“Jagger’s on his way, he’ll be here in a few minutes,” Dad tells me, “Are you going to wake Mia and let her know that you’re leaving?”
“Yeah, Dylan, Roland, and Cormac should be here within fifteen minutes. Once they’re here I’m leaving. I’m going to find out what the fuck is going on and then get back here.” I’m hoping this shit will be over within an hour.
“Son, we have her covered. Find out this shit and we can end it.”
I turn on my heel and walk out of the sitting room and into our bedroom. Mia’s sitting up in bed, her gaze firmly on me. “They’ve found your mom.”
I nod. “The men are on their way, I want to make sure you’re safe while I’m gone.”
“Can I come with you?” she whispers.
I walk toward her. “No Mia, I need you to stay here.” I’m about to turn into a monster and she doesn’t need to see that shit, she doesn’t need to be in that situation. She’s safest here. I sit down on the bed beside her. “Dad’s here, Coby and Jagger are on their way.”
She glances away from me, she’s not happy at all. “Okay.”
“Mia, I need you safe and that’s you being here.”
She turns back to face me. “I know,” she confesses quietly, “I’m scared, Hudson, I can’t lose you.” Tears fall down her face.
Fuck, I pull her closer to me. “Princess, I’m going to be okay. I’m just going to have a conversation with my mom and then I’m coming home.”
She nods. “Be safe.”
“Always.” I kiss her lips. “Are you going back to sleep?”
She frowns. “No, I’m going to get dressed and sit with your dad.”
I hide my smile, she’s about to make my dad’s night. I know that when those two are together they talk about Tina. It’s her way of being close to her mom. I never thought my dad would be this involved in my life, but things have changed, he has changed. The way he treats my wife, he’s turned into a man I respect.
I wait with her while she gets dressed. “Mia, if anything happens tonight. I need you to go into my office and lock yourself in there.”
Her eyes widen but she nods immediately. “I will, I promise.”
“In the top drawer is a gun, there’s also a knife tapped under the desk.”
“Hudson,” she whispers, her entire body shaking.
“Mia, listen to me. If anything happens, go there, get a weapon and fight. This place is wired to the max. Something happens, I’m going to know about it. I’ll be here within minutes,” I promise her.
She walks over to me, her hands sliding around my waist. “Okay, but we’re going to be fine. You’re going to talk to your mom and you’re coming home,” she tells me mimicking my own words from earlier.
I kiss her nose. “That’s exactly it, Princess.”
There’s a knock at the door and dad yells, “I’ll get it.”
“They’re here. It’s time to go.” I take her hand, she interlocks her fingers with mine.
When we get to the sitting room, I see that everyone except Jagger is here. “Dylan, Cormac, Ronald, and Coby you are to be posted outside.” They instantly nod. “Once Jagger gets here, he will be posted inside of the house. Kill anyone who tries to come in.”
I kiss Mia once again and say goodbye, I need to get out of here before I change my damn mind and send dad to deal with mom. The men instantly follow me outside, as I slide into my car, they position themselves outside. Each one of them strapped and ready to go, Coby will take the lead, the man knows tactics and knows the best way to react. He’ll size up my men and instantly pinpoint their weaknesses along with their strengths and he’ll play on them.
Walking into my club, I ignore the shocked look of my bar staff. I’ve not been here in a while. It’s still not reopened yet. My staff are working hard to have it ready for reopening next week. We’re doing a big fucking relaunch, the place looks good. I have had it extended, the fire damage wasn’t as bad as it could have been but it did need a makeover. Pushing the door open that leads to the cellar, I hear Mom shouting. “Let me the fuck out of here.”
I walk down the stairs and see that David’s sitting down on the chair glaring at Mom. I’m guessing the reason David lost his wife is because of mom. I’m surprised that he’s not made her bleed. I’m not sure I’d have that much restraint if it were me in his position.
Mom sighs, “Finally. Hudson, what the hell is going on? Why am I here? Your goons haven’t said anything, they grabbed me and brought me here.”
“Where did they grab you from?” I say through clenched teeth. There’s no being nice now, she’s acting as though she’s done nothing wrong, we all know where she was taken from.
Her eyes widen. “What?” she questions glancing around the room.
“I said, where did my men take you from?”
She straightens her spine. “You already know, what I want to know is why they took me in the first place.” She raises her brow at me as though I should answer her questions.
I smirk. “This doesn’t work like that. You don’t get to ask me questions. Not when you’ve been sleeping with that asshole.”
She’s unable to mask the shock on her face. “How?”
“How did I find out?” She nods. “My men have been searching through Martin’s records. His bank accounts, his cell records, I know every little thing about him. So imagine my surprise when I find loads of calls and texts to your number. Your face on security feeds on hotel getaways you two have been on. So how long, Mom? How long has this been going on?”
She glances away unable to look me in the eye. “A while.”
“That’s not an answer Mom. How long?”
“Five years.” she whispers, turning back to face me.
I glare at her. “Five years? You made out as though Dad was the one that ended your marriage. You played the innocent victim, when you were the one that was cheating.” Disgust laces each and every word I say.
