MELODY
Damn him. It was the only thought that repeated over and over again in my mind as I stared at myself in the mirror. All across my skin were the red marks that had been left from his whip. My chest was covered in so many purple-red bruises it looked like I’d made love to a fucking vampire—and it wasn’t just there: there were bruises on my arms, my neck…fuck.
“If you don’t pick something to wear we are going to be late for mass.” He had the motherfucking audacity to say that to me, leaning on the doorframe of my closet, smugger than the devil, dressed in a fitted navy suit, his red tie still untied around his neck.
“Tell me, Liam, what am I supposed to wear when I look like I was—”
“Fucked until the sun came up?” he interrupted, his eyes roaming over his handiwork proudly.
“Liam! It’s March! I can’t go into church with a turtleneck to cover this shit up!” I snapped.
“Don’t cover it up then.”
Damn him.
Taking a deep breath, I fought the urge to smack him, instead grabbing a long cream blouse, a scarf, and a blue pleated skirt.
I could feel his eyes on me as I got dressed and tried my best to ignore him, but because he couldn’t go an hour without trying to tempt me, he came up right behind me and pulled the scarf from around my neck.
“I said don’t cover it up.”
“Someone is getting a little bit too comfortable with bossing me around.”
He didn’t reply, simply kissing the back of my head. His eyes met mine in the mirror as I relaxed against his chest for a second, taking a deep breath before reaching for my heels—
“MOMMY!!”
A chill went down my spine as I dropped the heels in my hands and pushed Liam off of me. I ran, my heart pounding in my chest as I ripped open the door to their room.
“Wyatt?” I called out, only to find him standing in front of Dona. She hid behind him, her brown hair covering her face as Wyatt glared at the maid in front of him.
“She hurt Dona!” he yelled, never looking away from the woman frozen in sheer terror. She glanced up at me wide-eyed.
I felt Liam rush past me, moving to Dona and softly brushing her hair back. Her face was puffy and her green eyes were fighting back tears, but the worst of it was the painful red burn at the top of her ear. I stared in shock as she winced in pain. My shock turned to rage.
“You hurt my daughter?” I glanced back to the woman, who looked no older than myself, her brown hair pulled into a bun on the top of her head.
“Ma’am, it was a mistake, I was trying to curl her hair and the miss wouldn’t stop—”
“Liar!” Wyatt snapped angrily. “She keeps getting mad at us and we didn’t do anything. She hurt Dona on purpose!”
She shook her head repeatedly as I walked over to her. “Ma’am, I swear—”
Grabbing her by her skinny neck, I threw her up against the wall, her hands clawing at my wrist. I slammed her body into the wall repeatedly with so much force the picture frames fell shattering to the ground. Her head connected each time, leaving a stain of blood on the wallpaper as her eyes rolled back into her skull. “My daughter is crying. Her ear is burned and my son is upset, and you have the nerve to tell me it is a mistake? That it’s their fault?”
“Ma’am…please…”
“No one harms my children. NO. FUCKING. ONE! You must have lost your goddamn mind, but don’t worry, I’m about to help you find it…”
Liam, who now held Dona in his arms, his face void of any emotion, opened the door for me as I threw her ass out.
“FEDEL!” I yelled, knowing he’d only be around the corner somewhere. Instantly, he appeared, dressed in black, with two other guards behind him. His eyes glanced at the woman sobbing at my feet, then to me.
“Should I remove her boss?” he asked, already moving to grab her.
“Ma’am, please! It was an accident. I swear! Ma’am!”
“Don’t remove her, but make her the example for anyone who harms my children.” My hands shook with rage; I wanted to strangle the life out of her. “NOW! Get her away from me!”
He nodded to one of the men behind him, and they seized her arms before dragging her kicking and screaming down the hall.
Breathe.
Breathe.
“Fedel get me the first aid kit,” Liam said, his voice still stern and unwavering. He shifted Dona in his arms, moving back into the bedroom with her.
Wyatt grabbed on to my skirt. Bending down, I picked him up as well, and he wrapped his arms around me.
“She lied. She was mean.” He frowned and it broke my heart.
“I know. I believe you, sweetheart. I’m proud of you. Always protect your siblings, okay?” I whispered, brushing his hair down. It was darker than Ethan’s, more black, but in the sun, you could still see shades of brown in it.
“Yes, Mommy,” he muttered, trying to wiggle out of my arms when he saw Ethan come into the room. Evelyn was beside him dressed in a dark green cocktail dress. She glanced at me and then back to Dona, wide-eyed and confused.
