“Have the clean-up crew here take care of the bodies in the closet upstairs. They’re under some coats. I want it done fast,” I commanded before we entered the car.
LIAM
I lay on the bed with Ethan on my chest. I had my hand on his back and I watched as he breathed in and out slowly as his thumb slid into his mouth. He was the only thing that was keeping me calm right now.
Mel came over and sat on her side of the bed while flipping through the list of agents Colemen had given to us.
“This one, Agent Autumn Smith, she’s based in Chicago, she has similar physical attributes as Coraline.”
“Do you think Declan and Coraline can do it? I want no mistakes.” The truth was that I didn’t trust either of them to get it done without problems.
“They don’t have a choice,” she replied already dialing.
Declan answered on the first ring.
“And here I thought you’d forgotten about us.”
“We have a job for you,” Mel stated softly getting off the bed so as to not wake Ethan.
“This sounds serious.”
“We have an agent we need you and Coraline to get rid of. I’ll have the info sent to you.” Mel replied, already sending it through our email.
“You want Coraline and me—”
“To kill the agent, and we don’t want any mistakes.”
“Mel, whatever it is, I can do it with Fedel. I don’t want to put this type of pressure of Coraline.”
“We’re under attack, Declan, everyone has to step up, including your wife,” Mel reminded him.
“How—”
Mel hung up before he could speak again.
“That was rude.”
“He’ll live.”
“If he doesn’t fuck up.” And he’d better not.
EIGHTEEN
“Sex and violence: the greatest duo since the Three Stooges.”
—Jarod Kintz
CORALINE
“Hello, Neal?” I answered my phone at the top of the stairs.
“Coraline…” he said with a drawn out sigh.
“Neal, what’s wrong?”
“Everything, Cora,” he snorted just before laughing.
Walking into the nearest sitting room, I moved as far from the door as possible and found myself standing near Evelyn’s Piet Mondrian painting over the fireplace.
“Neal, are you drunk?”
“I’m Irish love, I don’t get drunk.”
Rolling my eyes, I sighed. “What happened, Neal?”
“You know, when Declan told us he was going to marry you, I was shit faced. I couldn’t believe it. You were so different from all the other girls he’d dated before. I gave you both a year.”
“Well, I didn’t like your ass either and I’m tempted to hang up now.”
“No! Please don’t,” he sighed, and I heard him take another swig of whatever it was that he was drowning himself in. “You're the only person in this family that…that treats me normally. Declan is Liam’s guy. Dad’s favorite is Liam. Mom loves me, but she would never pick. I just need someone for a goddamn second to be in my bloody corner! Just one person.”
“Neal, we’re family. I’m always in your corner. And Declan, he cares about you, and you know it.”
“Declan killed our uncle for Liam. Rule fifteen, Coraline, if family ever betrays family, show no mercy, no forgiveness and put them in the earth. I’m next; I knew it since the day I was born. One of them is going to kill me.”
“Neal, my husband is sitting in the dining room waiting for me to join him for dinner. But you called me and you sound like you need my help. So instead of eating with him, I am huddled in a corner of one of your mother’s drawings rooms. Now, tell me what is wrong.”
“Olivia is the mole,” he said.
I waited for the shock to hit me. I wanted to feel surprised, but I only felt stupid for not realizing it earlier.
“She played me like a fool and I just let her. I overlooked things she said and did because I loved her. I still love her. I’m fucked. She’s fucked. Both of us—”
“Do Mel and Liam know?”
“Liam told me and I didn’t believe him. I didn’t want to believe him. But I had to know the truth.”
“Neal, what did you do?”
“I slipped information to Olivia. I told her that Liam was taking Mel to the opera. They’d called my phone number instead of his to confirm his reservation. I gave them his number and Olivia was just there…so I thought I would slip it to her and see what would happen.”
“And Avian tried to kill them. That’s what happened,” I finished for him.
He sighed. “They are going to kill us both. Liam is still fuming. I wasn’t even thinking, I just needed to make sure. But I need to tell—”
“Neal, you will not tell them.”
“Coraline—”
“Shut up, Neal. We didn’t have this conversation and you will not tell them that you slipped up. None of us can afford to slip up, not you, not me, not even Declan. We’re at war. Have you chosen your side?”
He was silent and I held my breath in panic.
“Neal, we’re family through and through. This is your moment. You will rise from this, but you gotta be smart.”
“Family through and through,” he repeated.
Nodding, I released the air in my lungs. “Olivia fucked us all over. Now it’s time you pay her back tenfold. You’re going to be a motherfucking Callahan. You’re going to be ruthless. Do you understand me?”
“If I hurt her, Liam and Mel will know.”
“There is more than one way to hurt a woman, Neal. Go on like nothing is wrong. Make her fall in love with you all over again and start sucking information from her. When you have the information, take it to them. Drop it on the table and do as they ask. If Olivia loved you, she would not have done this. She put your life, and everyone in this family up for her own greed. That’s not love. You will come back from this a stronger member of this family.”
