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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.
Cops didn’t bring down the greatest bosses in history, they brought down their families, the people they provided for and protected. It was the idiots who were lucky enough to either share DNA or have a ring on their finger. They enjoyed all the rewards—the money, the fame, and the respect. But none of them really understood how fragile it all was, especially the wives. Our weakest link was Olivia, and I would be damned if I let her continue on the way she was.
It had taken Liam and I weeks of planning to figure out exactly what we wanted. It wasn’t like we just woke up one morning and said, ‘let’s own the White House.’ We went back and forth over whether or not to use Senator Colemen, since he was already so close to the family. But it was because of that reason that he was perfect.
“Where are we going?” Olivia asked, once we stepped into the garage. Fedel handed me the keys to my white Aston Martin before handing me a gun.
“Get in the car, Olivia,” was all I said to her, but she was frozen with her blue eyes glued to the weapon in my hand.
“Fedel.” I sighed, taking a seat behind the wheel.
“Let go of me!” Olivia yelled, as he grabbed her and forced her into the car.
Holding her down, he buckled her in before slamming the door shut and I stomped on the gas.
“What the hell do you want with me, Melody?” she screamed.
“I want you to be a Callahan, not a Colemen,” I replied, relaxing into my seat.
“What the fuck does that mean? I am a Callahan. I was one before you were, remember?” She huffed, glaring out the window.
I laughed; she so badly wanted something to trump me with. “No, you are a Colemen hiding in Callahan’s clothing. You bitch like a Colemen, hide like a Colemen, and have no balls like a Colemen. Which means you look like your mother, but act like your father. So scared of what you could actually be if you put forth the effort. Seems like Liam and I have to teach your entire family how to grow balls.”
“Thank you, Obi Wan Kenobi, but I don’t need, nor do I want, your help. Take me home or I will walk!” she snapped, as she twirled her blonde hair between her fingers.
It bothered me.
“In a pair of seven hundred dollar Jimmy Choos? That will be the day.” I was sort of impressed she knew who Obi Wan Kenobi was though. Must have been due to Neal.
“Whatever game…”
“I don’t play games, Olivia. Games are for children. I work. Every moment of every damn day, I am working. I work so that this family—our family—can move mountains. I work so that I never want for anything, so that I can obtain anything I wish. Right now, I’m working on you, so shut the fuck up.” I wanted to bash her fucking skull in.
Luckily, she didn’t say anything else, and we soon reached our destination; a cliff that overlooked the beautiful Lake Michigan.
“Sorry, my gate doesn’t swing that way,” she joked, but it wasn’t at all funny. “It’s a pretty spot for a date though.”
“Get out, Olivia.”
She glared like always, but did as she was told.
Stepping around to the back of the car, I opened the trunk. “It’s time you grow up, Olivia.”
“You know what, Melody—” She stopped the moment she looked down and saw the naked man curled up in a ball in the trunk.
Backing away slowly, she covered her mouth, and her eyes shined with tears. The man struggled against his chains and screamed against the gag in his mouth. Every sound he made, Olivia shook. Finally, she threw up everything she had just eaten and sobbed.
“We’ll be right back. Family meeting,” I told him before closing the trunk again. Hopping up on top of it, I watched her as she tried her best to calm down.
“What did you do?” she screamed.
I thought it was obvious.
“He’s one of the men who raped you, isn’t he? Matt, Harvey’s best friend? I brought him here to help you.”
“You aren’t helping me! I don’t need your help! I never asked for your fucking help!” she roared, causing her whole body to shake.
Sighing, I sat forward. “You told no one but me. Not Neal, not Evelyn, not even your parents. I personally tracked your records. Searched the entire cyber universe and found a rape kit, simply logged in as Courtney A. O’Brien, height: 5’8, blood type: AB, hair color: Blonde, eye color: Blue…She’s you. CAO, your initials backwards? You were scared and couldn’t come up with a lie fast enough. Your parents were nobodies who were on the verge of being somebodies. You went to the hospital and even filed a police report. All of which were so easily found once I had that name. Every year, on the anniversary, you end up in the hospital for violent vomiting and weight loss…”
“Shut up, Melody!” She clamped her hands over her ears as if that would help.
“Every year, you’ve been waiting for someone to connect the dots. To give you justice, to help you. That’s why you came to me….”
“I came to you because you wouldn’t get out of fucking bed!” she cried.
“You came to me because Adriana spoke to you. Deep down, you wanted this. You were crying out for this. You wanted me to find your rapists and deep down, you didn’t want them to go jail. You wanted them dead. You wanted them to suffer as you’ve suffered. You came to me so I could make you a Callahan.” I jumped off the trunk and grabbed hold of her, forcing her hands from her ears.