“What in the heavens happened?”
“Melina hurt Dona,” Wyatt told her, and if I hadn’t been so upset, I would have laughed. He sounded like the town crier; he would make sure the whole house knew and not stop until everyone was just as angry as he was.
“Il mio preziosa agnello,” I said to her, moving to sit beside her on the bed, taking her hands and kissing them.
“Mommy.” She pouted and I lifted her onto my lap, resting her head on my chest. “I miss old lady Hildy.”
“So do I,” I whispered as Liam took the first aid kit from Fedel. Old Lady Hildy had been the maid in charge of taking care of Ethan, Wyatt, and Dona ever since they were born. Evelyn was always there to help but neither Liam or I wanted her to stress over them. I rarely—well, never—cared for anyone outside the family, but I truly did miss her after she’d passed away a few months before, though Dona and Wyatt had taken it the hardest.
“Ouch!” Dona cried, squeezing on to me.
“Sorry princess, but I have to.” Liam frowned, rubbing the cream on her ear as I held her hair back. Afterward, he took a small piece of gauze and wrapped it around her ear the best he could. “There, done.”
“No touching.” I held her hand back down. “Now, let’s fix this hair of yours.”
“No curls!” she demanded, on the verge of tears again. Liam’s fist clenched, his jaw tight at the sight of her.
“No curls, I promise. Come on, Nana will give you the most beautiful Celtic braid.” Evelyn outstretched her hand. Jumping down, she grabbed her arm and walked over to the dresser. With Ethan and Wyatt beside her, they were all giggling in seconds.
“Breathe. She’s fine,” I whispered to Liam, placing my hand on his chest.
“I never want to see that woman in my house Mel. I don’t care how it happens. I want her gone.”
“Then she’s gone.”
Nodding, he walked over Dona, standing right behind our sons, all of their attention focused on their princess. I watched them for a second as they all tried to make her laugh before stepping outside the room, closing the large wooden door behind me. Fedel stood waiting.
“She’s locked up for now, boss, unless you wish her to be punished right away?”
“She can wait until after mass. The cars?”
“They are all out front. The rest of the kids are eating breakfast.”
Before I could speak, I heard laughter come from behind the door. Crossing my arms, I felt relieved to know she was fine, but I couldn’t shake my anxiety.
“Do you ever remember hearing that when I was young?” I nodded to the door behind me.
“Boss?”
“The laughter,” I replied. “Do you ever remember innocent laughter in my house when I was young?”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t believe I ever heard it.”
“Laughter is a good thing, isn’t it? My daughter is more loved than I ever was and that is a good thing…but she is soft, Fedel. It bothers me because in the back of my mind I know she cannot remain innocent for the rest of her life. She cannot stand behind her father and brothers forever. I don’t want her to be the damsel in distress. She cuts her hand or burns herself and the world stops in this house. It can’t always be so, but I do not know how to make her a fighter without breaking her first.”
“She’s still young boss.”
“Exactly…everything that happens now molds her.” Pinching the bridge of my nose—a habit I’d picked up from Liam—I tried to get the image of me as a child, begging for my father to give me a break or crying for help and never receiving it, out of my mind. My father had put me through hell and I’d hated him for a long time for it, but now as an adult and parent, I understood why more clearly than ever before. If I didn’t take care of me, no else would. How much did it hurt him to mold me into a fighter?
“Boss?”
“She’s going to hate me.” I inhaled, standing a little bit straighter. “But I can’t…I won’t let her be weak.”
“She will grow to thank you for it, just as you have with Orlando.”
She wasn’t the only person I was worried about. Liam was going to be—
The door behind me swung open and Dona ran to me, turning so I could see the intricate knot in her hair. “Mommy! Mommy, look what Nana did!”
“Well isn’t Nana talented. Your hair is beautiful sweetheart, but come on, we have to get going. Is everyone ready?”
“Yeah Mom, but you don’t have shoes.” Ethan pointed to my feet.
I glanced down, staring at my painted toes.
“Mommy came rushing to see what happened and forgot to finish getting dressed.” Liam picked Dona up, leaning over to kiss the side of my head. “Let’s go get food and let her finish.”
“I want waffles!” Wyatt grinned, already running down the hall.
“Uncle Neal will eat them all again!” Ethan panicked, running after him.
“Wait for me!” Dona yelled, wiggling out of Liam’s arms and running as well.
“What is this obsession they have with waffles? Even when you were pregnant you were inhaling them by the truckload.” Liam tried not to smile but I could see the corner of his lips turning up.
