“How often do you come across pure smack like he’s selling?” He had a point.
Cracking my neck, I thought about that for a moment. “I warned him the night we took out Chuck.”
“Sadly, stupidity is a force to be reckoned with.”
“Do you trust him?” Coraline asked, almost too innocently.
“I trust no one.” Pausing, I stared at Liam. “I trust no one, but the family. What should we do?”
“Declan and I will go,” Sedric stated as the plane began its descent.
“And I’ll wait nearby to watch.” Because if Roy was stupid enough to set us up only weeks after I had warned him, I wanted to kill him myself.
“Too many family members in one place. If this is a setup, the police will be there,” Declan added, apparently pissed off already.
“The President was just assassinated,” Evelyn reminded us, holding onto her seat as the tires met the strip below us. “Do you really think they would do a sting operation now?”
She also had point. But there were too many criminals in on this plan, and Liam and I needed to think.
“We’ve arrived,” Jinx stated.
Liam simply rolled his eyes as he got out of his seat. “Thank you, Captain…”
“Liam.”
“What? He is a captain, correct?” Liam replied, his smile slick, eyes glinting with something darker.
“That wasn’t what you were going to say and you know it,” I whispered before walking past him.
Sedric held the door open for Evelyn and I. Taking my hand into hers, she walked me down the stairs like an infant needing assistance. Glancing back at Liam, he mouthed, “Be nice.” Sighing, I held onto her as we walked.
At the bottom Olivia and Neal stood in front of our cars, dressed in all white. Even Adriana stood in a white pantsuit.
“Welcome back.” Olivia smiled, pulling me into a hug. “The city hasn’t been the same without you.”
She’s touching me.
“You can let go now, Olivia. People may start to believe you’re genuine,” I said, as I freed myself from her bony arms.
Her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared, but she smiled anyways, proving my point. Neal stepped forward, preparing to give me a hug as well, but I pulled back and allowed Evelyn to accept it in my place. He played it off, kissing Evelyn on the cheek.
“Is there a reason why you’re all dressed in white?” I asked them.
Neal nodded. “Senator Colemen is having a memorial and charity dinner this evening for both parties. He asked all those attending to wear white as a call for peace, hope, and perseverance in this dark time,” he recited.
I stared at him for a moment before taking Evelyn’s arm once again. “A living breathing teleprompter. I can’t wait to hear your speech as to why Colemen is so behind in the polls. I think he’s been lapped twice.”
Adriana held open the door for us, and as Evelyn took a seat inside, I noticed Liam had yet to get off the plane with Jinx.
“Ma’am?” Adriana called my attention.
Taking a seat, I simply shook my head at Liam. Funnily enough, I wasn’t mad; it was just my husband being my husband.
“So, how are you?” Evelyn asked, petting my hand.
“Evelyn.” I stared at her misplaced appendage.
Sighing, she rolled her eyes and let go of me. “Fine. I want to know about the baby. You and Liam haven’t spoken about it and I just want details. When is your next doctor’s appointment?”
“Evelyn…”
“Melody, give me a break. This is my first grandchild and I’m dying here. I was this close,” she held her thumb and index finger barely apart, “to calling your doctor for your medical records.”
Adriana snickered quietly.
“Adriana, my appointment is in two weeks, make sure it’s possible for Evelyn and Sedric to sit in.” The moment I said it, she pulled me into her arms.
“Again with the hugging.”
“Get over it, Melody. I’m a grandmother, it’s what I do.” She laughed as we pulled apart.
“Adriana, what have we missed?
“Neal and Olivia have kept me at arm’s length. However, from what I could gather through Antonio, Olivia fired most of the old staff and hired new personnel, redecorated the halls—”
“She what?” Evelyn sat up harshly, pulling against her seat belt.
“The chariot ball this evening will be held in the manor. From what I understood, it was a political tactic, so she fired all the immigrants.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose—a habit I was picking up from Liam—I could only close my eyes and rest my head against the chair.
“What else, Adriana?”
“Neal is working on something big for the night. I knew there was a miniscule probability of you or Liam resting with strangers in the house, so I took the liberty of preparing all of your clothing and belongings along with the rest of the family’s. He’s also added at least thirty cameras around the property for this evening. They’re even in the bedrooms.”
“God give me the strength not to kill my own son,” Evelyn prayed.
Staring out the window, I watched the trees blur by and I tried to wrap my mind around this without losing my cool. I wanted to wring both of them out, but all I could do now was go to this damn function and watch. Afterwards, I’d deal with Roy.
“Adriana, set up a meeting for me.”
LIAM
I waited on the plane for the sole reason of confronting Jinx alone. The whole flight, I stared at my wife in awe, ecstasy, and love before realizing I still didn’t know that much about her past. I knew about her criminal past, but not her personal. She was more than the gun in her hands, and the blood under her heels, and I wanted to know more. So, I waited just outside the cockpit as he parked our jet.
The moment he opened the door, he came face to face with me and paused, dropping his bag onto the floor.
“Boss?”
“You were lying when you said you were drunk when you slept my wife.”
“Boss—”
“Never interrupt me, Jinx. You’re just giving me an excuse to kill you,” I said.
He nodded, standing straighter with his hands behind his back.
“As I was saying, you weren’t drunk. And I would like to believe my wife wouldn’t have just jumped into bed with anyone. You two were close, were you not?”
He took a deep breath and nodded.
“Good, then what do I not know about her? The small personal things she would note as so insignificant she wouldn’t bother sharing. I know she’s afraid of the dark, but tell me more.”
He kept his mouth shut.
“I’m done speaking, Jinx.”
“She loves to swim, but I believe you knew that.”
“I do.”
“She also loves the opera. She doesn’t treat herself to it often. In fact, she hasn’t gone since her father died…”
“And she married me.”
He nodded.
“What type of opera?” It wasn’t my thing, but I could learn to love it if it was hers.
“Italian, of course. Her favorite being Bianca e Falliero by Felice Romani. She would never admit it though. She also enjoys documentaries. It doesn’t really matter what it’s about, if it’s on, she makes a mental note to watch it later. Never leave her in charge of the kitchen unless you want to be unintentionally poisoned. Her father banned her from going in after she set the stove on fire. Her favorite food is stuffed artichokes. That’s all I know, sir.”