“What do you do with his body, you can’t just dump it in the lake…can you?”
“That depends.” He and his men snickered as he placed his hand on my shoulder and led me back to the bar.
I waited until we were both seated before I turned to him. “Depends on what?”
“On what the clean-up crew decides to do with his body. One thing you will always need is a good clean-up crew. Monetary expenses shouldn’t be a problem, inspect them personally. Make sure anyone close to you does not get involved with the product we provide. Do you understand?”
I nodded as I leaned back. Then I remembered something important. “Are we really going camping tomorrow?”
“Yep. Maybe we can get your mother to not drown you in bug repellent again,” he snickered.
“I wouldn’t bet on it.”
PRESENT
“Liam? Liam?” Mel whispered.
I open my eyes to find her right above me, smiling. I loved waking up to her voice. I reached up and brushed the side of her face. “Hey, you.”
She gave me a sad smile and touched my cheek. “We’ve landed. We have to go.”
I paused as everything came back. I’d had a moment of reprieve, a moment where I’d thought it was just a nightmare, but it was real…and it hurt even more.
“I know,” Mel whispered as if she could read my mind. “I know, but we need to get off the plane, Liam.”
Nodding, I got up and grabbed my jacket and bag. I noticed that Jinx was holding Ethan, and for some reason, it bothered me. Taking my son out of his arms, I turned and exited the jet without another word.
I walked out to see Declan and Coraline hugging my mother, who for the very first time in all my life, was wearing sweatpants and a hoodie. She looked broken. And just the sight of her made my heart ache and my blood boil.
Coraline helped mom into her car before she entered, leaving Declan, Neal and I alone. Ethan tapped my face as if to remind me of his presence, before Mel came and took him from me. Part of me didn’t want to let him go, but I knew that it would be better for my brothers and me to have this conversation alone.
Declan and I both drew in a deep breath as Fedel, Kain, and Jinx removed our father from the cargo hold of the jet. My father was now cargo. I wasn’t sure how Mel had pulled it off, or whom she had bribed or threatened, but his body had been taken out of the morgue, cleaned, dressed and placed on our jet without issue.
Declan shook his head, his jaw tensed. “This is shit.”
“Declan—” Neal started.
“Don’t. This is your fucking wife’s fault. How the fuck do know that she wasn't the one who tipped him off?! We’ve been telling you for years she was fucking trash and you were too blinded by her goddamn pussy—”
“Fuck you! You don’t know shit! You no good—”
“Enough.” I snapped. “There is only one man responsible for this and we will have our retribution. Until then, don’t cock up dad’s last moments before we bury him by acting like five year olds because I won't have it. I will kill the both of you before I allow you to fuck this up,” I said before walking to the car where my mother was seated. I would’ve gone with Mel, but I needed a moment alone with my mother. When I got in, she was curled up and asleep again. Coraline stepped out and I took her place.
MELODY
I turned my attention to Fedel, and filled him in while he held the door open for me. As I sat down, I placed Ethan into his car seat before I put a blanket over him. Fedel sat up front while Jinx took the passenger’s seat.
“I’m getting updates on Monte’s status. He’s alive, but they had to amputate his left leg,” I told Fedel and he nodded. “I need you here and focused, Fedel.”
“Of course, ma’am. What do you need?” he asked.
“Has the family been notified?”
“Yes, the news has spread and families are already leaving gifts and flowers outside the gates,” he answered while searching through the photos on his phone.
“What about the press?”
“They’re all focused on the new terrorists, Rsamas. They are actually saying the group is behind the sniper shooting,” Jinx answered and I stared at the back of his head.
“How many people know about Rsamas?” The only way that this would work was if fewer people knew about what’s really going on.
“The family, the agent, Kain, Monte, Jinx, and myself,” Fedel replied, as he stopped at the red light.
Olivia was dead, and I’d taken care of her body with the aid of a vat of acid. The agent would be dead soon enough. The family was behind us, which only left the four of them.
“Let’s keep it that way. Make sure to cover it up if any one starts to speculate. Am I clear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” they both answered.
“I asked for details about the funeral, where are they?”
Jinx handed me the tablet, allowing me to sift through as fast as possible.
“No red roses. Evelyn likes the white ones. If she likes it, it means that Sedric liked them as well. The memorial won’t be held at the manor. We’ll have it near the Illinois River, I believe it’s called LaRue Pine. We can have it on the cliffs, which will remind them of the ones in Ireland. It’s the best we can do.
“Have tables, chairs, and a bar set up for at least two hundred people. I want heavy-duty protection in the trees and down below. Where did you find this caterer?”
“I, and a few of the men, including the Irish, have gone to their place. She’s good, ma’am, trust me,” Fedel replied.
“Fine, it will do, but have them send me a sample tonight. If it tastes like shit, it will be on your head.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I inhaled deeply before I leaned back. I watched as Ethan spoke gibberish, and laughed as he tried to hit the window.
“Boss?”
“Jinx?”