“You’re one to talk. I ate so much Jell-O while pregnant with you, your father nearly bought stock in the company.” Evelyn smiled; it didn’t matter the conversation, she could always manage to bring Sedric into the conversation. She still wore her ring, and I didn’t think she would ever get rid of it; she made all of us feel as though he had never left. I was grateful because it kept Liam grounded, but most importantly, confident. I knew he had dinner with her every Sunday night just so he could hear her thoughts. Evelyn meant more to him now than ever before and I thought that was what gave her strength to smile even though I knew she was broken on the inside. No amount of grandchildren or attention from her family could ever fix that.
“Mel? Are you all right dear?” She put her hand on my shoulder. “I will personally look into finding a new nanny for the kids.”
“Thank you, Evelyn, excuse me,” I replied. Liam gave me a glance, but I nodded for him to follow our kids then walked back into our bedroom.
In my closet, I saw my forgotten pair of tan Gucci heels on the ground. Grabbing them, I sat down on the couch and leaned against the pillows.
I loved my family. Liam. My children. Evelyn. Everyone. But Sundays were still the hardest for me, the bubble of cheerfulness that made a part of me want to roll my goddamn eyes. What was wrong with me that I couldn’t adapt? Even after all these years, it was like I was staring at the Brady Bunch; it was too much sugar and sweetness. It was making me sick.
“Melody, it’s me.” Mina knocked on the closet door.
“Come in,” I said, buckling the straps on my shoes.
“We have a small problem.” She waltzed in dressed in a butterfly print A-Line sleeveless white dress.
“Define small.” I stood, reaching for my jewelry.
She held out her phone for me and there was a photo of Liam and me on the penthouse roof of the Glass Emperor Hotel, making out, the picture clearly showing him gripping my breast and ass…tightly. The caption read, “The Governor: play before work.”
“They could have done a much better job with the title,” I said, clasping my earrings on. “Why is this a problem? Are they going to call me a whore for kissing my husband?”
“I told you already, image is important, Melody. We are a few months away from announcing your bid for the presidency; we cannot let images become topics of debate. You know reporters will be at the church and they will hurl questions at you.”
“Disrespectful ingrates,” I muttered. “But this is hardly a problem. If anyone attacks me for it, I’ll just say I don’t see any men having to comment on their sex life.”
“Normally that would work, but last night there was a shooting in Bella Vista. A black boy was shot by gang members when he used his body as a shield to protect his two little sisters. This morning the cops still have no leads. They are going to come at you for not only having a dinner party for the police but having time to have “playtime” with your husband while violence is creeping back up again.”
“I cleaned up the Southbend and now fucking Bella Vista wants to erupt,” I muttered to myself. “Did you talk to Fedel?”
“I sent him the information, but I don’t cross that line Melody. My job is to keep you out of the mud, not get into it.”
I snickered at that. “Mina, I was born in the mud, raised in the mud, and married into the mud. All. I. Know. Is. The. Mud. You can dress me up like a saint, but in the end, I’m just a sinner. I thought you knew that.”
“I thought you were, at least, faking not to be,” she challenged.
“I heard Bella Vista has gotten a new gang. I wasn’t sure, but apparently it’s true. As governor I think I should welcome them, don’t you?”
“Melody…”
Ignoring her, I patted her shoulder on my way out. I was excited…there was nothing like a good old-fashioned Chicago welcome to get the taste of sugar out my mouth.
LIAM
Someone one was going to die or was already dying; I could tell the moment we got to the church. She was eerily quiet and smiled a little too much at the cameras, but the most frightening was the fact that she sang. My wife sang in church. The last time she’d sung in church was when we’d first gotten married and she’d ended up beating the shit out of my ex, Natasha, in the ladies room.
The icing on the cake was when we went to the soup kitchen, as we always did after church. We had built the Orlando-Sedric, known simply as the OS Center, only a block down the road from the church in order to provide for the community. It was also a way for the Irish and Italians to peacefully get together, although the center was open to everyone. Melody personally carried out trays of water while Dona shadowed her and handed everyone napkins. The smile plastered on her face didn’t look as fake as usual, but it wasn’t real either. She was on autopilot so again. Either someone was dead, or someone was dying.
“Chocolate.” A small blonde-haired girl stared, mesmerized by the cakes in front of her, and before I could reach for it, her eyes shifted to another one. “Or maybe lemon? No, cream bundt…there are so many!”
“You’re really picky.” Ethan made a face at her beside me.
