9:24 AM
I could hear them over me, but I couldn’t open my eyes, they felt so heavy.
“He’s losing a lot of blood here Jerry!”
“ETA four minutes!”
“How’s his leg looking?”
My wife…what about Melody?
MINA
11:57 AM
“Talk to me, please,” I whispered, reaching out for his hand, but he pulled away from me, turning his head. Since he had woken up, he hadn’t said a word or even opened his eyes. He just sat there in silent, agonizing rage, and I wasn’t sure what to say to him. I didn’t know how to fix this.
“Neal…” Again I reached out to touch his thigh, but he grabbed my arm, gripping tightly.
“Just go.” His voice was stern and stiff, nothing at all like the man I had married. “Take the kids and go.”
“No.” I pulled my arm away.
“Goddamn it, Mina! GO! LEAVE!” He screamed, his chest puffing up and down like a bull. “I can barely look at myself and I can’t stand for you to look at me too.”
“Why wouldn’t I look at you, Neal? You’re my husband, aren’t you?”
He didn’t answer, just turned his head from me. “Mina…please.”
I wanted to argue. I wanted to beg him…but instead I got up, kissed the side of his head, and walked out. Shutting the door behind me, I took a breath and leaned against the door. Just as I was about to slide down, I felt Sedric’s tiny little hand tug on my shirt.
“Mommy?”
“Hey, buddy.” I bent down in front of him, cupping his cheeks.
“Can we see Dad now?” he asked. I glanced over at Nari, who kept staring at the door. Reaching over, I pulled them both into a hug.
“Not yet, buddy. He’s very…tired.”
“But he said I could talk to him whenever.” He tried to push away.
“Sedric!”
We all jumped when we saw Helen grinning widely and running toward us. Behind her was Cora with baby Darcy.
“Sedric, I missed you!” Helen wrapped her arms around him, but Sedric tried to pull away.
“Why? Are you going to put makeup on me again?” He frowned.
“No, we are going to paint your nails. Come on, Nari!” She linked arms with both of them and pulled them away.
Nari dragged her feet “But my dad—”
“Nana says a girl should always have her nails done, it says she takes care of herself. You don’t want Uncle Neal to think you aren’t taking care yourself do you?” she replied, totally defeating Nari.
“Your daughter is smart,” I said tiredly to Cora, who smiled proudly.
“I know, and I take all the credit.”
We both laughed, but it was short-lived. She looked over my shoulder. “How is he?”
“In shock.” As anyone who loses a limb would be.
“Give it time…he might lash out and push you away, but it’s honestly the last thing he wants. Take it from me. The more we say ‘leave me alone’, the more we mean ‘don’t let go.’” The image of her undergoing cancer treatments flooded my mind. I hadn’t been part of the family then, but I had seen how much she and Declan had suffered.
“Cora. Mina.” Evelyn came toward us, her eyes red. God only knew how painful the situation must have been for her.
“Evelyn he’s going to—” I started to say, but she cut in, taking a step back and trying to remain composed.
“I’ve gotten a jet ready. We need to have everyone back in Chicago as soon as possible. I’ve already spoken to the hospital about Neal.”
“Is it over?” Cora asked.
Evelyn opened and closed her mouth before saying, “Brace yourselves, ladies…I’m not…just…”
“Evelyn, you’re starting to scare me. What’s going on?”
“Please just get ready to leave and make sure the children don’t see or hear any news. I’m going to get Ethan, Wyatt, and Donatella.”
Both of our instincts were the same…we pulled out our cell phones. The moment we did, we wished we hadn’t, because it was like the ground had opened up beneath our feet.
It couldn’t be true.
I wouldn’t believe it.
Never.
TWENTY-FOUR
“Sticking with your family is what makes it a family.”
~ Mitch Albom
LIAM
“Mr. Callahan? Mr. Callahan, can you hear me?”
I muttered something, my eyes snapping open only to snap shut again.
“Mr. Callahan?”
“Yes.” Fuck that burns.
“Yes?”
“Yes…I can…hear…you,” I managed to say.
“That’s good.” The lights above me were doubled before finally blending together as the room stopped spinning. Turning to the right of me and then to the left, all I saw were doctors and nurses.
“Do you remember what happened, Mr. Callahan?”
Emilio…bullets…explosion…glass!
“Woah, Mr. Callahan, lay down—”
“My wife? Where is my wife?” I asked, trying push against him, ignoring the pain in my shoulder.
“Mr. Callahan right now we want to focus on—”
Grabbing him by the collar, I pulled him close to me. “WHERE. IS. MY. WIFE?”
None of them answered me and I struggled to get back up, but everything became dizzy again. Glancing to the left of me I saw them…they were drugging me.
“Stop!”
“Mr. Callahan, we need you to relax right now. Just breathe.”
“I…mmmy…wife?” My speech slurred and I fell back.
5:55 PM
“Ugh.” I groaned. Shifting around, I opened my eyes, but closed them again when faced with a bright light in my face.
Where the hell am I?
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Glancing to the left, I stared at the heart monitor staring right back me. My heart rate slowly rose as I remembered what had happened to me…to us… I tried to sit up but couldn’t with the weight on my right side.
