Mia had indeed in one way or another either saved their life from being taken for something they had no role in or saved them, giving them what they had been searching for. What she had searched for, for years before we had even come to be in the same place as one another.
Mia had given them all a family, whether they had one or not. I started to understand this was their way of showing their loyalty to not only my family, not also their thankfulness because of Mia and her actions towards them.
They were not only showing their willingness to protect my family, but also the fact that they would protect each other as well, they were all part of the same branch of a family tree now. It was Mia's own personal off shoot that none of us expected would take root and flourish.
To me it was far more than anything I had prepared myself for in any situation. This was they're way of showing their allegiance to the person who in their minds they owed their lives to, and they were showing that without a moments notice they would put Mia before themselves.
Erin must have finally realized the dire situation and that she had no other choice than to give us what we were demanding. "I just used a larger gauged needle in a few of the larger vessels and pushed air into them until they broke. It didn't actually cause any damage to her it just caused bruises." She rambled out.
"That's why you had to sedate her isn't it?" I growled angrily. "That way she sounded like she wasn't able to remember things right? So when she told us what you did to her in there we'd think that she was confusing memories? Making sure we all would just think she was healing. How long until the sedative wears off?"
"I didn't give her a lot. She'll be up in the next half an hour or a little before." She answered as her voice cracked. "Deacon…"
"You don't have a reason to beg. You chose to give that information away, and I'm guessing that you had told Irena, because she gave you some ridiculous sob story. But you made the choice so you can take what comes with it as well. Get her the fuck out my face and take her down to the pit. Give her the queen cell. You'll get a great view along with Irena. You both should enjoy the rats as your roommates. After all, you both seem speak the same language."
Nicco and Eric didn't even hesitate to latch onto her arms and start dragging her out of the office.
I didn't even care enough right now to watch them, I needed to calm down and collect myself before I went back into our room to wait for Mia to wake up.
"She's not going to last you know Deacon?" Erin called. "Eventually she's going to end up the same way as Annabella and whatever her name was did, dead at your feet, because you just weren't enough like always. You'll never be enough to keep your loved ones safe and you'll always be too late to save them. You're just a boy playing in a man's world."
I took a step to the side before I had fully turned marching towards where Nicco and Eric had stopped, looking at her as though she had to be crazy to still be talking. I stopped directly in front of her leaning down to her face to ensure she heard my words abundantly clear. "You may want to count this moment as a blessing because it's going to be the last reprieve you ever receive. I was raised by an honorable man who instilled in me that you never lay your hands on a woman in anger. Mark my words if you were not a woman I would take pleasure in watching you squirm as I crushed your throat with my bare hands. But not to worry I'll have one of the women come and visit you soon. You should make your peace with whatever god you believe in Erin and tell my sister to do the same."
I brushed by the three of them as they continued to move, Erin towards the pit, as I made my way back towards our bedroom to wait for Mia wake up again.
After quietly opening the door, I was shocked to see Mia sitting up against the headboard. I didn't move, I just simply watched her. To say I adored Mia was the understatement of the century, I worshipped the ground she walked on. There was no one in my eyes who would ever be capable of out shining her.
I hoped to see that she wasn't as nervous or scared as she had been last night when we arrived back. Mostly I hoped that she wasn't in any pain from whatever that had happened earlier.
After finding out all the information that I had about Erin's involvement in this entire mess. I couldn't be sure what was and what wasn't true about Mia's health right now. Although one of the first things that would have to be done was to find a new doctor that could be trusted. Mia would need a full evaluation done to double check her wounds and take the stitches out. Not to mention that there was a house full of people that needed taken care of from time to time.
Mia's POV
My eyes fluttered open and shut a few times, but the light coming in through the window was making my head hurt. I looked around the room trying to recall anything from earlier but everything was fuzzy.
The only thing I can remember distinctly was that when Deacon came to bed last night, he pulled me in next to him. It had been the safest I had felt for awhile. I smiled peacefully as I sighed.
I knew it was going to take a little bit of time for me to feel confident again when standing next to Deacon, but I knew it was possible, I had done it once before and I could do it again. I just had to take it one day at a time and find my footing again.
Even though he had a knack for being able to read me like an open book, calling me out on it when he needed to. Which I both loved and hated all at the same time, luckily for me he wasn't the only one who could read the other.
He would say he didn't have any tells, and if you were talking about physical signs you could easily see it wasn't a lie. I had learned from the master on how to hide any kind of trepidation behind a strong and confident exterior, even if I was faking it nobody else ever seemed to be able to tell besides him.
Deacon's tell on the other hand was slightly harder to learn, but I could read him immediately no matter what kind of mood he was in by how he talked, more specifically the words he used and his body language when we were in private. If he was mad he tried not to yell unless absolutely necessary, but if he was pushed to yell no one wanted to be in his path. When he had business meetings his words with others always were thought out, planned and proper, always getting his point across without much disagreement from them.
When it was just us though, all of that went away. Deacon was just Deacon, stumbling over his words, trying to find the right words, he complained because he said I made him forget how to talk. Though personally, I thought it was the most endearing thing about him honestly, because to everyone on the outside looking in, he was the man in charge. The one who never had a doubt and was always certain of every choice he made. What they never saw were the conversations where he wasn't sure he was even right for this life.