She glanced up, finally noticing us behind the counter. When her blue eyes fell on Ethan, she stuck her tongue out. “Maybe you’re not picky enough, shorty.”
I tried my best not to laugh, biting inside my cheek when I saw the look on Ethan’s face. He apparently had gotten used to everyone being respectful toward him.
“I’m not short!” he snapped at her.
“To me you are.” She held her head high. “So I’d rather be picky than a shorty.”
Well, son? What’s your comeback? I waited, glancing between them. Ethan just stood there, not sure what to say, and so again she stuck her tongue out at him and focused on me smiling from ear to ear.
“Can I get cream bundt?”
“All that cream is going to make you fat,” Ethan shouted so loudly even Coraline, who stood at the far end of the table, turned her head toward him.
“So what?” she said to him, her hand outstretched for the cake.
“Huh?” he questioned, confused.
“So what if I get fat? I have cake.” She shrugged and happily walked off.
That did it, I laughed outright; I couldn’t help it. Not only did she seem so proud of herself, but Ethan was so thoroughly confused and upset his ears were turning red.
“She’s a weirdo!” he yelled up at me.
“But she’s a weirdo with cake…” Wyatt finally spoke up and I was dying at that point. Oh God. Ethan scowled at his brother but Wyatt didn’t seem to mind, stepping on his tiptoes to hand the next person their piece.
For the rest of the afternoon, Ethan stewed in rage, every once in a while shooting glares at the girl sitting with her family by the windows.
“What was up with all the laughing?” Mel came over as I pulled my gloves off.
“Ethan lost a fight to a girl about cake.” Wyatt ratted him out in a flash, causing Ethan to take one of the towels and throw it right at his head. “What? It’s true!”
“Which girl?” Dona frowned, peeking around the corner of the table.
Ethan ignored her. “You are a blabber mouth, I don’t tell Mom everything about you!”
“I don’t have any secrets!” he said proudly.
Ethan’s eyebrow rose just like Mel’s did when she went in for the kill. “Really? Is that why you can’t say a word around Giu—”
Wyatt rushed him and put his hand over his mouth, then looked over his shoulder at us, smiling brightly.
“Wyatt. Ethan. Is this how we behave in public?” Mel questioned them. Wyatt let go of his brother’s mouth, both of them standing straighter.
“Sorry,” they both grumbled.
“You guys go play with your cousins or, Ethan, you can go offer that girl another piece of cake,” I teased him.
“Why would I do that?” He grabbed his siblings’ arms, pulling them toward my mother’s table. She sat with a bunch of the older women, all of them playing cards and drinking iced tea I was sure was spiked.
“Who’s the girl?” Melody eyes narrowed, looking over every girl in the center.
“Why, are you jealous?” I pitied the girl either of our sons ever dared to bring home. “Sorry, but you’ll have to get Wyatt to spill the beans.”
“Fine, I will, but later. I need to go into work for a little bit.”
Work, huh? She never lied to me, but she wasn’t being forthcoming.
“Governor work or boss work?” I asked, wiping my hand.
“Two birds one stone.”
“Melody.”
“Liam.” She kissed my cheek then whispered in my ear, “I’m not asking. I’m telling my husband I’m going to work.”
This was starting to work on my nerve.
“Are you taking Fedel?”
“He’s your guy now remember—”
“There are ‘your’ and ‘my’ guys now? I thought we shared everything, sweetheart.”
She grinned. “Good answer. Fedel knows everything; I told him to fill you in.”
“Be safe,” I said before kissing her again and watching as Mina left with her. Neal’s eyes met mine. Nodding my head toward one of the free tables, I called Fedel over. I took an apple and a knife. Declan kissed both Coraline and his daughter’s heads before walking over.
“What’s going on, Liam?” Neal questioned when we stood in the farthest corner of the room.
“Good question. Fedel.” I waited, peeling the apple in my hands.
“There is a new gang growing in Bella Vista.”
“All of the gang leaders in the city know to keep their presence to a minimum. We let them know the consequence of not doing so years ago. Bella Vista is managed by the Royals and I personally let him know,” Declan stated.
“The man you dealt with is dead, and the rest of the gang apparently has short memories because it is getting worse. This new leader is trying to build a name for himself. He wants to be feared, and his followers are loyal—not to mention he’s starting to get much bolder. From what I can tell he’s simply ignorant of the way things work around here.”
“Why are we just hearing about this now?” Neal shouted at him.
“Calm down,” I muttered, sliding a slice into my mouth. “I was already informed about what’s happening in Bella Vista.”