He was silent again and I heard the bottle on the other line touch the table, as though he’d set it down.
“Thank you, Coraline.”
“For what? This conversation never happened.”
He snickered.
“Oh, and Neal? I will be watching you. I trust you, but just in case, I will be watching you,” I said before hanging up.
Deleting his call, I straightened myself up before walking out of the room. I walked into the dining room to find Declan slouched over the head of the table, completely lost in thought. He didn’t even notice as the butler placed food on the table that had been set only for the two of us. It was odd being in the house with so many people missing.
“Thank you, Raymond,” I told him as he left.
“Of course, ma’am,” he said before he headed back towards the kitchen. Declan was still not moving.
“Your eyes used to fall out of your head when I walked into the room,” I teased, sitting next to him.
He blinked rapidly, and picked his head up to look at me. Forcing a small smile, he took my hand and kissed the back of it. “Sorry, darling, I’ve just got a lot of things going through my mind. But you’re stunning as always.”
Taking my hand back, I reached for the peas and placed some on his plate, along with the salmon and rice. I hadn’t seen him eat since last night.
“Thank you,” he said, as he took a bite.
“Of course. Are you thinking about what Mel and Liam asked us to do?”
He froze for a moment before he looked up at me.
“What? They called me a few moments after they spoke with you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you knew?” he asked.
“Why didn’t you tell me at all?”
“Coraline…” he sighed.
I hated when he said my name like that.
“You don’t think I can do it.” We were back at square one all over again.
He sat up. “Coraline, this isn’t game. We’re tal
king about breaking into the Canadian Embassy, kidnapping a fed—”
“I know, Declan, I read the file,” I snapped as I cut into the pink fish in front of me.
“Then you know that this is too risky. We’re not dealing with thugs. I’m going to figure out a plan with Fedel—”
“If you try it, Declan Callahan, I will divorce you so quickly you won’t even be able to finish your damn peas,” I told him, as I took a bite.
His mouth dropped open before it turned to a smirk. “You’re bluffing.”
“Guess who got invited to, and played nice with, every top law firm in the state?” I asked, sipping slowing as he watched me. “While you were getting your hands dirty with the low lives, I’ve been shaking hands and smiling with a lot of fancy people. I’m not as sweet and innocent as you keep trying to make me out to be. I have a plan to get in, but I need your tech genius to do it. So we’re going to do it whether you like it or not.”
He stared and said nothing.
“You should eat, babe, this salmon is amazing.”
“I’m no longer hungry for food,” he said slowly, as he pulled at his tie and rose from his chair.
“Really? Should I call for some wine?” I smirked, as I tried to keep my eyes fixed on my food.
His fingers caressed my shoulder and trailed up my neck, until he gripped it slightly and slid his thumb along the side of my jaw.
“No wine,” he whispered into my ear.
“Then what?”
“I want you,” he stated.
I smiled, as I pushed my chair back and stood up to face him. “All you had to do was ask.” Backing away from him, I stepped out of my shoes and began to unzip my dress. He watched every movement I made, and just as I’d exposed the lace of my bra, I stopped. “On the other hand, you should have to work for me.” I grinned before I bolted out of the room, ran up the stairs, twisted around the corner, and just kept running.
I turned back to see how far behind me he was, but he wasn't there. I paused just as the elevator doors opened and he stepped out right in front of me with a grin so wide, it was almost inhuman. He pulled me into his arms and threw me over his shoulder like a caveman.
“You cheater! Put me down!”
“Work smarter, not harder, baby.” He laughed as I kicked and tried to wiggle free of him.
I’d just walked right into that!
When we reached our room, he carried me and dropped me in the center of the bed.
“Now that I’ve earned you, why don’t I help you out of that pretty dress?” he said, as he crawled on top of me.
I didn’t fight him. I didn’t want to.
DECLAN
All night I had tried to think of a way to get her out of this. But nothing came to mind. I watched her lace up her boots as I placed my watch on my wrist. I didn’t want to do this with her. She wasn’t ready for this. This wasn’t a game. Neither of us were spies. If she got caught, she’d be done for. Our lives would be on surveillance, gone would be our cover lives. It just didn’t seem worth it to me. I had almost everything figured out with Fedel; all we needed was someone who looked like the agent, and sadly, that person was Coraline.
They could have been twins, with the exception of their hair. What’s worse was the fact that I’d had no chance to prep her. I felt like we were playing hot potato with a live grenade. It didn’t matter who caught it, someone was going to get blown the fuck up.
“I can feel your stare boring its way into my back,” she said, as she placed her phone into the back pocket of her jeans.
“Are you sure—”
“If you ask me that one more time, Declan, I swear to God.”
Annoyed, I grabbed her cell phone out of her back pocket and threw it on the bed.
“Hey—”
“If you’re going to ignore my advice as your husband, you’re going to listen to me as your boss. You want to do this? Fine. But rookie mistake 101 is carrying a cell phone,” I snapped angrily. Moving to my dresser, I pulled out an earbud, and placed it in her ear. I looked over her outfit once more.
