This made no sense!
“Why? Why you?”
“Because my family knew the game but weren’t players. We couldn’t make him any more powerful than he already was. But he married Evelyn. Ivan didn’t like that but Evelyn’s family wasn’t anything. He let it go because there was balance. But you Callahans always marry the wrong people!” she yelled, spitting in my face as she did.
Stepping back, I wiped the side of my cheek and allowed myself a moment to think. This was the craziest shit I had ever heard. Both Jinx and Fedel stared at me waiting; they were not really fazed at all by her words. But they should have been. Everything we had been fighting to figure out was because of this.
“Ivan doesn’t run a mafia monopoly!” I couldn’t help but laugh. Not only was this stupid as fuck, but just unrealistic!
“And not only did you stupidly marry his granddaughter, but you married the head of the Italian mob! Every single cop, lawyer, and judge you pay off around the world, he gets a cut. If you and your stupid wife control everything, you will be placed on everyone’s shit list! It’s a chain reaction…”
“Jinx. Fedel. Clean up this shit, I’m heading back to my wife. This was a waste of my time.” Grabbing my beer, I stepped out just as she yelled.
“Ivan’s the game maker, not you!” she said. “You’re a player, find a way to meet him halfway.”
Turning, I raised my bottle to her. “I’m Liam Fucking Callahan! I don’t meet anyone halfway. They bend my way, Mrs. Briar.”
Monte stood outside, holding open the door to the Range. Sitting back in my seat, I finished my drink.
“Well, this was anticlimactic,” I whispered, staring at the fading brick house among the green hills. I wasn’t sure what I expected, but this wasn’t it. My “mistress” was a bitch, my wife was driving me insane, and all I really wanted was an aspirin.
NINETEEN
“Kings kill for empires, madmen for applause.”
—John Dryden
MELODY
I knew it was him, and he knew I was awake. How could anyone sleep with him slamming the drawers of our dresser so loudly? I wanted to give him a baby update and ask him what had happened to trigger his anger, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak. He was just pissing me off!
SLAM!
“We’ve been here for a week,” I said. “There is nothing in the damn dresser! So either chop it up for firewood or leave it alone.”
“Of course, your highness! God forbid I make you feel uncomfortable.” He slammed the dresser so hard the books on top of it fell over.
Sighing, I bit my tongue, trying my best not to explode again.
SLAM!
“URGH!” I screamed, grabbing the pillow behind my head to throw at his face. He caught it with ease then dropped it as I rose from our bed. But he pretended that he didn’t even notice me.
“You men and your stupid fucking double standards. How many maids have you screwed, Liam? How many of them still work in our house? I am not yours—”
“That’s where you’re wrong!” he barked, finally acknowledging me. “You are mine! You are so hell bent on reminding me that you belong to no one but yourself. But that’s bullshit. It’s my last name attached to yours. You belong to me! And I belong to you, and the sooner you get that through your thick skull, the less grey hairs I will have!”
“I have a thick skull? You’re the one—” I stopped, quickly grabbing onto my stomach as the movement became worse.
“Love?” Liam rushed, grabbing hold of me.
“Oh now it’s ‘love’?” I hissed, pushing him away as I wobbled over to the bed. “Damn it, kid, you can’t be on his side already.”
“Mel,” he called, pulling me closer to him on the bed. “What is it?”
Sighing, I laid back holding my stomach. “The kid moved right after you left. It didn’t hurt then, but it does now.”
Lying next to me, he rubbed my stomach slowly. “Are you drinking the tea?”
“Ugh, I’m so tired of drinking that crap. But if it will help, then I will drink some in the morning.” I was not a tea person, but the last thing I needed was more pain.
“When we get back to the States, we’ll try something else,” he replied, kissing my shoulder.
“I’m still pissed at you,” I said softly, leaning into him.
“But I can’t be pissed at you because you’re carrying my child, talk about double standard,” he replied and I was just going to have to let that slide.
“Liam, I’m not ashamed of my past. Long before you came along, I had sex with…”
Breaking away from me, he rolled onto his back. “Ahh, please don’t share! I get it. I don’t like it, but please don’t share.”
Rolling over, I watched his face clench into a grimace as though he had smelled something ghastly.
“Men will never change.” I laughed, lying back down as music began to flow through the windows. It was loud, like a thousand drunken Irishmen trying to sing to the moon.
“Is that the festival?”
Tilting his head toward the window, Liam silently listened for a moment before sitting up.
“I forgot it was Féile Na Beatha.”
“The Festival of life?” I translated quickly.
Smirking, he nodded. “It originated as a festival for the Gods and Goddesses to mark the change from summer to fall. Praising them with songs while wine is shared, all in the hope that they would harvest enough for the winter. Now it’s just an excuse to sing obnoxiously loud while drunk in the streets.”
“Celtic Gods and Goddesses?” I was trying my best not laugh, however I couldn’t help it. Pulling me into his arms, we wrestled on top of the sheets for only a second before he pinned me down.
“Are you laughing at the ancient Gods of my kinsmen?” he smiled above me, only inches from my face.
“I’m sure they wouldn’t have minded, seeing as this is probably the first conversation about them in generations. Your ancient Gods suck.” I smiled as he shook his head at me.
“Just because they don’t get movie deals doesn’t mean they suck.”
“That’s exactly what it means. We have Jupiter, Apollo, Mars. Greece has Hercules and the Olympians. Shit, most Germanic regions have Thor and the Norse deities, and then there’s the Irish. Explains why you all jumped to Christianity so quickly.”
“Hercules was a hero, not a god.” He frowned, releasing my arms as he kissed down my neck.
“Now you have me intrigued with this ‘Féile na Beatha.’” I moaned, trying my best not to give in to him, but damn, he knew where to kiss. “We should go and witness your people in all their glory.”
Grabbing my breasts, he stopped and looked me in the eye. “Later.”
I knew that look.
“Liam, you better not…”
Rip.
I glared down at my now exposed bra before meeting his gaze.
“You dick.”
Smirking, he unbuckled his belt slowly. “As you wish, love.”
“Oh no you don’t.” I laughed, pushing him onto his back before straddling him, “You’ve pissed me off today.”