That pulled me out of my tangle of thoughts. “What?”
“Maybe she was trying to get a rise out of me, Luc, but I’m not taking a chance when it comes to Link.”
My grip tightened on the steering wheel. “I’ll sort it.”
“I don’t want you to.”
The car swerved slightly. “I’m sorry. Are you expecting us to do nothing about that threat?”
“I’m expecting you to do nothing about it,” Mia corrected me. “I want you to leave it with me.”
“No. No. Absolutely not,” I objected.
“Luc.” Mia was completely calm as we pulled into the drive. We got out, Mia pulling Link from the car as she said, “This technically doesn’t have to do with you.”
“I dare you to repeat that.”
“It doesn’t. Amber’s issue is with me.”
“If anyone has an issue with you it’s immediately my problem.” There would never be a time that I wasn’t in her corner.
“Let me deal with this,” she said, following me into the house.
“Mia, if what she said is true, I’m not having you up against her.”
“You don’t think I’m capable.”
We’d waded into dangerous territory. Mia’s fire burned behind closed doors but when it was sparked it was uncontrollable. I didn’t think she was incapable, but I didn’t know if it would be a match for what someone like Amber could unleash. “You’re asking me to risk you and I’m not willing to do that. I’m never going to be willing to do that.”
“Because you think I’m incapable.”
“Because I love you! You’re insane if you think I’m going to let you go and do something idiotic because what, Mia? Because of a need to prove yourself? To who?”
“To everyone, Luc!” Link began to cry in her arms at the raised voices and Mia rocked him gently to try and calm him down. “To everyone,” she repeated, softer this time. “To myself. I want to feel in control of my life again.”
“I can’t risk it, Mia.”
“What if I told you what I wanted? You’d know every step, you’d be right beside me, but you’d let me handle it.”
I took in a deep breath and ran a hand down my face. Mia had a rebellious spirit and had proven herself to be resourceful. If I didn’t agree, she would most likely find a way to go out and do it without me. If I agreed to what she was asking, at least I could step in if anything went wrong.
“I’m not happy about this,” I told her.
“But you’ll let me handle it?”
“I’ll let you handle it.” Part of me was curious. Part of me was desperate to see what Mia planned. This was the first time she’d actively wanted to play a part in fixing a problem we’d encountered, and it was all down to Link. If our son had been left out of the equation, I would have placed money on Mia being happy to leave it in my hands, but her protective instinct was unshakeable when it came to Link.
She reached up and kissed my cheek. “Let me put Link down and then we can talk about this.”
For the first time since we’d met, I wondered just how much I’d managed to corrupt her, and I was excited to find out.
Chapter Forty Three
Lucas
“Mia, you need to sleep,” I said to her quietly. She was sitting on the sofa in the living room, feet curled up underneath her, fresh mug of coffee on the table. In front of the dying fire, Dante was on his back, fast asleep with Cerb curled up next to him. Mom had gone up to bed earlier in the evening and I’d just put Link down following a feed after a busy Christmas day.
“I’m not tired,” she replied, not looking up from the papers in her hands. I reached down and took them from her and Mia finally looked up at me. “What are you doing?”
