tell her? I am the messenger that’s why, and the queen must deliver the news to the pretty one, she needs to be saved. She won’t leave his side though, why does she protect the corrupt one? I will wait for the evil temptress to come, together, yes they can die together and the people in my head will be proud and quiet, I want them to be quiet. When it’s over they will love me more than any queen in history, me, Bridgette the queen, yes I like that, I like that very much.

  Isaac has gone and Evan’s nurse brought a cot for me to sleep on in the room. I can’t let go of his hand, I know I will have to at some point, I already have to pee so bad it hurts. I should really go and check on David, he’s in bad shape according to Isaac. Broken nose, fractured skull, internal bleeding, my God Evan must have been an animal to do that much damage in such a short amount of time. A shiver runs up my spine at the thought of so much violence, but something else is bothering me. I can’t decide exactly what it is, but the sensation that something isn’t right is there.

  Well fuck yea Mia, nothing is right, in fact something right would stick out like a sore thumb. I hold his hand up to my lips and kiss his palm, please come back to me I beg with my thoughts but it’s pointless right now, he may as well sleep until David is well. I have some serious damage control to do if I’m going to keep David on board. I only know one way to keep him interested in doing Evan’s surgery without killing him in the process. I don’t want to, in fact it makes my skin crawl but I’m going all the way, doing anything to save Evan.

  Even if I have to make another man believe I’m in love with him, it has to be done. The idea makes me physically nauseous, or maybe I have a little hang over, I don't know. Whatever it takes, I’ll do it, God willing no one is killed when it’s all over, and after seeing the aftermath of his wrath tonight I have no doubt Evan would kill anyone who put their hands on me. So he will never know, in fact the only person I can trust is Isaac. I can’t hurt him by allowing him to believe I’ve betrayed his friend.

  I’m more and more curious about the strong feelings Isaac has for Evan, I know he loves him, he’s told me in those exact words but I wonder again and again if its brotherly love or intimate love. I’m just going to ask, we’re close enough now and I believe I have the right to know, or at least the right to ask. “Mia?” A soft knock on the door and a familiar voice pulls me from my thoughts. “Gabriella! Oh my God I’m glad you’re here.” Evan’s gorgeous leggy twin sister crosses the room in three long strides and standing over me she hugs my head to her tummy and I gratefully grab on tight.

  “Oh Mia, what has he done? What on earth happened?” I pull away from the soft material of her sweater and see that she isn’t alone, Simone is right behind her. He gives me a knowing look, they have been keeping Evan’s secret too and now they know I know. I wonder if they would have ever told me. “Would you like the abridged version?” “Sure, just tell me what’s going on.” “He freaked out on the physician who’s supposed to do his surgery and almost beat him to death, there, abridged.”

  Gabriella heaves a deep sigh and moves to the opposite side of the bed to look down at my crazy beautiful man. “Oh, Evan, why are you so self-destructive?” she asks knowing she’ll likely never get an answer. “Mia, have they spoken to you about his condition?” Simone asks as he takes Gabriella’s former spot next to me and lays his hand on my shoulder. I can’t tell if he’s asking to get information or to confirm that I know what he’s already learned. “I haven’t spoken to a doctor, Isaac told me he was in a coma.” I’m not talking about this in front of Evan, he can hear me, of that I’m completely sure. I don’t need him getting any ideas that this is a hopeless situation, because it’s not, there is always a chance, always. I get that prickly feeling again, the hairs on my arms stand up and a little palpation of anxiety flows from head to foot, what’s going on with me?

  I’m used to being watched all the time, until this happened. Evan’s no longer a threat, well as long as he stays unconscious at least. Isaac and Mr. Saint are getting a break, but I still feel exposed, vulnerable somehow. I glance over my shoulder at the door to Evan’s room, we have been moved to an ICU room. Similar to the ones I work in back home, there are glass windows covering one side of the room so the patient can be seen at all times from the small nursing station outside the door. I don’t see anyone or anything out of order. I’m probably just tired, it’s getting light outside and I’ve had zero sleep. “Can we talk outside Mia?” “No Simone, I’m not leaving him.” “I’ll stay with him honey, go ahead and talk to Simone.” Gabriella encourages. “I said no. I’m not leaving until he wakes up.” I continue to stare at Evan mentally begging him to let me see those green scowling eyes and bless me with one of his trademark smirk/winks. God I need to see that right now.

