Chapter 54

James

James picked up his phone on the second ring. He noted it was Cole Packer. As usual, the guy was impressively fast where his job was concerned.

“Cole,” he greeted, leaning back in the leather chair and staring off at the exquisite scenery of Las Vegas beyond the floor-to-ceiling window of his office.

“Hey, boss,” Cole said from the other end of the line. “Mia Donovan’s resignation from that restaurant is all sorted.” He paused. “You should have seen the bastard. Damn, but he’s a wuss.”

James didn’t miss the hard edge he had heard from the other man’s voice. He didn’t doubt Cole had had quite a bit of fun while he had been on the job, despite he had never shown that outward appearance to anyone. Well, intimidation was his specialty, after all, what with the bald head, a dark permanent scowl on his face, and a massive, muscular build with the height that was over six foot five. Cole Packer was a muscular giant and was dubbed the “Angry Bear” within the circles of his workmates. Cole had been a boxer in his previous profession, and since that department went sour after some injury, he had become one of James’ best men.

“You didn’t cause too much trouble, I hope?” James warned, knowing Cole was notorious for causing a shitload of damage when he was particularly passionate during a business dealing.

Cole waved James’ concern aside. “Don’t worry. Like I said, the bastard is a wuss. He literally peed his pants the moment he saw me.” He went quiet for a moment. His voice was hard and dark when he said, “Mia Donovan is all clear. That girl. What a mess.”

James frowned. “What’s a mess?”

“Mia Donovan,” Cole said. “I don’t know how she could have put up with such a bastard. Honestly, I don’t. I know I wouldn’t. I know a lot of people wouldn’t. If it were me in her situation, I’d beat that fuckhead into a pulp.”

James kept quiet. He knew it was best to let Cole have his rant about his passionate subjects. Apparently, Mia Donovan’s previous working life was now one of those.

James wondered how Cole would react if he were to meet Mia in person. The man had a soft spot for cute, vulnerable creatures, after all, despite what he looked like and what his job was. And Mia Donovan was that cute, vulnerable creature. On top of that, she had also had a pretty shitty life and had been treated poorly and unfairly, not to mention had been molested by an uncle during her tender years. Yes. Those were Cole’s other passionate subjects: tortured creatures being cruelly treated and left to fend for themselves.

James didn’t doubt if Cole were going to meet Mia, the man would treat her like one of his beloved kittens, dote on her, and would protect her with his life.

Cole went on. “She works from eight in the morning until eleven at night with only a half-hour break for lunch and dinner. That’s fucking fifteen hours a day. That’s not legal. And she got paid minimum wage for eight hours a day. The other seven she got paid ten bucks an hour, and those were under the table.” He growled. “That’s fucking illegal, you know, boss. I talked to one of the waitresses. The woman said Mia got treated the worst because she refused him. He was fucking harassing her, you know that?”

James gritted his teeth. Fuck! No! He did not know that. First the uncle and now the restaurant owner too?

“That poor girl,” Cole said. He sounded a little deflated after his ranting, as if he had finally let off some steam. But James knew better. The only way for Cole to let off some steam was a good fight in the ring where the opponent was severely beaten into a pulp.

“And the uncle?” James asked. This bastard, this Uncle Herbert, was what he worried most about. He needed to get the man’s attention and set him straight where Mia was concerned. It was for Mia’s sake.

James noted there was a bit of a pause on Cole’s part when he asked the man the question.

“Well?” he asked again.

“About that,” Cole said. “That Uncle Herbert isn’t a Donovan. His name is Herbert Weston. His wife is Mia Donovan’s mother’s sister. It’s messed up, boss. So fucking messed up. Need I tell you the bastard is gone?”

James gritted his teeth. “Gone?”

Cole said, “Yes, sir. Mia’s aunt divorced him a couple of years ago. He was abusing her, and there was quite a big court case about it, though nothing came out of it. He’s no longer in New Hampshire.”

James frowned. “He fled?”

“Yes, sir,” Cole said. “My team is on it. We’ll find him in the next couple of weeks, I’m sure.”

James frowned. “Good,” he said. “We can’t afford not to.”

