I looked to Ethan, as I bounced him around. “Mommy is bossy, you’ll get used to it.”
She rolled her eyes and stepped towards the outside shower to rinse herself off.
I was somewhat taken aback by Neal who was leaning against the couch with a glass of bourbon and a file in his hand.
“A little early, don’t you think?” I asked him.
“Says the man who used to say ‘A bottle a day, keeps the doctor at bay,’” he replied as he took another sip from his snifter. Walking towards Ethan’s playpen, I laid him inside before I handed him his favorite teething toy.
“What is it, Neal?”
“Olivia’s out shopping with Mom, so I think now would be the best time to give you the information I’ve gathered.” He waved the file at me.
Walking to him, I took the file and the bourbon, downing it all in one shot before I handed him back the empty snifter.
“I’m guessing that this is about Olivia?” Mel asked as she stepped inside.
She was now dressed in a pair of shorts and a basic t-shirt. It was weird to see her dressed so casually. She, like myself, rarely ever wore anything basic.
I nodded, and flipped through the files, before I showed her the document with the one thing we both suspected had been a part of her little ‘deal’ with Avain. I couldn’t believe she’d gone that far.
“She will die,” Mel stated stoically as her hands gripped tightly onto the folder. Her tone alone seemed to freeze the room over.
“I know,” he replied.
She took a step forward. “She wanted my son, Neal. No one can save her from me.”
He nodded. “I know.”
“You better not crumble on us, Neal Callahan, or I will put you down. I don’t want to; I can see an end to this. All you have to do is stay strong.”
Once again he shocked me by leaning in towards her.
“I’m not a child, boss. I will never be put in this situation again. She’ll be back in an half an hour, have at it,” he uttered before walking away.
I watched him take his leave, but before he could leave the room I called out to him.
“Neal.”
He paused before turning to me.
“Take Declan’s Aston Martin.”
When he left, Mel gave me a look.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I told her. “You have to give a dog a bone every once in a while, or it loses its sanity.” Declan would be pissed since he personally worked on it himself, but he would get over it.
“Fine. He’s your brother. What else does the file say?”
“Apparently that we own a restaurant downtown as a cover for cocaine distribution.” I wanted to laugh at the thought and I could see that she wanted to as well.
“A restaurant as a cover? Sure, maybe if we were in The Godfather. Avian is going to see right through that. Rule eleven; don’t shit where you eat, both figuratively and literally.”
“Thanks for the mental picture,” I cringed. “However, it seems that my brother has put the deed in our name—”
“He did what??”
“It’s not real.” Damned woman, never let me finish. “They’re fakes, but proof enough for Avian. I think we should sit on this. We’ll be seeing him in a few hours, and I’m sure he already has his people doing surveillance. Why not fuck with him a little?”
She chewed it over before she nodded. “In the meantime, I think I should have a little chat with Olivia.”
“Mel—”
“I’m not going to kill her yet.”
Why didn’t I believe her?
“Melody, I want her alive for now since she is our key to Avian.”
“I know. I’m calm.”
She was anything but calm. Then she walked to the kitchen, and oddly enough, started doing the dishes.
“Mel, what are you doing?”
“The dishes.”
Never in all of the time we’d been together had I seen her wash a fucking dish.
“Mel—”
“I need to keep my motherfucking hands busy, Liam. Now will you please stop looking at me like I shit unicorns and leprechauns? God damn!”
This was supposed to be calm?
MELODY
It was wrong to be this excited. It was sick. But I couldn’t help who I was. I watched the doorknob turn and I heard their laughter. There’s a moment right before you cause someone great bodily harm when adrenaline rushes through your veins, your hand twitches, and your mind seems to focus in on one thing and one thing alone: pain.
My father used to tell me that there were different types of pain, and once you mastered them all, nothing hurts. I never believed him though; physical pain never seemed to get old. Just ask any of the people I’ve hurt.
She walked in, seemingly on cloud nine, holding three Michael Kors, a Marc Fedels, and a Christian Louboutin shopping bag. Her red lips were wide and large as she laughed her blonde head off.
Evelyn was right on her heels. “Mel, I have the most wonderful dress for you to wear this afternoon.” Evelyn smiled as she moved straight for Ethan. “And I have something for you too, Mister.”
“Let me guess, a bow tie,” Liam said to her, but I paid them both little attention as Olivia moved into the kitchen to get a bottle of sparkling water. She called for Neal but got no reply.
“Where’s Neal?”
The moment she asked, I snapped. Releasing all the rage I’d been holding within, I took one of the plates I had just washed and smashed it onto the side her head. It shattered on impact. When she screamed and stumbled forward, I took a fistful of her hair, pulled her to the sink, and dunked her head into the dirty dishwater.
“Mel! Oh my God, Mel, what the hell are you doing?” Evelyn shouted at me.
“Go mom, and take Ethan with you,” Liam said to her. I didn’t know if she listened or not, because I was far too busy pinning Olivia’s flailing arms behind her back.
Pulling her head up, she gasped and wheezed for air as I tightly gripped her hair.
“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to kick your motherfucking skinny ass. You stupid, stupid little bitch, did you really think you could outsmart us? Outsmart me?” Before she could reply, I dunked her head into the soapy water once more. She screamed, and tried to fight me off, but I could feel her strength slowly sapping away.
“Everything in me tells me to kill you, to take a knife and skin you alive, Olivia, and I want to! I want to so damn badly,” I told her as I brought her up again. “You betrayed us, but in all honesty, I never trusted you to even hold my shoes.”
“Please—”
“You’re pleading to the wrong person, bitch!” I sneered as I dunked her head back into the sink. She screamed, and as she did, I pulled her out and allowed her to cough up the water.
“I’m really trying not to enjoy this, but I can’t help it.”
“NO! PLEASE!” she pleaded as her head met the water again. I could tell that she was beginning to lose consciousness. Her struggles slowly dwindled to nothing, and the air bubbles all but ceased.
Pulling her out, I threw her on the ground kicked her once in the stomach as I turned and grabbed the largest knife from the stand. I mounted her and pressed the sharp blade into her neck.