“So how dangerous is she, truly?” That caught my attention, and I looked at him. He looked me in the eye as he went on. “And what is she after? Because for someone who had no interest in being part of this family when she first came, she sure has made her mark quickly.”
“I told her to do whatever she needed to do to make the house comfortable for her. So long as she is here and, on our side, nothing else matters.”
His frown deepened when his gaze returned to the room where all the women now gossiped. “Is she on our side or her own? She chose not to be with you when she had a child. Now she’s chosen to stay. It seems like she does what she wants irrespective of you—”
“Then I’ll simply have to make her want what I want, won’t I?” I cut in, already tired of this conversation. I had spent a lot of time talking today. Part of me wanted to go over and take her hand, as well as Gigi’s and escape into the quietness of our room.
“So, I assume you have a plan?”
“Whether I do or not is my concern alone, Uncle.”
“Who you are with is the family’s concern because your wife rules us just as much as you.” He frowned. “You don’t have to explain. I just ask you to be careful with her.”
I muttered again, but nothing of any consequence.
He sighed and moved to walk back into the dining room when he paused, looking to the front door, then to me. “Where is Darcy?”
I didn’t answer, heading into the dining room instead. Saying nothing, I took a seat at the head of the table, and without delay, a plate was already in front of me. I had no idea what it was— some sort of steak brasato, therefore Italian, therefore Calliope’s choice.
I took only one bite and paused. The moment I put the stuffed flank steak into my mouth, the tender meat rolled up with garlic, herbs, and prosciutto melted together into my mouth. And I knew this wasn’t from our chef.
We have a new chef, too.
“She changed the chef, too,” Wyatt muttered, glaring down at the dish.
“You don’t approve?” I asked, taking another bite.
“He likes it, but his pride won’t let him admit that,” Uncle Neal snickered, already helping himself to seconds. “What did I tell you? Women make everything better.”
“And the several women who have already been here?” Wyatt muttered before he continued eating. He really wasn’t good with change.
I looked at the empty chairs…the women were having their own dinner tonight. “It seems—” I paused when the door opened and Darcy came into the dining room, his tie hanging off his neck, his shirt pocket ripped—covered in dirt, blood, and ash?
“What the fuck happened to you?” Sedric spoke out for the first time since we had started dinner.
“Busy day?” Uncle Declan asked Darcy as he looked him over slowly.
“Something like that,” Darcy muttered as he walked to his chair beside Sedric and leaned back into it. He snapped his finger at O’Phelan, pointing to the wall between the windows. “Turn on the evening news. Channel 8.”
“This cannot wait until after dinner?” I asked him.
“No,” he replied.
“Very well, then.” I nodded to O’Phelan, who held the remote to the painting, which slid open for the television.
We all turned to watch as a blonde came on the screen.
“Good evening, welcome to CDN NEWS. Tonight, we are following tragic news out of the Elgin area, where six officers have fallen, as well as two other fatalities and dozens of others injured in what police are saying is a cartel bust gone wrong.
“An anonymous tip was left, claiming that shots were fired, and an unidentified man was covered in blood. When authorities got to the scene, they approached the diner, only for a bomb to go off, killing the six officers on hand. A message was left at the local police station which read, ‘Muerte a los leones y larga vida a los silverbacks,’ meaning, ‘Death to the lions and long live the silverbacks.’ Silverbacks refers to the notorious Rocha Cartel, who uses the Silverback Gorilla as a mascot or trademark.
“A nationwide manhunt is currently underway for the leader of the Rocha Cartel, Miguel Munha, whom the FBI believes to be behind the assassinations of government officials throughout the state of Illinois.
“Our sources say the police are worried that the Rocha are now targeting celebrities and other well-known members of the community. One of the fatalities being none other than a Rocha member himself as he set off the bomb. The other, a bodyguard to former Chicago Bulls point guard Darcy Callahan, whom one of our reporters caught up to as he was exiting the hospital. This what he had to say…”
The video clip shifted to Darcy and a new guard already walking down the hospital stairs and toward a car, reporters swarming around him.
“Good evening, Mr. Callahan. What a terrible day. I’m sorry for your loss. Do you have anything you’d like to say?”