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“Where are you?”
“I’m still in Chicago, but I’ll be there soon. The family you’re with, you can trust them—”
“Dad…” He cut in, but then his voice trailed off. Mel bit her lip and dropped her head.
“Ethan, I want you to sit with your brother and sister. Watch TV or play some games. I don’t even care if you all argue. Just remember while you are with your siblings, if you hadn’t done what you did, they wouldn’t be there. You did not only the right thing, but the best thing: you protected your family.”
“It wasn’t just me, Wyatt got us out of the trunk,” he said, a little more upbeat. I saw Melody grin so wide and so proud, it was hard not to grin back.
“Your mom and I love you guys, now give the phone back to Max,” I said.
“Okay.”
There was static on the phone before he came back.
“Sir?”
“My mother and Neal?”
His voice was sad when he answered. “Neal was taken into surgery at Boston General. I don’t know much more other than the state he was in; he’s most definitely lost his left leg. Your mother is with him now. We have people with her.”
“I’ll be there—”
“Sir, with all due respect…”
“What?”
“We don’t really need you here right now.”
“Excuse me?”
“What I’m saying is kill this cockfucker you got in Chicago. Boston is fine, and loyal to you. There is no way anyone is getting through the army we got here. It’s been peaceful for so long here we got our grandparents strappin, happy that finally Chicago isn’t the only city getting action. Show them what happens when they mess with us, boss. Damn Italians ain’t good for shit.”
Melody just rolled her eyes.
“I want updates on my children every goddamn hour,” I replied, hanging up before he could say another word.
When he did, I leaned back against the car and Melody stood in front of me. It had stopped raining, but the sky was still turbulent.
“You think he’s still in the city?” I asked her.
“He wants to run us out, to say he made the Callahans leave their kingdom. It’s just another ego trip for the son of the bitch.” She cracked her jaw to the side. “He got us on this one, Liam. If something happened to them…if I lost them…”
“Shh.” I kissed the side of her head. “They are safe now. Everyone else’s children, not so much.”
I lifted a full magazine of bullets for her.
“Let’s flush out the rats.”
TWENTY-TWO
“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both man and beast; I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.”
~ Exodus 12:12
MELODY
“Honey, I’m back. The storm is really picking up,” he said as he closed the door behind him and hung up his jacket.
