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“Come on, it will be fun! Mine was a shitstorm, so tonight is basically my do over night of freedom.”
“Speaking of men we know killing people…”
“Well obviously I don’t mean freedom, freedom, but you know, just that one last night to dance and enjoy yourself.”
“I’m not going to stop dancing because I’m married. Does Enzo have something to be worried about?” I teased, knowing full well there was no way Brianna would ever stray from her man. Enzo hung the moon according to her, and no one else would ever compare.
“You know what I mean,” she yelled, but I drowned her out with the hairdryer. As the whirring sound numbed my eardrums, I thought more about what it meant to be free.
Brianna had been lucky to marry for love. Given her position, she’d most likely have been married off to one of her father’s friends if Enzo hadn’t come along and swept her off of her feet. I, however, had never much thought about it. I was happy with my career and I’d been mostly content with the idea of a life on my own after Aidan had abandoned me. Then he’d swept back into my life and given me hope again, but it had been like walking the high wire ever since, just waiting for something to knock us off balance. I was ready to get onto solid ground.
By the time my hair was dry, Brianna was in my closet hunting for an outfit. I wrapped my hair up in rollers and joined her, trialing options as my hair set.
“Are you really not excited?” She asked, taking in my expression in the mirror.
“I’m scared.” I finally confessed.
There it was. My fear. I was going to beQueenof all this someday, which painted a big fat fucking target on my back for our enemies.
“Oh, Cait,” she murmured, her face squishing against my arm as she hugged me. “You don’t have to worry. My brother would never let anything happen to you.”
“That’s what I’m worried about. What if he gets hurt, or even killed because of me?” I turned to Brianna, watching the color drain from her face. Cullen had lost his wife; I’d lost my parents… it wasn’t such a farfetched fear.
“They’re smarter now, stronger. We have more men, more territory, more everything.”
Exactly. More to lose.
“This is getting a bit dark.” Brianna exhaled a shaky breath. “We need music. And drinks,” she announced, heading back into the bedroom, yelling at the smart speaker to play something sassy. Within moments,Promiscuousby Nelly Furtado started playing.
“Whoo”!” She shrieked, tapping the volume up button until the bass was palpable through the furniture. A reluctant smile began to creep across my face.
Okay, now this was more like it.
This was the closest I’d actually gotten to the wedding, and I was only getting married once. I might as well enjoy it instead of fretting over possible future scenarios.
Bree shimmied out of the room to the refrigerator, I knew the housekeeper, yes, I had a housekeeper now, had left a bottle of champagne in there this morning that Bree was bound to find. It was one of my favorites.
She returned a few moments later, clutching two glasses. She set the glasses aside and gripped the bottle between her thighs, yanking aimlessly at the cork.
“Twist it,” I yelled, “No, take that in the bathroom, don’t wreck the carpets.”
She giggled, trotting into the bathroom, and then I heard the cork pop. She shrieked again, and then there was a cold glass being pressed into my hand.
I took a grateful sip, letting the bubbles soothe my nerves. At that moment, the song switched to Beyonce,Crazy in Love,and Bree began to shake her ass around the room in time to the ‘uh-ohs’.
I grinned in response, the weight of my worries beginning to lift from my shoulders. It was even easier to breathe now.
As the rap part came on, I jumped onto Bree’s makeshift dancefloor and lip synced it into my hairbrush while she practiced her strut. Suddenly, a round of applause sounded from the door. We both jumped out of our skin.
Spinning on my heel, I found Enzo leaning against the doorframe, watching our performance with a sparkle of amusement in his eyes.
“What are you doing here?” Brianna gasped, rushing at him. He caught her easily, lifting her as he kissed her hard, spinning her once before setting her down.
“Just here to make sure your security detail is all up to speed. You’re still heading to Lucky’s right?” Lucky’s was Bree’s family’s club, one of a set of two identical clubs on opposite sides of the city. The boys were taking over Charm’s for the night, so we were heading across town.
“Security detail? Really?” Brianna moaned, rolling her eyes. I frowned. What the hell did we need a security detail for? Usually one or two guards was enough when we went out, but we were on home turf tonight. None of our enemies would be dumb enough to come after us there… would they?
“We’re heading to an Irish club, surely that’s safe enough?” I asked, reaching to turn down the music.
