Ruthless People (25 page)

“Tell me about Mrs. S. personally,” Mel demanded softly as she stared at the photo
of her.

“Saige Rozhkov, age twenty-six, born in Stavropol, Russia to a prostitute of a mother.
Her father basically wanted nothing to do with her, from what I could find. He had
two other sons, and I guess she wasn’t cool with being treated as a second-class citizen,
so she killed both boys at sixteen. She got her father’s attention, and he made her
his heir. She has been a black widow of sorts. However, she doesn’t need to marry
them to suck the life out of them. She’s trained herself in hand-to-hand combat, taught
herself how to fly almost anything, and she can speak Italian, French, English, Spanish,
Hebrew, and Russian. She’s cold, and she’s merciless,” Fedel finished, and at the
end of his little biography, he looked straight to Mel.

On the outside she looked cool, calm, and collected, but on the inside I could see
the lioness trying to claw its way out of its cage.

“Fedel, leave us.”

I stared in her eyes, scanning them quickly before standing. She finished off the
rest of her drink before rising along with me. We both walked into the private room
at the back of the plane without speaking.

The moment I closed the door, she took a deep breath and tried to stand still for
a second but couldn’t.

“I want her head on a plate.”

I wasn’t sure why, but I chuckled. “Is this jealously? Are you mad that this woman
is on the same level as you are?”

A knife flew at my face giving me only a second to react. I moved out of the way before
it embedded itself in the door.

“
No one
is on the same level as me.”

“She killed her brothers.”

“Half-brothers don’t count. I would kill them too if they stood in my way,” she replied.

“She betrayed her father.”

She glared at me, her eyes searching my face. “Her father was an honorless, spineless
bitch. I would have killed him first.”

Brushing her hair back, I brought my lips closer to hers. “Then why are you so angry?”

“Because I read the rest of the letter.”

I stared at her, confused. “You don’t know Russian.”

“I may not be able to speak it, but I can read most of it just fine. My IQ may not
be the same as yours, but I handle myself.” She took a deep breath. “I believe she
said I a classless, emotionless, cunt-faced daughter of a whore. She knew that my
parents were separated, and she also knew that my mother was having an affair with
her bodyguard, Roger. That I should have burned with her in the plane. The only way
she could have known that is if she was with Amory and Vance. So I want her head on
a fucking plate!”

Every time I thought I knew her, I figured out something new. When I gave her that
letter, I honestly didn’t think she would be able to read it. I had read ahead and
stopped when I noticed where the letter was going.

“Then her head on a plate you shall have. However, it will be next week. The men need
this. We will keep Fedel and Declan on top of everything they do. But we can’t go
after them with our men acting like children remember.”

She nodded, and I turned to leave when she grabbed my arm. Facing her, I watched as
she opened and shut her mouth twice before dropping her hand and stepping back.

“I don’t know how to do this, Liam,” she replied, crossing her arms. “I don’t know
how to be open. I’m not that type of person.”

“Bullshit.” I laughed, causing her to look me in the eye. “You don’t want to know.
You can speak God knows how many languages. You are an expert fighter, shooter, and
a master manipulator. If there is something you wanted or needed to be able to do,
you would force yourself to learn. You would commit to it through blood and sweat.
You would do that for everything but me. So don’t try that card with me. I do not
accept that excuse. I know you too fucking well for that shit.”

“I am trying! You are closer to me than anyone else, Liam!”

“That would be enough, if everyone else wasn’t dead.” She froze at my words.

I stepped in her face again and kissed her forehead. “I. Am. All. You. Have. Just
as you are all I have—fuck Declan, Neal, Olivia, Coraline, even my parents. My family
and loyalty start with you and you alone. The sooner you fucking realize that, the
sooner we can get back to losing ourselves within each other and actually killing
all those who stand against us.”

She said nothing, looking away from me, and I turned to leave. She didn’t stop me,
because she was my Mel and hardheaded as fuck. I could say it to her a thousand times,
but she needed to realize it herself. Tomorrow she would, and it couldn’t come fast
enough. Then I would fuck her senseless for all the frustration she had caused me.

MELODY

Once he left, I laid back on the bed, trying not to think, but failing miserably.

I. Am. All. You. Have.
His voice replayed in my mind even as I tried to push it out. I didn’t understand
why he
couldn’t just be happy with sex. I was willing to have sex. I
wanted
to have sex. However, instead of a quickie, I was laying on a bed alone. My mind felt
so clouded. He was making it that way. I should have been thinking of ways to kill
Amory and Saige, but instead, I was thinking of him, stupid fucking sexy Irish man.

I rose from the bed, fixing myself before walking out. I didn’t bother looking at
Liam. Instead, I grabbed my things and walked off the plane. The moment I stepped
out, I took a deep breath and smiled. I loved Cascadia. It was small, it was quiet,
and it was green. I had hated it at first, but now the trees gave me peace. Nature
was the only thing that made sense.

In front of the plane were Jeeps waiting to take us to the camp. I walked straight
to Monte, and he already knew not to ask. Instead, he threw me the keys. Before driving
off, I glanced back at Liam who glared at me. However, in the rearview mirror, I watched
as he ran faster than any fucking man I had ever seen and jumped onto the back of
the truck with ease.

He smirked at me before turning back to the rest of the men, fist in the air. They
applauded him like he was something special.

“Camp Callahan begins now!”

Never mind, he was special . . . a stupid,
special
kid. I was tempted to turn sharply and send him into one of the tress, but he climbed
into the front with me.

“If I wanted you to ride with me, I would have waited for you,” I said as he looked
out at the small town we drove through.