“No, your father was an asshole. He didn’t care about me, he drove me into Martin’s arms.”
“Into the arms of his son?”
Her eyes flash with anger. “I love him.”
I laugh. “You’ve given him everything he could have needed to bring me down. Tell me something, who shot you?”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Martin did.”
“So you love him but he obviously doesn’t love you.” Her eyes are almost slits now. “You don’t shoot the woman you love.”
“If he wanted to kill me, he could have done it.”
I ignore her stupid fucking comment. “You went to him willingly today?”
“Yes,” she bites out.
“Where is he now?” She glances away, fuck, she knows exactly where he is. “Mom, what the fuck is wrong with you? He’s hurt Mia, he fucking raped her and you’re helping him? You’re still fucking him?” I’m utterly disgusted, this is not the woman that raised me.
“He said he didn’t, that it wasn’t him.”
“Are you for fucking real? Mom, the asshole gave her a gift when he found out she was pregnant. He thought my son was his.” I walk up to her. “What the fuck happened to you? My mom would never allow someone to manipulate her the way he is doing.”
She looks me dead in the eye. “Your father broke me.”
“Bullshit,” I fire back. “You gave Dad as good as you got. Yes, he was an asshole and he did things he shouldn’t have, but you never once backed down. If it were dad doing this, there’s no way you’d be sticking up for him the way you are for Martin.”
Her lip trembles, I’ve hit a nerve. “What do you want, Hudson?”
I glance at David, he’s shaking his head, when I turn to Aaron he looks as though he wants to kill her. “Mom, take a look around this room.” She lifts her head and looks at them both. “Martin has killed innocent women, he has killed my men, he burned Aaron. You sit there and act as though Martin is a fucking saint. You’re crazy.”
“You want me to give him up so that you
can kill him.”
“It’s either kill him or him kill us. So yeah, when I get my hands on him I’m going to kill him, I’m going to make sure that he’s out of our lives forever. So that he won’t be able to hurt my child.”
“He’s at….”
She’s cut off with my phone beeping like crazy. My blood runs cold. That beep tells me that someone’s at my house. Taking my cell out of my pocket, I tap on the alarm. It instantly brings up footage from my house. My feet are moving as I see Coby lying on the ground outside the house. Fuck. Swiping to the right, it changes to the feed inside of the house. Martin has his gun pointed at Dad.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
Where’s Mia?
Fifteen
Mia
“You’ve never told me what your favorite memory was.” I pull the blanket up over my legs and settle in to hear his story. He always has a story to tell me, something that’s bound to make me smile.
His eyes light up, “The day we got married. Your mom looked amazing. She shone with happiness. While we married alone, you and Hudson weren’t far from our thoughts. She was a true vision as she walked down the aisle toward me. I knew in that moment that I was going to spend the rest of my life with her.”
“I saw the pictures, she really looked amazing. I don’t think I ever saw her as happy as those few weeks I spent with the two of you.” Even when she felt as though she was losing me, she was still happy with Harrison.
“Your mom wanted the best for you and she knew you were happy with Hudson, that he was the man to make you happy and love you like no other. She also knew that being with him would put you in grave danger, and it has.” He reaches for his bottle of beer, he brings it to his lips and takes a long sip. “But what your mom soon realized once we got you back was it wasn’t Hudson that put you in that danger, it was me. Who I am, what I did. She understood that no matter what happened, Hudson would do anything in his power to ensure your safety. It was then she realized that she was only hurting herself by trying to separate the two of you.”
“By then it was too late.”
He nods. “Yes, she never got to talk to you properly, but you heard her words and I know that they meant a lot to you. That would have been her biggest regret not apologizing to you both.”
“I knew she loved me, I just couldn’t understand the hatred.”
His eyes fill with sadness “It wasn’t hatred, it was confusion and jealousy. She couldn’t understand why you wouldn’t listen to her. You had grown up so much and she was jealous that you no longer needed her. It hurt her that she had lost so much time with you.”
I blink back my tears, “We both messed up. I have so many regrets when it comes to her and our relationship.”
“We all do, Mia, it’s what happens when someone is taken from us too early. We look back on things and see what we should have done differently. We use those mistakes to ensure we never make them with another loved one.” I guess that’s why he’s so determined to make amends with Hudson.
“What do you think is happening with Marline?” I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since Hudson’s left.
Harrison’s jaw clenches. “If it were up to me, I’d have her killed.” I suck in a sharp breath, he wouldn’t really kill his mom, would he? “But it’s not, it’s up to Hudson. There’s no way he’d do that to her. He’ll buy her stupid sob story.”
I knew that they hated each other, but his attitude is so cold toward her. “Don’t you believe that she was led on? Used to gain information?”
He laughs. “Marline led on? Used? No, Mia, I don’t believe it. Marline is the manipulator, she can turn every single situation around so that she looks like a victim. I laid my hands on her in anger twice. It was wrong and it was the reason why I left her, not your mom, but because together we were toxic.”
“That’s exactly how Hudson described your marriage.”
