Текст книги "Ruthless People"

Автор книги: J. J. McAvoy

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Текущая страница: 16 (всего у книги 21 страниц)

“Do you think he is angry?”

“One can only hope, love.”

“Entertaining indeed.” Sedric smirked, leaning back into his chair.

“That was only the first course father.” Liam grinned, and I couldn’t wait for dessert.

LIAM

I didn’t make a habit of smoking. However, this damn wedding had gone on for far too long. Amory was now fully aware, which had to mean his new wife was as well. The tension between us, as we pretended to be nothing more than guests, was boiling under the surface. Even the way Saige cut her steak, which was so rare it looked like it was dripping blood, seem to antagonize us. She glared at Mel with so much hatred even Olivia had to look away. My Mel smiled at her as if she hadn’t noticed. I knew she had though. The clicking noise under the table as she loaded her gun with one hand was proof enough.

So I took a small smoking break inside the bathroom stall like I was still in high school. Neal and Declan had been my role models until the point my mother found them and beat their asses so badly that they couldn’t sit. That was the last time either of them smoked. I, on the other hand, had never been caught.

Maybe Mel could beat it out of me?

“Did you see Callahan’s bitch?” a voice called out from the other side of the stall.

“The Italian wench in white?” another replied, and I felt myself freeze.

“What I wouldn’t give to fuck the shit out of her tight pussy. I would ride the fuck out of her until she broke down like a good little cunt whore. Then—” He didn’t get to finish for the simple fact that I stepped out of the stall and put a bullet in the back of his friend’s head.

The body fell onto the urinal he was pissing in. The man beside him—how dare he call my wife a whore, cunt, and bitch—stood with his pants down in shock. I knew him. He was Amory’s best man, Alex.

He turned to me, opening his mouth to speak, but I took the liberty of grabbing him by his hair and smashing his head against the marble above the urinal.

“That Italian wench is my fucking wife!” I yelled, using his head as a hammer against the wall.

“You don’t talk of her as you piss.” Slam.

“You don’t talk of her, period. You don’t call her anything but fucking Mrs. Callahan.” Slam.

“And you sure as fuck don’t talk of her with your fucking hand on your dick.” Slam. Slam. Slam.

Releasing his head, which was covered in blood and brain matter, I watched as his body fell to the ground. He most likely died after the first two hits into the wall, but all I could fucking see was red. I wanted his head to come off his fucking shoulders. Sighing, I turned to the mirror to find my suit covered in blood.

With a groan, I reached into my jacket and pulled out my phone. “Eric, I need a new suit as fast as possible,” I told him as I washed the blood from my hands. Looking down, I noticed the blood spreading across the marble floor and onto my fucking shoes.

“Damn it. Get me new shoes as well.”

Hanging up, I dried my hands and stared at the bodies around me, just as another fool stepped in. He froze, looking first at the blood and then to me.

“Anger issues,” I said to him reaching for my gun. “Step into my office.”

He tried to turn and run but I shot him right in the spine, and his legs gave out.

“Guess you won’t be stepping anywhere, huh?” I asked him before blowing a hole through his face. Again, the blood splattered onto my hands, and I couldn’t help but groan once more.

“See what you made me do?” I asked the dead man before locking the door and rewashing my hands.

The worst things happened when you smoked. But thank God for silencers, I thought to myself.

MELODY

When Liam sat back down, he kissed my cheek. I looked him over quickly and something didn’t seem right.

“Did you change?” It looked like the same suit but only fresher, like he hadn’t been wearing it all day.

“Why would I do that?” he asked me, but there was a glint in his eye.

“Don’t play coy with me.”

He smirked, kissing me once more and whispering, “Later, love.”

“So what’s next on the menu?” Sedric asked as he wiped the corners of his mouth.

Evelyn smacked on his chest. “Will you stop? You’re like a child at Disneyland.”

“Bloody Wonderland, actually.” Liam smirked. I wasn’t sure what that meant but Sedric did, and I guess that was all that mattered.

“Liam and I have to say hello before any more excitement occurs.” I smiled as Liam and I stood.

Saige and Amory must have had the same idea because they were walking right to us.

We met them in the middle of the dining hall.

“Mr. and Mrs. Valero, congratulations. You and this wedding were beautiful.” I smiled reaching out for Saige’s hand.

“Thank you, Mrs. Callahan.” Saige smiled back, shaking my hand. “And kudos to you for wearing white and not caring what people think of you.”

“My family’s opinion is all that matters to me.” Which was bullshit because only my opinion, and sometimes Liam’s, mattered to me.