“Should we worry about Olivia?” he asked, and I was reminded of the fact that no else knew what had happened.
“She’s no longer an issue.”
LIAM
PAST
“Dad, I don’t want to marry her,” I told him as I entered his office.
“That’s unfortunate, because you will one day,” he said, not bothering to glance up at me from his desk.
Muttering under my breath, I moved to his couch and threw myself on it.
“Feet down, I’m not going to be yelled at by your mother again for ruining her furniture.”
I groaned. “Dad, that’s what I’m talking about, you’re so whipped.”
“Whipped? Were you listening outside our door again last night?”
“Ugh, Dad!” I gagged as he sat there laughing at me. “That mental picture is going to be stuck in my head forever. You’re scaring me here!”
“You brought it up. When are you heading back to school?” he said as he laughed at me while stapling documents together.
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” I stretched to look at him.
“Yes, so I can get back to being whipped.”
“Stop it. The joke is dead! Can we focus on me for a moment here?”
“You’re eighteen. I thought that meant I could stop focusing on you!”
I glared as I sat up and waited.
“Silence, finally. I thought I would never rest with you all back in the house.” He smirked.
“I’m not marrying her. I don’t need a babysitter once you kick the bucket—”
“Who said anything about a fucking bucket?” he snapped at me.
He hated it when I teased him about getting old. Once, I pointed out some of his gray hairs, and in response to my wily observation, he threw a vase at my head.
He froze before giving me his attention. “Are you planning on having me killed, son?”
Rolling my eyes, I rose. “Yeah, sure, old man, that’s what I’m planning. Seeing as you eat like…well, me. I wouldn’t be surprised if you collapsed tomorrow. Wasn’t mom yelling about your heart the other day?”
“I’m fine, I made a deal,” he replied.
“With whom, God or the Devil?” I grinned, as I trailed towards his brandy.
“Don’t you dare. Your mother almost killed me when she found out that I let you drink.”
“She’s out shopping with Neal’s new girlfriend, Olivia Colemen,” I told him.
I paused as he thought about it for a moment before nodding. I poured him a drink as well.
“What do you think of her?” he asked me.
“She’s…pretty. In a manufactured sort of way.”
He rolled his eyes. “Go deeper than that, Liam, what do you really think of her?”
We’d only had a few dinners with her, but I wasn’t sure.
“She talks a lot, and she likes the camera. I think she has the potential to be a stage five clinger. She’s not stupid, but she not very bright either. All in all, I can’t trust her until I get to know her better. Why? Don’t you like her?”
“She’s…she’s not the type of woman I wanted for Neal.” He paused to think. “He needs a woman that can keep him grounded and bring out the best in him.”
“Wait, so you’ve thought all about the type of woman that Neal needs, and me you’re just throwing to the Italians?”
“You sound jealous, Liam,” he said with a snicker. “I don’t have any favorites.”
“Liar,” I muttered. “If he likes Olivia, whatever. She looks like she makes him happy, but then again, couldn’t a puppy do that?”
“Hey.” He frowned at me.
“What?”
“He’s your older brother, respect him.”
“Easier said than done.”
“Fine. If you don’t want to marry Melody Giovanni, then you can marry Ms. Colemen.”
“That’s like asking if I’d like to be run over by a train now or later! I don’t want to get married until after I take over. It shouldn’t be a clause for me to become the Ceann Na Conairte.” He had all these damn rules. He forced me to learn everything under the goddamn sun, yet he still treated me like a child.
“Giovanni or Colemen?” he asked as though he were bored.
“I—”
“I won’t ask you again. Giovanni or Colemen?”
“Fine, Giovanni. I’ll wait for the train. Maybe I can think of a way out of this contract. I don’t know how you can trust them with the amount of shit that the Italians have put us through. Now I’m supposed to lie next to one. ”
“At least you’ll have good food,” he replied.
“We have chefs for that—what are you looking at?” I moved over and saw a map on his desk. It was new trade routes for our supplies.
“Oh, well look at that, you can hold the girl talk for a moment,” my father said.
Asshole.
PRESENT
I stood out on the balcony staring up at the moon with a bottle of brandy in my hand. Drinking straight from the bottle, I shivered as Mel’s warm arms wrapped themselves around me. Without saying a word, I stood and enjoyed the warmth of her presence. I’d been feeling cold and nothing could warm me up like she could. Drinking didn’t help, tears burned, but she and Ethan were it.
“I know I have to be stronger, I have to be a leader,” I whispered to her, “but I—I…”
“I get it, Liam. Everything will be taken care of tomorrow, you just have to show up.”
No.
Shaking my head once more, I turned around to face her.
“I need you to give me the speech.”
“The speech?” she questioned, confused.
