He’s not going to do anything stupid. I reassured myself, and yet I still couldn’t but doubt…help but wonder…No. I wouldn’t. I needed to focus.
“What’s the plan?” Greyson asked, turning to face me.
He was so used to the hidden motive behind Ethan’s actions, it was only natural for his mind to go there. There was still a small part of me, a very small part of me, that wondered if maybe Ethan had some plan he wasn’t sharing, but who could have planned for this? The man I saw sitting in the closet…he was hurt…deeply. Certainly not that man.
And I was part of his pain. So I needed to be part of his joys, too.
I turned to Greyson, who stared back with the familiar mixture of doubt and annoyance I’d seen on the faces of many of our guards—as if to say who was I to tell them what to do. I was the Callahan who ran away. The prodigal son who’d done nothing for them. To me it felt like ages since I’d returned home…but in reality, it was only two weeks. And just like Ethan had said, I’d done nothing but worry about Dona during that time.
“Sir?” Greyson questioned, gaining my attention as Helen came out of Ethan’s room. Her eyebrows furrowed together and her jaw clenched at the sight of me. Before I could ask her what was wrong, what Ethan said, Greyson spoke up again.
“The plan?” he pressed on when our eyes met.
“The plan is do whatever the fuck I say.”
“You haven’t said anything,” he fired back again, showing me the difference between Ethan and I. Greyson wouldn’t dare to speak up in front of my brother.
“Get my fucking car.”
He nodded, making his way to leave. And Helen frowned as she asked, “The ruthlessness begins?”
“Yes.” It begins. I was going to remind every motherfucking, cunt-faced, two-bit ass-wipe what the fuck it means to mess with the mafia, seeing how they all bloody forgot. It’s going to take weeks to get the blood I’m going to spill off the streets of the godforsaken city… We are Callahans…apparently people forgot that.
Reaching out, I hugged her even if she was stiff before hugging back. “Forget what I said before. Call your parents. Call everyone. Tell them come home, okay.”
Her brown eyes widened she as she stared at me, “Even my brother—”
“Everyone, Helen,” I replied, putting my hand on her cheek. We had a lot of people to kill. When Ethan comes back, he’s not going to be fighting alone anymore.
TWO
“Fire, Water and Government know nothing of mercy.”
~ Albanian Proverb
WYATT – AGE NINE
“Nine points!” I yelled, lifting the board above my head.
“Nine!” She made a face as she came out of the water, as she grabbed a towel to dry her hair. “That was a prefect ten!”
“Noooooo.” I shook my head and pointed to the pool. “You were slow on the second turn. So nine points.”
“Me, slow?” She threw her towel back on her chair.
“Yes, you.” I nodded, standing tall.
We eyed each other down for a long time. And the moment I saw her mouth turn up, I made a run for it.
“No running, Mommy!” I laughed and yelled at her.
“If I make the rules,” her arms wrapped around me like an octopus as I tried to run, she started to tickle me, “I can break the rules!”
“Stop!” I giggled, trying to wiggle away, but she picked me up.
“I’ll give you a prefect ten!” She was holding me so tight, I could feel when she jumped.
“No—” I closed my eyes and my mouth. The water pulled us down, and when she let go, I opened my eyes under the water. Everything was blue. The bubbles in the water floated up, and I could see her look back at me. Her black hair floating behind her, she smiled at me, reaching over to me, but I swam away from her. Like she showed me, I cut through the water. I almost made to the other side, but my chest hurt, forcing me to swim up for air.