Mia
Cole Steel could have been sixty—he wasn’t, but he could have passed for it—or he could have been ninety. I wasn’t really sure how old he was, but it was somewhere in between. I doubted anyone really knew his age, even him half the time.
Even at his age, he was a good-looking man. A silver fox, as Momma had called him plenty of times. Women of every age acted like they wanted to hump his leg, and many of them did if given the chance. It was sick and pathetic the way they clawed and begged and cried whenever a horde of chicks saw him.
One such horde was waiting outside the hotel when the limo pulled up in front of it. Cole had two members of his own security to help us through the pack of wild beasts, holding the crowd back. Braxton was on edge until we made it into the hotel, but it wasn’t until we got up to the huge presidential suite that he finally started to relax.
“I’ve got a party I need to get to, pretty girl,” Cole told Nevaeh not two minutes after we got settled. “Order room service. Order a movie. Do whatever you want, but do not leave this suite.”
Nevaeh blinked up at him behind her huge glasses. “Okay, PopPop,” she said with a smile. “Have fun. Will we see you for breakfast?”
“Probably not,” he said with a shudder. Mornings were not Cole’s thing. “You three be good if you go sight-seeing. Take security with you, or your mom will skin me alive. And your dad will hold me down while she does it. We’ll leave for the event tomorrow night at six.”
“Okay. Goodnight.”
“Night, pretty girl.” He kissed the top of her head, hugged me, then threw a salute at Braxton on his way out the door.
As soon as the door was closed behind him, Nevaeh had the phone in her hand. “What do you two want to eat? I was thinking pizza, steak, burgers, and every dessert on the menu.”
“Yes, please!” I laughed as I flopped down on the couch beside Braxton.
“Brax, what do you want on your pizza?” Nevaeh asked.
“Whatever. I’m not picky.” He was playing with his phone, not even looking at her, something he hadn’t done much of since we’d gotten on the plane back in Virginia.
It was like it was impossible for him to look right at her, and I found it beyond weird. He normally met a person’s gaze every time he spoke to them, giving them his full attention. Yet when he did that to Nev, he reacted as if he were in physical pain.
I loved Braxton, but if he hurt Nevaeh’s feelings, I was going to kick his ass.
“Pickles and anchovies, it is, then,” she said tartly, standing there eyeballing him like she wanted to stab him in the throat with a fork.
His head snapped up, and she wasn’t quick enough to hide what she was thinking. Pink filled her cheeks, but she didn’t look away from him. Instead, she just smirked when his jaw dropped, and then he laughed.
“Okay, I’m sorry,” he said as he tossed his phone onto the couch between us. “I will eat anything on my pizza with the exception of pickles and anchovies. Anything else, please.”
While she ordered us enough food to feed an army, I grabbed my phone. I’d sent Barrick a message when we’d landed, along with one to my mom and another to my dad.
I still hadn’t gotten a reply from Barrick about my earlier message assuring him we’d landed and were on our way to the hotel. I hadn’t heard from Daddy either, but Momma had replied almost immediately, telling me to have a good time with Nevaeh.
I felt a little bad about this trip since Daddy was in Georgetown with the other Demons to promote their new album that was about to come out, but he’d told me not to worry about it. Which made me wonder if I was going to see him soon anyway with my birthday coming up.
Momma was back in California with Jagger, who was doing some young celebrity cameo on a popular kids’ show. He was really eating up his new fame from his and Cannon Cage’s music career. Not that I could blame him. I’d eaten up my own fame in the dance world when I was at the top. I hadn’t let it go to my head, though. Momma would have thrown a fit if I’d done that.
Me: Hope your meeting went well. About to eat my weight in room service food. Brax is being weird with Nev. Just FYI…I might punch him in the balls if he doesn’t start acting like himself. Miss you. xo
The message went unread, and I tossed my phone aside, disgusted with myself for caring that he wasn’t watching his phone as anxiously as I was just to have some kind of contact with him.
Hanging up the phone, Nevaeh walked over to the minifridge and grabbed us each a drink since it was already stocked. As she sat down beside me, her phone rang and she made a face, but her eyes lit up with love. “It’s Daddy,” she muttered. “He can’t go ten minutes without checking in.”
I snatched the phone out of her hand and answered it with a grin. “Hey!” I greeted Uncle Drake. “I kinda miss you.”
His deep chuckle was music to my ears. “I kinda miss you too, kid. How was your flight?”
“Cole snored the whole way from Virginia. I told him he should see a doctor about it, but he said his snoring helps keep his voice hoarse.” I rolled my eyes.
