Vicious Minds (Children of Vice #4)(18)

He was on very thin ice and he didn’t seem to realize that.

“I knew I wanted donuts, instead I was thrown into a van, pistol whipped and called a bitch and a whore, all because you….” I waved my hand, waiting for him to add on to my statement.

“Because I knew who you really were.” I was not satisfied with that answer. “The last time I saw you, you told me you were going to get stronger, so you could come back and marry me. Fast forward fourteen years and I run into you while you are pretending to be a cook in Colombia. One that’s pretending she didn’t know me.”

“If you recognized who I was, Ethan, the correct course of action was to let me know—”

“Isn’t that what I did?”

BANG.

I fired at the couch right beside his body. He glanced down at bullet hole beside him then back to me. “Is the lining of your uterus shedding now?”

BANG.

I shot at the other side. He sighed deeply. “This couch was a gift, Calliope.”

BANG.

“Can’t mean that much to you if it’s in a shitty safe house in Colombia, now can it?” I disputed. He held my gaze, not saying another word. “Apologize to me.”

“You were the one who didn’t tell me the truth when we first—”

I pressed the gun to his forehead. “Apologize to me, Ethan, or else you and I are not going to get past this. And no, I’m not going to kill you. But I will hurt you. I have no problem with hurting you, just like you don’t seem to have any problem with hurting me. So, we can both fight and hurt each other or we can be rational. Your choice. Choose.”

He stood and stared me down before speaking again; “I do not apologize, it’s not in my nature.”

In a blink, he pinned my wrist, twisting it and firing the gun in my hand into the wall. The bullet shattered the vase and mirror before embedding itself in the wall. I pivoted, using the force of the movement to elbow him in the jaw. He let go of my wrist, gripping my shoulders and pinning me down on the couch. I drove my knee up into his crotch.

“Ah…” He grit his teeth and put his hand around my neck. Pulling my legs up from under him, I wrapped them around his waist and twisted to the side, his grip on my neck tightening. “I…a—apologize.”

I released my legs and he let go of my throat. When he moved back, I got up and slapped him across the face as hard as could. His head snapped to the side and paused there for a second before shifting to scowl at me.

“You apologized for the kidnapping. That slap was for this stupid test you just had to do right now.” I glared back.

“What test?”

“Do I look stupid to you?” He just shrugged and leaned on the arm on the couch, which meant maybe I did. Maybe in his eyes everyone did. Because in his mind he was the smartest person in the room…until now.

“Since we met you’ve been testing me. I passed the body and face test, even among your men, but that’s not enough for you. Next, you test if I can hold a conversation; if I can pique your interest mentally, not just sexually. I passed. Then you noticed my birthmarks and you knew who I was, which is why you allowed me to make the demands for the hotel. You didn’t say anything because you at least wanted to fuck me first. Passed that test, which brought us here.” I whispered, leaning into him. “Step by step you’re checking off things on your list, thinking you’re in control…but the truth is, Ethan, I didn’t fall into your trap. You fell into mine.”

His eyebrow raised. “If you have to tell me, then I haven’t. You merely think so—”

“Why are you in Colombia, Ethan?” I interrupted, taking a seat on the opposite side of the couch.

“I don’t have to tell you—”

“You’re here because I brought you here.” I ran my hands through my hair. “I want wine. This feels like a wine conservation.”

“You brought me here?” He frowned, apparently not understanding.

Rolling my neck, I nodded. “That’s what I said.”

“Care to elaborate?”

I grinned. “Can your ego handle it?”

He didn’t respond. He just waited, sitting like a marble statue, his green eyes never looking away from mine.

“There’s been an uptick in violence lately. Members of cartels are turning on each other, struggles for what they think is power happens every time one of their leaders die. It’s very bloody, and in the end because they are morons, they get caught.”

“What does that have to do with me?” His face was blank, void of emotions.

“I guess I have to explain more clearly seeing as how you wish to play dumb. I really dislike talking so much. I feel rude,” I joked, but he didn’t flinch. “Not funny. Sorry, I forgot you’re in boss mode…aka Ceann na Conairte mode. You won’t talk about business with those who are not family, correct?”

He didn’t speak. He just watched me.

“Very well. I’ll speak, and I’ll tell, but I’ll do it my way.”

For some reason I truly enjoyed having his attention.

“Once upon a time…” I grinned when his eyebrow twitched in annoyance. His mask slipped there, but I let it go. “There was a small Italian girl by the name of Calliope, who was born in a beautiful but violent place called Chicago, a kingdom ruled by the great Callahan family for generations. Or so she was told…you see Calliope didn’t get out much as child, her parents…were…very harsh to her. Some would even say cruel. But Calliope managed and was the best daughter she could be. One day, as reward for all her efforts, she got to go to the Callahan castle. She even met the queen. She wanted to be just like her, she wanted to live like her, and the Queen told her there was only one way…to be the wife of Ceann na Conairte.