“Yes, our apologies about your father then.” Amory bit his lip at me with lust in his eyes. He reached over to shake my hand, but Liam grabbed his wrist and forced him to shake his.

“I’m quite possessive,” he told him. “I’m sorry about your best man.”

I looked to him confused for a quick moment before Amory and Saige scanned the room quickly.

“What did you—?”

“Thank you so much for the lovely evening. However, Liam and I aren’t fireproof,” I interrupted and Saige turned to me, confused once more.

“What?”

“Fire!” someone yelled behind us, and sure enough, flames were breaking out above us.

“What a shame, you should try to save your gifts. The big one is usually a blender.” Liam grinned.

The room broke out in panic. The people looked like animals trying to leave a watering hole. They tripped, pushed, and pulled at one another to make it out the doors.

“You want war! I will fucking give your war!” Amory roared at us.

“It’s always been war. Don’t cry because you’re losing.” Liam grinned.

“I’m going to fucking kill you!” Saige yelled at us.

“We’re looking forward to seeing you try.” I smiled. “By the way I lied, your dress is hideous and this wedding . . . well it sucked so badly even a blind man couldn’t stand to look at it.”

“You little bitc—”

“Ma’am we have to go!” A guard of theirs yelled as she pulled them away. Liam and I stared around as the fire spread.

“Have you both lost your minds?” Olivia screamed over the chaos of the room. So many people, so few doors.

“Liam!” Evelyn and Coraline yelled while Sedric watched in glory. He knew we wouldn’t be stupid enough to trap ourselves.

“Enough,” Liam snapped at them, and I saw the flames in his eyes again. It turned me on. I couldn’t deny that.

Taking my hand, we nodded at them to follow us. Everyone was so busy trying to run to the front door that they didn’t even notice us. Liam pushed opened a small part of the wall we’d had installed after discovering the wedding location.

The moment it opened, Declan and Neal stepped through. Coraline and Olivia both ran into their husband’s arms, and I felt tempted to roll my eyes. We had called them back just in time to pull this off correctly.

“Save it, let’s go.”

The men being . . . Callahan men . . . made sure we girls went through the new tunnel first, however I waited at the door for Liam. He was the last to exit, and as we closed the door, we met the eyes of Vance as his men tried to pull him away. I smiled at him before giving him the middle finger just as Liam shut it completely. Turning back to me, he grinned.

“So mature.”

“You’re jealous you didn’t do it.” I smirked as we walked through the underground tunnel.

“Next time. I really hope he doesn’t die.” He pouted looking back as we reached the lake. There was a boat waiting for us.

“No, he isn’t going to die. He’s too big of an ass to die so easily.” I smirked as he helped me onto the boat.

“I swear you’re both pyromaniacs.” Declan laughed as he handed us a glass of champagne.

Looking back over at the mansion behind us, I couldn’t help but agree.

“Where to sis?” Neal yelled from the steering wheel. Olivia hugged him as he moved us further and further away from the home.

“The city,” Liam and I said together. Everyone broke off into their own private conversations giving me time to turn to Liam.

“It’s later.”

He rolled his eyes. “There was a little hiccup in the bathroom. It got messy, I killed two . . . three men and had to change. Nothing major.”

“You need to control your temper.” I leaned in to kiss him.

“One of these days I will . . . maybe.” He kissed me back.

Motherfucking day made.

TWENTY-FIVE

“My husband and I have never considered divorce.

Murder sometimes, but never divorce.”

~ Joyce Brothers

OLIVIA

“So you’re okay with what just happened?” I wasn’t even sure where to begin. Neal didn’t respond but started to change out of his tuxedo.

“Neal!”

“What Olivia, what!” he yelled, throwing his tie onto the bed.

“Don’t you ‘what’ me! We just set a mansion on fire—”

“You didn’t do shit. Melody and Liam did,” he interrupted me as he walked into the closet.

“Exactly, and it was wrong! How many people just died?” He was acting like he didn’t care. But this had to have bothered him. I was so angry that I wanted to kill them all.

He looked at me like I was insane. “It’s the job, Olivia. I don’t give a shit about who died. I’m not paid to give a shit. This family is all I care about, and you know that, so save me your bull about the innocent.”

Crossing my arms across my chest, I glared at him and bit my tongue to stop myself from saying what it was I really wanted to say.

“They are reckless and callous, which isn’t a good combination! They have no idea what they are doing! You sell drugs! You are not murderers! How old is Melody? Twenty-four, twenty-five? She walks around like she owns the goddamn world!” I hated her the fucking most.