“Yeah, Angel says the same thing whenever he falls asleep on our couch. What’s my girl doing? You two getting into trouble?”
“Not yet. Figured we would hold off until tomorrow on that kind of fun. Right now, we’re about to pig out on room service food. What about you? Causing trouble with my dad? Uncle Shane climbing the walls yet because Harper isn’t there?”
“Getting there,” he said tiredly. “I’m ready for this weekend to be over, myself.”
I heard voices in the background, and my heart ached from missing my family. They were low, but I could pick out Uncle Jesse’s voice, then Uncle Shane’s laugh. Daddy’s followed…
Then one more.
One that had the small hairs on my body standing to attention because I knew that laugh. It was one I would recognize anywhere.
But it didn’t make sense. Why would Barrick be with my dad and uncles?
Breathing in slowly, I asked my uncle to hold on a second. Before he could comment, I hit the mute button and looked straight at Braxton. “Who is Barrick’s meeting with?”
He shrugged. “No clue.”
“Liar,” I whispered and jumped to my feet so I could glare down at him. “What the fuck is going on?”
A vein began to pulse in his neck, but other than that, he gave no outward sign that he was upset. That vein, though, that was plenty enough for me to know that something was definitely going on.
“Mia, I don’t know. He didn’t tell me anything about his meeting.”
“Yeah, right,” I said with a roll of my eyes. But I wasn’t in the mood to be lied to. Unmuting the call, I hit the speakerphone. “Uncle Drake?” I greeted in a sugary-sweet voice.
“Everything all right?” he asked, sounding concerned. “Nev okay?”
“I’m good, Daddy,” she assured her father from where she was still sitting on the couch, but she was watching me with trepidation in her blue-gray eyes and a frown puckering her brow.
“I texted my dad earlier. Could you tell him we made it okay? We have to go now, but Nev will call you tomorrow.” I already had my own phone in hand once again, pulling up my mother’s contact information.
“O-kay,” he said, his tone never changing. “Love you, girls.”
“Love you, Daddy,” Neveah called.
“Love you,” I muttered and tossed the phone in her direction after disconnecting.
“What’s going on?” my cousin demanded.
I crossed to where Braxton was sitting and snatched his phone from his hand before he could even blink. I didn’t want to look at it, but I didn’t want him trying to call Barrick either. Not until I knew what was going on, damn it.
“Mia,” he started, his entire body tensing. “Just calm down. I don’t know what’s going through your head right now, but—”
“But nothing. Just be quiet for a second.” I started pacing as I hit connect on my phone’s screen.
“Hey, baby girl!” Momma greeted cheerfully.
“Why the fuck is my boyfriend meeting with Daddy and the uncles?” I demanded.
There was a short, surprised pause on her end, followed by, “Okay, excuse you. I don’t appreciate your tone or you cursing at me, young lady. And second, what boyfriend?”
Shit, I’d forgotten I hadn’t told her about Barrick. I’d been keeping quiet about our relationship because I didn’t want her to go diving into his background and trying to break us up if she didn’t like what she found.
“Hey, Momma, um…guess what? I kind of have a boyfriend. His name is Barrick—Charles Barrick, to be specific.”
“What?” she whispered, sounding winded.
“Ugh, that doesn’t even matter right now. I just heard him in the background when Uncle Drake called. He couldn’t come to New York with me this weekend because he supposedly had a meeting. Why is he meeting with Daddy?”
“Mia…calm your ass down and think for a minute here. If I didn’t know about you having a gods damn boyfriend, why would your father?” she snapped, and I knew she was in full-on firedragon mode.
She was right.
“Why would he know…?” I repeated, feeling just as out of breath as she’d been earlier.
“You stay where you are. Don’t move. I mean it. I’m going to do some digging and will call you back. Probably from the plane.”
“Momma, what’s going on?” I asked, my voice sounding weak, and I suddenly felt like a scared, brokenhearted little girl.
“I honestly don’t know, Mia. But trust me, I’m about to find out. Barrick, you said his name is? Why does that sound so familiar?” she muttered to herself before the line went silent, and I realized she’d hung up on me.
“Fuck,” I heard Braxton groan and turned my confused gaze on him. “I told him.”
“Told him what?” Neveah demanded. “What in the actual hell is going on? What did I miss?”
“Barrick was there,” I told her in a choked voice. “I heard his laugh.”
“Where? With my dad?” I nodded, and her eyes widened. “But I thought I was the only one who knew you even have a boyfriend.”
“You are…were. Whatever. They obviously know. Why else would he be having a ‘meeting’ with them?” I clutched my phone to my chest with one hand and clenched the other around Braxton’s phone.