“Don’t move.”
“Mel!”
She sat in a wheelchair, her face so pale I wasn’t even sure if it was her or a ghost. She laid her head in my lap and just stared up at me, her brown eyes like daggers to the heart…good daggers. A grin spread across my face.
“Hi—”
“We got the shit kicked out of us, Liam.” She just had to go and ruin the mood.
“You should see the other guy,” I muttered, reaching out to hold her hand. She squeezed mine tightly…but she was right, it had been close—too fucking close, and for what? We had almost lost our lives for absolutely nothing but a grudge.
“I’m not running for president,” she whispered.
“What?”
She didn’t repeat herself, just held my hand and closed her eyes. “Mel?”
“I’m fine, just tired—”
“Liam!” Both of us turned to the door. There, Declan, a team of doctors, Cora, Evelyn, and Mina all stared at us wide-eyed.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Melody!” Cora screamed at her and I was completely confused. “The news is reporting that you died! We got to your room and no one knows where you are or has seen you, which is odd because you are supposed to be on bed rest! You had a heart attack! Not to mention the numerous other wounds all over you! Have you lost your goddamn mind! We—”
“Breathe, baby…breathe.” Declan held on to her shoulders, pulling her back, but she looked ready to beat the shit out of her.
Wait…
“You had what?” I stared down at her again, now really seeing how pale she was and noticing the sweat covering her forehead.
“I’m fine—”
“Take her where she needs to go!” I snapped at the doctors, ignoring the ache in my shoulder. She squeezed my hand again and I squeezed back.
The doctor came behind her, grabbing her wheelchair, and she didn’t even fight, which proved how badly she must
be hurting. Jesus Christ.
“Mommy!” I heard them before I saw them. They came in like a tornado and rushed her chair. She was truly a masochist because she just opened her arms and hugged them all to her. She kissed Wyatt’s cheek and then moved over to do the same to Ethan and Dona.
“Mommy, I did what you showed me! I got us out of the car! Ethan couldn’t do it. He didn’t think I could do it, but I did.” Wyatt grinned proudly.
“I’m so proud, baby.” She brushed his hair back.
“Hi, Mommy,” Dona whispered, kissing her cheek. She looked on the verge of crying and it broke my heart.
“Hi, Dona, how are you? I missed you.” Melody kissed her forehead.
“I’m sorry, Mommy.” She hugged her stuffed elephant, Mr. Missmore.
“You’re sorry? For what?”
“I didn’t do anything,” she said softly. “Ethan and Wyatt did everything—”
“That’s not true, Dona! You were really calm and made us calm,” Ethan said quickly, hugging his sister, who didn’t seem to believe him or like her contribution.
“Well, we are going to work on some things too,” Melody said, noticeably not praising her, but then again, it didn’t seem Dona wanted to be praised. “But I’m still glad you are safe.”
“Are you okay, Mommy? You look sick.” Ethan put his palm on her face. Turning to the side, she kissed it.
“Yes, I’m perfectly fine. I’m so proud of you and your brother.”
“Guys, your mom needs to go and rest.” Cora stepped forward to them. “Besides, did you forget about your dad over there?”
All of them looked up to me as if they had just noticed I was there.
“Thanks guys, I see how it is. I guess you don’t love me.” I frowned, nodding goodbye to Melody when they took her away.
“Daddy, don’t be silly!” Dona skipped over to me and climbed onto my bed. I put my hand on her waist to make sure she didn’t fall off. “I brought Mr. Missmore, he always makes me feel better.”
“Why thank you, but it’s my princess that makes me feel better.” I hugged her to me.
“What about us?” Wyatt asked, coming up to my side.
I looked at them both standing shoulder to shoulder. “Sometimes.”
“Dad, you can’t have favorites.” Ethan frowned at me.
“Lean closer, Ethan,” I said seriously and he leaned in. I messed up his hair and he groaned, backing away.
“Dad!”
Laughing, I focused on Wyatt, who glanced behind him as if searching for his mother again.
“Am I boring, Wyatt?” I asked him.
“Huh?”
“You seem to miss your mom more than me,” I said.
His face went red. “No. I miss everyone, but mommy’s a girl, and you have to watch out for girls.”
“Not forever! Mommy said I’m going to be able to watch out for myself.”
“Yeah, but that is going to take a long time, Dona,” Ethan explained, and I leaned back, enjoying watching them fight like this. They were all perfectly stubborn and amusing, and beautiful.
They continued talking and talking, and I could only listen.
MELODY
“Mrs. Callahan, if you need to go anywhere again, please let someone know,” the first doctor said to me as they helped me back in bed.
“How were you able to get past the nurses?” another asked me, but I didn’t bother answering, just lying back down.
My body felt like it was on fire.
I didn’t pay much attention to any of them. It felt hours had gone by before they left me and Mina came inside. She looked just as bad as I did…reminding me just how much the family had been through.
“How—”
“How’s Neal?” I asked softly, not wanting to answer that question again.
Her shoulders stiffened and she dropped her head, looking at her heels, “He’s in pretty bad shape, emotionally.”
I nodded. “Don’t let him off.”
