Page 16 of Trust In Me

“Well, first of all, Kian is invited to mine as a guest, not just as a bodyguard,” Liam explains, as he looks at Kian with a smile.

Kian seems genuinely shocked that he would be invited, but he is family now, so of course Liam would invite him. “Thanks, man,” Kian replies with his signature dimpled smile, although this time it looks a lot more genuine, more humbled. I prefer this version.

“Also, I can’t be responsible for looking after your drunk ass while I'm drunk. And if we have it on the same night, someone will have to miss out to look after Hallie. I don’t think either the best man or the maid of honour should miss the party. So, we have to do it on separate days,” Liam explains, and now it’s my turn to sound stupid.

“Shit, I forgot we would need someone to watch Hallie.” I say it out loud before I think it, and Kian starts to chuckle.

“Did you just admit you forgot about your daughter?”

With a very swift, but hard punch to the shoulder, I remind Kian of what being in this family means. “Fuck off, man. I meant that there is always someone around to help me with her. It’s rare we are all out together without her.”

Kian rubs his arm, which I’m sure is hurting, if the pain ricocheting through my hand is anything to go by. I don’t often punch people, and even though it wasn’t a real punch, with very little force behind it, Kian’s obviously a lot more ripped than I thought. His arm is like hitting fucking stone.

“Okay, let's agree to both having parties but on separate days. Since the girls aren’t here for long, you can do it the week before the wedding, and we can do it the weekend before that. Does that sound okay?” Liam asks, and everyone replies with confirmatory nods or chants of agreement.

With everything organised, and nothing further to discuss, we all agree to meet up again tomorrow morning at the warehouse to deal with Kyle. Everyone parts ways, but I stay in my office for a little longer, making sure I have gone through every last bit of information regarding Kyle and his family. I want to know all his secrets, and I intend to use every last one of them against him tomorrow. This time, I’m not waiting behind, staying in my office to watch the drama unfold on my screens. This time I intend on being there, and I won’t be leaving until I’m sure Mia is safe. I need her to be able to sleep soundly at night. I really hope it’s just the damsel in distress part that calls to me, and once she is safe, and I’ve played the hero, I can go back to being the villain we both know I am. We both know I can never give her the happy ending that she craves.

Bree and Liam have been spending a lot of time up in Kellan’s office over the last week. I know I’m not part of the business, and since Kellan officially hired me as his nanny, the whole point is that I’m supposed to free them up to work. But, each time they go off into his office, leaving me with Hallie, I can’t help but feel like I’m missing out. I know I’m probably being super paranoid, and the reason they always clam up whenever I walk into the room is because they don’t want me to be involved in the business, but I hate it. I feel like an outsider.

Still, I’ve been making the most of my time with Hallie. She may only be seven months old, but the little monster is determined to be able to do everything. From the second I put her down, she is off. Her favourite thing to do is to simply roll around everywhere. So you lay her down to change her nappy and she turns her body, rolling away before you even have a chance to get her. Sometimes the only reason I even know she has moved is when I hear the cute little giggle getting farther away. She can crawl, she just prefers to log roll.

Recently she has been getting better at sitting up straight, and she keeps pulling on the furniture, determined to stand up. I don’t think it will be long before this little monster is walking, talking, and terrorising us all. But, I wouldn’t change it even for a second. Although, this morning, as I stand here covered in the mushed-up banana that she literally just threw all over me, my patience is being tested.

Laying Hallie down in her playpen with some toys, I know she is safe for a few minutes while I get myself cleaned up. She has only just started eating proper mushy food, and one of her favourite things to do is to throw it everywhere. But, before I can begin cleaning all the banana-covered worktops, I’m distracted by a buzzing on my phone.

Dread settles in the pit of my stomach, and I feel my breakfast beginning to slowly creep back up as the nausea overwhelms me. I can feel my body beginning to shake of its own accord, fear rippling through every piece of me. My hand trembles as I try to focus on the message and I mentally chastise myself. I’ve been like this every time my phone so much as beeps for the last week. Ever since that night, when I told Kellan about Kyle, he has continued to message me.

I know Kellan knows about my nightmares and my anxiety. He checks on me frequently, and has repeatedly asked if Kyle has texted again. And for some fucked-up reason, each and every time I tell him no.

