Run Chapter 2

Mia stretched, and Levi ruffled her dark hair. "Get some sleep." "Only if you do." "I could always make you sleep." He threatened. "And I could always slip something into your whiskey." She patted him on the chest. "Go to bed. If you get up again, I'll know, and I won't be pleased." Nathaniel's eyebrows rose. "Mia's the lightest sleeper of all of us." Jim explained. "So, Nate, let's get you set up in one of the guest rooms."

The next morning, everyone woke to the smell of eggs and bacon. Nate found the kitchen just as Toby flipped the first pancake into the air to land on its uncooked side. Mia shoved past him into the kitchen. "Morning, Toby. Give me food." "Patience, little savage." "Yes, mom." He laughed, handing her a full plate. "The pancakes will be done soon. Take your fill of anything you want; there's plenty to spare." He informed Nate.

He did, filling his plate with sausages, bacon, hash browns, and eggs. Everyone else followed shortly. "Grab the syrup, Nate!" Jim called, forking a pancake onto his plate. He did, and it was snatched out of his hands by Mia. She drizzled it on her pancake, sausages, and bacon.

Levi grabbed it from her, giving her a look. "Don't judge it 'til you've tried it." She warned, pouring orange juice for Lee. Toby came in, and she made him sit and eat. "Have your eggs, Ben. You need the protein." She suggested. Levi reached across the table and wiped her mouth with a paper towel. "Use a napkin, savage." "Drink your juice, barbarian." She retorted.

"Stop fighting, children!" Toby ordered. "Yes, mom." They replied at teh same time. Nate laughed. "What?" Mia asked defensively. "Toby's the maternal one, Levi's the over-bearing, testosterone-high one--" "and Mia's the savage." She stuck her tongue out at Jim, and Levi continued, "Lee is the moody teenager," He waved his fork, still focused on the food. "Ben is the little brother," He grinned. "And Jim is the creepy, insane uncle."

"I'm not insane!" He objected. "I'm just... A little odd. And Nate, I guess that makes ou the shiny new toy." His eyebrows rose. Mia wrinkled her nose. "Little scary, isn't it? That's what I was when I first came, seven years back." "No one wanted a woman who was young and inexperienced, no matter how pretty she is." Levi laughed.

She got a spoonful of eggs and pulled it back to launch at him. Toby tapped her wrist and she scowled, shovelling it into her mouth instead. "Eat your food. You'll need the calories." She told him. Lee flicked her nose. "Maybe we were wrong, and you're the maternal one." "Nope, I'm just bossy." She grinned.

After breakfast, she yawned and leaned against Toby's shoulder. Levi glared at her. "I thought I told you to sleep." She stood, stretching her arms above her head. "If you'll recall, the terms of our agreement was that you had to sleep as well. Your turn to do the dishes."

He scowled at her and started clearing the plates off the table. "So, Nate," Mia asked casually, "How much do you know about cars?" An hour later, they were in the mansion's twenty-car garage, working on the engine of a lovely red mustang. "How did you guys find this place, anyway?" Nate asked. Less than a day and he was getting used to his nickname. Mia straightened from doing something with the wiring, blowing a stray curl from her eyes. "The mansion? We chose this as our LA headquarters because it was big, and because the owner on vacation in the Bahamas is one of the men trying to kill us."

"Ah. Remind me not to ask you any more questions." "Don't ask me any more questions." She grabbed a wrench and leaned back into the engine. It was hard for him to picture her as the tough, untouchable killer Levi and the others were making her out to be with her hair tied into pigtails and an oil smudge on her nose. She could swear like a sailor, though. She finally managed to fix whatever problem the car had, and they went inside.

He and Mia scrubbed the oil off their hands and faces, and they went into the home office, where Levi was. She leaned against the back of his chair. "You decided where we're going next?" "Japan." Her eyebrows rose. "We're not kayaking, are we?" He laughed. "I'm calling in a favor." "Who?" "A piloting buddy named Liam.He can get us on a private jet. Or we could get aliases and travel commercially." She wrinkled her nose. "Get on an airplane with a bunch of smelly tourists and have you calling me Betty for who knows how long? I think not."

