Chapter 529: 'Mom'

Mina was warm in bed, ready to dim the lights and fall asleep. She was annoyed by Drax's morning wake up calls and harassment, but all that mattered was that she managed to provide Mills the distraction she needed, and her friend was somewhere safe and free of the restrictions that the man had placed on her.

The night before, Mina had received a message from a blocked number with just one word; 'waiting.' She intuitively knew where Mills was staying, because it was the only place where the two of them could fit in without being expected to change anything. Oddly enough it was also the first place Drax had searched for Mills, but Mina knew the woman was smart enough to not go straight to where she planned to hide.

Mills had connections, albeit shady ones, and from earlier conversations the women had, Mina knew she would have smuggled herself into Sani by freight, then used her 'influence' to secure private transport into the country of her choosing. Getting around undetected was something Willow and Mills were passionate about, and it was part of what drew the women together as friends.

As soon as sleep hit her, Mina's room door flew open. She did not even have a reaction this time, but Emma, who had just returned from working in The Four Cities, came out of her room swinging a bat at Drax. She had been startled awake by him one time too many, and she was obviously at her wits end. The man was able to dodge the attacks, but a few landed because he was a huge man in a small hallway.

Mina sighed, satisfied that Emma had decided that enough was enough. Drax was using sleep deprivation to try and break her, but Mina did not need much sleep, so she felt fine. Emma on the other hand, was moody, cranky, and aggressive. Mina heard the woman threaten Drax with boiling water, before she slammed her room door shut and the man laughed, coming back to stand in Mina's doorway, while rubbing his shoulder.

"You know, you may be able to take this, but she cannot." Mina turned to the man.

"You know, when Mills finds out that you're torturing her friends, she will never forgive you." Drax's face fell, and Mina chuckled triumphantly. In truth, she did not mind Drax's desperation. The man looked horrible, and she could tell the weeks that passed had taken its toll on him. Standing up, Mina walked toward Drax and placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "How about I make us a snack?"

----

Drax barely touched his meal, and Mina used the man's docile like nature to try and pry information out of him. Her plan was to get it to Mills, and let the woman come to her own decision about returning. He told her that shortly after Mills had recovered from surgery, they found one of the men who had stabbed her. The man claimed to have been working against the Staton family, not the Lee family, and from there everything went downhill.

"When I asked Mills to marry me it wasn't from lack of options. I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and I was afraid that she would leave if she found out that marrying me would make her and Milo a double target."

"Would you have left her if you were in the same position?" Drax considered for a while.

"I wouldn't have had to, because she would have left me."

"You know, Mills spent her whole life going out of her way to avoid being controlled by others. She took a risk with you."

"I know," Drax groaned as he laid his head on the kitchen island.

"I keep thinking back to where I went wrong, and truthfully I know it was in the moment I asked Fiori to stay away from her. As for Lydia, that woman is crazy. I said a few sweet words when I was young, but they meant nothing. If I could go back, I would probably do it again, but I would tell Mills about it."

"Where is she?" Mina's brow was raised, and Drax looked at her with a gaze that was telling.

"She isn't dead yet; if that is what you were asking." Drax was silent for a long time before he looked up at her again. "And what about you? What's it like to be a twenty-three-year-old stepmother?" Mina chuckled.

"I babysat the child once, that hardly makes me a stepmother, and Carson is still married."

"You are a real idiot, you know that?" Mina raised an eyebrow to the man. "You think that Carson guy suddenly can't find a babysitter after years of having no trouble?" Mina's brows furrowed. "He introduced you to his kid Mina. I can guarantee that as soon as his divorce is finalized, his little girl will start calling you mommy. He is using his daughter to force you into a relationship." Mina blanched at Drax's words. She had not thought of it in that way. She had simply believed that he felt comfortable leaving Bailey with her because she was his friend, and she was good with the child. "You just realized it's true."

"How do I get out of it?" Mina sounded panicked, as if the idea of being in a relationship was disgusting to her. Her reaction was the same one Drax had seen a lot of his friends have, but never women.

"You could start by telling me where Mills is."

"No," she replied, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Suit yourself 'mom.'"

"That is not funny."

"Neither is not knowing where your fiancé is for two weeks, but you seem to think otherwise."

"Drax, what kind of friend would I be if I sold Mills out so easily?"

"A terrible one," the man mumbled in defeat.

"Exactly, now tell me. How do I stop Carson?"

"Ian is the best one to help you with that." Mina scrunched up her face and Drax chuckled, finally finding his appetite. "You really have no clue."

----

With Peter still out sick, director Porter told Mina that he needed her to help with casting. She did not know how she could be of aid, but she did her best. When her boss asked for her opinion, she gave it and when she felt that someone was worthy of making it to the next phase of auditions, she flagged their profile. She could sense the friendly relationship between her and her boss going sour, but she ignored it as a part of life.

At the end of the casting call, the man informed her that he would no longer need her services in the weeks to come. Mina was shocked, but okay with the admission. She asked the man when her last day of employment would be, and he told her that he only needed her to inspect and negotiate cheaper rates at Miss Lisa's studio. He also told her that he would pay her for the remaining week, even if she got it done in a day, which served as motivation.

The updated contract had severance fees in place for both parties, so in theory, director Porter had punished himself for making her sign on for another sixty days, because he now had to pay her 10k in damages that he promised to send as soon as she negotiated the rates. Mina did not question what drove the man into firing her, because she could see the remorse in his eyes. He was letting her go because he had to, not because he wanted to, and her mind went to the Rue family.

Mina pulled out her phone and called Miss Lisa, not Cylus, to schedule a tour. The woman was professional and offered to squeeze Mina in the next day, which was perfect. Mina then called Dom, and asked him to go with her, but he sounded as though he could not make the commitment. Sensing his unease, Mina left the man alone and called Zane, who agreed to be there without pause.