I don’t even know why. I think maybe it’s because if I tell him about this piece of the puzzle, there’s nowhere else left to go. I would have to tell him about the rest of the sordid tale and I’m not ready for that. I don’t know if I ever will be. At the moment Kellan looks at me with lust in his eyes, and since he found out about Kyle, it hasn’t changed all that much, but I can tell he sees me as a little more fragile, and I don't want that. I don’t need that. Besides, what happened with Kyle is like dropping a stone in the ocean. The rest of my past is what led to Kyle, that's the real story, and I know as soon as Kellan finds out about that, he will never look at me the same way again.

Looking down at the phone, as suspected, it’s another message from Kyle.

Kyle: Little Rabbit, I don’t like waiting. You better find your way home to me, or I guarantee I will hunt you down and slaughter anyone and everyone who dares to keep you from me. I will find you. However you are hiding your location from me, it won’t last. I’m hiring the best hacker in the country to find you! If you come willingly, I will make your punishment light, if I have to track you down, everyone will pay, and your punishment will be severe.

Thankfully, Kellan was able to hack Kyle’s phone and scramble the location data my father sent him. He isn’t able to find out where I am, and knowing that helps me feel a little safer, for now. I just hope Kellan can keep preventing him from finding my location.

I also notice I have two messages from earlier on, but I must have missed them when I was playing with Hallie. They are from an anonymous number, but we both know it’s from my father.

Unknown: Mia, I am not happy with your behaviour. I have left you alone these last few years, giving you the space you needed to complete your education, as you requested. But I am done waiting. You are a member of this family, and you will fulfil your familial responsibilities. You will marry the Fratacello boy. We need to align with his family. You will report back home immediately, or you will regret it.

Unknown: I know at school you had ties to Brianna O’Keenan. She is the first place I will look for you, Mia. I will use every resource at my disposal and you will not like my methods.

The phone crashes to the floor once I finish reading, bouncing off the carpet and hopefully not breaking. Although, if it does break, it won’t be the end of the world. Then I wouldn’t have to hear from them ever again.

The words repeat constantly, over and over in my head as I just stand there frozen, staring down at the phone that was once laid in my hands. What the fuck am I going to do? These are not men that should ever be messed with, and I have always known that the reason my father hasn’t found me over the last five years isn’t because I did a fucking great job at hiding, it’s because he didn’t need to find me. But, now he does. He already knows Bree’s the most likely person to help me, but I don’t know if he knows how much of a badass Bree is now. Either way, I need to think up a plan fast. I can’t let them come here. I can’t put Kellan and Hallie in danger.

A loud squeal erupts from the play pen, and my nerves are so fried and on edge that I can’t help but scream.

Once my heart starts to return to normal, and I stop hyperventilating, I begin to remember where I am. As I look over at Hallie, I realise her high-pitched noise is actually a squeal of delight. Liam had obviously walked into the room and of course that made the little girl scream louder than a hen party at a Magic Mike show when the guy rips off his trousers. She idolises this guy, and the look on his face tells me it’s very much reciprocated.

“Hello, my gorgeous Hallie Bear. What are you doing? Are you being a good girl for Mia?” Liam asks as he bounces the girl up and down in his arms. She just holds on to his big, strong muscles and giggles with each bounce.

I love the fact that a girl so small is able to turn the world's best assassin into a cooing, baby-talking, softie just by staring at him with those big, doe-eyed baby blues. If she keeps this up, she will get away with murder where her uncle Liam and Dad are concerned. I think even Bree may be coming around to it, and I don’t blame her. Hallie is easy to love, which is why I know that I can't be the one responsible if anything happens to her.

“Are you okay, Mia? You screamed and look like you've seen a ghost!” Liam’s voice is dripping with concern, as he stares at me. I hate when he does that. Liam is the type of person that cares about people so much, and when he looks at you, it really does feel as though he is trying to peer into your soul. He makes me want to spill my deep, dark secrets to those pretty emerald eyes. These boys are all too pretty for their own good.

“Erm…no. I mean yes…no. Wait I—” Words stumble out of my mouth until Liam places a gentle hand on my arm to calm me down. The only problem is that I never saw his hand coming and couldn’t help but scream as he startles me.

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