Only for the damn thing to vibrate with an incoming text.
Looking down at it, I felt my knees go weak.
Barrick: Meeting going better than expected. Mission is over. We don’t have to pretend anymore.
“Pretend,” I breathed, my eyes glued to that last sentence.
We don’t have to pretend anymore.
Twin tears fell from my eyes before I could blink them back as I looked at Braxton. “Pretend to what?”
“Mia…” Blowing out a frustrated exhale, he lifted his hands in a pleading gesture. “It’s not what it seems.”
“What isn’t? What was he—you—” I shut my mouth and squeezed my eyes closed, trying to gain control of myself. “What were you pretending, Brax?”
“No way, asshole,” Nevaeh suddenly snarled. I snapped my eyes open to find her on his lap, holding him down with her weight as she straddled his legs and pressed him down into the couch, keeping him from standing. “Answer her.”
Braxton’s throat bobbed for a second until his head dropped back onto the couch and he closed his eyes. “I’ll explain everything. Just get off me. Please, kitten.”
His voice was so quiet and strained, I barely heard him. After only a small hesitation, Nevaeh got up, but she didn’t move away. She stood over him, her eyes narrowed like I’d seen her mother do many times over the years right before she struck out with her razor-sharp tongue.
“Barrick isn’t who you think he is,” Braxton said after a moment.
I wanted to scream and shout, “Then who the fuck is he?”, but my phone rang, and I answered it before he could go on.
“Mia?” Momma sounded out of breath, and then I heard Jagger grumbling in the background and a door slamming. “Listen to me. I need you to know, I knew nothing about this. Do you hear me? I knew nothing.”
“Didn’t know about what?” I whimpered.
“Charles Seller’s stepson is Charles Barrick Junior.” I blinked. Her security expert? That Seller? But she didn’t give me the chance to ask. “Charles Barrick Senior was Seller’s best friend and business partner. The son is supposed to inherit everything once Seller retires.”
“Wh-what?” I knew she was giving me answers, but they weren’t making sense to me.
“I don’t know what’s been going on, but I can guess. Gods, I should have questioned it when Nik stopped pouting about my letting you go to college without bodyguards. But I was just glad not to be arguing about it anymore, so I didn’t look too hard at it at the time.”
“Momma, please,” I told her as I wiped my wet eyes with the back of my hand while still clutching Braxton’s phone. “My head is all over the place, and I don’t know which way is up right now. Please dumb it down for me.”
“Barrick works for his stepfather as a security operative, learning the company inside out until he eventually takes over the business. My guess is that your dad hired this guy to be your security at college without either of us knowing.”
“The mission is over,” I breathed, my gaze locking with Braxton’s tortured one, and I felt physically sick. “They don’t have to pretend anymore.”
It made complete sense now.
“Mia?” Momma’s voice sounded strained, and I realized she’d been speaking but I hadn’t heard a word of what she’d said. “Mia!”
“I-I’m here.”
“I chartered a jet. I’ll be in New York before the sun comes up. Just stay there at the hotel with Cole and don’t go anywhere.”
“Cole went out.”
“Of course he did,” she groused. “Who is there with you, then?”
“Nev and Braxton.”
“And that would be?”
“B-Barrick’s cousin.”
“Put him on the phone,” she commanded, and even though I was hurting, I suddenly felt sorry for the guy I thought was my friend.
But was he, though?
I didn’t know anymore.
I didn’t know anything.
Crossing to him, I held out the phone. “She wants to speak to you.”
Sighing heavily, he took the phone and cautiously lifted it to his ear. “Hello? Mrs. Armstrong?”
His jaw clenched, and I knew whatever she was saying to him wasn’t pretty, but she kept her voice quiet so I wasn’t able to overhear any of the one-sided conversation.
“Yes, ma’am. I understand. No, ma’am. I won’t let anyone in or out of the suite until you arrive. No.” He sighed again. “I knew, but I didn’t agree with it. This was just supposed to be another job for me and Lyla…”
“Lyla, too?” I clenched my eyes closed, my heart taking another direct hit.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll take care of her.” Braxton continued to speak to Momma.
I felt a gentle arm come around my shoulders, and all I wanted was to curl into a ball and let Nevaeh hold me until my mom got there. But I couldn’t let myself fall apart.
“I’m going to take a shower,” I announced as I opened my eyes. I suddenly felt dirty, tainted.
“Mia,” Braxton started, but I held up my hands and shook my head.
“Save it. I don’t want to hear your version of the truth any longer. Knowing what I know now, I don’t trust you to be honest anyway.”