Straightening my neck, I lifted my chin. I wasn’t going to let Liam degrade me for moving on. My thought was petty—but true. I shouldn’t say it, yet I couldn’t stop myself. “Honestly, compared to Rett, I’m not even sure I’d know you were there.”
“Fucking—”
I smiled at his reaction.
Before Liam could reach me, Kyle stepped forward, standing between us. “I was wrong,” Kyle said. “This is boring. Liam, you heard Mother. Get her the information she wants.” He turned to me. “Go downstairs.”
I spoke to Kyle. “I don’t know why you think you’re the commander and chief around here.”
“Because I am, Em. Learn to listen.”
I stood taller. “Whatever you think your plans are for me, you’re wrong. I’m not staying here. Rett will find me.”
Liam straightened his lips. “Oh, so you cared about him, like your bodyguard?” He shook his head. “That list of yours is getting shorter by the minute.”
My circulation stilled as blood rushed to my feet. My body was overtaken by a sense of queasiness his words instilled. “What do you mean?”
“I mean your husband—yourlatehusband...”
Liam continued talking, yet the word late had my head in a spin.
Slowly, Liam’s voice emerged through the fog. “...Lower Ninth early this afternoon. You see, there have been some problems between two rival gangs.” Liam shrugged. “Crossfire is a bitch.” He shook his head. “I don’t think he’ll be coming to get you. But the good news is we couldn’t any record of a prenup. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one with Ramses’s attorneys, but damn, Emma. Between Underwood’s money and Ramses’s, you will make your momma real proud with the finances you can bring to this organization.”
Organization?
I refused to consider that what Liam said about Rett was true.
“What organization and how do you know about Ross’s money?”
“Later,” Kyle said.
Frustration and lack of control caused my voice to rise. “I don’t want Rett’s money or Ross’s. I want to leave here and never come back.”
“Rest.”
We all turned as Jezebel appeared in the doorway. Her complexion appeared healthier than it had earlier on the porch. There was something about her—maybe the way the combs now looked like a crown or the presence she radiated. It was a majestic look that held my attention yet was hard to describe.
“Listen to you three,” she said. “I told the spirits I had adults ready to take their rightful places. You sound like children.” She turned to Liam and her cadence slowed. “William, the past is over. Emma is my daughter and will receive the respect she deserves. I can’t speak for the O’Briens, but I’ve known you and Greyson for the last four years. You’ve both been like sons to me.” Her expression hardened. “But don’t let that fool you. Isaiah and Emma are my blood. Don’t overstep, William. The spirits won’t approve.”
It was as if her speech sucked the air out of the room.
That was a figure of speech.
In reality, it was as if the heavy humid air grew thicker. The tendons in Liam’s neck protruded as his jaw clenched.
Finally, he turned to me. “It’s good to see you again, Emma. I’m at your service.”
I wanted to tell him to go to hell or fuck off—there were multiple phrases echoing in my head. Instead, I nodded. It wasn’t until I saw Jezebel looking at me that I added, “Thank you.”
Jezebel grasped my hand and turned it over. While her touch was cool, it was no longer freezing.
Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out two small blue tablets and dropped them in my palm. “These will help you rest, my dear. The spirits reminded me that this is new to you. There is much for you to process. Take the tablets, rest, and things will become clearer.”
My blue eyes met hers. “Rett isn’t dead. If he were, I’d know.” My mind briefly went back to the underground parking garage the first night I was there. I’d barely gotten to know him, yet when his car drove away, I felt the loss. I looked at her gaze. “I can’t explain it, but I would know.”
She nodded toward the tablets. “Take those and go to sleep. I’ll wake you after I rest.” She turned to Kyle and Liam. “Get Emma some water.”
My pulse sped up as Kyle stepped to the counter and retrieved the glass from earlier. His smile mimicked Liam’s, cold and calculating. Taking a step toward me, he handed me the glass. “Drink up, sis.”