Ruthless People (10 page)

As the children pulled me toward a corner of the massive garden, each dancing around
me, I pretended not to notice the women glaring at me. I would speak with them later,
but now I needed to make myself look like a fucking saint. I took my shoes off and
danced along with the kids, singing their Irish songs and even spinning some of them
around. It made even me laugh. Don’t get me wrong, I liked kids . . . kind of, sort
of. I was just sure they were annoying as fuck if you spent too much time with them.
But I needed them today, so I danced.

When I finally stopped, Coraline handed me glass of water. I wanted wine.
My
wine.

“They all love you.” Coraline grinned. “A few men even cursed Liam for finding you
first.”

Just smile and drink Mel.

“Oh, we are going to have a garden party for you tomorrow, for all us girls.” Evelyn’s
eyes shined with joy. “Everyone is dying to meet you.”

I would rather have everyone just dying.

“I can’t wait,” I said, but they didn’t even notice I was lying.

Glancing around, I realized then that all the Callahan men were gone.

“Where is Liam?” I was ready to break the glass in my hands.

Olivia and Coraline frowned, but Evelyn held her strong demeanor. She turned her back
to the guests to stand in front me.

“Melody, do not worry. I know you are aware of what our men do. But believe that they
are safe. They often use parties like this one to cover up something else. We try
not to get involved and to know as little as possible. My son would never want to
endanger your well-being.” Evelyn’s face became serious before relaxing into a carefree
smile once again.

I nodded, trying my best to stay calm, but as my gaze landed on Fedel and Monte near
the doors, looking scared for their lives, I knew that someone was going to die tonight.

“Excuse me.”

Fedel and Monte stiffened, waiting until I was before them to speak.

“Flight 735 just exploded over the Atlantic ocean. Death toll is one hundred ninety-two.
Eighty-seven of them Valero who were smuggling drugs in the seats,” Fedel said.

The glass shattered in my hand, but I didn’t feel it. Even as the blood dripped from
my fingers, I couldn’t feel it. Walking calmly into the house, I moved straight to
the foyer. I had gotten blue prints to this whole place years ago and noticed there
was space left out. It didn’t take genius to realize they were hiding something behind
a fake wall, and that the rather larger Jackson Pollock hanging on the faux wall really
had to be a door.

Bloody hand raised, I waited for Fedel to hand me a gun.

“We are outnumbered, ma’am,” he said instead, and I simply shifted my gaze to him.
Today was not the fucking day.

Monte handed me the semi-automatic he always had strapped to his leg.

“Fedel, stay out here, I wouldn’t want you to get hurt,” I snapped before shooting
right through the wall. Neither Monte nor I stopped, not even when the painting, tattered
and unrecognizable, crumbled to ground. The wall blew apart bit by fucking bit until
the door bounced open.

When it released, I stepped in. There stood the rats, all drawn and panicked with
the news playing in the background. My eyes met Declan’s, who looked white as a sheet,
then Neal, who was trying his best to stop the bleeding in his arm. Next was Sedric,
who didn’t seem surprised it was me. In fact, he was the only one wearing a bullet-proof
jacket underneath his suit. If he hadn’t been, the bullet hole in his tie would have
killed him. The biggest rat of them all, who must have had a fucking guardian angel
in his pocket because he was perfectly fine, was furious.

“Tell me it wasn’t fucking you, and you still get to come to the motherfucking wedding
sweetheart,” I said still calm as ever, ready to start shooting again.

I should have worn the white heels.

EIGHT

“The facts of a person’s life will,
like murder, come out.”

~ Norman Sherry

LIAM

“Your fiancée is . . .” Neal stopped talking, taking her in through the window as
she laughed and danced with the children. A part of me wanted to run over there and
save their lives. The beautiful woman with the kind smile, laugh and blushing face
was just an illusion. They were dancing with a fucking lion, a snake in the grass.

“She is a master of fucking disguise,” I hissed angrily. I would have enjoyed watching
her dance and smile and sing off-key if I hadn’t known better. If there wasn’t a bullet
hole in my fucking thigh, I would have been tempted to think myself lucky.

The woman before us now was the woman I was expecting, the one I wanted, and it pissed
me off to no end, because she didn’t exist. This party was supposed to make her uncomfortable,
but she was playing every last one of our family like fools.

“She has them all eating right out of her hands. She’s a master,” Neal said looking
at her in wonder and awe.

“Neal, I will shoot you in front of Olivia and then give her the gun to shoot you
again if you don’t stop staring at my fiancée like she is the fucking Virgin Mary.”
I knocked back the brandy in my hand. I hated her for this. For, once again, making
me realize she could play this game, the game of murder and lies, like a motherfucking
pro.

“Don’t take your anger out on me. You’re the one who fucked it up. If you had just—”

“Shut the fuck up Neal, or I swear to God!” I gripped the glass in my hand so damn
tight, it almost broke. “Go do your bloody job. I want that plane in ashes in three
minutes.”

He didn’t say anything more, but left to meet with Declan along with the rest of our
men while I watched my soon-to-be wife walk on fucking water.

The moment we had stepped out of the car, she had transformed into this delicate little
bird. The Melody I met the day before, and the Mel she announced herself as to my
mother, were two very different women. But she drew them in like moths to a flame.
She was so fucking beautiful and nonthreatening when she met everyone, that for a
split second I forgot.

Had she been this way when I first met her, I would have dazzled and charmed her while
we were making love on my bed. I would have taken pleasure in making her whole body
blush, keeping her safely tucked away.

If only my life was that fucking easy.

“Sir, we’re ready,” one of my men, Eric Reese, called from behind me. Eric wasn’t
family, but pretty damn close. He was one of the few of my men with more than half
a brain, and full loyalty. The rest were in this out of fear, or for the money.

