Ruthless People (21 page)

“I’m still working on a nickname for you.” Mel smiled. It wasn’t real, but it was
better than the glare she gave Olivia. I could see the mischief she was spinning in
her eyes, and I wasn’t sure whether to be afraid or groan in awe of her.

“So this camp?” Evelyn asked, unsure. If it was criminal, she didn’t want to know,
but she was interested.

“Basically, it’s bonding for the men, or I plan on killing them all.” Mel smiled,
which only made her threat more deadly and sexy. The fact that I knew she would made
me want her, made me want to give her the gun and pull the trigger alongside her.
However, she just rolled her eyes at my lust.

“Camp,” Sedric repeated. “Maybe I should—”

“Sorry, Sedric, but that invitation isn’t for you either. You are the past, and as
much as I respect it, and you, my men need to walk forward as one.” My jaw almost
came off as I stared between Mel and my father, who glared at her with fire in his
eyes. However, they were no match for hers and only made her seem even stronger. Sedric
shook his head and sighed.

She said
my
not
ours.

Declan leaned into me. “When she wakes up in the morning, the devil curses.”

“We both do,” I muttered.
How the fuck did she do it? How the fuck was she able to call forth hell
and heaven in her eyes?
I was in awe of her so often it pissed me off. I could hear Orlando’s words in
the back of my mind.
You won’t find a woman who needs to be taught anything
. He was right. She could rule without me. She wanted to rule without me. She didn’t
need me, and it ticked me off. She ticked me off, and once again, because of her,
I always needed to think. She confused the fuck out of my goddamn emotions and me.
I felt like a teenager again—unsure if I wanted to fuck her or punch a wall.

“Well then, daughter, I wouldn’t want to get in your way. After all, you will rule
the world one day,” Sedric joked, though I’m sure he partially believed it.

She smirked. “One day soon, hopefully. I have placed all the pieces in order. Nothing
will stand in my way. I’ve worked too hard for that.”

“Don’t overwork.” Evelyn frowned. “I still think you and Liam should have taken a
honeymoon.”

“That would have been pointless. Liam and I got married for the company. A honeymoon
would have wasted time.” She frowned at the idea of it. She frowned at the idea of
me
.

Running my hands through my hair, I sighed before rising from my seat.

“I’m not feeling well. Goodnight,” I told them all, walking away. I needed to remember
I was just a piece to her.

MELODY

I watched him leave in shock. He looked like he was so lost in his thoughts that he
made himself sick. I wasn’t sure if I should stay or follow after him. What did wives
do in these situations? Maybe he needed a moment. Evelyn met my eyes, and I could
almost feel her pushing me to the door. Sighing, I stood and wished them all a good
night before walking out as well. What the hell was I supposed to say to him?

Honey, are you okay?
Fuck no.

Liam, what the fuck was that?
Then we would fight.

Liam, are you okay?
He would try to have sex.

“Melody?”

Turning around quickly, I came face to face with Cora.

“Yes?” I shouted, causing her to jump. She was so sweet, I almost felt sorry for her,
but she needed a spine and quickly.

“Umm . . . I was wondering . . . umm . . . ”

“Ahh, I hate when people waste words. What’s wrong with you?” The Coraline I met was
living high off glue and unicorns. This one seemed liked she had been roundhouse kicked
off cloud nine.

She took a deep breath and stood straighter, which was still quite short.

“I’m losing Declan,” she stated directly.

“That sucks,” I replied. “Evelyn is the other way for couples counseling.”

She glared at me before shaking her head. “I don’t need Evelyn’s help, I need yours.
Ever since you came, Declan has been looking at me differently . . . like an annoyance.”

“That could be the constant giving, you’re rarely with him. So again, Evelyn . . .”

“Mel—and I am going to call you Mel because we are family and you can’t kill me.”

“Are you sure?” Declan was going to have to get a new wife if she didn’t get to the
point soon.

“Only in this family would charity work be deemed a flaw.” She sighed. “But they notice
me. They see me. Every time I write a check, help rebuild a house or a community center,
you should see their faces. It’s like I’m an angel to them, I’m important, needed.
Do you know what that feels like? How it feels to be praised like that?”

She didn’t give me a chance to speak before laughing to herself. “Of course you do,
you’re the great Melody Giovanni.”

“Cora get to your point.”

“I love Declan, and I don’t want to lose him. But I see the way he looks at you,”
she muttered, and I really hoped this conversation wasn’t going where I thought.

“There is nothing—”

“No, I know,” she said quickly, her eyes wide. “I know Declan would never cheat on
me even if . . . I want him to look at me the way those kids do when I hand over a
check. I want him to light up like he once did. So I need to be more like you. I need
you to help me be more like you.”

“Not gonna happen,” I replied. “There is only one Melody Giovanni, and there will
be no second edition.”

“Mel. I don’t want to be you. I want to be
like
you. I want to be able to shoot a gun. I want to learn how to fight. I’ve always
wanted to learn, but it was never our
place
. But then you came in shattering glass ceilings and literally breaking down walls.
I want to see if you could train me. I don’t need to become the best, but I want to
be able to feel in control, and I want Declan to see me more than just a—”

“A good old housewife,” I finished for her.

She frowned, her nose flaring. “Yeah. I want to get into the ring and show him there
is so much more to me.”

“Why not ask him yourself?” Declan was a great fighter, he and Liam boxed every morning.

“Because he has stopped seeing me. Everyone has stopped seeing me! I know what that
means for our future. If I don’t do this, Declan and I will only grow further apart
and he will resent me. I would rather die than have that happen.” She looked so scared
that I almost wanted to help her.

