King for a Day Read Online Free PDF Page B

couldn’t believe this. About six weeks ago, when Justin went on the run from Vaughn and disappeared, I’d been sick to my stomach, worrying how it might impact everyone. Now, my life was on the line, threatening everyone’s happiness.
    Well, better me than Justin . I couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to my baby brother.
    “Mia!” My mother’s powder-blue eyes lit up when she caught sight of me in the doorway.
    “Hey there.” I made a little wave. “Nice to see you’re feeling better.” I moved to the foot of her bed. “Only one more day and you’re out, right?”
    She rolled her eyes. “Yes. But your father says he’s not going to let me do any shopping, and the holidays are coming soon.” An image of them sitting around the table at Christmas dinner without me popped into my head. It felt like a knife in my heart. It would just kill them if I didn’t fix this.
    I swallowed the sadness building in my chest.
    “Something wrong, sweetie?” my mother asked.
    I forced my mouth into a smile. “No. I’m happy, that’s all.” I looked at Justin, who wore black jeans and a sweatshirt. We had the same wavy blond hair, only his was pretty short. Mine was cut into a shoulder-length bob. I’d also had it highlighted a few months ago and hadn’t gone for a touch-up, so the color was growing out in a sad kind of way. I guess after everything that had happened recently, it didn’t seem important.
    “Can I talk to you, Justin? Outside?”
    His eyes shifted a bit. “Sure.”
    I smiled at my parents. “It’s a little surprise we’re working on.”
    He followed me out through the waiting area into the stairwell. “What surprise?”
    I turned and looked at him, trying my best not to flip out. “King is missing. You have to tell me what you know.”
    He didn’t seem at all shocked, which meant I’d been right. He did know something. Nevertheless, he said, “I don’t know anything. I already told you.”
    “Tell me again, Justin,” I growled. “Because I’m in serious shit. If I don’t find King, 10 Club is going to confiscate his property. All of it.”
    I hadn’t shown Justin my tattoo. In fact, I’d been wearing mostly long-sleeved clothes to cover it up. I hadn’t decided what to do when summer finally rolled around. Now, I guess I might not have to worry.
    “Look.” I pulled back the sleeve of my red sweater. “I’m his property, Justin. Me.”
    Justin’s green eyes widened. “Fuck! Mia. Why didn’t you tell me?”
    “What would I say? That I agreed to be some crazy, rich guy’s assistant for the rest of my life to save you? What good would that do?”
    “Motherfucker!” Justin ran his hands through his hair. “How? How did this happen?” he fumed.
    Don’t get me wrong. Justin was my “little” brother, a year younger than me, but he was a huge guy, like my dad. He could’ve been a linebacker if he’d wanted, but his passion had been bones and stones, aka archaeology. Regardless, when he got mad, he was pretty scary.
    “I’ll fucking kill him! Did King touch you?” Justin asked.
    I wasn’t expecting Justin to be happy, but his reaction was much more emotional than I expected.
    I held out my hands, trying to calm him. “No one’s touched me.” Exactly.
    “Don’t lie to me, Mia.” He grabbed my wrist. “I know what that means. It’s a brand members use to mark their significant other.”
    My brain did a double take. “What do you mean, ‘significant other’?”
    He shook his head. “Mia, you know exactly what I mean.”
    “You mean spouse?” But that wouldn’t make any sense.
    “No. Spouses can be divorced.”
    I blinked several times, and my brain started to cramp.
    “You really don’t know?” he asked.
    “No. I really, really don’t.” But he was scaring the hell out of me.
    “King claimed you as his .”
    “Yeah, I know. As his property ,” I argued, trying to avoid the slippery slope I feared was coming.
    “No. It means you’re his