BAB 8 I Mission Not Completed

Silence surrounded the room. Mia stood nervously, and she got observation glances from seven pairs of eyes. She felt like antiques in a museum being observed. None of the handsome men in the room moved and returned the greeting, except for one person, a man with blonde hair and a cute face standing by the sofa.

The man smiled at her, but he seemed to withhold in amusement. Mia doesn’t even understand where the funny thing is.

“My name is Mia He―”

“We heard your name just now. No need to introduce yourself twice.”

Mia glared at the man standing in front of her. She ignored the handsome man because of his rude attitude, but a sweet scent of citrus and sandalwood greeted her, reminding her of something.

Fully aware, Mia approached the man and pulled hard on his black suit so that his body leaned forward. She ignored his angry gaze or the sharp sound of his breathing. She shamelessly sniffed the scent on the man’s suit. More precisely, she almost kissed the handsome man’s chest.

Sure enough, it smelled the same as the coat at the motel.

Mia’s eyes scanned the man’s body. He has a handsome face, smells so good, with a broad chest, muscular body, a slender waist with narrow hip, about one hundred and eighty-five height, black hair like ink with alluring jet black eyes. He could make her swoon if he didn’t glare at her.

Chuckles from across the room made Mia realize she was making eye contact with the man.

“Satisfied with your observation, Miss Heart?” asked the man with a flat face, but a glimpse of a faint smile touched his sensual lips.

“Hay, I am Gavin Caleston.” The blonde-haired man who had smiled at her earlier approached her. She was about to take the blond-haired man’s hand when suddenly the rude man in front of her pulled Mia in a hug and lifted her into the air, then walked out of the room. Leave everybody else with a confused face.

Gavin shrugged as they were left behind by Jaxon. He glanced at his five friends in the room; sure enough, a sharp glare had been waiting for him all along.

“I don’t like playing hide and seek,” explained Gavin as he walked to the sofa.

“That’s Jaxon’s business, Gavin. You don’t have to interfere in his decision,” Rey disagrees.

“Will you keep quiet if such a beautiful girl is roaming the streets and being targeted?”

Gavin’s question was answered in silence.

“Jaxon wasn’t stupid enough to let that girl hang around alone. There are lots of eyes watching her,” said Rey, who got a shrug from Gavin.

“Besides, I was very nervous about why that girl came from Michigan to Colorado,” explained Gavin, who got a nod from Connor. Both of them have a high sense of curiosity.

“Is that girl a spy?” Of them all, only Gideon had the most suspicion.

“No spies are behaving like that, Gee,” said Gavin, who gave Gideon a horror look.

“Hey, I just imagined a reason that made sense. After all, there’s no way a woman in her right mind could come all the way just to hang around with Jaxon. “

Now, it was Rey’s turn to look at Gideon.

“I hope your personalities aren’t being mixed up,” Rey hissed at Gavin and Gideon, who were still having a heated discussion about Mia’s reason for coming to Denver.

“Then, what do you think?” All eyes were on Rey at Gideon’s question.

Rey took a deep breath. He hates to discuss useless things.

“We better wait for Jaxon to finish interrogating the girl.” Rey got up and walked over to the bar. This time he needed something to drink. “Just enjoy the party, boys,” he snorted half-jokingly at the newspaper headline that morning.

“Next time, learn how to write well, Gavin. Don’t make Red Cage embarrassed by the headline this morning.” Rey shook his head in disbelief that a billionaire was illiterate.

The five men in the room approached the bar, except for Gavin, who seemed busy playing Candy Crush on the sofa. Rey, closest to the trash can, threw the newspaper into it. At least they already know who the target reader of this morning’s newspaper is.

…

Jaxon could not lift his gaze from Mia’s feet, who had moved from left to right and vice versa. The girl looked uncomfortable standing in the middle of his office while he sat on his chair.

Many times Jaxon took his breath. It felt like the room was getting smaller for the two of them.

“How did you get in here?” he asked, breaking the silence.

“The three guards at the gate let me in,” she replied.

The girl’s face was irritated, and Jaxon realized why. He tries to be gentle, but his anger towards Gavin causes him to lose control. He couldn’t believe Gavin did this to him just because he didn’t want to do anything to the girl in front of him.

They sank into silence again.

“What brings you here, Miss Heart?” asked Jaxon in a slightly harsh tone, even though he frowned at how he spoke.

Mia stared at the man in front of her with annoyance. If it weren’t for this stupid mission, she wouldn’t want to be in a room alone with Jaxon Bradwood. That man was too perfect for the devil in his soul. Even the way he looked made Mia want to take out those beautiful eyes and preserve them for a private collection, but no thanks.

“I want to give something to you, Mr. Bradwood, “ she said as she reached into the worn backpack she always carried.

A yellow envelope moved to Jaxon’s desk, but he just stared at the envelope with an unreadable face. But it was clear that a mass of emotion was running through his face that Mia couldn’t understand.

After more than ten minutes of silence that hurt her ears, finally, Jaxon says something.

“You were looking for me ... just for ... this?” he asked in disbelief.

Mia frowned even more when Jaxon asked the same thing with the same expression three times.

“Yes, Mr. Bradwood,” she replied more than three times. It felt like the conversation was like a broken tape being repeated.

Until unexpected things happened. Jaxon Bradwood laughed hard.

Mia watched it with her mouth open, confused that she didn’t understand.

