“Why? We threaten you, and you’re married to the family,” Melody said, and I smiled.
Olivia looked over to Evelyn and Sedric, who seemed to be having their own private conversation, and stomped her foot like the brat she was. My parents couldn’t do shit, nor would they. Evelyn…well, my mother was happy when my father was happy, and as long as she could throw as many parties as she wanted, she was fine as well. My father was out of this “business;” he was keeping his hands clean and instead focused on our more legitimate affairs. The Callahan family didn’t just control the drug trade. Hotels, restaurants, spas, clubs…we owned so many of them that I’ve honestly lost count. Not to mention the amount of shares we now owned in some of the world’s biggest corporations due to the Giovanni family, which now really consisted of just Mel. The Callahans hid our secret behind small business ventures over the generations, but since Melody had all but rebuilt the Giovanni by herself, she needed a quicker way to hide her blood money. Between us both, we truly did own this city…this state, and Olivia, after all this time, still didn’t seem to understand that.
“This family is fucked in the head and so dysfunctional,” Olivia snapped, walking towards the door, “We’re supposed to have each other’s backs and protect one another. Yet all you ever do is remind us that you wouldn’t hesitate to kill any of us.”
“Apparently we don’t remind you enough.” My eyes narrowed while I moved towards her. Her eyes widened, and Neal immediately stood between us.
“Step aside, brother,” I said softly. “I won’t hurt her.”
Neal’s jaw clenched, and he only took a slight step to the right, allowing me to step in front of Olivia.
“Every day, you bitch and whine at us, and everyday, you manage to wake up. That isn’t luck, it isn’t even the will of God; it’s because you’re family. That is the only reason your tongue hasn’t been ripped from your throat. You’re alive because my brother, whom I’ve come to care for, was stupid enough to fall in love with you. Over the years, you’ve been given the freedom of speech, but now I’m revoking that right.” I cupped the side of her face and could feel Neal flinch beside me. “Never again will you ever tell me what this family is supposed to be like. For if you do, Olivia Callahan, there won’t be enough love in the world to protect you from me.”
When I pulled back, she was paler than the blue dress she wore.
“Maybe we should all rest privately for the remainder of the evening before the gala,” my mother said as she walked over to me and wrapped her hand around my own. She pulled me back, giving Neal a moment with Olivia.
“Brilliant idea, Mother.” I kissed her on the cheek before turning to Melody. Seeing the look of lust in her eyes made me forget everything else.
I reached out for her hand. “Wife.”
She shook her head. “Olivia and I are going to work on fixing her public appearance before this gala.”
“I think Olivia has had enough lessons for one night,” my father said, looking over at the still pale woman in Neal’s arms. It made me sick; she looked like one of those stupid girls on the cover of those romance novels.
“There’s still some time before the gala,” Melody said. “Hopefully this won’t take long.”
“Should I come along as well?” Neal asked, which was code for, you’re not going anywhere with my wife unless I follow.
Melody didn’t back down, nor did I think she would. “Olivia doesn’t want you to come along. Or at least that’s what she told Adriana when she was told of our plans this evening.”
Only God knew what that meant.
“I’ll be fine, Neal,” Olivia declared, letting go of him.
“Am I coming along?” Coraline asked cheerfully, almost knocking over her chair. Declan leered at her, wrapping his arm around her waist. She glared at him, but didn’t push him away. Therapy was helping them…slowly, but it was helping.
“Sorry, Cora, it’s a private meeting,” she replied.
Before she could leave, I pulled her back, ignoring the excitement that ran through me just by touching her.
“What are you up to, love?” I questioned, kissing her deeply when she opened her lips to reply.
“You will find out soon enough,” she declared. “We’ll be back within the hour.”
I had a bad feeling about this, but Mel killing Olivia was the least of my worries right now.
MELODY
I left him and the rest of the family behind, knowing full well that Olivia would follow. The whole night had gone so perfectly, you would have thought I could see the future. However, with each passing day, Olivia was becoming a bigger problem. She didn’t seem to understand the world around her. She couldn’t see the bigger picture, and the longer she stayed blind to the reality of our lives, the bigger liability we faced. Family, for us, was everything, but it was also the one thing that could destroy us.