Cole’s tone was sharp and dark when he said, “I understand. Shit! I can’t wait to take down that bastard. What he did was unforgivable. He’s sick. He’s a fucked-up shit.”

James couldn’t agree more. “Contact me when you’ve found him.”

“Will do,” Cole said.

James was about to terminate the call when Cole said, “Er… Is Mia all right?”

James couldn’t help but smile. “She’s fine. Come over to LA when you’ve got the job done. I’ve got a few more things for you to do in LA.”

He could tell the man was pleased with the offer. He knew Cole wanted to see Mia, despite that they had never crossed paths before and had nothing to do with one another whatsoever.

No. James knew he was wrong on the last part. Cole did have something to do with Mia. He had put forward her resignation from her job on her behalf, and furthermore, he’d be the one to take down Herbert Weston, her uncle who had sexually molested her when she had been young.

James terminated the call and leaned his head against the back of the chair. He shut his eyes.

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. It was a good thing, he thought, that Mia had come into his life. He’d protect her. He’d provide for her. He’d make sure nothing like the past would ever happen to her again.

A knock came at the door, and James opened his eyes to Matt coming in.

“What’s up?” Matt asked, cocking his head to one side. “You look pissed off.”

James couldn’t deny that. “Yeah. I’m very pissed off,” he said.

“Something to do with Mia?” Matt asked as he took a seat on the couch.

James got off his chair and went to sit opposite his friend.

“Mm-hmm,” he responded. “The uncle has disappeared.”

“Not surprised,” Matt said. “Fuckheads like him don’t stay in one place.”

James nodded. “My men did some digging,” he said. “He needs to be put away for good.”

Matt nodded. “I know he really fucked Andy up.” He scowled, and his eyes were dark when he said, “Andy never told me how old he was when he was first raped. I’m not going to push him, but I think it’s important for him to trust me and tell me about his past.”

James raised a brow. “I’m not surprised if he has trust issues.”

Matt leaned forward and raked his large hand over his hair. “Fuck, I’m tired.” He chuckled, though there was both sadness and irritation in the tone.

The two men were quiet as they sat there, thinking about the siblings who had come into their lives and slowly changed them.

Matt said, his voice weak and low, “I love him, James. It hurts when he’s like this. It nearly killed me when I saw him in that basement…”

James knew his friend was referring to his love for Andy, and of course the scene they had witnessed when they had finally managed to save Andy.

“I thought I was going to lose him…” Matt continued. “I never thought… I never thought I’d come to love anybody like that… Not in the least bit that rascal ten years my junior.”

James came over and slapped his hand on Matt’s shoulder. “Show him,” he said. “I’m not one to give advice on this sort of thing, considering my previous relationship. You don’t need to listen to what I have to say, but talking to him is probably the best method. Show him how much he means to you.”

Matt stared up at James and chuckled. “Wow. Where the shit did all that come from, James? It’s not like you to give me advice on relationships.”

James shrugged. “It’s usually Mark, isn’t it? He’s the oldest and more in tune with that department out of all of us,” he said. “Why don’t you give him a call?”

“Yeah, the oldest by a mere few months,” Matt said. “But you’re right. I’ll give him a call later.”

Matt left, and James had no doubt his friend would be with Andy again tonight.

Love, huh? Relationship. He had experienced it once with Whitney. But was that really love? Had their relationship ever been serious? Had Whitney ever loved him? Fuck no. He knew that for certain. The woman had never loved him.

He dismissed the thought of love and Whitney from his mind and headed back to his desk. He was intending to do a bit more work when he noticed the time. It was nearly six. He smiled, and the image of Mia in sexy lingerie came into his mind.

Love, he thought. Mia Donovan. Could he love her? Could he give his heart to her? Would she cherish it?

He didn’t have any doubt that she would, just like the way she cherished her love for Andy. His heart warmed, and James smiled.

“Fuck,” he swore under his breath, chuckling. Oh shit. His chest felt full and light at the same time.

He shut the laptop and headed out the door, a smile still lingering on his lips. Along the corridor, James felt as though he were walking on air.