“You’re going to the Embassy, Coraline. You’re going to need a skirt, some stockings and heels, along with a blazer.”
“Wait, we’re going now?”
“Yes, now.” I frowned. “If we were doing it my way, then we could go tomorrow or maybe the next day. She’s married with two children, both of whom are homeschooled. Grabbing her at home is virtually impossible. We could have taken her on her daily ride but Mel and Liam, being the self-serving sons of bitches they are, want to prove that they can take what they want from behind enemy lines. So yes, you’re going today. Because today is the only day the agent really leaves her office. She spends the night there, mostly because she’s having an affair with her boss. The guards haven’t seen her enter today so you can go in using the false credentials.”
She took my face into her hands. “Breathe. Fedel is going to be with me, and you’re going to be in my ear. I’ll be fine, and if you believe that, I will be fine.”
Resting my head on hers, I nodded.
“Good. Now, what color suit should I wear?”
“A dull color, and something you’ve never worn before and don’t mind burning after.”
“Great, I have just the outfit,” she said with a touch of sarcasm.
I was tempted to smile, but now was not the time.
As she walked to her closet I moved over to my table and placed the second plug in my ear.
“Coraline, can you hear me?”
“God? Is that you?” Her voice came alive on the microphone.
“Very funny.”
There was a knock on the door and I already knew it was Fedel. “Come in,” I told him.
When he stepped in with his freshly pressed suit, I threw him the third plug. He caught it with ease.
“Is everything in place?”
“Yes, we have two hours before we need to be on the road. Did you find a woman we can trust to go in?” Fedel asked, as he fitted the plug into his ear.
“At your service.” Coraline stepped out looking rather plain, in a gray pant suit.
“You’re serious?” Fedel asked, looking to me.
My thoughts exactly.
“The next person to say shit will be walking around toothless. Are we clear?” she snapped at the both of us, as she crossed her arms.
“Yes, boss.” Fedel snickered while shaking his head.
“Good. Now, is this enough for me to pass as her?” She motioned to her outfit.
“One last thing.” Fedel pulled out a pair of thick, black-rimmed glasses. When she placed them on, I checked to see if the camera was working.
“Let’s get this clusterfuck on the road,” I muttered as I rose from my chair.
May God help us all.
NINETEEN
“Not feeling is no replacement for reality. Your problems today are still your problems tomorrow.”
—Larry Michael Dredla
LIAM
As I entered our bedroom, I immediately tripped over Mel’s shoe. Catching myself, I picked up the red heel, and threw it into the corner.
“Your shoe almost killed me,” I called out to the closed bathroom door while tendrils of steam snaked out at its base.
Turning on the television, I pulled off my tie and removed my shoes.
“Good evening, I’m Andrea Salvia, and tonight we bring you more in the ongoing investigation regarding the recent FBI debacle. In only a month, five federal agents have either been murdered or charged with felonies. Meanwhile, the head of the FBI, Avian Doers, was spotted rubbing elbows with D.C.’s one percent at the Opera.”
“It looks as if the public has finally caught on,” I yelled, as I stood up to take off my shirt.
I listened to the silence and paused when she didn’t yell back in reply. She always yelled back, and nine out of ten times it was with an invitation to join her.
“Mel?” I moved to the door.
She still didn’t a
nswer.
“Mel.” I opened the door and froze the moment I stepped in. She stood in the shower, fully clothed, as the water poured upon her. Rushing towards her, I turned the shower off, thanking God that it wasn’t scalding hot, yet she remained standing there, not moving.
“Mel!” I yelled directly in her face, as I shook her.
She blinked a few times and wiped the water from her face before she looked at me confused.
“What are you doing?” she asked me.
“What am I doing?” I tried not to yell. “What the hell are you doing? You’re fully dressed and standing in the shower.”
She looked herself over with no expression, then moved to take off her black dress and underwear before she stepped around me. Grabbing one of the white towels for her body and a smaller one for her hair, she wordlessly left the bathroom.
“I’m fine Liam,” she said as I followed her.
“Bullshit. What happened to you?”
She said nothing as she continued to dry her hair.
“Melody.”
“Will you stop saying my name as though I’m a child?!”
“I will the moment you stop acting like one.”
“I said I was fine!” she screamed at me.
“And I call bullshit!” I yelled as I reached for her but she pulled away. “Someone who is fine does not stand in the shower, spaced out and fully dressed.”
“Keep yelling, Liam, the whole damn city hasn’t heard you yet!” she snapped, as she stormed off towards her closet and slammed the door behind her.
With a sigh, I moved to the door and rested beside it. I jiggled the handle, trying to open it, but she must have been leaning against the door.
“Wife, open the door and let me in. This is not the type of fighting I like to do with you,” I whispered.
“Liam, I’m fine.”
“Every time you say you’re fine, I get more pissed off because I know you’re lying to me. I thought we were over with this? I thought we were partners; that you would—”
She opened the door and glared at me. “Don’t try to guilt me into anything.”
“I’m trying to be honest with you.”