“Because she does!” he snapped, stomping out of the closet and into my face.

“No, she doesn’t, and neither does Liam. He shouldn’t even be Ceann na Conairte! You should be. This is all fucked up! They treat you as if you’re a fucking dog. They treat us all like we are their fucking pets. She shot you twice! And each time you defend them! You are the oldest. You are the strongest. You should be Ceann na Conairte!” There, I fucking said it.

He shook his head at me and sighed before taking a seat on the bed. I fell to my knees in front of him and kissed his hands.

“You have always allowed Liam to hold the past over you. Now his wife is doing the same, and she isn’t even—”

“Enough, Olivia,” he replied so coldly I flinched. “Do you want to get a divorce?”

My jaw dropped open as I stared at him. “Neal you can’t . . . What? No, I don’t want a fucking divorce.”

I got to my feet as he stared at me. He stood up, walking to my closet and started to pull out my things.

“Neal, what in seven hells are you doing? I don’t want a divorce!” I yelled again trying to stop him.

“That’s the only way I know how to protect you. We could get divorced, you would have to get a new identity, and I would leave you enough money that you wouldn’t have to worry. Once Melody and Liam found out they would most likely have you killed. You speak French right? France could be good for you, the shopping, the—”

“Shut up you asshole! We have vows. I’m not divorcing you. I would rather have them kill me.” His words stung, and I tried to fight the tears that were building up in my eyes as he pulled me in and kissed me hard, but it was only when he broke away from my lips did he finally truly look at me.

He kissed my forehead and I stayed in his embrace. I loved his arms. I felt protected, and loved, and special.

“I love you, Olivia, I truly do,” he whispered. “But I love my family more. If it came down to Melody and Liam and this family, I have to choose them. It’s in my blood to choose them. I want you at my side, but you need to understand that we are family and we are pawns. Melody and Liam rule, which means when they call, you answer. They tell you to jump and you try to reach the sky.”

“Neal—”

He pulled back so I could stare into his eyes “No. Listen to me Olivia. Just because I am firstborn does not give me any right to be Ceann na Conairte. I don’t want to be Ceann na Conairte. Melody and Liam were born on the dark side of the moon. They enjoy this life. They watch people burn in their beds. When they aren’t doing that, they are making sure needles stay in people’s arms and coke in their noses. That is all they do all the time. It’s what you do when you’re the Ceann na Conairte. I watched our father go half-mad because of what he was forced to do. I’ve watched my mother dip herself in cement just so she could stand beside him and not break. She wasn’t always so tough. This life changes us. It forces us to become cold-blooded and not to care for anyone but the family. I handle being a sidekick, because I don’t want to walk so deeply in the dark. I do not want us to walk so deeply in the dark.”

“So what am I supposed to do?” I hissed, breaking out of his hands. “Bow down to them as though they are King and Queen.”

He looked at the clothes on the ground and then at me. “You have three options—bow, hide, or die, Olivia. So yes, you will bow down and kiss the ring like we all do. You will jump when they ask, come when they call, and anything else. Or, you can be packed by the time I get back.”

He walked past me and toward the door before turning again. “I knew when you married me that you loved the idea of power just as much as you did me. I knew you wanted all the things that came with being a Callahan. I’ve tried to give it all to you, but you need to understand Olivia, you are not the queen, you are the princess. You will always be the princess. You may wear a tiara, but it will never be as big or as shiny as Melody’s. Hopefully you love me enough to be just Princess.”

“Neal—” He slammed the door.

“I do love you,” I whispered to myself. Falling to my knees, I gathered my things and put them back into the closet.

Tracing my tattoo on my wrist, I sighed. He was right. I did love the idea of power when we got married. I was so excited to be marrying a Callahan, and Neal Callahan at that. I thought all my pain would go away. But in the back of my mind, I could still hear his voice sometimes. He was like this never-ending part of me that wouldn’t go away. No matter how many times I tried to wash him off me, he was still there. I married Neal for a lot of reasons. First because I really did love him, and second, because I knew he wouldn’t dare come after me as a Callahan. I thought I could have it all—the fame, the husband, and the protection. Neal thought it was his fault we couldn’t have children, but the truth was it was mine. It was because of what that monster and his friends did to me. They broke me.

