Vicious Minds (Children of Vice #4)(85)

“Yes,” I moaned as he gripped me tighter.

“Love me,” he demanded.

“Always.”

“Stay with me.” He kissed down to my breast.

“Forever.” I held on to his hair. He managed to pull the rest of my dress off and see me naked. As in, yes, I wore nothing under my dress. He immediately spread my thighs.

“Welcome home, Mrs. Callahan.”

ETHAN – AGE 28

Tuesday, September 30th

Chicago, Illinois





She signed her name on the marriage license before I did. I glanced at it once more before putting it into the envelope and sealing it, handing it back to her. Her eyebrow raised slightly, and a small grin crossed her lips.

“I trust you to file it,” she said.

“I don’t,” I told her. “I’ll blow our cover and file it right now. You do it when you think the moment is right,” I said before I laid on her chest, my ear right beside her breast, and I listened to the steady beat of her heart. At times, maybe when she was thinking of something, it sounded like a thousand hummingbirds were in her chest. Other times it was as if there was barely any beating at all. Meanwhile on the outside she remained the same: calm, poised, gently running her hands through my hair. We did nothing but lie there.

The world was chaotic outside. This was my only rest. My fortress of solitude, only better because I could be alone and together at the same time. If only…

“Let’s take a vacation.” She spoke softly for the first time in almost an hour.

“To where?” I asked, not moving.

“Here.”

I looked around the room…well better yet the bunkers, all of which I had added within the walls of the house. While other members of my family had places elsewhere in the city where they went to escape our family drama, I’d built mine right from within, further proof that something wasn’t right with me.

“And Gigi?”

“Will be here after her parents get themselves together.” Finally, I lifted my head, resting my chin on her skin, and she stared back at me, her hand brushing strands of hair from my face. “I’m no therapist, but I do think you and I should see what happens when we aren’t being pulled away from each other, when we are forced to wake up to each other, day in and day out, before we bring our daughter here. After all, haven’t we both changed over the years?”

“All my changes are because of you and her. Nevertheless, I do not mind.” In fact, I welcomed it. Sitting up I ran my hand through my hair. Thinking quickly of how this would work. “I’ll have to leave Wyatt in charge. Pretend I’m so distraught over Ivy and leave?”

“Does he still think you’re drugged up in your room?” She sat up behind me and wrapped me in her arms.

“How did you know he was going to try to sedate me?” I turned my head slightly to her.

She kissed my shoulder and snickered. “Your brother panics when he sees you or sister in pain. He just wants it to stop.”

“He’s too soft for this,” I muttered, shaking my head, now doubting if I could leave him to it.

“Maybe, but he’s smarter than we gave him credit for.” She whispered into my ear and it made me shiver. I leaned back against her as she showed me her phone. I wasn’t sure what she was showing me until I saw the flames.

“He cremated her,” she commented, her eyebrow raised as I watched the video. “Why would be do that? I’d expect him to want to throw her some grand funeral.”

Simple. “He’s still a child in a way. He wants the pain to go away. He thinks burning her body and getting rid of all evidence of her will make it hurt less. But it doesn’t hurt at all.” I turned and kissed her neck.

“He doesn’t know that,” she replied, pulling away from me. “Whatever the reason for it, his instincts are good. He’s smart; he’s thinking about what’s best for the family, what’s best for you, and that’s to make it look like you didn’t care about Ivy. That you were using her.”

“I didn’t care about Ivy. I was using her. They all picked up on it but couldn’t connect the dots.” I grinned.

“An animal works by instinct. We use reason.”

“Can a fish instinctively act like a lion?” she questioned before letting me go and getting off the bed. “You should hurry back before he checks in on you, give him one of your Oscar worthy performances and I’ll see you back here.”

“Is it sex or love?”

“What?” She walked naked towards the bathroom.

“Is it the sex or is it love that makes husbands slaves to the demands of their wives?” I asked with a small grin on my face. She just rolled her eyes, not answering me as she went into the bathroom.

I closed my eyes, trying to see how I was going to play this. How Wyatt would be if I wasn’t there. He hadn’t even been home for a month yet.

Can a fish instinctively act like a lion? Calli’s question came to mind. The answer was no. A fish cannot instinctively act like a lion. Only a lion could be a lion. Wyatt, despite everything, was a Callahan. Which meant whether or not he realized it like I did, he’d do what a Callahan had to do. Defend our own.

Let’s see what you can do, little brother.