Arranged love

BONES

“WHAT DO YOU want to do?” Titan asks me.

I sit back on the couch while Mia sits down next to me. She looks better than she did five hours ago when Tristan walked out of the auction with her. There’s still a hint of sadness in her eyes, but that’ll go away over time. I’ll make sure of it.

The fact that Richard was involved this time makes me wonder what all happened to her. I watched him knock her around. Not to mention what all he did to her on the video that Luca showed me.

Leaning forward, I place my elbow on my knees. “Mia had a tracker in her. I removed it and handed it over to Nite, who got rid of it.”

“Got rid of it how?” Cross questions.

“It’s on a plane to France,” I answer. We had to make up somewhat of a backstory for Tristan in order to get him into the auction. It wasn’t like the one before, where names and personal information didn’t matter. There was no need for suits and black leather books with important details about the women being sold. Tristan used an alias, and we gave them a lie about him residing in Paris.

“So how long do you think we have before they go and retrieve it?” Grave is the other one who speaks.

“I’d say five days. Tops,” Tristan says. “The money was wired, so they received it immediately. No reason to make them wait,” he adds. “I’d say we need to leave as early as tomorrow.” Tristan nods at Mia, who sits silently beside me. “We return her to Vegas and then head on to France. Make them come right to us. They will never expect it.”

“Too bad you couldn’t have placed one on them. It would make it much easier to locate them.”

I place my hand on her leg, and she pulls away from me. I frown over at her, and she narrows her eyes on me. What the fuck? Why is she mad at me? I just bought her. Again. Granted, it only cost me two million this time. Matteo isn’t holding out for ten mill when he knows he’s just going to take her back and sell her again.

“Mia-”

“What do you mean the video that Luce showed you?” she demands.

Fuck! Did I say that? “I don’t know …”

“What video did Luca have?” she growls, standing to her feet.

I look up at her and stand as well, not liking the fact she’s looking down on me. “It’s nothing.”

“It isn’t nothing, Dillan,” she snaps. “I only know of one video with Richard and me in it. And when I showed it to you, you didn’t mention that you had seen it before.”

“Mia-”

“And Luca has been in a coma for weeks. So when the fuck did Luca show you a video of Richard and me?”

Silence falls over the room, and I can feel everyone’s eyes on us. I didn’t realize what I had said. But now I can’t deny it. Or lie about it. “Before I bought you. The first time.”

Her lips part, and her eyes widen. “What? Why? How did you…?”

“Luca barged into my office late one night and had the video. Matteo had sent it to him, knowing Luca would want to save you. But he couldn’t do it, so he brought it to me. I-”

She slaps me, cutting me off. “All this time.” Taking a step back, she thins her lips up at me. “And you never told me.”

“What did you expect me to say?” I growl.

“The truth,” she snaps.

“You didn’t even remember it. Why would I bring that up to you?” I never found it important to bring up something that she had no recollection of. Then when she watched it, she was distraught. How would her knowing that I’ve already seen it change anything?

“I can’t believe this,” she whispers to herself.

I reach out to her. “Mia.”

“Don’t touch me!” she shouts, pulling away. “You lied to me.”

“I have saved you!” I shout. “Several times.”

She snorts. “What do you want me to do, Bones?” She calls me by my nickname, and it makes my teeth grind. I’ve gotten so used to her calling me Dillan that I don’t like her calling me Bones. He’s a different man. And I feel like a part of me has changed for her. I’m just not sure if that’s good or bad. “You keep reminding me of this like you want something in return. Want me to crawl to you?”

I snort. “Don’t be ridiculous.”NôvelDrama.Org content rights.

“Want me to kiss your feet? Show you how grateful I am?”

“You should be grateful.” I step into her, and my eyes narrow. “If it wasn’t for me, you’d be just another used-up whore. Passed around like your family intended.”

Her face falls, and I instantly regret my words. I’ve never had to defend my actions or explain myself to anyone. It’s going to take some getting used to.

She licks her lips and speaks softly. “You bought me. And you fucked me. Please explain to me how being your whore is any different?” And without waiting for an answer, she turns around and marches off to the master suite, slamming the door behind her.

“Fighting like a true couple.” Grave chuckles to himself, and I narrow my eyes on him. “You two might have a chance at this after all.”

MIA

HE HAD SEEN the video before I even knew it existed? It makes me feel violated all over. He saw me in such a vulnerable state and chose to keep it from me. What if Matteo had never sent it to me? Would Dillan just have never told me that it existed?

The door opens, hitting the interior wall, and I turn around to see him barge in behind me. “Get the fuck out!” I shout, pointing to it just as it slams shut.

He walks over to me, grabs my face with both hands, and forces me to look up at him. “I don’t expect anything from you, Mia. The first time I saved you was because Luca begged me to.”

“Great,” I snap. “Now I’m your charity case. Don’t do me any more favors.” I try to pull away, but he keeps me in place.

“The second time was because I can’t live without you.”

My heart pounds at his words. And my eyes widen, staring up at him.

His gaze searches mine before speaking softly. “I have very few regrets, Mia. But the ones I do have, are you.”

“What do you mean?” I whisper, afraid of the answer but needing to know.