Even after all this time, I still couldn’t speak about it. I felt disgusted with myself, and at first I thought Neal would be, too. I knew better now. I knew he loved me, which is why I knew he would hunt him down. I just didn’t know if I was ready to face that darkness yet. Melody had taken the seat I wanted, but I had Neal. I still hated her, but I had Neal and I wasn’t ready to lose him yet either. So I would bow and kiss the fucking ring.

TWENTY-SIX

“Truth will come to sight;

murder cannot be hid long.”

~ William Shakespeare

MELODY

“I hate you,” I hissed again as I ate my French toast.

Liam rolled his eyes, flipping the files in front of him. “We’re in public, sweetheart.”

“They can all fuck themselves with these dull knives for all I bloody care.” I looked around his favorite restaurant to find at least ten pairs of eyes staring at us as if we were some kind of movie stars. Well, we were some kind of stars, but it was still annoying as fuck.

“Careful, they may stop seeing you as America’s darling.” He smirked, drinking his coffee in disdain. I knew he would prefer brandy and right now, so would I.

“They can have their fake darling back after we dump Amory and Saige’s bodies in one of the Great Lakes,” I said in Irish.

“Patience, love.”

Gripping the knife in my hands, I felt my nostrils flare. “To hell with patience. It’s been four months since their wedding. Since then, they have burned half our fields in Mexico, killed seven of our men in Italy, and cut off thirty percent of our weed from the east. Which you should know costs us about a hundred million every week. I want their heads on a stake, and I want it fucking yesterday. But somehow, you fucking convinced me to wait. So fuck you and fuck them and fuck this goddamn hat I have to fucking wear!”

I wanted to take off the giant yellow sun hat and throw it at him, but that would bring too much attention to myself. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I tried to breathe. The past four months had been an all-out war. The Valero were coming at us with everything they had. We expected as much. However, with the cops now watching us more than ever, our actions were limited. The Valero were most likely behind that as well, but right now, I was ready to bomb the police station, kill the Valero, and move on. But instead, I was in a stupid five star restaurant, waiting on the motherfucking real housewives of Chicago for some charity shit.

“First, that is a lot of fucks. Second, your hat is nice.” He smirked as I glared. “And we will find an opening soon. However, right now the plan we came up with last night is the one we’re sticking with.”

“I was high off sex and couldn’t think straight,” I snapped, drinking the sorry excuse for tea they offered me.

“But that is where all our master plans are created.”

“Really? Isn’t that where you came up with the plan to pump more heroin into Boston? Now the mayor is involved.”

He leaned back in his chair with no care in the world. “That’s only because his idiot daughter went and overdosed. He’s busy blaming dealers as if we held the needle to her arm. His bad parenting is apparently our fault. Mayor or no mayor, it was a good idea. The demand is growing.”

“Liam.” I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “We keep going like this, we are going to be stretched too thin. We can’t fight Chicago and Boston with Valero still screwing us. The mayor is going to be doubling down his efforts to trace it.”

“Fine,” he hissed, leaning in. “We stay neutral for now. We have a shipment coming in tonight that I will redirect and hold. But the moment the Valero are out of the picture, we are pushing hard.”

“Deal. In the meantime, we can up the weed. The shit is almost legal anyway, and both coasts are addicted.” Weed was as good as gold now. We sold to medical pharmacies where it was legal, and small street gangs where it wasn’t.

“Then it’s settled . . .” He paused causing me to look over at the door where Commissioner Andrew fucking Patterson made his way toward us.

“Who do you call when it’s the police who are stalking you?” I sighed, looking over to Liam, who glared at the man approaching.

“Us.”

Commissioner Andrew fucking Patterson placed two sliver badges on the table, causing Liam and me to share a quick glance.

“Shiny.” Liam snickered, taking a sip of his coffee. “Is there a reason why you are putting that filth on my table?”

Patterson looked like he had aged at least ten years in the last four months. “The officers your men killed today were fresh out of the academy.”

“You should be careful of what you accuse people of Commissioner,” I hissed, looking around the room once more. No one could hear us, but he was being fucking stupid.

“You even had their families killed, didn’t you?” He laughed bitterly, ignoring me completely.

“Commissioner—”

“A six year old girl now has no family, thanks to you! I know you’re the ones behind Pope and Jeffery! You people are sick! You will burn in hell!”

“Commissioner! Have you lost your mind?” Liam yelled, standing up as two guards walked toward us.

“Maybe I have!” the man yelled as the guards held him back. “But you won’t remain untouchable forever! One day, someone is going to make you all pay for your crimes.”

“Get this man out of here, he is upsetting my wife!” Liam screamed as the guards pulled him away.