He reached back and ruffled her hair. "I thought your prissiness would win out." "You know me so well it's scary. Do I know this Liam guy? His name rings a bell." "You might. Here's his picture." He handed her a small photo. "You carry around his picture? I can't decide if that's touching or creepy." "We go back a long way. I keep his picture with yours." She grinned and tok it. "Wow, he's cute." "He's not interested." "Do I detect a hint of jealousy? Over me or him? I mean, you carry his picture with you, and you're close enough to call in a favor."

"Are you questioning my sexuality?" "Are you getting defensive?" He put a hand over her mouth. "Hush, child. You wouldn't want to get yourself hurt." She skipped back and clapped her hands, laughing. "It's true!" "I will have you know," Levi said, standing, "that he has a lady-friend that he sky-dives with and is head-over-heels in love with." "Ooh, so it's unrequited! Nate, get some popcorn. I feel a bout of drama coming on." Levi loomed over her, trying to be menacing.

"Little girl, you should keep your nose out of my business." She grinned insolently up at him and bumped her nose against his chest. "I know your ticklish spots, barbarian." She turned and skipped out of the room. Nate and Levi watched her go. "She's an odd one." "Agreed."

After lunch, Nate helped Toby clear off the table. "Um... Mia and Levi. Are they--together?" "Together? No. Act like they should be, don't you think? But as far as I know, there's nothing between them." "Oh." They finished cleaning in silence, then Nate went upstairs. Levi was standing at the top. "Whatever you do, don't disturb Mia. She's asleep." "Asleep?" Nate checked his watch. "It's one in the afternoon!" Levi shrugged. "She naps after lunch whenever she can. And she needs it."

Ben strolled down the hallway. "She doesn't sleep well most of the time. She's cute when she's asleep." He grinned. "Thank you." She said dryly. "Now if you'll excuse me so I can go 'be cute'?" Levi put his hands in the air. "I tried to warn him." She glared at them all. "Goodbye." She slammed the door and all three men left.


There was a commotion outside. Gunshots. Ben and Toby were on watch right now, and the others were joining the fight. Mia stayed still. A man's finger brushed her cheekbone. "It's a shame boss wants to kill her." He said. "She's hot." Her eyes snapped open and she smiled. "Thank you." She pulled the trigger before he had time to react. There were four more. She rolled off the bed and picked off another, ignoring blossoming pain on the skin of her neck.

She moved fast, shooting another and rolling away before shooting the next. She bit back a scream as a bullet grazed the inside of her arm, then the last man tackled her. He pressed the barrel of his gun to her skull. "Who are you working for?" She hissed, straining for her gun. He kicked it away from her, laughing. "I think you know." "How did you find us?" "Does it matter? You're dying soon anyways."

"Then it wouldn't hurt to tell me." He pulled the safety back. "We followed you after you brought your new boy-toy home." "He's cute enough, but he's certainly not a boy-toy." Lee said mildly, plucking the gun from the man's hand and shooting him.

She slumped. "It's about time. I can only stall for so long." He kicked the body away from her and helped her to her feet. "We were busy downstairs." "Is everyone alright?" "New kid's a bit shaken. Levi got bullet-burn and Toby got shot in the hand."

Mia dashed downstairs. "Toby!" She gasped, hugging him. He was the closest to the staircase. "I'm sorry! I should've been more careful about being followed!" "It's fine." He said, waving his bandaged hand. "They didn't hit bone. Levi got the worst of it." She hurried over to the couch where Levi was sitting and knelt next to him. He had a large bandage wrapped around his upper arm, and blood had soaked through. Before she could say anything, he put a finger over her lips. "Save it. I heard the guilt speech when you gave it to Toby."

She buried her face in his uninjured shoulder. "Bastards should just leave us alone." He stroked her hair. "It's alright. It's going to be okay." He held her out at arm's length. "You're bleeding!" She looked down at herself, feeling the pain of her injuries again. "I am." She said, realizing that the gore covering her wasn't just from the men who had been in her room. "A couple shot me before I got them." "Toby, the medical kit, NOW!" He shouted. She opened her mouth to tell him not to panic, but the world swayed. It wasn't 'til Levi grabbed her that she realized that she was the one swaying.

Then Toby was there. She dimly registered him saying, "The wrist is much worse than the neck. Levi, I need you to hold her." He cradled her on his lap, while Ben held her arm steady. She squirmed as Toby used antiseptic spray on her arm, then stitched and bandaged it. "Blood-loss... transfusion... she'll be fine..." Everything seemed slow and out of focus. She slept.