“Why Cascadia?” he asked me, ignoring my comment completely. When I didn’t answer,
he said, “This is a good time to be open, Melody, or does that only happen after sex?”

Stomping on the pedal, I drove us even farther, taking a path onto an abandoned road
in the middle of the forest.

“I went to community college here. It’s small, rainy, and unknown. Cascadia is the
place you go when you don’t want to be found,” I replied, turning left near the riverbank.

“You went to community college?” he asked, surprised, but of course he was. He was
a rich kid from Chicago. I was a rich, too, but I was never really a kid.

“Yes, and I’m damn proud. Just because we have money doesn’t mean I wanted to waste
it at some big fancy university, studying for a
career
that isn’t really an option. Nor did I want to deal with all the fake people who
walked through the halls. I met Adriana here actually.” It was freshman year, and
she looked so nervous. However, I saw what she could do one night after a few guys
were just a little bit too rough.

“You didn’t want to go to school with two-faced people because you wanted to be the
only one in the room,” he stated, causing me to stomp on the brakes, and he jerked
forward.

“You don’t make me want to try. Do I lust after you? Yes. Any straight female would.
Do I find you attractive and smart? Yes, and yes, again. But you are so very cocky,
arrogant, possessive, and chauvinistic. You think you see me as an equal, but you
don’t. You are pushy, annoying, and childish way too often. You piss me off! I signed
that contract. I was going to try, but then you came at me like an animal. You disrespected
me. You tried to make a fool of me. You insulted me, and now you think you can demand
my love. You think you can force me to love you because my father is dead? Because
you’re being a dick? I don’t give a motherfuck. I really don’t. So fuck you, Liam
Callahan. I
.
Am. All.
I
. Have. That is how it has been and always will be.”

He stared at me wide-eyed as I unbuckled my seatbelt and stepped out into the forest.
Grabbing my bag from behind my seat, I walked up the side of the hill by myself. I
knew the forest well enough.

LIAM

I watched her walk away in shock, right before the pain kicked in. All I could see
was red when I jumped out of the truck. I didn’t stop moving until I was right behind
her. Grabbing onto her arm, I pulled her back and shoved her against the tree.

“We have already established that I am cocky, arrogant, possessive, and chauvinistic!”
I yelled in her face. “And yes, I am pushy, annoying and childish often. But it is
because I’m sick of being alone!”

I stopped, blinking a few times before stepping away from her. I hadn’t meant to say
that. Fuck. I really hadn’t planned on saying that. I wanted to grab all the words
and shove them back into my mouth, however it was too late. What was said could not
be unsaid.

“Li—”

“I’m sick of being alone, and I know you are, too, even if you don’t admit it to yourself.
I just want to skip this part.” I sighed, looking at her once more before walking
into the forest.

I had no idea where I was going, but I just needed to get away from her. If I didn’t,
I would say something else, which would be just as dumb. Somehow, my walking led me
to a clearing of lavender flowers. They looked so soft that I took my jacket off and
just lay down. Was every day of my life going to be a battle? Sighing, I took a deep
breath, allowing myself to look up at the darkening sky. Being a city rat, I had never
seen so many stars shine from the sky. I wasn’t sure what it was, but all of a sudden,
I was drifting off.

I would head to the camp in the morning. Right now, I wanted to sleep in this moment
of peace. Making sure my gun and knife were easy to grab, I allowed myself to relax.

MELODY

“Did he ever make it back?” I asked Monte as I looked out of the cabin window. The
sun was starting to rise, and I hadn’t moved since I realized he hadn’t made it to
camp. That had to be at least nine hours ago.

“No, ma’am. Are you sure you don’t want anyone to search for him?”

I’m sick of being alone!
His words echoed in my mind, and all through the night, I couldn’t make it
shut up. I had this weird feeling that something was going to happen. My gut told
me something was going to happen, but I just wasn’t sure what that was yet.

“Ma’am?” Monte asked me again.

“No, we had an argument. He will find his way.”

“Should I let the men know?” he asked me, and I turned to him, glaring into his eyes.
The men were settling fine.

They were already doing what they were supposed to be doing—relaxing, eating, practicing.

They didn’t need Mel and Liam drama right now.

“Ma’am, he’s back.” Monte pointed, and I followed his hand to the man fighting to
get flowers off him as he broke through the tress. The idiot fell asleep in the forest.
But then again, it was Cascadia. He was fine, nothing ever happened here. Rolling
my eyes at him, I turned away from him just as a gunshot rang through the air. I had
heard guns go off all night and in the morning, however, this one made me freeze.
Every hair at the back of my neck rose.

LIAM

Fuck my back hurts
.
I groaned as I walked toward the noise. Part of me was so confused and tired
that I really wished I had remained sleeping. Had it not been for the damn sun, I
could have slept there all day.

Stepping into the campsite, I glanced around at the cabins scattered deep within the
forest. My Mel sure knew how to pick a vacation spot. A few men smirked at me, and
it was then that I realized I was covered in flowers. Sighing, I brushed myself off
quickly before attempting to walk forward. The key word being
attempting
.

It happened so quickly I didn’t even have time to blink. My body was thrown back at
the force of the bullet that collided with my chest. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t
even breathe. All I felt was the pain.

Goddamn it, Neal!

My body began to shake as chaos erupted around me. Eric was beside me in a moment
before a scream rippled through the air.

“Liam!”

That was the voice of an angel. My angel. She pushed Eric away from me before falling
to her knees beside me. She looked so beautiful. I reached up to touch her face, but
when I did, all I could see was the blood on my hands. My blood on my hands.

Mel grabbed the side of my face with one hand and gripped tightly to my hands with
the other.

“You’re going to be okay,” she whispered. “I swear. You’re going to be okay.”