Looking down, I swallowed and tried to form the words. “Tomorrow, I need to not only be the head of this family, but the leader of the entire Irish clan. Plus, your people will be there on top of that. I can’t weep; I can’t be anything except strong because all eyes will be on me, but right now, I can’t even breathe. So I need you to do what you’ve always done and tell me the truth. You tear into people and lay everything on the table. I need that. I need to know how you functioned after Orlando died. You cried for one night and the next you were using him as bait. And I know you, you loved him, you are not as cold as you want people to believe. You were in pain. I need you to speak to me, because apparently I can’t speak for myself. “
“My father and I had relationship that was much different than—”
“Mel…wife…please.”
She wiped the corner of my eyes and took a deep breath before she stepped away from me.
“You have tonight,” she said stoically. “That’s it, one night. You can cry, you can scream, you can curse God. But when the sun comes up, you need to get your shit together, Liam, because that is the price of being the boss. We don’t get to grieve with them. We do not get to lie in bed all day, we do not get to worry about the ifs, ands, and buts.
“Sedric is dead. He’s not coming back, and neither you nor I have the power to change that. You will wake up, and for a moment you will forget that he is gone, and just when you’re about to smile, it will hit you. A song will play, or you will eat his favorite food, drink his favorite brandy, go to his favorite place, and the pain will rip through you, but you will have to deal with it. We have to; we are going to hold this family together because without us, everything falls apart. Everything he worked for and gave his life for will be meaningless, and if that happens, then Sedric would’ve died for nothing. That bullet was his last gift to you, and you have no fucking right to waste it. We bend, but we not break, and when we snap back, someone always suffers. Tomorrow, we will make sure that the message is clear: we can never be broken.”
When she finished, I pulled her to me, and allowed the bottle to fall and shatter. Kissing her, I picked her up by her thighs, intent on showing her just how much I loved her. I had already wept in the morgue and cursed every deity known. Right now, I just wanted to make her scream my name and lose myself in her.
PAST
I held her hand, trying to rush her into my room as she giggled. We were both a little tipsy, but who cared? Besides, it was my last real night of freedom. Just as we made it to my room, I saw him turn the corner into the hall. He looked up at us both from the book in his hand.
“Busted,” Natasha giggled.
“Go in,” I winked at her, and she smiled before she did as she’d been told.
Turning back to my father, I watched as he continued his path until he stopped at my side.
“How much do you care about her?” His monotone voice reached me as he flipped through his book.
“Dad—”
He glared, cutting me off.
“Look, it’s my last night before I meet Melody. I’d like to have some fun, if you don’t mind. It isn’t serious. I swear, the moment we sign the contract, my loyalty will be to her and this family.”
“The family should already have your full loyalty,” he countered.
“You know what I mean.” Or at least I hoped that he did. I knew what was likely going through his head.
“She’d better not get pregnant or I will kill her myself. I’m doing this for your future…one day you will thank me, son,” was all he said before he continued on down the hall.
Thank him? Yeah right.
MELODY
Wrapped in his arms, I listened to him breathe as he played with my hair and stroked my hand. The sun was slowly beginning to peek into our room, but we laid still, fighting the evidence of a new day. Sadly, there was no stopping our alarm. Taking a deep breath, he sat up and ran his hands through his hair before he stretched. Then he turned to me.
“Olivia?” he asked.
“Dead. Neal killed her. I took care of the rest. Pity, because I’d planned to bury her alive.”
“No,” he mused. “It was better that Neal did it. She didn’t deserve any more of our time. She was nothing and died as nothing. Her name will never be spoken of again. What of my father’s funeral?”
“It’s at eleven a.m. and the memorial is going to be near the Illinois River at LaRue Pine. Everything?
??s already been taken care of.”
“I want to wear a—”
“Fedora?”
He looks at me oddly, but nodded. “Yeah.”
Sitting up, I got out of bed and walked over to his closet. “I had Fedel go out and get some, along with a few suits choices.”
There were five different outfits I had put together for him, and all of them had a matching fedora.
I felt him come up behind me, wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me to his chest.
“Pick whichever one you like, I also had some brought in for Neal and Declan. I have dresses for Evelyn as well. Breakfast is at—”
“You did all of this?” he whispered, as he kissed my shoulder.
I smiled as I turned back to him. “Coraline helped.”
“You're perfect.” He tried to smile. And it was only when he did that I realized how much I missed seeing him happy.
“I’m going to get dressed.” I grinned but he held onto my waist.
“Thank you, wife,” he said as he kissed my forehead.
“You don’t need to thank me. This is what families do, right?”
His grin turned into a soft snicker. “Yeah, this is what families do.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”
—Thomas Campbell
MELODY
This was not about me, nor Orlando. However, a small part of me felt guilty that I had not done anything like this for him. Never had I seen so many Irish people in one place, outside of Ireland. Even a few of my people were here. It had only been two days, but some had flown in just in time, while others drove for hours just to make it to Chicago to attend the memorial overlooking the river. It was beautiful with nothing but green all around us, and a dark blue river below.
Sitting at the table nearest to the edge of the cliff, I stared at the large photo of Sedric that stood beside the podium. It was the perfect summer day for this. The sun hid behind the clouds, but it was still warm, and even the wind had calmed, as if it too wanted to be respectful.