Page 22 of Wretched Soul
When Maddie pulls her heel from Barrett’s shoe, he limps away with Mommy. It appears that Alice has completely forgotten about the sons she claimed to care about, but then she has had years of practice of putting us out of her mind.
“Calder wants a word with you,” Rory tells me as Hunter is dragged onto the dance floor by his wife. They’ll want to put on a show for Barrett’s benefit, and I expect the sight will be nauseating. I go in search of Rory’s brother so I can plan my escape and track down Lily.
I find Calder in the foyer, slipping a woolen coat over his tux. For a man who claims to be a descendant of a Scottish Highland clan, he’s a pussy when it comes to the cold.
“Are you going back to the club?” I ask.
“Do you want to come with me?”
I cock my head. I don’t like the smile he’s trying to hide. “Do I need to?”
“That really depends. Do you want to see Goldie, or are you trying to avoid her?”
My jaw ticks. “You let her back into your club?” I ask. Wearingthatdress? I already know I’m going to download every piece of footage I can find of Lily in that outfit. And I might just kill any man I see looking at her the wrong way.
“I have eyes on her,” Calder says.
That doesn’t make me feel any better.
My friend must sense my growing agitation, and he takes his sweet time contemplating his reply. I just know he’s about to piss me off. “Don’t worry, she’s been warned not to fraternize with anyone we don’t approve of.”
“We?”
The fucker smirks. “If you decide you don’t want her, I don’t mind picking up your castoffs when they look like that.”
I clench my fist. “But you might not look so appealing without your teeth,” I warn. “Keep your hands off her.”
Calder laughs. “Fine. But if you’re coming, let’s get out of here.”
“Hey!” Reid shouts from behind us. “Where do you think you two are going?”
“The club,” says Calder. “Are you in?”
“No, he’s not,” I say quickly. To Reid, I add, “Someone needs to stay with Ash, and Hunter’s too riled up to give anyone else attention except Maddie.”
I’m expecting a fight, but Reid simply shrugs. “Fair enough. I wanted to talk to him anyway. He’s planning a trip to Las Vegas and I want to go with him. It’s about time I got closer to the sharp end of the business.”
That sharp end involves the kind of people Barrett has been upsetting lately. Ash is going to meet Killian. John McConkey’s son might be putting a lot of his energy into building the legitimate side of the family business these days, but he isn’t one of the good guys. And because of our past exploits together, neither are Ash, Hunter and I. Reid comes from a different mold. That’s how it is. And that’s how it must stay.
“You’re not going to Vegas,” I say.
I’m only four years older than Reid, and my voice doesn’t convey enough authority, but no matter. I’m confident that Ash’s views will be the same. Reid’s involvement with the mafia isn’t open for debate, and if he wants to argue his case with our older brother, good luck to him. I have a more pressing matter. Fuck knows what Lily is doing right now, and how many arms I’m going to have to break.
Reid stares at me and his features harden. “I’m not a kid any more, Mace. And with all your fuck-ups recently, Ash and Hunter need someone who isn’t going to zone out every two minutes.”
I shake my head, freeing my mind of thoughts of Lily. Reid isn’t wrong. “I haven’t got time for this.”
Reid shrugs. “You do you,” he says. He looks from me to Calder and back again. “I’m getting sick of being kept out of the loop. Despite what you might claim to Alice, I’m not feeling too much of that brotherhood lately.”
When I fail to find an answer to that one, I let Reid walk away. I’m about to leave with Calder when he stops me short. Alice and Barrett don’t notice us as they walk towards the exit. I’m sure I’m supposed to feel something given the news of my birth mother’s impending demise, but other than that brief jolt when I heard the news, I fail to register any emotion beyond the usual undiluted hatred. Tonight was all about looking out for her number one son.
My hand balls into a tight fist and as I take a step forward, the need to unleash my fury is all-consuming. I pull back my arm, but Calder grabs my shoulder. He only manages to stall me long enough for a new target to find my sights.
When we’d allowed Ray Forsyth to walk away with his life, it was on the understanding that he owed us. But he didn’t fucking tell us that Barrett was going to be here. And yeah, maybe I was lax too with my surveillance, but he’s the one I want to hit. He needs a reminder of who he’s really working for.
“Nice to see you again, Ray,” I hiss from behind him.
When Ray turns, his nose meets my fist, but the crunch isn’t as satisfying as it should be. I can only assume the broken nose Hunter gave him last time hasn’t healed particularly well. Tough shit, asshole.