After his stock of laughter ran out, Jaxon controlled himself again, although sometimes he had to repeat the same scene until he almost drained the oxygen supply from his poor lungs.

“You’re not playing with me, Mia?” asked Jaxon this time. The trace of laughter had disappeared from his face and replaced with Jaxon Bradwood’s persona, which was severe and a little scary. Even the way he called her name showed that he didn’t need to be polite.

Mia swallowed her saliva and answered carefully.

“An old man asked me to deliver this envelope to you. He did not give an exact address and only instructed me to give this envelope directly.” While Mia was talking, Jaxon opened the envelope and read the contents. “I don’t even know what was in the envelope because he forbade me to break the seal. He said if I opened it, then you would know.”

Mia waited anxiously. When Jaxon focused on reading the envelope contents, even the man seemed to forget that she was in the room.

“You say he’s an old man?” asked Jaxon as he read the documents. “How does he look?” he asked, this time in a low voice. Mia was confused for a moment, then she remembered the old man’s face.

“He has white hair with a bald head at the front, tall and thin, wearing shabby clothes, as if he lived on the street, but his appearance shows he’s a military veteran.”

Jaxon put the documents in his work drawer, and when his eyes returned to Mia, something changed, as if he was looking at Mia with a new sight. Jaxon looks at Mia with a gentle gaze that subconsciously brings out a red hue on her porcelain face.

“Does he have a spider tattoo on his arm or palm?”

Jaxon stood up and walked toward Mia until they were at eye level. Her eyes searched for something on Mia’s face, unconsciously making Mia lower her head, avoiding the soul-piercing gaze of the man in front of her.

“He has a thumb-sized spider tattoo on the back of his hand,” Mia replied softly while showing her right thumb. Somehow Jaxon made her nervous.

“Thank you, now wait at the pavilion. I still have something to discuss with you.”

Mia looked back at Jaxon’s eyes and was about to refuse his orders.

“My job has been completed, Mr. Bradwood. I have to go back home today.”

Jaxon bent his body towards Mia so that there was no boundary between the two, which made Mia take two steps back.

“Don’t argue with me, Miss Heart. You’re not going anywhere. Our business is not over.”

Mia was about to argue, but the two men who had just walked into the room kept her quiet, and this time Mia didn’t hide her emotions. She shot Jaxon a deathly glare before leaving the room.

Getting that defiant gaze made Jaxon smile immediately. He did not think that the girl would dare to look him in the eye with a face full of anger.

…

The meeting room was silent as soon as Jaxon entered it. The document from the yellow envelope that had been in Jaxon’s hands is now rotated by the seven men there. All of them stared at the paper in disbelief.

“What are you going to do, Jax?” asked Nicko, breaking the silence.

Jaxon was pensive while holding the two photos in front of him. He took a deep breath, releasing the weight on his chest.

“Look after her. There is no other choice.” He turned his gaze towards Nicko. “I know you were close to Cinzia when you were a child. At least this document answers your questions all this time.”

Nicko took a photo that Jaxon was holding and gently rubbed the surface.

“If you look carefully, the three are very similar. This photo does little to help my vague memory. It feels like it’s been a long time.” He turned his gaze towards Jaxon, “Do you want me to find this girl?” Nicko swings a photo in the air.

“Yeah, do your best, Nick. You know we don’t have much time. Right now, it’s not just us who hunt out there.” The two of them looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

Connor shook his head in disbelief at what he was reading. With one long whistle, he flipped the birth certificate in his hand. “Twins,” he said, still in disbelief.

“All right, then what is the plan?” asked Gideon, putting the documents one by one back into the yellow envelope.

“The man who gave this envelope is named Dell Rosie. He was found dead with two bullets lodged in his head and heart, just the day after Mia Heart left Blueberry Hill.”

Gavin read the report from his cell phone in a monotone voice of an anchor, which made his listeners roll their eyes. “From the accurate information, he is one of Gioluca’s trusted people, but it is still unclear why he knew the information about Mia. According to allegations, he is one of the people who knows where Mia Heart is. And strangely, he trusts a jerk like Jaxon Bradwood to look after an innocent girl like Mia Heart.”

Jaxon ignored Gavin’s insinuation and focused his energies on the problem before him.

“Gioluca hasn’t appeared in public in a while. You know anything about this, Nick?”

“His health deteriorated, requiring him to be in a wheelchair. He’s old, Jax.”

“It seems like it’s been a long time since the other members of the Famiglia have seen him,” Rey added.

Nicko nodded in confirmation. It is bizarre because Gioluca, a God Father and a Big Boss, has not appeared to the public in the past two years. But not a single Famiglia asked where he was.

“I hear that at the moment, it is Fabiana and Romero who hold the reins of power.”

The seven men looked at each other and matched the events that were going on in their respective minds. The seven of them stiffened, and their gaze sharpened as they realized something big was about to happen. With the information they just got, it seemed as if the puzzle that had been a mystery had been resolved perfectly.

“Tell me what I think is not true,” groaned Gavin as he brushed his blonde hair.

Rey patted Gavin’s shoulder and nodded in confirmation.

“You are not alone, Gavin. No one believes that the Famiglia are under serious threat.”

Jaxon looked at Nicko with a sympathetic face. Among them all, Nicko is the one who has the most impact on his future if there is a split in Famiglia.

“We are on your side Nick,” said Danny, giving support.

“We have to be prepared, Jax,” all of them agreed that what Mia was carrying was much more severe than they thought.