Slowly I sat up leaning against the headboard still attempting to fully wake up. My entire body felt so heavy it was hard to move around, like someone had attached weights to me to keep me from sitting up at all.
I don't know how long I had been sitting there alone, until I noticed Deacon standing there in the doorway focused solely on me. For a split second our eyes lock with each others and it was almost instantly that I felt my cheeks flushing. I bit my bottom lip as I looked back down to the comforter playing with the edge between my fingertips.
The last time I felt these nervous butterflies was what felt like years ago, but there they were. I could feel my palms sweating and slid my hands under the heavy blanket, my fingertips could have erupted into sparks as they fumbled around each other. I don't know whether I was embarrassed because I was furiously blushing like it was the first time he had seen me in his bed or because I was embarrassed because of the things I said to him yesterday.
"I'm sorry about what I said yesterday." Looking down at the blanket. "I should have known better than to let what anyone said get to me. And I don't know what happened this morning, but I'm sorry if I caused any trouble."
Deacon's POV
I made my way over to the bed and sat next to her on the edge. "Mia, don't be sorry. You're hurt, you were scared and what you were hearing, thinking and feeling weren't all going together." I said calmly leaning forward pulling her into my arms. "You're home, that's all that matters to me right now. I got answers to questions that needed answered. But you're home." I held her tighter against me, making sure she knew I wasn't worried. "Mia, I never want you to even assume that something would keep me from being with you understand?" I moved back slightly looking into her eyes. "There is no power on this earth that would make me leave you behind. If I had to walk away from my family tomorrow to be with you, I would do it in a heartbeat, without any hesitation so that our family could be together."
"You know that I would never let you right?"
"What would make you think I'd ask for permission first?" I smiled. "And anyways I think that it's time that we make some changes around here don't you?"
She looked at me confused, but with a little worry as well. "Like what?"
"There are a few people that need to be brought into the family."
"Deacon, are talking about what I think that you're talking about right now?" She asked lightly.
"I think that we have everyone that we need now. All the faces have been brought to the table at last, so, I feel that the time is right to make things official. That being said, I still need to make sure that you're in agreement with it before I would feel comfortable moving forward with the process."
Mia nodded her head slightly with a half smile, but it didn't reach her eyes as she looked at me. "Okay."
"Trust me, you're motley little group of pitbulls is something to watch with pride, and a little scary even for my taste." I commented with a smile.
"Huh? My group of pitbulls? Deacon, the men who surround you everyday terrify people when they look at them. And how exactly is this my group, who did what? Who are you talking about anyways?"
I laughed as I watched her face morph into total confusion. "Oh, you'll figure it out easily when you see everyone later. Though you did miss something that I know you've been silently waiting to see."
What's that?"
"Quiet little Rose finally found her voice, and her place with a hurricane blowing around her. Mia, you would have been so proud of her. Hell, I was proud of her even though it was me who she showed the first taste to."
"You didn't yell at her did you?" She winced. "She'll never talk again if you did."
"Not even a peep." I laughed. "Honestly, I was more shocked than anything, since I figured it would have been Cassie or Trisha that spoke first. Baby, I couldn't even have yelled at her of I had wanted to. The happiness of hearing some force from her, and the proud look that was beaming from Axel's eyes wouldn't have let me."
Mia laughed lightly, then looked at me questioning whether she should ask. "What's going on in that head of yours?"
"Have you heard from Dimitri? How is he holding up? It can't be easy for him to leave and start over the way he did. Could we maybe help him out awhile just to make sure he doesn't feel alone?"
I couldn't help but laugh loudly at how big her heart was. She has barely been home, and I know that she has to be hurting from the stitched-up bullet holes, the thought that she was going to lose her family, and was hurt by someone we both trusted with our lives and yet she asks about helping Dimitri and Christoph before she even put her feet on the floor today. "Hold on a few minutes, there are a few people who I know want to see you before I lock you in this room forever.
I'll make sure him and Christoph are here as well. I'm sure that Dimitri would like to see that you are okay for himself so that he knew that his risk was worth what happened."
Mia smiled as she nodded, "Okay, but I'll only wait a few minutes."
I swiftly went in search of some people so that they could properly welcome her home. Most everyone I had been looking for had been in the living room together. As I walked in they all turned their attention to me. "I figured you all would want to welcome Mia home properly, she's awake now. So you are all welcome to come up to see her if you want."
It didn't take any of them long to hop to their feet. After the room emptied I noticed that Dimitri had been in the room as well. He had been sitting alone, listening to the rest as they happily chatted away. I could tell he hadn't wanted to let them know he was there. As I walked over and he looked up at me, I knew what he was expecting and it wasn't even what I was thinking. "I know Mia will want to see you to Dimitri and I'm sure she'd love to meet Christoph as well. It's not everyday she's going to get to hold a new family member. The next one has some time yet." I chided, referring to Alex and Cassie's addition that wouldn't be arriving for several more months.