Nodding, I walked through the door that lead to the secret office my father had built
into the walls to make sure no one would “accidentally” find it. The room was filled
with monitors and maps, all focused on where the inbound airplane would be.

“Are you sure you want to do this Liam?” my father asked as he stared at the dot indicating
the plane’s current position. It would be crossing into American waters soon.

“It’s fucking brilliant,” Declan said, waiting excitedly. “The Valero will never see
it coming.”

“I wish I could see Vance’s fucking face man.” Neal grinned. “This is going to set
him back a fortune.”

Eric nodded. “You should send him a wedding invite, just to sweeten the pot, mate.”

They were all right, and yet my father still did not seem to approve. Well, fuck him
then. Vance Valero had no idea anyone knew about his secret plane, and still allowed
a few unlucky everyday folks board it. He must have figured no one would be ruthless
enough to kill a few innocents to get to his men onboard. After today, though, it
going to cause him regret. Not only would he lose men, but he would also lose half
a million dollars in cocaine and heroin. That would be a bitch.

The moment I saw the plane appear on one of the video monitors I gave the go ahead.
“Do it.”

Declan smirked, but before he could push the button, Neal beat him to it like they
were fucking kids.

“I’m the fucking oldest, cousin,” he said, before grinning like a mad fool. A moment
later, there was red, orange and yellow flames filling the sky. Metal ripped from
metal, ashes fell into the sea and all I could do was revel in the greatness of it
all.

Sitting back in the chair my father had once claimed, I allowed myself to dream of
the future for one moment. The men in the room roared in victory over our accomplishment.
The Valero had been fucked by me today. This, plus our wedding announcement, would
make it clear that Liam Callahan had arrived, and I planned to make them eat shit
for the rest of their lives. I would control the east and the west and, once that
was done, all of fucking Europe. Who said you couldn’t have it all?

Even Melody, through all her bitching and shooting, had come in handy. Finding the
flight plans was almost too easy. She had been keeping notes on it for months and
never did anything. Some fucking Boss.

She could have cut Vance off at the knees, but instead, she did nothing just to save
a few people’s lives. She didn’t understand. We ran the fucking Mafia, we spared no
one, we took what we wanted, when we wanted it, and we killed to get the job done.
All those people were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I would make sure
to have my mother . . . or maybe make Melody, open a charity in their names. Right
now I—

Bullets exploded through one of the walls before I could even finish my thought. They
pelted us like rain, destroying anything and everything in their way.

“Fuck!” Neal screamed in pain as blood poured from his arm.

“Open the fucking door and blow the motherfucker away!”

Declan froze just as a bullet went right past his head and embedded itself into the
monitor behind him. My father fell back as a bullet connected with his chest and Eric
held on to his wrist. The rest of the men in the room scrambled to follow orders but
froze when the door opened.

“Tell me it wasn’t fucking you, and you still get to come to the motherfucking wedding,
sweetheart,” Melody screeched, looking me dead in the eyes.

Kill her. Put a bullet through her pretty fucking head and toss her off a motherfucking
bridge,
my mind yelled as I glared down the barrel of my fiancée’s semi-automatic.

I tried to stay calm. I even prayed for the strength not to lose it, but all I could
see was red. Glancing over to Eric, who stood closest to her, he took charge and put
a gun to the side of her head, causing her to lower her gun.

“You little bitch, have you lost your fucking mind?”

“Carrot top,” she said, still staring into my eyes. “You better pull the trigger now.
You will regret it if you don’t.”

He glanced at me, but in a split second, Melody swung around and used the butt of
her gun to bash his face in, knocked him off his feet, and held her gun to his balls.

“I said you would regret it,” she hissed. She pulled back and hammered into his jewels
with the butt of her gun.

My father frowned, stepping forward as I reached for my gun. There comes a time when
enough was fucking enough. “Ms. Giovanni, I would ask that you not to kill anyone
in my house.”

Monte, I believe the man’s name was, walked forward pointing his firearm at Eric as
Melody turned to my father, gun held right at his face.

“Sedric, I like you. I really do,” she said with no emotion in her voice. “But step
out of the way or I will kill you before I kill your son.”

“His mother is fond of him, and I am fond of his mother, Ms. Giovanni.” The motherfucker
smiled, as though this bitch had not just insulted us, as if she hadn’t almost killed
family. “Melody, I understand your anger, and you are justified in it—”

“The fuck she is!” I shouted, holding my gun up as well. Never in my life did I ever
want to put someone down so fucking badly.

“Liam Callahan. For the next forty-eight hours I still rule. Stand down!” Once again,
the blood in my veins was demanding blood to be spilled, and so I shot right past
her head and at Monte’s arm.

Melody eyes glowed with rage, but before her bullet could hit me, my father went for
her hand. He twisted her wrist and struggled with her until the gun was out of her
grip and he had her arm behind her back.

“Melody, listen to me,” my father said while she snarled like a damn lion. “As the
head of the Callahan family, I apologize for my son’s idiotic move today and the memories
it must have recalled of the damage that was done to you. But, I need you to breathe
and walk away from this now. Not as a woman, but as a Boss, to regroup and think.
If you found this room, you must know where Liam’s is. He will be there momentarily,
and you can speak Boss to
Ceann na Conairte
.”

When she nodded, he let her go, and she left with Monte, who held on to his arm, and
Fedel, who hadn’t moved from the destroyed wall. When she was gone, my father didn’t
even have to speak, he glared at our guys and they left faster than she had—leaving
me with the man who had just spit all over my victory. Once again, all I could see
was red, and for the first time in my twenty-four years of life, I wanted my father’s
blood.