Savoring Mila (Angels Halo MC Next Gen & Rockers' Legacy Book 3)(29)

Mila stood beside her brother, her face tense as she chewed on her thumbnail while she watched the others working. Seeing me, she widened her eyes, but when she realized Monroe wasn’t with me, tears began to spill over her lashes.

“I couldn’t catch him,” I told her, my voice full of regret.

“No,” she whispered, shaking her head, and I saw her begin to crack. She wrapped her arms around herself. “No. This isn’t happening. It can’t be. It’s a dream. Monroe is right beside me. I’m just asleep. I’m just…” A sob left her, and I wrapped my arms around her. “He didn’t take her.”

Maverick stood, dropping the washcloth on the floor at his feet. “It had to have been Fontana,” he grumbled, and Mila sobbed harder, clinging to me helplessly. “We have to alert the others.”

“Were you expecting this?” I demanded. “Is that why there was a guard at the door?”

He shook his head. “No. Dad wouldn’t calm down until we told him someone would be on the door all night.” He stabbed his fingers through his hair. “Fuck. We should have known something would happen.”

The doctor stood and dusted off his hands. “Looks like your friend here got shot full of something. There’s a puncture wound on his neck. He will be fine once it wears off. Probably have a hell of a headache, though.” His gaze fell on Mila, who was still crying in my arms. “This one going to need a sedative?”

“No!” I barked at him. “Keep your shit to yourself. I’ll take care of her.” Lifting her into my arms, I kissed her temple. “Come on, baby. Let’s go up to your dad’s room.”

She wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face in my chest. “Mon,” she sobbed brokenly. “We have…to get her…back.”

“We will,” I assured her as I walked to the elevator, while Maverick stayed with the MC brother. Upstairs, there was another brother outside Masterson’s room. Seeing us coming, the man stood up straighter, his eyes wide on Mila.

“What the fuck happened?” Tanner Reid demanded, looking at Mila like she had two heads. “This girl doesn’t ever cry like that.”

“Fontana took Monroe,” I told him in a quiet voice. “Your boy who was watching her door downstairs is out for the count, and Maverick is going to have a headache for a while.”

“Fuck,” he muttered, pulling out his phone as he opened the door for me. “Gotta call Bash.”

The room was dark when we entered, but I could make out Willa lying on the hospital bed with her husband. I used my elbow to turn on the light, making Mila’s father sit up in bed with a growl. “The fuck’s going on?” he snarled. Then he blinked, focusing on his daughter. “Mila? Honey, what’s wrong.”

“Daddy,” she cried. “He… He… Monroe!”

Masterson’s dark eyes snapped to me. “I’m going to need more than that, boy.”

I quickly explained everything that had happened to her parents. Willa got out of bed and came over to soothe her daughter, but she was openly crying herself and that didn’t help Mila’s tears any. Masterson grew more and more tense with each passing minute. Tanner came in behind me once I was done telling them what happened and handed his cell to the enforcer.

The rest of the night was mostly a blur after that. Several of the MC brothers had gone to a hotel for the night, so they were only about a mile away, and they all started a search party for Monroe. But in my gut, I knew they wouldn’t find her. By dawn, Mila looked like a zombie with her tear-swollen red eyes and the dark circles beneath them. She was pale and quiet, way too quiet.

With nothing more I could do, I told her parents I was taking her home. My parents and Aunt Emmie had gone back to my house the night before, but they’d left my SUV for me in the parking lot. I drove her home then had to tell my family what had happened to Monroe.

My stomach in knots, because I didn’t want to do this but knew there was no way we could continue making plans when Mila’s twin was missing, I told Aunt Emmie to put all wedding preparations on hold until this was all over.

“Lyric,” she murmured. “We’ll find her. Don’t worry, sweetheart.”

“A wedding is the last thing Mila’s going to want to deal with right now,” I told her, scrubbing a hand over the stubble on my jaw. “She’s already too stressed out over her sister. I’m not going to put more on her shoulders.”

“We understand, son,” Dad said, placing a hand on my shoulder and squeezing. “You just take care of Mila. When she’s ready, we’ll be here to take care of everything.”

