The Untouchables(69)
“Evelyn.” I stared at her misplaced appendage.
Sighing, she rolled her eyes and let go of me. “Fine. I want to know about the baby. You and Liam haven’t spoken about it and I just want details. When is your next doctor’s appointment?”
“Evelyn…”
“Melody, give me a break. This is my first grandchild and I’m dying here. I was this close,” she held her thumb and index finger barely apart, “to calling your doctor for your medical records.”
Adriana snickered quietly.
“Adriana, my appointment is in two weeks, make sure it’s possible for Evelyn and Sedric to sit in.” The moment I said it, she pulled me into her arms.
“Again with the hugging.”
“Get over it, Melody. I’m a grandmother, it’s what I do.” She laughed as we pulled apart.
“Adriana, what have we missed?
“Neal and Olivia have kept me at arm’s length. However, from what I could gather through Antonio, Olivia fired most of the old staff and hired new personnel, redecorated the halls—”
“She what?” Evelyn sat up harshly, pulling against her seat belt.
“The chariot ball this evening will be held in the manor. From what I understood, it was a political tactic, so she fired all the immigrants.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose—a habit I was picking up from Liam—I could only close my eyes and rest my head against the chair.
“What else, Adriana?”
“Neal is working on something big for the night. I knew there was a miniscule probability of you or Liam resting with strangers in the house, so I took the liberty of preparing all of your clothing and belongings along with the rest of the family’s. He’s also added at least thirty cameras around the property for this evening. They’re even in the bedrooms.”
“God give me the strength not to kill my own son,” Evelyn prayed.
Staring out the window, I watched the trees blur by and I tried to wrap my mind around this without losing my cool. I wanted to wring both of them out, but all I could do now was go to this damn function and watch. Afterwards, I’d deal with Roy.
“Adriana, set up a meeting for me.”
LIAM
I waited on the plane for the sole reason of confronting Jinx alone. The whole flight, I stared at my wife in awe, ecstasy, and love before realizing I still didn’t know that much about her past. I knew about her criminal past, but not her personal. She was more than the gun in her hands, and the blood under her heels, and I wanted to know more. So, I waited just outside the cockpit as he parked our jet.
The moment he opened the door, he came face to face with me and paused, dropping his bag onto the floor.
“Boss?”
“You were lying when you said you were drunk when you slept my wife.”
“Boss—”
“Never interrupt me, Jinx. You’re just giving me an excuse to kill you,” I said.
He nodded, standing straighter with his hands behind his back.
“As I was saying, you weren’t drunk. And I would like to believe my wife wouldn’t have just jumped into bed with anyone. You two were close, were you not?”
He took a deep breath and nodded.
“Good, then what do I not know about her? The small personal things she would note as so insignificant she wouldn’t bother sharing. I know she’s afraid of the dark, but tell me more.”
He kept his mouth shut.
“I’m done speaking, Jinx.”
“She loves to swim, but I believe you knew that.”
“I do.”
“She also loves the opera. She doesn’t treat herself to it often. In fact, she hasn’t gone since her father died…”
“And she married me.”
He nodded.
“What type of opera?” It wasn’t my thing, but I could learn to love it if it was hers.
“Italian, of course. Her favorite being Bianca e Falliero by Felice Romani. She would never admit it though. She also enjoys documentaries. It doesn’t really matter what it’s about, if it’s on, she makes a mental note to watch it later. Never leave her in charge of the kitchen unless you want to be unintentionally poisoned. Her father banned her from going in after she set the stove on fire. Her favorite food is stuffed artichokes. That’s all I know, sir.”
“And yet still, it’s more than I knew.” It bothered me.
“She was never in love with me, sir. It wasn’t some romance. She spent her life locked up in the house. I was just a wounded dog she brought in.”
“What about you?”
“Me?”
“Did you—” I paused. “Do you love her?”
“In that way, no. Not then either. I have someone. I had someone. Like I said, I was just a wounded dog.”