Page 10 of Hacker Betrayed

I pushed the power button on my phone. I wasn't in the mood to deal with his demands. Mia needed someone in her corner, and I planned to be her person even if she didn't want me to be. She needed someone to have her six.

CHAPTER3

Mia

Pain sliced through my side as I shifted on the uncomfortable bed. A soft hand pressed against my forearm. I swung with my free arm and punched solid muscle. When I opened my eyes, my contacts were hazy from sleeping in them. For years, I’d made it a mission never to let my team or anybody close to me see my real eye color. One glance at my blue eyes and people on my team would ask questions. I blinked a couple of times, and Dr. Paxton Renolds came into view. I ignored the sexy doctor and scanned the room, relieved when I didn't spot any of my team members. We were alone at Club Rose in one of the playrooms, the medical one.

"My son?" I tried to sit up, and agony caused me to lie back down. This wasn't the first time I'd woken up in pain, but I couldn't remember what went wrong. The last thing I could recall was walking down the stairs to rescue my son. I took a deep breath and tried to sit up again, but Paxton put his hand in the center of my bare chest.

"You need to take one of these." Paxton handed me a white pill and a glass of water. "Your son is with your brother. After we go to the hospital and have you checked over, we will go see him, but you need to stay off your feet for a couple of days."

I popped the pill in my mouth and took a swig of the water. The IV line snagged, and I flinched before I pulled the needle out of my arm. "No hospital. All I need is a shirt and the keys to my car."

He narrowed his piercing blue eyes. "Seriously? You disarmed a bomb and were shot with a dart filled with a sedative. Quinton tested your blood, but you need to go to the hospital for more tests. Last night we used equipment we bought for medical play to check for internal bleeding. We're lucky Quinton had his medical bag in the car so we could stitch you back up."

A logical person would agree with him, but I was a momma bear who gave up everything to make sure my son was safe.God, I failed him.He was never supposed to see this world. My precious boy was supposed to think the mob was only something that existed in movies.

The pills hadn't done much to stop the pain as I swung my legs over the side of the medical exam table. "You don't understand. Lucas isn't safe with my family. The longer I sit here, the more time they have to hide him from me."

Paxton grinned as he tugged his phone out of his pocket. The damn man was way too sexy for his own good. "Your brother has texted me every hour with a picture and asking for an update on you."

I grabbed the phone from his hand and thumbed through the photos. Lucas was lying on the bed in my old room. I should stop and analyze that my cold-hearted mom hadn't changed my room since I left, but all I could see was my sleeping boy.

"Now that you know your son is okay, we need to talk with Brock for a second before I take you to the hospital." He held out his hand for me. "Your damn boss commandeered my conference room along with other members of your team."

I'd reviewed the floor plan of Club Rose and I didn't remember seeing a conference room, only the four offices that lined the back of the club.

"You have a BDSM conference room. Is this for boss-employee role play?" I winced as I stood up and narrowed my eyes at Paxton. "We will get to the fact I remember asking you not to call my boss once you answer the first question and help me to the back door."

"Upstairs, we have a few apartments for guests who want to stay and offices for staff along with a conference table. Now for why your boss came. Club Rose is like any other club. Word traveled fast. Three doctors, an ER nurse, and an ultrasound tech were pulled into this room. Then Quinton grabbed his medical bag from his car. It's not like he tried to hide what he was doing. You had a dart sticking out of your abdomen, Mia." Paxton threw his hands up. "As for Wes, he was in the club. When he overheard someone talking about a woman being worked on in one of the rooms, he came."

"Okay, but I'm not ready to talk to him," I said as Paxton helped me slide a shirt over my head. The pain in my side was almost unbearable, but I had to push forward and find my son.

The door to the room pushed open and Brock strode in, dressed in his signature black shirt arms crossed over his chest. The last time I saw my boss this mad we'd had a mission go bad. I wasn't sure if I'd ever remembered him being this pissed at one of his employees. "And why are you not ready to talk?"

The second he found out what I did years ago, he’ll never forgive me. My entire team would hate me when they figure out my lie. I would rather disappear than witness the disappointment. Especially how my lie would affect my teammate Eric. "I'll explain later. I need to get my son."

"No. There is a room full of people upstairs who you owe an explanation. As for your son, you know I wouldn't let anything happen to a kid. Now you have five minutes to get your ass upstairs." He turned and left.

Paxton came up behind me and placed a soft kiss on the top of my head. "Let me help you get cleaned up." I planned to say no, but pain speared my side when I tried to move.

He walked me back to the chair and I sat down. "If you overdo it, you won't be any help to your son. I know you’re strong, but you need to let people help you."

"It's not easy. This meeting upstairs is going to change my life. Everyone will hate me."

"I won't." There was no hesitation in his voice.

Dr. Paxton Renolds was dangerous—and not in the way my son's father was. He was dangerous because I could see myself with him. The only reason we were together was for a mission. No way the sexy plastic surgeon would settle for a woman full of scars inside and out. While I reminded myself of all that, he'd run a brush through my hair and pulled my blonde strands into a ponytail. "Did they teach that in medical school?"

"Nope, I used to brush my sister's hair. Also read in a few books women like to have their hair brushed."

I'd never thought about a man brushing my hair, but I had to admit his gentle touch grounded me. "I think it's time. Stalling won't change anything."

He escorted me down the hall, fingers resting on the small of my back. A sigh escaped me when I noticed the elevator. Each step was painful, and I knew there was no way I could climb a set of stairs. Paxton pressed his thumb against the black box on the wall, and the door slid open. The upstairs of the club was like walking into a high-end real estate business.

We proceeded through the halls until we reached two floor-to-ceiling frosted glass doors that stood partially open. My boss Brock sat at the head of the table with his laptop, a Mt. Dew, and a pack of licorice. Next to him was Wes, flipping through a stack of photos, and Eric, a long-time employee of Blackwood Security. Eric and Brock would hate me after I told them my secret. They were both friends with the real Mia. Eric and Mia went through basic training together. They were close, but never dated. The first couple of years after I started to work at Blackwood Mercenary, I’d told him I didn't feel the same. When he asked me out. I had no faith I'd walk out of the room with my job.

Paxton slid the chair out for me. He happened to pick the one right next to my boss. Over the course of six years, I could count the number of times I'd seen my boss mad or disappointed on one hand. I respected Brock and all my team members. At times I wanted to talk about my past, but I thought keeping my secret buried protected my son. When he found out the truth, it would crush Brock to the soul. Lucas wasn't the only one I was protecting. I'd made a promise to Tabitha and her sister when we were kids, and I'd failed to keep her safe. Amid all the chaos, I hadn't even stopped to process that my oldest friend was killed.

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