Ruthless People (19 page)

“Be unlike yourself,” I replied through my teeth, before opening the door.

When I did, she stepped forward. “We’re so sorry we are late. Tearing Liam away from
his work can be difficult. He’s shy about these things,” she said kindly, as the crew
smiled at her.

It never failed to amaze me how quickly she could switch on and off. She had the ability
to disarm people so easily.

“Oh, don’t be, Mrs. Callahan. We are just so glad you could make time for us. I’m
Jan, and this is my crew. We were just making sure the lighting and whatnot was okay.”
The woman grinned, obviously already figuring out that she was getting the interview
of a lifetime. Walking up beside my wife, I wrapped my arm around her waist.

“Do you need anything? I’m sure we could have someone come to help out,” I said softly
overusing my Irish accent. She froze, staring into my eyes. Without fail it happened
to every fucking woman I met except Mel. The one person I wished it did happen with.

“Liam, stop before you give the poor woman a heart attack.” Mel smiled up at me, but
all I saw were knives in her eyes before she turned back to Jan. “Please don’t mind
him. He doesn’t know the full extent of his Irish charm.”

I rolled my eyes and kissed her cheek affectionately. I felt her stiffen just slightly,
but she didn’t break out of character. “All I needed it for was to catch you.”

I still needed it to catch her.

“This is going to be a great interview. I can feel it. Are you both ready?” Jan asked.
Nodding we walked over to the chairs that were staged for us. I waited for Mel to
sit down first before taking mine right next to her. The moment I did, she leaned
in like a fucking pro and placed her hand on my knee. For someone who had never done
an interview before she was doing well. Crossing all the
t
’s and dotting her
i
’s. But that was my wife, a master manipulator.

“First of all, it’s my pleasure to be sitting across from America’s Royal Couple,”
Jan said to us, leaning forward.

Mel looked at me, and I knew that if Jan wasn’t careful, my wife would kill her.

“
America’s Royal Couple?
” she smiled before letting out a small fake laugh.

“Yes, Mrs. Callahan, all of America loves you, and I have to say I personally loved
your wedding dress. After your wedding, orders came flying in all over the country,”
Jan said, gushing.

“Oh, my God, really?” Mel blushed, looking innocent and doe-eyed while she held on
to my knee with a grip from hell. “That is so odd to me. Suddenly, everyone cares
about my clothing and hair. I feel like a celebrity or something.”

“Believe me when I say there are no bigger celebrities than you two. My friends are
even trying to figure out the secret behind the Liam Callahan sex hair,” she continued,
and it took all I had not to groan instead of smile for the fucking camera.

“Honestly, I do nothing,” I said, laughing.

“Because he is Liam Callahan and is naturally sexy,” Mel continued, before sticking
her tongue out. So I leaned in and kissed her lips.

“See why I can never win a fight?” Mel frowned back at Jan, before grinning again.
“He just kisses me, or worse takes off his shirt, and I’m completely dumbfounded.”

If only that was fucking true.

“Yes, because
I’m Liam Callahan and naturally sexy
,” I said, throwing her words back at her before turning to Jan. “Do you think we
can get that on a bumper sticker?”

Mel hit me, laughing softly, and I disliked it simply because it wasn’t her. This
bubbly, preppy faker was not my wife. It was odd, because I had wanted her to be like
this before we met. However, my Mel, both in private and with our men, was stronger,
ruthless, and sexy. This Mel was cute, but it wasn’t her, and I wanted her to be who
she truly was when she was with me.

“So the very first question the world wants to know is . . . where did you two meet?”
Jan asked.

MELODY

I groaned as we walked into the study. “Thank motherfucking God.”

Liam handed me a glass of brandy, reminding me, once again, that I needed to have
someone set up my wine in here. “I’m surprised you didn’t kill her when she asked
if you were pregnant,” he said, watching me carefully as I drank.

“Me, too. Apparently, marriage has made me soft,” I replied, turning back to the paperwork
on the desk before us.

He wrapped his arms around me slowly, and I felt my body automatically begin to relax
into him. I wasn’t sure when it started, or if it was due to all the sex, but it did
that now. My body now knew his touch and was accepting of it, in fact, it enjoyed
it. I enjoyed it.

What the fuck was happening to me?

“Liam, we need to make sure everyone believes Amory killed my father and prepare for
Italy,” I murmured, but he just kissed along my shoulder and neck. “I’m serious. Cork
your cock, and let’s finish this before Evelyn drags us out for the dinner.”

He groaned, pulling away, and my body instantly missed his warmth. Drinking some more,
he sat down, looking at the file after I pushed it toward him.

“Six of Vance’s most prized cars will be en route from Suvereto to Lucignano. It’s
about one hundred and four miles, but they will take the back roads because it’s safer
and the roads are clear of police. I don’t care if they are Vance’s men or not, they
are still men,” I replied, showing him the map.

He looked at me with an eyebrow raised and with a twinge of lust as always. He was
such a fucking sex addict.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means if they have dicks, they are male. If they are male, and you put them behind
the wheel of a multimillion dollar sports car, they will break the speed limit. They
will race each other, because males have to prove they are better in everything.”
I rolled my eyes.

He glared up at me as he gripped my arm. “You know I hate it when you refer to any
other man’s dick but mine.”

“Get over it, it’s not like I’m sucking it,” I said, glaring at his hand. He had one
second to let go before I cut it off.

“Fuck, Mel. Why must you always try to piss me off?” His eyes narrowed before he finally
let me go.

“The
American Royal Couple
, remember? That means I embody freedom of fucking speech.”

Before he could reply, there was a knock on the door.

“Great. It’s your mother.” I sighed and prepared myself to be civil.