“And you let it go?”
My eyes narrowed on Neal. “Do I look like the let-it-go type of person to you, brother?”
“Sorry,” He grumbled. “We have peace, Liam. Real peace. Please, I don’t—”
“I understand that, which is why I’ve been waiting to see how far this new idiot would go. If he had settled himself and followed the rules, I wouldn’t have to step in, but apparently something happened in the last twenty-four hours I was not aware of?”
“Yes sir,” Fedel answered. “Last night there were multiple drive-bys, but the most notable one that is gaining media attention was a seventeen-year-old football player and honor student that died shielding his younger sisters, one nine, the other twelve. The shooter hasn’t been caught.”
“So Mel went to bring order herself? With no men?” Declan pressed as if I would tell him more; even if I did know, I wouldn’t tell him, but it bothered me that I didn’t know. “Does she have an inside man?”
“Not that I am aware of,” Fedel replied.
Neal shook his head. “I thought your setup was to keep her looking clean for when she ran for president. If anyone sees her…”
“Has my wife ever been careless?” I asked, sliding another piece of apple in my mouth.
“No, but—”
“But what about your wife?” I finished for him. “I’m happy Mina brings you so much joy Neal, and I understand your need to protect her, but remember she came into this family eyes wide open. She chose to work for my wife. She is loyal. Mel protects those who are loyal to her. You shouldn’t be worried. I say that knowing full well you won’t listen, but it needs to be said. The Callahan women are not just fashion icons and charity heads. They get their hands just as dirty as we do. If that is all, you both can go.”
Neither of them said anything more before going back to their tables. I could tell Neal was annoyed, but he was just going to have to get the fuck over it.
“Fedel, when did she tell you she was leaving?”
“This morning before mass.”
“And you didn’t fill me in then because…?”
“She directed me to wait.”
Melody…God damn it, woman…must you drive me to gray hair before I even turn forty?
“Boss?”
“What!”
He moved to stand in front of me. “I would never dare pretend I know the boss more than you.”
“But?” I could feel it coming.
“But…as you remember, she did not grow up like you did. You had a family. No matter what you all went through as a family, you were a family. The boss was alone for most of her life and when she was with her father, he was doing everything in his power to make her into a bloody soldier. The boss, Melody Nicci Giovanni Callahan, is a soldier, and like all soldiers, she is at her best when she is fighting. She doesn’t understand peace. She tries to for the sake of you and your children, but at the end of the day, she will always feel the need to fight. It has nothing to do with you or anyone else; it is her own personal curse.”
I didn’t reply. Instead, I kept eating, watching my children as they tried to learn poker from my mother. He hadn’t told me anything about my wife I didn’t already realize myself. She’d been playing the role of Governor Callahan for so long, Bloody Melody was losing her mind. If she needed to smash a few skulls to get focused again, I’d happily serve them up to her; that was the twisted way we loved each other.
MELODY
It must have been some person’s idea of a sick joke to call this place Bella Vista.
Over the years, I had put in a lot of time trying to repair the ghettos. However, Southbend and Bella Vista were still holding out against all my efforts. The crime rates had dropped, but it was hard to rebuild a community the rest of the state didn’t want to invest in. It was even harder when those in that same community tried to do everything in their power to get in my way.
“Governor, are you sure about this?” Murphy said to me when I stepped out in front of the old diner. He was going to learn to never ask me that question.
“Please make this quick,” Mina said behind me as one other guard walked in front. The place smelled like stale coffee, pancakes, and beef. Every booth was filled with members of the Royals. Their heads all snapped back to me, their eyes wandering down my face to my heels.
“Lady, you lost or somethin’?”
It was always easy to spot the leader in a group. He was always the one who sat at the table farthest from the door, his back to the wall. His table always had, at least, one female and a cigarette or drink in his hand. In this case, it was two light-skinned women and a cigar.
Walking over to his table, I saw them all tense up.
“You’re in my seat,” I said to the man sitting across from him. He looked to his boss, grinning like a fool as he blew smoke from his lips.
“Let the good ol’ white lady sit down.”
They laughed and when he moved, I put my purse down beside me, crossing my legs when I sat.
“First off, I’m not white.”
“You got skin like a white woman, eyes like a white woman, and your nose so far up you gotta be a white woman.” The girl on his right laughed.
The girl on the left replied. “Nah, maybe she thinks she black like that lady…what her name again?”
“Rachel Dolezal,” I answered.