His smile is a sad one, he closes his eyes as if he’s in pain. “No child should ever see their parents as toxic. Marline turned my boy against me from a young age, I should have nipped that shit in the bud but I didn’t and that’s on me. She learned how to manipulate people from the get-go and hasn’t stopped.”
I’m shocked, Marline doesn’t come across that way.
“Mia, don’t be surprised if she’s been pulling his strings,” Harrison tells me, his eyes dark with rage.
I gasp, there’s absolutely no way that Hudson’s mom would ever hurt him like that. She knows everything that Hudson’s been through. “She wouldn’t do that to Hudson.”
“We’ll have to wait for Hudson to get back.”
“But, if she’s as manipulative as you say, he won’t see it.”
He shakes his head. “No, when Hudson left here this evening, he was determined to get the truth. He’s not going to let her manipulate him.”
I’m glad that Harrison’s so sure about it because I’m not. I have no idea what to think, I’m utterly confused as to what’s going on. I’m doubting everything I ever thought about Marline and I don’t even know if she’s guilty of passing on information to Martin.
The fine hairs on the back of my neck stand up as a shrill beeping fills the air. Harrison’s up on his feet with a gun in his hand within seconds. “Mia, Hudson told you what to do. Do it,” he instructs, his eyes on me, pleading with me to do as he says.
I’m frozen to the spot when gunshots ring out.
“Mia go. Now,” he yells at me.
My feet take me to Hudson’s office, as I place my hand on the door handle, I turn to see Harrison staring at me. I don’t want to leave him but I know that I need to. “Be safe,” I tell him and walk into the office.
As soon as I lock the door behind me, I run behind his desk. I fumble with the drawer, Hudson told me to get the gun. As soon as my hand grips the butt, I pull it from the drawer and crawl under the desk. My entire body is shaking, but I do as Hudson tells me and take the knife that’s taped under the desk and grip it in my hand.
“Where is she?” I whimper at that voice, it’s so full of rage.
“She’s not here. You’re not going to find her,” Harrison tells him and I scoot further under the desk and bring my knees to my chest. God, please Hudson, come home.
“She’s carrying my child. You can’t hide her from me.”
Harrison’s laugh is sarcastic and I cringe, he’s going to make things worse. “She’s not carrying your baby. Even if she were, do you honestly believe that we’d let you anywhere near her?”
“So she is having my baby,” My eyes widen at Martin’s words.
“No, you fucking moron, she’s carrying Hudson’s baby.” Harrison’s really not making things any better.
“Where is she?” he asks once again.
My heart’s beating faster than ever before. I won’t let him take me this time. Never again.
“Martin, Mia isn’t the one you want. Hell, Hudson’s not the one you’re angry with.” Harrison’s voice has lost that edge to it, his tone very similar to the one that he uses with Hudson.
“Yes, I am fucking angry with Hudson. He’s taken everything that should have been mine, including my baby.” Martin isn’t calming down, he seems to get more agitated with every word that Harrison says.
“No, he hasn’t, Mia was pregnant when you took her. You kidnapped and raped a pregnant woman.” Harrison has a bite to his tone. “Martin, you hurt her. Why?”
“Why?” he asks incredulously. “Because she was his.”
“Is, not was. She is Hudson’s, she’s his wife, the mother of his child. Mia is the love of his life. He had no idea who you were to him, and yet he treated you like a brother. What did Hudson ever do to deserve everything you’ve done to him?”
Oh God, why is Harrison asking this? He should have waited until help had got here. Anything could make Martin kill him, I can’t lose someone else I care about, I’ve already lost so much.
“He has everything, I have nothing.”
“Bull
shit.” I close my eyes, not wanting to hear anymore, it’s as though he’s taunting Martin. “You had your parents, you had this family, you had everything you ever wanted.”
“I never had you.” Martin screams and my heart breaks for him. “You never wanted me. Henry told me, he said he was the reason that I was brought into the fold, not because you wanted me but because he wanted me.” His voice is small, he reminds me of a little boy who’s lost. Right now, I can’t help but feel for him. It must have been hard for him to be around Harrison and not have the relationship that most fathers and sons have.
“No, you never had me. I was young and stupid when your mom and I had an affair. She returned to her life, married your father and I returned to mine and this organization. You had a family, why the fuck are you pissed that I never wanted you? Have you not seen my life? How fucked up it is?”
“You are my father and you acted to the entire world as though I was nothing but a fucking grunt. You and Hudson expect the utmost respect and yet you couldn’t pay me the same. I am entitled to the respect that you both have. I have the Brady blood running through my veins.”
Harrison laughs and I cringe. “You think it’s the Brady name that means you deserve respect? You think that because Hudson is my son that’s why he gets the respect? Hudson earned his respect before he became boss, he earned the respect of those around him by the way he carried himself, by protecting me, protecting my men. You were there, you witnessed him putting a bullet in Jonathan's head when he pulled a gun on me. Hudson was fifteen and he was the quickest to his gun, quickest to react.”
“So fucking what? Anyone could have done that.” He sounds bitter and this conversation is getting them nowhere, Harrison isn’t going to act any differently toward him.
Forever Love (Kingpin Book 3) Page 13