Rolling his eyes, Liam turned toward the door. “Enter.”

However, the person who entered was not Evelyn, but Declan, whose eyes were dark and
his jaw set.

“The new Chicago Police Superintendent is here and wishes to speak with you,” he said,
glowering. I looked back to Liam who was now sitting up straight in his chair scowling
at the door with the promise of death and blood in his eyes. This Liam I found to
be the sexiest of all.

“Bring him through,” he said softly.

Declan stepped aside, allowing a middle-aged man, though younger than I would think
a Superintendent would be, to step forward. Beside him, another man around his age
entered. They both looked unafraid, which meant they were either naïve or stupid.

“Thank you, Declan,” Liam called out. Declan eyed the officers, his jaw grinding,
before walking out and shutting the door behind him.

“Superintendent Andrew Patterson is it? What brings you to my neck of the woods?”
Liam asked as I took a seat on the desk crossing my legs.

“Yes it is, Mr. Callahan,” he said before glancing at me. “We came to talk to you
privately.”

Privately? This mother-fuckering bitch.

“I think I’ll stay,” I said as kindly as possible, before Liam could speak.

Liam snickered, leaning back in his chair. “Well, you heard the lady.”

“As you know, Mr. Callahan, in fact, I’ll call you Liam, I’m the new Superintendent
because the former decided to retire early. I was chosen by the good people of Chicago
to make this city safe. Something it hasn’t been in a long fucking time. I know who
you are. I know what you do, and I’m here to warn you that your days of walking all
over the law are over. I won’t stop until you and the rest of your kind are where
you belong. Behind bars reaching for soap.”

Liam laughed, looking at me. “Sweetheart, we really have to start voting. Look what
happens when we don’t. Some idiot gets a badge and a gun and tries to pick a fight.”

“It’s not too late,” I said, smiling as I moved beside him. “He won’t
stop
. So all we have to do is kill him and then make sure to fill out the next ballot.”

The darker skinned officer beside the fool stepped forward. “Is that a threat, Mrs.
Callahan?”

I smiled. “With my hand on the fucking bible, you very stupid man.”

Superintendent Patterson looked at me, shocked. “Maybe you didn’t hear me—”

“No, we heard you clearly,” Liam snapped, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “But it’s
time for you to hear me. You think you can run this city?
My
fucking city? I fucking own it. I fucking bought it! I fucking fought over it! No
crackhead bitch over on the corner of Jump Street, and damn well no 5-0 with his Smokey
the Bear looking sidekick, will ever tell me differently. I own Chicago! Which means
I fucking own
you
!”

Patterson stepped forward. “You may think you walk on water, but you are just a man,
Liam Callahan, nothing more, and I’m not afraid of you. I will use every measure of
the law and every man I have to put you down like the fucking dog you are!”

I had to hand it to him, the man had balls. He was a fucking idiot, but he had balls.

“You think you will,” I replied, as Liam breathed through his nostrils and stood up.
“You think you have every cop, but you don’t. You never will. What happens if someone
were to pop off their families? They aren’t all like you Superintendent Patterson.
You lost your wife, your child, and your fucking house.” He looked at me surprised,
as if I wouldn’t do a background check on the new head of the police department. “You
lost it all, and now you think you have nothing to lose. Well, believe me, you do.
You are not the first man who thought he could control this city through law and order.
You are
replaceable
.”

Liam moved from around the desk to meet his gaze. “You think you can change the world?
You think you can change my fucking city? Here is a reality check for you. One cop
down a day, one family member a day how do you think your
men
will like that? This town will bleed. I will make it rain blood and tears. It will
taint your hands so badly you will never be able to wash it off. Those men will hate
you. I wouldn’t be surprised if they put a bullet in your skull themselves.”

Liam took another step right in front of the fucker’s face.

“I will unleash hell on these streets like you have never seen, and when a mother
comes to you with a picture of her dead son, when your people are so afraid that they
sleep in bullet-proof vests and they turn to you, tell them it’s because you thought
you could step up to me. Tell them it was because you were an idiot and stepped into
the wrong
house
one Saturday,” Liam said, and I couldn’t deny how sexy I found him at that very second.

Walking over to the door, I held it open. “You’ve been uninvited, which means get
the fuck out of my house before I use my second amendment rights and blow you the
fuck away.”

They left quickly after that, and when they did, I let the door slam behind them before
I walked over to Liam and kissed him deeply. He lifted me up and carried me to the
desk laying me out on it. He spread my legs with his knee as his hands traveled up
my stomach and then to my breasts while he kissed the side of my face.

But before he could rip my shirt off, I grabbed a gold-plated letter opener and held
it to his neck. He froze, staring at me in shock and confusion.

“Remember how close you came today to having me in this office,” I said, pressing
the opener just a little bit harder into his neck. “Then remember you do not own Chicago.
We
own Chicago, which you forgot in the heat of your roaring. We! Next time you forget,
I will cut you from the tip of your pretty chin to your heart. Now
off
.”

He glared into my eyes, grabbing my wrists and squeezing until the letter opener fell
from my grasp. His hands went to my neck, and I saw the very monster I lusted over
staring at me back in the eyes. Even then, I still found it sexy.

“I’ve told you once—but I will tell you again seeing as how you are my wife,
whom I trust and care
for
in too many twisted ways to describe—do not ever hold a weapon to me.”

He kissed my lips hard again before letting go of me and stepping back. I began fixing
my dress, as he went straight for the brandy.

“We are going to have to kill the Vance mission,” I replied, walking up to him to
fix his tie.

He looked angry, frustrated, and bloodthirsty. “And why the fuck is that? That bitch
and his sidekick have nothing to do with Italy.”