  I catch the two of them out of the corner of my eye, looking at each other, they think I’ve gone off the deep end and maybe I have. “Ok, well can you tell me why he was trying to kill your doctor friend?” Gabriella asks. “He told me who Evan is, or was, I fainted and David caught me, Evan overreacted, end of story.” I’m being rude but I’m so fucking tired and I know this is just the beginning of a long vigil. I have so much to process, my mind is flooded with thoughts of how I’m going to deal with the past of a man who isn’t that man anymore. How do you come to grips and accept a person’s faults when even they aren’t fully aware of who they are or what they’ve done? I need to sleep, I need to be alone. “Mia can I get you anything? Do you need anything from the house?” Simone is kind, Gabriella is lucky to have him, a spark of jealousy surprises me, why can’t things be easier for us. I can’t imagine a more difficult situation for a couple.

  My phone vibrates in my pocket bringing me back to the hospital room, its mom, shit. How does she always know when something’s wrong? Isaac. He’s worried about me and I’ll bet he asked her to make sure I’m ok, which I’m not. “Um, no Simone. Isaac has gone for my things.” I answer the phone. “Mom? Can you hold on a sec?” My mother tries to object but I cover the speaker with my thumb. “You both can do something for me though, could you look after the kittens Evan bought for me yesterday? They are shut in our bedroom, probably tearing the place up. They will need food and someone to play with until we come home.”

  Bug eyed, mouth agape Gabriella is shocked. “Um, ok. He bought you kittens?” “Yes, Yes and No.” I answer. “What?” They say in unison. “Their names, Yes and No.” Mom is yelling at me to answer her, I let up my thumb. Mom just a minute! “So will you…take care of them?” I ask again. “Yes and No?” Simone asks. “Yes.” I answer. “And No?” “What?” I’m dizzy with this stupid conversation and bordering on pissed.” “Gabby, the kittens are named Yes an
d No, get it?” “Oh, ok, yes.” Fucking finally! Gabriella bends down to look closer at her twin brother, she inhales and I think she’s going to say something to him but she doesn’t, instead she lays her hand over his heart for a moment and then looks up at me. “Wake him up Mia.” She’s resolute, serious. “I will.”

  Simone takes that as a cue to leave, rounding the bed and taking her hand he leads her away. “We’ll take care of the cats, don’t worry about them.” Simone says. Gabriella turns back to me as he escorts her from the room as if she’s remembered something. “Did you know he’s allergic? To cats I mean? I can’t believe he bought you cats.” She says, her voice trailing off and her face expressionless. Simone rubs her back and gently moves her toward the door and she looks back at me again. I recognize that look, she’s lost too. Like me she’s attempting to put puzzle pieces from many different puzzles together, it’s an impossible, confusing undertaking. I shake my head no to answer her and they are gone.

  “Mia! Mia, what. is. going. on??” Oh, shit my mom, I almost forgot her! I release my thumb. “I’m here Mom, sorry.” “Good lord Mia, Isaac called, he said Evan’s in the hospital again, is he ok? What’s going on over there, do I need to come? Is it serious? How many hours is a flight to Italy anyway?” Closing my eyes I inhale deeply to gather patience and strength and begin to repeat tonight’s events…again, leaving out the part about Evan’s involvement with an Italian mob. My mother believes Evan hung the moon, her impression of him is so warped. She’d flip her shit if she knew the whole truth. She’s not satisfied with my story, I can tell, but we say goodbye and hang up, I wouldn't be surprised to see her here within the next 48 hours, that’s just my mom.

