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“For the third time, yes I did.”
“Fucking explain yourself before I—”
“Before you do what?” she asked, an eyebrow raised. “Grab me by the throat? Sorry, I don’t have time for kinky play today.”
“This is not a game!” I hollered. “What the fuck has gotten into you?”
“Me?” she questioned, pointing to herself.
“Who else would I be fucking talking to—”
“Curse at me again, motherfucker, and I’ll shove my heels down your throat!” She had the nerve to snap at me. Me, who had to fucking watch my grandmother suffer in agony because of a bomb she planted. Me!
“You have lost your goddamn mind!” I wanted to snap her neck. “My grandmother is in surgery because of you!”
“Your point?”
I did grab her throat this time and I slammed her down on the slab right beside the body. “No one hurts my family—”
“Except you?” She shoved her fingers into my eyes and kicked me in the stomach. I only felt the pain briefly before she twisted my wrist to the side forcing me to release my grip on her throat. She kicked me hard into the chair before pulling out a gun.
“What in the hell…ah…” I grunted as she fired into my neck. Reaching up I pulled out a needle. If I wasn’t serious about killing her before I was fucking serious now. “You shot me.”
“Technically yes, I did, but it’s a calming agent, not a goddamn bullet.” She dusted off her jacket. My rage was now just a dull annoyance. She knelt down in front of me and looked me over. “It’s kicking in, right?”
I pinching the bridge of my nose. Calmly, I told her, “My body might be calm but I still want to kill you.”
“Give it a second; that will fade too.” She stood up straight. “I can’t talk to you when you’re raging.”
“How about not sending me into a rage to begin with?” I suggested
“Remember a year ago when I called you to tell you about Grams? You liked that old hag, but you trusted me enough to not question. Can you go back to that Ethan?”
“As soon as you go back to the Calliope who calls and tells me what fuck she’s up to before she does it.”
“I tried,” she said, and I finally looked at her. “I called. You didn’t answer. I was even in your home yesterday, but you didn’t notice. You were far too captivated with your little jailbird. What a pretty voice she has. Am I supposed to beg for your attention? I’m not a child, Ethan. Just because you’re distracted with work doesn’t mean I’m going to wait around for you to fucking finish.”
Rising from the chair I stared her down. “When it comes to the life of my family, you do fucking wait.”
SLAP.
I exhaled through my nose clenching my hand into a fist to stop from slapping her back.
“Giovanna and I are your family. Or have you forgotten?”
I held her stare, not able to speak. That’s how pissed I was; I couldn’t put the words together any more.
She crossed her arms and glared back at me. “Do you think my love for you extends to the rest of your family? I hope not, because that would be a miscalculation on your part. I don’t know them. They don’t know me. You need them, and because I need you, I help you protect them. However, if it ever came down to you or our daughter, I’d nuke the state. Your grandmother got hurt. She’s not dead…”
“She could have die—”
“Il Triste Mietitore has spared her for now, may she stay in peace.” She made the sign of the cross like the damn Pope over me, something she did when she would not accept any other way but hers. “By the way, am I not just slaying this suit? I almost panicked because I thought I got blood on it. Valentino is still a bit shaken from the last time I saw him, so I doubt he’d be able to make a new one so soon. Luckily such a catastrophe was avoided.”
I felt my eyebrow twitch as I stared at her. I sometimes forgot…the sweetness in her voice, the kindness in her eyes, the innocence of her face was all lie. She made sure everyone around her forgot how dangerous she was so that when she did strike, it was twice as vicious. My mother was cold. She kept people at arm’s length, just far enough so she could tear you part without dirtying her shoes. Calliope was the opposite. She’d pull you close, hug you, kiss both of your cheeks, and then slit your throat.
Taking a deep breath, I spoke again. “What could possibly be the reason that you decided to drop a church on our heads?”
“The scapegoats I’ve laid out…they were planning a massacre. Not just them, there are a few others who are ready to usurp the Callahan family. It was going to be like The Godfather in there.”
