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We sat there, tense, for what seemed like hours, just staring at the house.
“Next time, bash their heads in while they’re alive and then shoot them,” Neal whispered. “The longer they suffer, the better.” He took my hand again.
The stupid tears wouldn’t go away.
“Okay,” was all I could think to say.
“And I will be there when we find the others.”
“Okay.”
“I’m staying. I love you, and you can tell me anything, always. I’m going to be there, and Melody can go screw herself.”
“I love you too. And I’m going to tell her you said that.”
He paled, and I wanted to have that effect on men one day…even my husband.
THREE
“You should have died when I killed you.”
—John le Carré
MELODY
“What are you hiding from me, Liam?” I asked, as we danced in the middle of the ballroom.
He pulled me closer to him. “I could say the same for you, love.”
“True, but I’m discussing those secrets with family, not outsiders.” I searched around for the blonde he had spoken to, but she had disappeared and no one else seemed to notice or even care. She wasn’t somebody with title or fame, but either had or knew something of worth to be able to speak with Liam privately.
“Are you jealous, love?” He squeezed my ass. “Because you shouldn’t be. I love you and you alone.”
“That’s the fifth ‘I love you’ you’ve said tonight. I’m really going to kill you once I find out what you did, aren’t I?” I said calmly. I would remain so until he gave me a reason not to be. I truly wanted to beat the shit out of him until he told me, but the sick fuck would more than likely enjoy it.
He sighed. “You, love, may just kill me when I tell you.”
“Liam…”
He kissed me so hard and passionately, he all but lifted me from the ground.
“After the gala,” he whispered as his eyes begged me to drop it, “okay? After the gala?”
I didn’t like this. I didn’t like this at all. Whatever he was hiding, that made him act like this—like I was a time bomb waiting to explode—was probably going to make me do just that.
“Do you ever wish you could be like them?” he asked, nodding at the political interns helping with Senators Colemen’s campaign. They were all around the same age, if not older, than us.
“You mean do I wish my life was filled with nothing but exams and school, getting a degree I won’t use for a job I hate, and student loans I can’t pay off? A life of binge drinking, and horrible sex that I think is good because of the binge drinking?” I looked them over. “No, I don’t wish I could be them. It sucks to be them. That’s why they’re here, hoping that if they stand close enough, and say the right things, they have a chance to escape their shitty lives.”
“Don’t hold back, love, it’s not in your nature.” He laughed, spinning me around before bringing me back to him. “You’ve never wished your life was simple?”
“It is. I get what I want and if you stand in my way, I will wipe you off the face of the earth, then go after everyone who shares your DNA. Simple.” I smiled.
He smirked as well. “Now you’re just trying to turn me on.”
“You’re always waiting to be turned on.” Proving my point, I pushed my breasts up against him and I could feel him hardening against my stomach.
“Did you get a smaller gun?” I asked, trying to feel around for it.
He moaned as I grabbed him through his pants, squeezing tightly before pulling away. I was having so much fun toying with him tonight. His green eyes glared at me as I turned to Sedric and Evelyn cutting into their dance.
“Evelyn, do you mind if I cut in? Liam wishes to dance with you.”
Evelyn eyed me carefully, as if she could read my damn mind. The woman had her own set of superpowers, I swore.
Shaking her head at me, she kissed Sedric before turning to Liam who glared at me evilly.
“Watch out, Sedric has two left feet. It’s taken me years to work around it.” She winked before taking her son’s hands.
“She exaggerates.” Sedric huffed, offering me his hand.
“I’m sure, just don’t step on my toes.” If he did, I would ram my heel into his knee.
“I will do my best, your highness.” He laughed, looking around the room. “I must say, your plan for this country is worrying me.”
“Why, because it’s possible?” I asked.
He nodded. “Exactly. I would have settled for a Supreme Court judge. But, then again, I no longer have that type of power.”
“No, you do not.” He always seemed to forget. “My father gave up power because he was dying. Why did you? You’re young…enough, and you don’t seem to be dying.”
“You know the answer to that.” He sighed, looking over to Evelyn. “This was never supposed to be my life. I saw what my father did for a living and he enjoyed it. He enjoyed it like you and Liam enjoy it. He saw that and only forced me to work harder. I never understood why my older brother was going to take over.”
I already knew this but let him speak anyway.
“He died young,” he whispered sadly. “We all die young. He was around your age then. I had just turned eighteen and met Evelyn. We fell hard for each other. Any moment I could find, I was with her, which in turn led to her getting pregnant with Neal. My plan was for us to take my inheritance and live on some remote island somewhere. But, when my brother died, I had to step forward. I hated the life with a passion.”
“And now you can’t let go.”
He was good at what he did. The stories of young Sedric were the things that nightmares were made of.
“It’s like a possession,” he whispered. “It crawls into your soul and takes root. You have no control over it. You allow it to grow, because it helps. It’s the reason you can let blood flow across the floor like fine wine and not flinch. It helps you become the monster you need to be. The only side effect is that it’s always there. No amount of holy water can wash it off. So there’s no letting go. I will forever be who I allowed myself to be, and the person I allowed myself to be enjoys the chaos.”
Truer words were never spoken.
“Evelyn must love hearing about that.”
“She understands. There are two halves of me, always at odds with each other, but she always wins out.” He chuckled glancing back at her.
“True love conquers all,” I mocked, rolling my eyes before glaring at Liam.
“So, why are you torturing my son?” he asked as we danced much slower than everyone else.
“Because he’s keeping things from me. Important things you wouldn’t happen to know anything about, would you, my dear father-in-law?” I looked into his eyes and he raised an eyebrow at me.
“So now I see that my thoughts are worth something?” he questioned.
“Yes, now they are. So again, what do you know?” I hated when people made me repeat myself, why waste words?
“Nothing, dear daughter-in-law,” he replied, spinning me around a little awkwardly, but I adjusted. “Which bothers me, seeing as how Liam was speaking to Interpol.”