  “Mia?” It’s Isaac, I recognize his smell, clean like soap, just regular soap nothing fancy. It’s nice. I’ve fallen to sleep on Evan’s arm and in turn both of mine are numb. “Mmhmm?” Is all I can manage. “I brought your things, why don’t you go lay on the cot, I’ll sit with him.” “Ok, thank you.” I haven’t moved my ass from this seat in hours and my bladder is protesting. We switch spots and Isaac eyes me as I head out to the public restroom down the hall. I can’t believe I’m leaving him but there aren’t bathrooms attached to the ICU rooms. Groggy with sleep that sensation returns, I feel watched and uneasy.

  If I can just pee, brush my teeth and get back to Evan I’d be able to sleep. But as I move past the glass windows of each room the nurse in me draws my eyes to the patients. I stop abruptly three doors down from Evan’s room, my legs turn to lead rooted on the spot, its David. My god he looks gruesome. They haven’t had or taken the time to clean him up, he still has blood caked in his hair, stained down his neck. Nobody is here for him, he was visiting like us, because of us. A minuscule part of me feels sorry for him. I don’t believe he came here with the intention of protecting me from Evan though.

  No he came here to take me away from him. I’ve given it a few moments of thought, why would he tell me about Evans past? He has no ties to me, no responsibility to keep me safe, hell we only knew each other from brief encounters at the hospital, the same way I know any doctor. This is personal, either he’s developed some interest in me personally or he’s being paid by someone to ruin Evan’s life. Two conclusions and neither of them are honorable. I drag myself to the bathroom and get on with my business.

  Someone else is in here but she’s not doing much moving in her stall, I sense her though, hear her breathing, and it’s kind of eerie. I hustle through brushing my teeth and when I pass the stall that I suspect someone is in I can’t help but glance at the closed door. “You are good you know?” A voice comes from the stall startling me, is she talking to me? “Excuse me? Are you talking to me?” “Yes. You don’t have the dark smoke.” She needs a smoke? What the hell? This is a hospital? “Um, I don’t smoke, sorry.” No response, just humming and muttering that I can’t make out.

  This feels wrong on so many levels, I need to get out of here. This lady is making me very uncomfortable. Back in Evan’s room I close the door and begin to close all of the blinds quickly. I don’t want weird bathroom lady looking into our fishbowl, if I could lock the door I would. “What’s up Mia?” “Isaac, have you felt like someone has been watching us since we’ve been here? I mean I know you’re usually the watcher and you don’t have to do that anymore, but I still feel it. Not the protective watched feeling though, this feels, well, it feels off.”

  I’ve collapsed with my back against the door, exhausted but having an adrenaline rush from the crazy bathroom lady. Isaac quietly crosses the room and takes my hand pulling me from the door. No words spoken, his actions speak for him as he leads me to the neatly made cot by the window and draws back the covers. “Sleep Mia, Evan would want you to sleep. I’ll be here with him, I promise not to leave his side. And nobody’s watching you but me honey.” “You won’t go to the bathroom? Because there is a crazy lady in the bathroom. She wants a cigarette.” He bites his lip to repress a laugh “No, I won’t go to the bathroom, and I doubt that lady would be in the men’s room anyway.”

  Rolling my eyes I curl up on the cot and Isaac tucks me in and digs into a bag he brought from the house to retrieve my sleeping pills. He opens the bottles hands me the correct dose with a Styrofoam cup of water from the bedside table... “Why are you so nice to me?” I don’t know where that came from exactly, I think I’m suffering the effects of massive stress and sleep deprivation. “Mia, you’re my friend, and Evan loves you so I have to make sure you’re safe and sound for him.” “Are you gay, Isaac?” Since I’m blurting things out I figure I may as well take advantage of the situation and find out. He raises his brows high and jerks his neck back in disbelief. I think he’s going to be angry at first until he throws his head back and roars with laughter!