“I’m calling Barrick,” Aunt Emmie said, pulling out her phone. “We’ll get the girl back, Ric. I promise.”

All I could do was nod, too exhausted to waste my breath with words I wasn’t even sure I believed. I’d seen the look in Fontana’s eyes when he’d had Monroe in his arms. They were those of a predator, ready to destroy anything and anyone who got in his way. But there had been something else, too.

Love.

Obsession.

Monroe was his, and he’d come to claim her. The only way we would get her back was if Fontana was dead.

And I was sure her dad would be all too happy to put a bullet in his skull.





Chapter 24



Mila





“Babe?”

I clenched my eyes closed tighter at Lyric’s voice, wanting to block out everything until I could hear Monroe’s voice again. But I knew that was just hiding from reality.

Gian Fontana had stolen her from me the night before. She was gone, and I didn’t know if I was ever going to see my other half again.

Regret twisted and churned in my stomach, making me so nauseated, I couldn’t breathe for a moment. I never should have kept her stalker a secret from our parents. If I’d known it was Fontana who was following her around, even though he was protecting her, I would have.

Hindsight was 20/20, though. I couldn’t turn back the clock and tell anyone. All I could do was pray she was okay.

He’d spent years protecting her. He wouldn’t hurt her now…

Would he?

No. I had to believe he would protect her with his own life as he’d done all this time.

Plus, he was her baby’s father. He wouldn’t let anything happen to his unborn child.

Please, God. Let them be okay.

“Mila, baby,” Lyric said again, and I heard the door shut behind him as he crossed to the bed.

Forcing myself to open my eyes, I looked up at him as he switched on the bedside lamp. I lifted my hand, needing him to hold me. The night before, he’d taken care of me, let me cry until there were no more tears left. He’d run after Monroe, tried to get her back for me. I knew if he could have, he would have taken on Gian Fontana to save my sister because he knew I couldn’t live without her.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he bent and touched his lips to my forehead. “I need to tell you something,” he said in a quiet voice.

“Okay.” My voice was hoarse from all the crying I’d done the night before, and I cleared it, hoping to make it sound stronger. “Tell me.”

“I told Aunt Emmie and Mom to postpone the wedding preparations.” My heart clenched, and fresh tears filled my eyes. “Just postpone,” he rushed to say. “I don’t want to put more stress on you right now, babe. Once Monroe is back where she belongs, we’ll get married. I promise.”

“Th-thank you,” I whispered, scrubbing the back of my hand over my tears. “I hadn’t even thought about the wedding, and… Yeah. I really don’t think I could have put my whole heart into any wedding plans right now. Thank you.”

“I want our day to be special, and I knew it wouldn’t be if she weren’t here.” He kissed me, a tender kiss full of all his love for me. “And now, I need you to get up. There’s someone downstairs who is going to help us get Monroe back.”

I jerked upright, my heart pounding. “What? How?”

“My cousins Nevaeh and Mia are married to the owners of the top personal security company in the country. Aunt Emmie called her son-in-law after I told her about the wedding, and he hopped on his plane and just arrived about ten minutes ago. Barrick and Braxton are downstairs waiting to meet you and get all the information you can give them on Monroe and Fontana.”

“Lyric.” I threw my arms around him. “Thank you. This means everything to me. Thank you,” I repeated, kissing him over and over again. “I love you so much.”

He kissed me back. “Babe, I would do anything for you. I don’t care what it is, what it costs, or who I have to kill to get it done. I will take care of you and these babies and everyone you love. I’ll always make sure you never regret giving me your heart, my Mila.”

“Never,” I breathed against his lips. “I will never regret loving you.”





This isn’t the end. You will see more of Mila and Lyric in both Surviving His Scars and Loving Violet.





Monroe’s book releases 3.31.2020!

Turn the page to get an unedited taste of Monroe and Gian now.





Prologue



Monroe





“I’m so bored,” Mila complained loudly as she stomped up the stairs in front of me. “It’s freaking summer vacation and we can’t even leave the house without an armed escort.”