“What?”
“A bad thing happened to him. Don’t coddle him. Don’t let him feel like he deserves to be pitied. Give him time, but if he doesn’t start to pull himself together, then it’s your job to bring him back to reality. He lost a limb; he’s still your husband, a father, a son, and brother. He doesn’t get to check out.” All that said, he was going to need time to accept it.
“Yeah…thanks, I think.” She made a face and I smiled.
“Okay, now we need to get to work.”
“Melody, you need to rest—”
“I’ll rest when I’m dead. I need you to set up a conference with both Liam and me in here; the last thing we need is the people thinking we are dead. Also, do you have a cover-up for what happened?”
“In the confusion, I didn’t think of one. Besides, the police busted in; it’s kind of hard to cover up killing people in—”
“First, get me on the phone with Chief Detective Beau Brooks.” I didn’t have time to listen to excuses. “Then you are going out and repeating what I say, word for word. The longer this stews, the worse it sticks later.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
MINA
The woman almost died.
She’d gone through hell and back, and yet she still managed to think of everything. How? I wasn’t sure. There was no one else like her, which was why I was disappointed in her decision, but either way, it made me proud to have the same last name as her.
“They are all here, ma’am.” The security guards stood around me as if I was covered in millions of dollars’ worth of jewels—but then again, when you were a Callahan, you were a jewel to this city.
The lights flashed over and over again, almost blinding me as I stepped out in front of the podium.
Placing my notes in front of me, I stared directly into the camera.
“Ladies and gentlemen of Chicago, and all viewers across the state, I’d like to correct the rumor now circulating online about the governor. Mrs. Callahan is not dead, nor does she appreciate the media insinuating that she is every time an incident happens during her term. As you know, our governor is much tougher than that, but that does not mean she herself does not have to deal with many of the same personal issues that you do. This morning, the governor’s brother, Emilio, came into her office with the intent to kill her. Unbeknownst to the citizens of Chicago, and even the men and woman who specially elected him into office without her knowledge or consent, Mayor Cortés suffered from mental illness, which he was struggling to control. Newly appointed police commissioner Beau Brooks has informed us that what spurred this attack was the death of his mother, leaving him in an unbalanced state. Yes, this is shocking. The people of this city have gone through a lot in the past couple of weeks. Our security and way of life have been tested. It is for this reason that Governor Melody Nicci Giovanni Callahan wanted me to make it clear: she will not be running for president. Her exact words were: ‘Chicago is our home. This state is our home. I do not feel comfortable leaving it for any other city or state’s aid. I’m far too biased to be the president. I want Chicago to be the city everyone comes to. I want Illinois to be the state that leads other states. I will dedicate myself to this state until the people decide they wish me to step down. Besides, I can always paint my house white.’” I smiled at that last bit, pausing as they started to ask questions and holding out my hand to indicate that I was not finished.
“So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Further questions will be answered by the commissioner.”
Folding the paper, I turned back, walking into the hospital and taking a deep breath. My heels clicked across the floor—
“Mommy!” Sedric broke away from Nari and ran to me. He stood right in front of me, arms folded. “I want to see Dad.”
“Sedric—”
“Ethan told me his leg is gone so he is sad.” Thank you, Ethan. Brilliant. “But I still want to see him.”
“Sedric—”
“Please, Mommy?” Nari asked softly.
> Melody’s voice came into my mind. Don’t coddle him.
Bending down, I picked him up and reached out for her hand. “Okay let’s go, but he might be tired from the trip okay?”
They nodded. Sedric wrapped his arm around my neck, holding on to me like a little monkey as we walked. I didn’t say much. There wasn’t anything to say and I grew more nervous with every step we took until it felt like I was about to vomit out my own heart when we finally made it to the door. The guard opened it and Neal just lay there, staring up at the ceiling, his eyes red.
“Daddy.” Sedric wiggled out of my arms, sliding down me and onto the ground. Neal’s head shot up as he stared at me angrily.
“Hi—”
The both rushed him. Nari broke out and cried. “I missed you, Daddy. I was scared.”
“I wasn’t scared! I knew you’d be okay!” Sedric sat up on the side of the bed. “Ethan and Wyatt said you were really cool! I knew it! Can we play when you get better?”
“Me too!” Nari raised her hand. “Daddy’s on my team.”
“Not fair! You were on his team last time!” Sedric frowned.
Neal just stared at the both of them, his eyes welling up with tears.
“We can play two rounds. I’ll play with both of you,” he finally managed to say, though it sounded like his throat was closing up.
“Daddy, what’s wrong?” Nari poked his cheek.
“Nothing.” He shook his head, then looked at me and smiled. “I’ve got you all, how can anything be wrong?”
“That’s what I’m saying.” Sedric raised his hands up, the little smarty, and we all just laughed. Walking over to him, I leaned in to kiss his cheek, but he turned, kissing my lips.
“I love you.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I love you,” he repeated.
“I love you too.”
EVELYN
“My heart can’t take this shit,” Cora gasped out, pacing back and forth. Her whole body was shaking as we stood outside Melody’s room. “And you made it worse with your whole ‘you better prepare yourself’ speech.”