  My first impulse is to check and make sure Evan hasn’t been disturbed, but of course he lays still in his bed. Isaac quiets and takes a seat next to me on my cot. “Oh God honey, no, I’m not gay. Quite the opposite actually. I’m a little shocked you had to ask though, I must need to up my game a little.” I feel a warm blush of embarrassment creep up my neck and I’m glad the covers are pulled up. “You just, well, you love Evan so much I thought maybe…” He smiles down at me and tucks a strand of my wild hair behind my ear. “I love Evan, but not that way. I love him like a brother, a fucked up brother but yea he’s done a lot for me and I’ll be in his debt forever.” What happens next takes me totally by surprise, Isaac leans down and kisses me on the forehead and then whispers in my ear.

  “If he hadn’t fallen for you I would have given you my best try Mia.” Well, fucking hell I’ve gone from thinking Isaac was gay to knowing he had a thing for me before Evan even saw me! “No worries though honey, you’ve become my family, I love you like a sister and I’d never, ever do anything to hurt that man over there, you’re his heart, his soul. You gave his black heart a jump start and I need you to do it again.” I nod in agreement. “Ok, sleep, I have important things to go over with you when you wake up.” “Ok, night Isaac. Oh and Isaac?” “Yea?” “Thank you for loving him.” “You’re welcome.” “Mia?” “Yes?” “Thank you for loving him.” “You’re welcome.” My heavy lids slide shut, darkness consumes me and I fall instantly into a blessed dreamless sleep.

  Chapter 34

  “Don’t Wake Me”

  Robots Don’t Sleep

  Sleep is the healer of all things, my mom used to say that. I think she was wrong. I’m really sick of watching Evan sleep. The first time he was comatose and I cared for him I hadn’t met him yet, this time it’s torture sitting here hour after hour, helpless. We’ve been taking shifts for the past 3 days and I’ve seen no improvement. His nurse has the easiest job on the unit, I bathe, position and talk to him, read and play music for him, and she merely gives him meds and charts what I do. But this is how I want it, no one touches him but me. I’ve been learning about the business aspects of Dominus from Isaac. I’m not making any decisions, Evan trusts Isaac and so do I.

&nbs
p; Then there’s David, he’s recovering as well as can be expected and he’s pissed. He refuses to see me but I make an attempt every day anyway. If he is really interested in me and that’s what this is all about then he’ll come around and I’ll be here when he does. Gabriella is on her way with dinner, she’s been spoiling me with homemade Italian food. Evan’s not the only one who learned a thing or two from Aunt Sophia and Gabriella is determined to fatten me up.

  A quick rap on the door and she’s bursting into the room carrying insulated food bags and chatting a mile a minute. “How’s he doing tonight? Do you like ziti? I hope you do, I’ve brought a lot of it.” She seems nervous with her bustling around and that makes me suspicious. “What’s going on Gabby?” She continues to busy herself, taking things out of bags she arranges things a little too perfectly, never looking me in the eye. “Nothing, I’m just checking up on my brothers’ condition and bringing you food, nothing’s going on.”

  Still no eye contact, something is defiantly going on, she’s a sucky liar. “Gabby, look at me. I repeat, what is going on?” She finally raises her eyes to mine and sighs. “I have something I need to talk to you about and I know you’re going to be, oh I don’t know, surprised?” She tilts her head in question when she says surprised like she’s hoping that’s all I’ll be. “Spill, just tell me.” “Let’s sit down, maybe have a little dinner before we…” “No Gabriella, I’m not eating until you tell me what it is you have to say.” Setting down the silverware she had been arranging she smoothes her unwrinkled skirt and nervously begins.

  “Mia, when you signed all of those papers last week did you happen to read any of them?” “Well, no. I listened to the lawyers and signed what Evan put in front of me, why?” “None of them? You didn’t even look at them?” I’m starting to get irritated, I told her I didn’t, what the hell is she getting at? I knew I should have at least skimmed over each document but there were so many, and I trusted Evan. “No, I didn’t take the time to read 75 plus, long, dull legal forms. Is there something wrong?” She sits down when Evan’s nurse arrives to hang a new bag of IV fluids and we wait quietly until she’s finished and gone. “All right Mia, I don’t know how to tell you this, there is just no good way. One of those papers was really important. Evan had you sign a…” She pauses to look over at her brother and cringing back to me she spits it out. “A marriage license.”