Page 92 of Malicious Wedding

“Ash and her friend. I’m keeping them safe.” I reload my gun. “What are you looking for?”

“Something useful.” He flips through a wallet, pockets the cash, tosses it aside. “Did you show her the room yet?”

“She saw it.”

“Even I think that’s strange, you know.” He frowns at a business card he found, holding it up to the light. “Club Swank. Ever heard of it?”

“No, I haven’t. And I don’t care if it’s strange.”

He hands me the card. “But you do care what she thinks. That’s the whole point of the room, isn’t it?”

“I wanted to give her a safe space within the mansion.” I frown at the bodies as if they might judge me. “I might’ve gone overboard.”

“We have a tendency to do that.” Liam stands and stretches. “I’m glad you invited me on this little trip. It was a good time.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.”

We leave back out the front together. Sirens wail in the distance. Nearby, Fitz is sitting behind the wheel of a black SUV, idling in the street.

“What took you two so long?” he asks, a hint of anxiety in his tone as he peels out. “Cops were getting too close.”

Liam completely ignores him. “What I don’t understand is why you’re not simply taking her as your own,” he says, continuing our conversation about Ash.

“It wouldn’t be the same if I did that.”

Liam frowns like he doesn’t understand. “But then you’d have her.”

“Yes, but she has towantit.”

He only shakes his head like that makes no sense.

Liam and I have a lot in common. He’s the strangest of my brothers, but we still share certain qualities, like our deeply obsessive nature and our disregard for convention.

Except Liam goes further than I do. He doesn’t see people the same way, like they’re all made of cardboard, and he’s the only living and breathing one walking around. To him, people are a means to an end, and nothing more. Sometimes I think he looks at his own family that way. Though what he really wants, I have no clue—Liam seems to revel in violence more than anyone else, but he doesn’t actively seek it out.

It must seem strange to him that I’d choose to deprive myself of something I want.

“I’m going to do this the right way.” I don’t look at him as I speak. “For the last decade, I’ve been doing what I wanted without worrying about what she thought about it. But I’m finished with all that. I’m not sure it matters at this point, but what she wants is going to be as important to me as what I want. It’s the only way I can make this work.”

Liam grunts, making a skeptical face, but shrugs. “I respect it. I don’t agree, but I respect it.”

“Good enough.” I lean back, closing my eyes. “Either way, we have more men to kill. How interested are you?”

“Very interested.”

“Far as I’m concerned, Jan Minda crossed a line last night. I was trying to avoid an all-out war, but now it’s time to kill him and everyone he loves for daring to get anywhere near my wife.”

Liam grunts his approval. “Now we finally agree on something.”

Chapter41

Ash

Bernie and I stay in her suite the next day. I call Keely and let her know that Smoke won’t be opening, which only makes her ask a billion questions. “Just let the others know, okay, Keels? And don’t worry, you’re still getting paid for the day. I’ll add a bonus to cover lost tips, too.”

“How rich are you now exactly?” she asks with a laugh. “You know what, don’t tell me, I’ll just be jealous. No worries, I’ll spread the word. You’re okay though?”

I consider telling her about the attempted murder but decide that’s not going to do anyone any good. “I’m fine. I’m with Bernie.”

---