King’s (The King Trilogy #1)(54)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

“Goodnight, umm…” Becca seemed to forget his name.

“King.” He flashed a smile at her.

“Is that your first name or your last?” Becca blurted out like a dumb groupie.

Funny, I thought. I’d never asked him that myself. In fact, the question had never crossed my mind.

King gave us one of his charming smiles. “Who said it was either?” He disappeared, leaving us with our churning minds.

Becca turned to me. “His middle name, I guess?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Not like there was another option, right?

“Mia?” My mother’s faint voice caught my attention.

“Oh my god!” I jumped to her side. “Mom, oh my god. Mom?” I looked at Becca. “Go get the nurse, and call my dad.”

Becca bolted from the room, and I sank down next to my mother. “Can you hear me okay? How do you feel?”

I noticed she had pulled the tubes from her mouth on her own. How could we have stood there and not noticed?

My mother kept her eyes closed, but she smiled. “I feel like…well, horrible, actually. But it’s good to be back.”

I dropped my head to her chest and sobbed.

“Where is the man?” she asked.

“What man?”

“That man in black. He was just here.”

I blinked and swallowed the flood of emotions. “You mean King?” I asked.

“Yes. The nice man who brought me back. Where is he?”

I balled uncontrollably. “He left, Mom. He left to go get Justin.”

She smiled. “Oh, good. I miss my baby boy.”

“So do I, Mom. So do I.”

~ ~ ~

Later that day, after running a multitude of tests, life spread its wings of hope once again. The doctor confirmed that the road to recovery for my mother would be long, but her faculties were intact, and that was all I could ever ask for.

When my father showed up, his eyes red with tears, he was unable to speak the moment he spotted my mom alert and talking. Then he literally collapsed to the floor. Luckily, the nurse had been standing nearby and brought him around quickly. There was no damage to him from the fall, but I would never forget the image of seeing the man so overwhelmed with joy that he actually fainted.

The rest of the day was spent calling everyone and sharing the miraculous news. Yes, it truly was a miracle. And I had only one person to thank for it: King.

How he’d done it, I didn’t know, and I wasn’t going to ask. Because this time, he was right; you could spin your wheels asking questions, or you could choose to focus on what really mattered to you. I had her back, and I couldn’t begin to express the gratitude I felt toward him; there simply weren’t enough words.

“Did I miss all the fun?” said a familiar voice.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. In fact, I didn’t.

“What?” Justin smiled at me with that dopey grin.

It couldn’t be. It couldn’t. It was…

“Justin!” I ran and threw myself into his arms. I hugged him so tightly that he grunted. And I wasn’t about to let go. He was warm and alive and in one piece. My baby brother—my best friend was really there. Yet again, I began to sob uncontrollably, feeling like an enormous, horrible burden had been lifted from my shoulders.

“Mia, glad to see you, too.”

Still bawling, I looked at him and squeezed his cheeks between my palms. I drank in his green eyes and sandy blond hair. “I have never felt so relieved in my life.”

“Me too.” He flashed a glance at my mother, who was now sleeping. “King told me the good news. How is she?”

“Fine. She’s fine. Dad just went down to the cafeteria. He’ll be right back.” I grabbed both his hands and held them between mine. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

He had no possible understanding of how happy I was to hear him speak and say those words.

“And Vaughn? What happened?” I whispered.

“I don’t know, Mia.”

“What do you mean?”

“I showed up to the empty apartment in London with the Artifact. But King changed the plans on me at the last minute. He called my cell, said to leave the Artifact there, and get on the first plane home.”

“What? So where is he?” An ugly knot formed in my stomach.

“I don’t know, Mia. But I’m sure he took care of things.”

What if he didn’t? What if something went wrong?

Are you trying to ruin the moment? King had said he expected to be back in the morning, so it wasn’t time to worry just yet.

Then why do I feel worried?

I shook my head. “I can’t believe you’re really here.” I grabbed Justin again and hugged him tightly.

“Justin?” my mother called out. I released my death grip on him and walked over to the bed, holding his hand tightly.

“I’m home, Mom,” Justin said. “I’m home.”

EPILOGUE

Two Weeks Later.

After Justin’s return, I continued to show up at King’s office every morning at six a.m., hoping and praying that King would show. But he didn’t. At least, not during the few hours I hung around until I had to go to the hospital to see my mother. Nor did he show up at six or call at 6:02 p.m. when I returned to his loft. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, Mack and Arno were nowhere to be found, either.

It was as if King and his men had disappeared off the face of the planet. When I tried to speak to Justin about that night or his deal with Vaughn that had started the entire mess, he broke down and cried. He said he’d never forgive himself for what he’d done to his team. He insisted he’d told me everything about that night he was supposed to have met with King.

By the fourteenth day, I had to start facing facts. Something had gone terribly wrong. Had 10 Club taken King? Or had Vaughn gotten a hold of him? If so, did that mean Vaughn would be coming after me, too? I didn’t know. And where the hell had Mack and Arno disappeared to?

Then there was the question of my life. Justin and I were now both crashing at my parents’, and I needed to find a paying job. I couldn’t sponge forever. But then…what about my deal with King?

And where the hell is he?

I was at my wits’ end with worry; however, the only options were to go to L.A. and try to get a meeting with Vaughn or wait. And considering that Vaughn wanted to pick the flesh from my bones, that meant wait. For how long, I didn’t know.

6:02 p.m. Another no show.