“Yeah, that her.” They laughed. “Where you from home girl? Cuz you lookin’ hella white to me right now.”
“I’m Italian, which means I got a whole different certification to beat your ass. Now get back to the pole or street corner; he and I have business to discuss.”
She reached for her glass of orange juice.
“Do it. I just came from church and I swear to God, I will end you.”
She hesitated, her eyes going to Murphy, who stood beside me. The next instant, she made up her mind and flung the glass of orange juice at me. I didn’t even move; Murphy’s body hovered over mine, the glass connecting with his shoulder and the juice splashing back on the table.
He didn’t say anything, only stood straighter beside me. Reaching for a few napkins, I cleaned off the table.
“Are you going to keep them beside you or are you going to speak?” I asked him.
“Y’all go, this will only take a second.”
“I’m still here, bitch. When my ending at?” She sneered at me, swinging her waist as she left. Ignoring her, I focused on cleaning.
“So you’re the governor?”
“So you do know who I am,” I said, not bothering to look up at him.
This table is fucking disgusting.
“Yeah, yeah. Everybody knows the famous Melody Callahan, plus I saw your picture in the paper. Your husband looks like he has one hell of a time with you. I wonder how it feels to grope one of them.” He nodded at my breasts.
“It feels like two .38 Special bullets in the spine.” I smiled. “Or at least, that’s what my husband would say, but I know you wouldn’t even make it close enough in your dreams, so you shouldn’t bother asking.”
“You’re a spicy one, Governor, it must be that Italian—”
“I’m tired of wasting words with you, so I’m going to cut to the chase. The drive-bys and shootouts, those end today. You will also give me the person responsible for the drive-by on 42nd. Then you will crawl back to whatever hole you came out of and stay there until my husband or I say otherwise.”
“Can you believe this bitch?” He laughed outright along with the rest of his crew. “Come into my diner and you gonna boss me around, sweetheart? Go back to your ivory fuckhole and fuck yourself. Ain’t no fucking way me, Big John Matty, gonna be listening to any Italian bitch, governor or no—”
Grabbing the fork on the table, I rammed it down into his hand. The scream that came from his lips was so pathetic I almost laughed…almost.
“You must be new around here,” I said, taking the knife and once again stabbing through his skin. “Which is why I’m taking this time to educate you…nicely.”
“KILL HER!”
They all got up with their guns, but before they could pull the trigger, their phones started ringing one by one.
“If I was you all, I would answer that. God only knows when you’ll hear from your mom, your brother, your daughter, or son or girl again…hell, a few you even got guys waiting on the end for you. I mean one minute they’re right there and the next BOOM, the government should have done something about to those faulty wires sooner huh?” I said calmly, reaching for a spoon.
“Ma! Ma! What’s going on? What happened?”
“Willow?”
“Zoe!”
“What?”
One by one, they all answered their phones. I smiled, spinning the spoon around my fingers as Big John stared in confusion. “Like I said, you must be new around here. Now, you could kill me, but that’s going to get messy. My husband will burn Bella Vista to the ground, kill all of you one by one and you all will turn on each other because…well, that’s what weak bitches like you do and then it’s just one bloody fucking mess. Meanwhile, I asked you nicely. Would you like me to repeat my demands?”
“His name is Tyrone Williams. He did the hit on 42nd.”
“And you ordered it?”
He swallowed and nodded.
“Big mistake.” I rose from the table. “I better hear nothing out of Bella Vista. So much as a broken window without my family’s approval and today will seem like a good day for you.”
As I grabbed my purse, they all parted for me as if I had the plague. I paused. “Also, about your girl….”
Turning to face the window, I saw her laughing outside the diner right up until a black Ford Escape accelerated into her. Her body flew up like a doll being thrown by a child before crashing back to the ground and rolling off the hood onto the ground.
“You’re going to need another one.”
The whole diner went quiet. One by one, they pressed up against the window.
Murphy held the door open for me and Mina, keeping silent like always during times like these. In the car, I waited for Murphy to put his seatbelt on.
“Well, soldier? Are you with me or are you against me and how I run things?”
His blue eyes met mine in the mirror. “I’m in, Governor.”
“Brilliant.”
“What happened to your Sunday role?” Mina questioned besides me.
No killing on Sundays...shit, I forgot.
Pulling out my phone, I dialed, and it only rang once before he answered, “Boss?”
“Don’t forget to call an ambulance,” I told him before hanging up and facing her again. “Happy?”
“Just looking out for you.” She smiled.
The women of this family are crazy and I’m the one that made them that way, so what does that make me?