Page 15 of Hacker Betrayed

Lucas ran his hand through his shaggy blond hair. "The part where my mom grew up in the mob and my dad is a mobster."

"And you never thought to bring this up during our weekly calls together?" Mia asked.

"Tabitha said you would be angry at her if she told me, but she also worried someone would come for me." Lucas paused for a second. "For the record, I don't think they came after Tabitha or me because of you and my dad."

"Sperm donor," Mia winced. "That was rude of me. Your father was never mean to me, but he has a very dangerous life. You know I love you, right?"

Lucas's eyes darted over to me and then back to his mom. "Yes, but I'm old enough to be in your world, Mom. I don't want to live with anyone else."

I understood the boy wanted to be with his mom. Growing up, my brothers, sister and I had struggled in foster care until one day someone gave us a chance. We were lucky the family had money, but money did not equal happiness. Sometimes I wondered if life might had been better if we stayed in foster care. I would have always had my siblings by my side, no matter what happened. "Lucas, you mentioned you think the person was after Tabitha, but if they killed her, why would they take you if they weren’t after your mom or dad?"

"I think the original plan was for a ransom, but everything went wrong. They put the vest on me first, and then they killed Tabitha. She leaped for the gun under the coffee table and fired. Before she could get a second shot off, they fired back and killed her. The man who fired back was shot before we left the house."

"Ransom for what?" Mia asked.

"Tabitha started dating a guy named Sean a few months ago," he said. "She didn't want to tell you because you always dig up people's pasts, and she wanted to get to know him without your report."

"I do that to protect you and her." She groaned as she sat down on the stool. "Tabitha seemed to date men with criminal records or who liked to swindle her out of money. I'm going to need his last name, so I can rule him out."

"She never introduced him to me, or told me his name. They would meet somewhere, and sometimes she would stay at his place."

From the little time Mia and I spent together, I gathered she was stubborn and wouldn't let something drop until she was happy with the answers. Lucas was hiding something, and the more she drilled, the more he would clam up. "How about we eat and figure out a plan for Lucas to go to school on Monday? I'm guessing Brock and your team will be here soon. I'd also bet my brothers will show up. And my brothers are always hungry; they'll eat whatever is on the counter."

I'd left out the part that it was from the years of never knowing when our next meal might be. After our father died, Mom struggled to afford enough food for all five kids. The food situation didn't get much better in foster care. Years later and the four of us struggled to not overeat. I tended to eat more than I needed, but ran five miles every morning and lifted weights.

For the next hour, Lucas talked about school and basketball. The kid loved sports. I told him about the full basketball court in the backyard, and he asked if he could shoot some hoops.

My phone dinged, and I glanced down to see an email from the ER doc who examined Mia. I opened the email and read through his remarks. All her labs came back, and they didn't show any issues.

Mia went to get up to clear the table.

"Sit."

Her eyes dilated, and she shifted in her seat. "You are more domineering than I'd expected, but I think it's time we lay down some ground rules. I know the mission was for me to be your sub at the club, but that doesn't mean you can demand things outside of those doors. Hell, I'm more than likely fired or off your case, anyway."

I'd told Brock I only wanted Mia on the case, and he'd agreed. "Until you heal, you aren't working, and we won't be playing. Yes, we will go to the club and observe, but no play until you're cleared. As for the rules of how this would work, they would've been discussed, but you decided to get yourself almost killed."

"Not on purpose."

I nodded and pulled out the chair next to her. "Come sit on my lap."

"Paxton…we discussed at Blackwood Mercenary that we would only play at the club. I have too many other things in my life to deal with besides this."

"Now, Mia."

She narrowed her eyes before she sat crossways on my lap. Her wound was on the side facing out. "Thank you." I pointed to my phone. "The cameras are up so we can see Lucas and when anyone arrives, but I think it's time we do some negotiations."

"We were never going to have a real D/S relationship. I was to help look for anything suspicious at the club. Why on earth would you think this would be anything more? My life is a mess."

"First of all, I don't play with anyone without negotiations, and I'm sure Brock's club has the same rules as Club Rose. We will get to your question in a second, but I have a few myself. What parts of being a sub do you like and dislike?"

Mia's cheeks pinked. "I've never talked about my limits this way. The Doms I did scenes with reviewed my limit sheet I have on file at the club."

I ran my fingers under the bottom of her shirt against her soft skin. "Communication is a huge thing for me. I fall under a nurturing Dom. We can say no BDSM outside of the club, but I can't turn my personality on and off."

Her eyes slid over to the phone, and I worried I had lost her. "After I got away from Cyrus, my time with Donovan was confusing. I'm not sure what I felt for him. I never let myself think about a relationship with someone."

If I had to guess, it was from years of hiding. My friend Bently was also the club psychiatrist and someone my siblings and I met during our time in foster care. He'd told me to ask Brock for another operative, because Mia was way too closed off, and I'd end up hurt. I tried to remind him that nothing worth fighting for was handed to you. "What do you really want, Mia? Do you go to the club for orgasms, or do you go looking for something else?"

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