Upsetting me? Fuck that, this shit was funny as hell but I could play the damsel in distress. I guess.

“Fuckin’ Callahans wouldn’t be in power forever! Just wait, someone is gonna pay you back tenfold, and I will laugh, you monsters!” he said, like the joker was on ʼshrooms.

“Get him out!” Liam roared again, while I placed my hand to my heart like a good damsel in distress.

When he was gone, the manager ran toward us, bowing so low you would think he was trying to kiss Liam’s cock . . . jeez. Since when did we live in Japan?

“I am so sorry, Mr. Callahan, please . . .”

“It’s not a problem. Please, just keep that man away from our family,” Liam said before taking a seat back down. He waited for the room to return to order before staring at me with hard eyes.

“You were the one who ordered it?” he asked me in Irish.

“Yes,” I replied back, unsure about why he looked like I was the one he wanted to kill.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “You let the girl live.”

Sitting up straighter, I glared back. “She wasn’t home, and I wasn’t going to hunt her down. She is six fucking years old.”

“Then you should have waited until she was home,” he hissed, moving to the edge of his chair. “I don’t care if she was six or twenty-six. She is his family and therefore should be dead—”

“You make it seem like that one girl has any power,” I snapped back at him. He needed to calm the fuck down before I stabbed him here and now.

He stared at me as if I had lost my mind. “She is the daughter of a cop, a blue blood. She isn’t a threat now, but what about in twenty years when she is out of the academy? She will be like a bloodhound looking for revenge. Children grow up, and unless you know something I don’t, we are going to be around in twenty years. I will not have the past bite us in the ass. After all, look at you. You were six once, and what happened to you then changed your life forever. You are the last person I thought I would ever have to explain who we are or what we do.”

He stood up and kissed me on the side of the check harshly for those who might still be watching, before whispering in Irish, “Stay here, my mother has arrived. I will take care of it.”

He fucking sounded disappointed in me. Who does this motherfucking bitch think he is? Did he just sit me? I was the fucking Boss, and I sure as hell didn’t take orders. Coraline, Olivia, and Evelyn walked in with a whole group of other charity woman before I could beat his head in. Each one of them smiled and laughed as though they were breathing a different sort of air.

“Ladies, isn’t my youngest, handsome?” Evelyn said, giving Liam a big hug.

Liam laughed but it was his fake laugh, the one he did for crowds. “The most handsome, some say.”

They all laughed at him while I eyed his skin, wondering where would be the best place to impale him.

“The cockiest as well.” Evelyn grinned.

“I shall take that compliment.” He winked at a few of the older ladies, forcing me to act like an embarrassed wife and smack him in the chest. I was not in the mood to play this stupid game.

“We’ve had our breakfast. Honey, don’t you have business to take care off?” I dug my nails into his skin but the bitch didn’t even flinch.

“You all had breakfast already?” Coraline asked us, looking to our table as waiters cleared it and added a new table to make room.

“Sorry, ladies, only God knows when I would see her again after she disappears with you all. I had to at least start my morning with her.” Liam charmed is way into the cougars’ arms. They eyed him like he was a god himself. Both their facial expressions and his words made me want to puke.

“Young love.” Olivia laughed, causing me to glare at her.

“Goodbye, Liam.”

“It’s already begun.” Liam laughed, kissing my hand. “I know when I’m not wanted.”

The women aww-ed as he left, and I tried my best to actually look flattered, but my face just wouldn’t have it. Evelyn, Olivia, and Coraline all seemed to notice. Smiling at them, I took a seat as the other women all took theirs.

“Ladies, welcome to the Seventeenth Annual W.E.W.—Women Empowering Women,” a peppy blonde announced once the ladies were seated. “I would like to thank Mrs. Coraline Callahan for once again hosting us all here. Thank you so much for everything you do.”

I glanced at her, but she didn’t meet my gaze. Two steps forward, six steps back, for Cora.

“How often do they hold these meetings?” I whispered to Evelyn as everyone clapped.

“First Saturday of every month. You’ve missed quite a few,” Olivia replied before Evelyn could speak, and right on cue the peppy blonde turned to me.

“Please give a W.E.W. welcome to the newest member, Mrs. Melody Callahan. We all know how that first year of marriage is.” They turned to me, and I forced myself to smile and blush at the plastic army in front of me.

“Be happy you missed so many,” Evelyn whispered, causing Olivia and Coraline to snicker.