“Cora, you have to train for yourself, not Declan, or any man for that matter,” I
replied, and she looked at me as though I was the one who was crazy.

“Declan
is
me, Mel. We have always been in sync, and then somewhere down the line, the music
changed for one of us, and now I’m looking for the right station to get back to him.
He would do the same for me. He
has
done the same for me. It’s what married couples do. So, please, help me,” she begged,
and I wasn’t sure what to say.

“I’m busy, Cora.” The look of disappointment in her eyes bothered me. “However, Adriana
can stay behind and work with you while we are gone for the week. Then after that,
I will see. Be prepared for months of bruises and pain.”

Coraline grinned, pulling me into a large hug.

“Thank you!”

“You’re touching me.”

“Sorry,” she said, letting go quickly. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, goodnight,” I told her before leaving. Coraline was good at getting what she
wanted from me, and the last thing I wanted was to agree to anything else.

When I entered Liam’s and my room, I could hear him in the shower. Stepping toward
the door, I watched him as he stood under the stream of water. The drops rolled off
every part of his body. He was so beautiful. He looked like a statue chiseled out
of finest stone.

“Is there something you needed, Melody?” he asked me, not bothering to look up.

Melody?
He hadn’t called me that since the first time we had sex, and for some reason, hearing
him
call me that now bothered me.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing, Melody. I will be out in a moment,” he replied, emotionless, but even I
could hear the lie in that.

He was ticking me off. We do not lie to each other. Taking off my shoes, I walked
straight into the shower, not even bothering to take off my dress. Flinching at the
coolness of the water, I glared into his eyes, grabbing the side of his face.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Mel—”

“Call me Melody again and I will knee you in the balls.” I was not going to let him
lie to me.

He brushed back my wet hair before pulling it and my head back. Pushing me against
the wall, I glared into his eyes, they no longer seemed green, instead they were filled
with fire burning with passion and rage.

He snapped at me. “You do not own me. You do not own us. I am not your pawn.”

“I never called you a pawn!”

“In my mind, I thought I was getting closer to you. But then tonight I realized all
you do is play everyone around you, including me. I bend at your will. Since when
did I start bending? You do not own me! I’m not another piece, I am your husband.”

“Stop bitching at me. You’re mad over my words? Why are you so fucking emotional?”

“Because I’m human, and therefore I have emotions!” His volume made my eyes widen.
“Do you even like me, Melody? As just Liam?”

Where the fuck was this coming from?

He smirked sadly, shaking his head as he turned off the water. Stepping forward, he
kissed my forehead. “The fact that you can’t answer that question is enough.”

“You make it seem like we were high school sweethearts who eloped. This is business,
Liam. I told you I could rule beside you, but I can’t handle your emotional shit.”

He knew this! Why the fuck was he being such an idiot?

“I made a mistake. I thought you didn’t understand love. But you do. You love the
blood and the power, as do I. However, I was making room for you, and it has made
me soft. You’re surpassing me because you don’t give a fuck. You wouldn’t take a bullet
for me or even shed a tear if I died. I’m the guy to staunch your need and then you’re
off. I’m just sex. This whole night was nothing but Melody. This whole marriage has
been about Melody. I won’t waste my time. You want business? You will get business,”
he answered, leaving me standing in the shower. I was shocked and confused.

Did I even like Liam?

He was amazing in bed and beautiful, funny . . . sometimes. I didn’t hate him.

When I stepped into the room, it was pitch black, making the hair on the back of my
neck rise as I made it onto the bed.

He turned off his light.
He never turned off the light. Ever since he found out about my . . . fear. The
nights we didn’t have sex—which were rare—he read until I fell asleep and each night
he said
goodnight, love.
He tried not to make it obvious, but I knew the reason. If he was going to be cold,
I was going to be colder. He was such a dick. But part of me felt like he was right.
I hadn’t really put in much effort since our second night together when I’d told him
about the white shoes. He had looked so happy then, as if knowing that little detail
about me was going to make his day.

So what if I had called him a pawn or a piece tonight? We were both pawns. We both
knew that when we got married. Why was he trying to complicate the relationship? We
fucked. We worked. Simple. But now that motherfucking asshole had to make sure I
cared
.

Groaning in frustration, I sat up quickly. He was awake, staring up at me with no
emotion. I wanted to scream at him! Because of his fucking shit, I couldn’t sleep.

“Let me guess, you need to have the last insult?” he asked, sitting up to prepare
himself.

I raised my arms ready to strangle him, but pulled back. I was going to kill him.
I wasn’t clear about the reason yet, but I was going to kill him. There was so much
I wanted to yell at him, but nothing was coming out.

“What the fuck do you want from me, Liam?”

“Go to sleep, Melody. You’re going to wake the house.”

“I don’t give a fuck,” I snapped. “What happened? One moment we are fine and the next
you’re . . . what the fuck Liam?”

He yawned and it ticked me off to no end. “I’m going to war, Melody. Everyone is coming
for me . . . coming for my family, but the most dangerous woman in the world is sleeping
next to me. I care for her, but she doesn’t give a shit about me or anything.”

“That’s why I’m the most dangerous woman in the world!”

He smirked. “It’s also why you’re alone. You can trust me in work, but with you personally,
you won’t let me get close.”

“I don’t know you!” I yelled. “How long have we been married? Ten fucking days, Liam?
Who falls in love in ten fucking days? Who feels anything in ten fucking days! That
isn’t normal!”

“I do.” He glared at the ceiling. “We aren’t normal. Normal people don’t shoot other
people almost daily. Normal people don’t sell drugs nor are they at risk of dying
every day. I don’t have any time to waste going through the motions. Either I like
it or I don’t. Either I’m in or I’m out. I do not walk in the middle.”