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“Evelyn said that Declan’s father died shortly after that,” she said softly. “The life of a mafia family.”
It was true.
“My Aunt Abby was the wild child. She loved life. She spent her days traveling everywhere; each time she came to see us she brought us something new. For his thirteenth birthday, she got Declan the tooth of a baby tiger and I was so jealous. She would put on plays for us in the backyard and force us to be her co-stars. She was amazing and my father loved her to death. My mom would joke he loved Abby more than her, so the day they murdered her and sent him her head…he broke down. That was the first and last time I ever saw my father cry…no, weep. He told me he had failed as a brother, as a man, and as the leader of the family; he said he couldn’t wait for the day I would take over. It scared me to see my father like that, defeated. Now all these years later, I understand. The world is cruel, but it is especially cruel to women. When that woman isn’t related to you, it’s just a travesty. When she is…there is nothing worse. So.” I took a deep breath, facing my own daughter as she grinned at her brothers. “As always, my wife was right. I want Dona to put up a hell of a fight if she ever needs too. I want her to put the fear of God into anyone who comes her way. I just don’t want to see her stumble to get to that point.” Even so, there was nothing else I could do.
“Time in!” Dona called out before sliding backward out of the ring. Cora walked around to meet her.
I wasn’t sure what she’d said to them, but for the first time in nearly two hours, they finally worked together. Wyatt tried to draw my attention to the left while Ethan came from the right. Slowly a grin spread across my cheeks…my children, I could see it in their eyes: this was the beginning, the darkness in their eyes, and their potential was showing. They would surpass even my own greatness.
Just not today.
“Damn it!” Ethan hissed through his teeth when my fist collided with his stomach.
“You all really need to stop fucking cursing.”
MELODY
11:49 AM
I had just stepped out of my bathroom when I found Mina holding blue jeans and a simple white button-down shirt for me to wear.
“We have a problem,” Mina stated.
“You mean other than the fact that you went into my closet?”
“Much bigger than that.”
“Are Liam, Ethan, Wyatt, or Dona in danger?”
Her eyebrows came together, a frown on her lips. “No, why—”
“Then there is no bigger issue than you being my closet.”
She sighed, rolling her eyes. “The sniper shot again, this time at another school, four more kids…is that a big enough issue for you?”
“Is it a copycat?” Why would a sniper sent to deliver a message to Liam and me then go and shoot up another school?
“The police aren’t sure.”
“When are they ever sure?” Spend millions educating them and they still couldn’t do their fucking job sometimes. Jesus Christ.
“Well, this is all very sad.” I shrugged, dropping the towel and putting on my underwear before grabbing lotion from my dresser. “Either way, we should wait before we see the parents.”
“Melody, you need to call a state of emergency—”
“Locking down schools and setting a curfew? What good does that really do Mina? The sniper is shooting in broad daylight. I’m not going to let one man hold my city hostage.”
Walking over to me, she pushed the outfit to me. “The public needs to see you, at least, pretending to be concerned then.”
“Let me guess, you chose this outfit because it looks like I didn’t have time to get dressed, I just rushed over at the call of the people?”
“No heels either.”
“I can run in heels.”
“Melody.”
“I can run in heels,” I stated again, stepping into my jeans. Truth be told, I didn’t care. Kids died, but I didn’t care because they weren’t my kids. They weren’t family. They were just four random little faces. What I wanted to do, what I did care about was staying at home with my family as I promised. However, I’d also promised to not make this city so goddamn bloody, but Chicago was apparently addicted to the violence.
