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Gavin nodded as if he approved. “Absolutely. No reason.”
The voices behind us faded as the guests left.
Aiden came and sat beside me, stretching his arm protectively along the back of the couch. I shifted, nestling into his side.
“I owe you an apology, Selena,” Gavin said to me. “I was rude the other day. I’ve just been concerned for my son.”
“You trust me to run your business for you, but not to pick my own partner?”
“Well, killing people and dealing with criminals is easy compared to navigating matters of the heart,” Gavin answered. “Would you let me apologize?”
Aiden jerked his head in a nod, and Gavin turned to me. I was surprised, because I didn't expect men like that to offer a true apology. “Selena, I should have been more open to meeting you. I know Aiden has a good head on his shoulders and would choose a good match. Most of all, I shouldn't have taken my concerns out on you. I'm sorry. Can we start over?”
Not a chance. “Of course. I look forward to getting to know you better, Mr. Crude.”
“And I look forward to getting to know you better,” Gavin said.
I was going to be the last person he saw before the life faded from his body. That was a sort of intimacy.
Aiden tilted his glass, his whiskey tilting back and forth with the motion until it seemed it might slosh out of the glass. It wasn't like Aiden to fidget. “What did you want to tell me about your wedding?”
“You know that I took over the business from my father,” Gavin said. To me, he added, “Our family has been in the gun running business since 1901.”
“That's quite the long legacy.” Did he really expect me to be impressed?
“It's provided a good life for my family, which has always been my true motivation.” Gavin said. “Before I took the business over from my father, he wanted to see that I was ready to settle down and produce an heir. I've been an asshole to you, Selena, and I'm sorry, but I learned it from the best.”
I chuckled politely.
“However, my father was concerned that my wife could be a gold digger or working for another family. I knew it was ridiculous, since I had known Caroline since we were both children. I trusted her completely. But before we married, Caroline had to prove herself.”
Aiden sat forward. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Gavin raised a hand to placate him. “Hear me out.”
“I'm listening,” I injected a shake into my voice.
“There were two things that Caroline did for our family before we married. I believe she was well compensated by the life we had together and the joy we felt raising you two boys.” Gavin smiled.
Aiden did not return it.
Gavin raised two fingers. “Once we were engaged, she killed a police informer. I set everything up for her to pull the trigger and was there to comfort her and kiss her afterward. And it was videotaped, so that if she ever left me or harmed the family, she knew what the consequences would be.”
Aiden swore.
“I knew it would never be needed, son,” Gavin said. “Surely you feel the same about Selena. But that was one of my father's requirements.”
“It's a stupid idea. Implicating your wife in a murder of a cop wouldn't exactly make your hands look clean.” Aiden pointed out.
“Perhaps. But it also showed that she was invested, that she would do whatever it took for the family. Loyalty is a good quality in a wife.” Gavin’s gaze turned to mine, his stare weighty. “Would you kill for Aiden?”
I would kill for a diet Doctor Pepper as long as I thought the target deserved it. I licked my lips before I answered shakily, “Yes.”
“Good,” Gavin said, with a condescending smile which made me want to stab him through the eye with a pencil even more. But I pushed down my murderous impulses. There would be plenty of time for that later.
“You said there were two things,” I said, then stopped and drew in a deep breath that rattled in my chest so that we could all hear it. I was glad Man had brought in that improv teacher. “What's the other?”
“You are a quick witted girl,” Gavin said, giving Aiden an approving look.