It took a while, but finally, all the women were so caught up in their conversations that I no longer had to force myself pay attention. They had to be the saddest and most desperate women I had ever met. None of them cared about the charity. They only cared about upstaging each other in who had more money to give, just to prove how rich they are. None of them could hold a candle to any wife of a Callahan. However, they all wanted to come in second place. So if they had to feed the starving villages to be thought highly of, they would do it.

Coraline shifted for the nineteenth time since she sat down, causing me to look her over quickly. I could tell a lot had changed in her. Her arms and legs were more toned, and she seemed much more alert and capable now. She had even cut her hair down some more, but despite all that, she still looked beautiful, almost had a movie star kind of beauty.

“Are you ready to be working with me next, Coraline?” I asked her softly. Her eyes went wide and grinned.

“Are you serious?” she asked, because she obviously didn’t know who I was. I didn’t joke around with things like that. I rarely joked at all, in fact.

“Adriana said you are getting too used to her. So, yes, I am serious.”

“Yeah, first I would have to talk to Declan—”

“What?”

“Declan,” she said again with a frown. “When I told him, he kind of laughed it off, and we haven’t talked about it much. But I think that’s because he doesn’t see Adriana as anything to worry about. You, on the other hand—”

“I’m something to worry about,” I added, placing Declan on my Callahan ass-kicking list. “Have you tried making him listen?”

She looked at me like I was crazy.

“You do know you are a woman, correct?” I smirked. “Grab handcuffs, make him hard, tell him what you want to tell him, and then leave him there to think about it.”

“I could never do that, Declan would be so—”

“Horny, which you can use to your advantage. You are a motherfucking Callahan woman. You do what you want. If you want to train with me, you train with me, and if Declan doesn’t like it, remind him of the days when all he had was his hand.” I was dead serious, even though Olivia was laughing beside me. For all the improvement Coraline was enjoying, I was shocked she was still hiding behind this shell.

“Mel, I’m not like you—”

“No one is like me, but that’s not the point,” I interrupted, and I would keep interrupting until she found the balls to stop me.

“It’s just that I don’t know how to be this strong person. Declan means the world to me, and I don’t want to hurt him or lose him,” she whispered, and I was tempted to drown myself in my soup.

“If you keep focusing on how lucky you are to have Declan, then you’re going to forget how lucky he is to have you. Imagine you’re a princess and then demand to be treated like one,” Olivia replied, and I was a little confused. Since when did I get on the same page as the blow-up doll?

“All my sons need to be knocked upside their heads every once in a while.” Evelyn gave one of her motherly smiles.

“Or shot.” I smiled, causing Evelyn to glare at me, and I simply shrugged, it was true. Bullets spoke louder than words.

“Melody, do you mind if we speak in private?” Olivia asked me, oddly polite. I glanced over at Coraline and Evelyn who seemed just as shocked. Nodding, I stood, waiting for her to follow as I headed to the women’s bathroom.

Taking off the stupid hat, I placed it on the counter before turning back to her. “Speak.”

“I wanted to apologize for my hostility and for being—”

“A rude, immature bitch?” I asked, crossing my hands.

Her eyes narrowed at me, and it looked like she was trying her best to bite her tongue. “Yeah, for that, too.”

“I won’t accept your apology until I know why you’re offering it.” I turned back to the mirror trying to fix my hat hair.

“Because that is what grown people do? We apologize when we are wrong,” she snapped before taking a deep breath.

“Well, I’m calling bullshit.” I smiled. “You see, when people apologize and mean it, they don’t need privacy. So I’m guessing Neal put you up to this. What did he say to make you try and humble yourself?”

“He—”

“Don’t lie to me, Olivia. I’m much better at it than you, and I have no problem breaking your head against this mirror. You can take a little drive to West Ridge and ask Natasha if you don’t believe me.” I couldn’t kill her, but I hated liars and would make that clear.

She stared at me wide-eyed and nodded. “Fine. A few months ago, Neal and I talked about it. I’ve been trying to stay out of your way, but I know we are going to have to speak sometime. I just . . . Neal wants me to make peace. I love Neal, so I will do it.”

“What is with you all and bending to what your husbands want?” They really were Stepford wives.

“It’s called love, Melody,” she snapped at me once again. “When you love someone, all you want is for them to be happy. That doesn’t make you weak, and that doesn’t make you an idiot. Liam is head over heels in love with you, he would die for you, and yet you cringe at the thought of it. Coraline and I are not G.I. Janes, and we can’t walk on the dark side of the moon and come back okay. But at least neither of us are scared of love. So I’m saying sorry once again. I have to go home to my husband, have amazing sex, and see him smile.”