by J. J. McAvoy
Smart.
“Nothing personal!” Dino hollered from above me.
I was cold, and all of me was aching. With the little strength I had, I flipped them off. “You’re right, nothing personal!” I called back.
Boom!
Like a ball of fire and flame, they burned in the sky, and I grinned, watching as if it were fireworks.
“You knew?” my mother asked, looking down at me.
“It’s fucking annoying how he does that, right?”
Hearing her voice, I turned to see the lace-up black combat boots of none other than Dona as she walked into the clearing with the rocket launcher still in her arms.
“Good shot, princess,” I muttered to her as my vision blurred.
“Of course, it was. It is me,” Dona said as she made her way over to my body, crouching down beside me. “You look like shit, big brother. You too, Mom.”
“You shouldn’t be here,” my mother snapped at her. “You are now—”
“Sempre Famiglia, now and always, no matter what…”
“Yes, yes, we know. Where is our ride?” I said, fighting to stay conscious.
“Asshole. I’m here saving your life—”
“Dona! We need to go! Your father,” my mother said.
And I tried to keep up with their conversation, but everything darkened. But that was fine. We’d won…that was all that fucking mattered.
Finally.
ETHAN—THREE DAYS AGO
When I woke up, I wasn’t sure where I was, but I’d heard Dona’s voice in the distance, somewhere. Opening my eyes, I was grateful to see I wasn’t in some hospital room, but rather in some sort of bungalow overlooking the water from what I could see out the large windows.
I hope those are bulletproof, I thought, trying to shift up on the bed, but I couldn’t move. I felt so dizzy.
“We can’t tell him yet. He needs to rest more.” Mom?
“That is not your call, Mom. And I am not going to hide the truth from him. Like you all did to me!”
Frowning, I winced at the pain in my abdomen.
“Dona?” I still managed to call out.
A few seconds later, she came inside, now dressed in a long, flowing dress, her hair wavy. “You’re awake,” she said, coming over to me.
“I am,” I answered. “Where did I wake up?”
“Malta.”
My eyebrow raised. “The country?”
She nodded. “Gabriel and I are here for…some stuff. Not important. Don’t worry, he doesn’t know you are here. How are you feeling?”
“Like shit. Where does Gabriel think you are then?”
“The spa,” she replied gently.
“You’re going to have to keep this a secret—”
“I know how to keep secrets, and so does he. After all, it was Mom and Dad who have been working with him and protecting him all this time, too,” she replied with a frown. “Seems like the only person they didn’t bother controlling like this was Wyatt.”
“Let’s tell ourselves it because he’s hopeless, even to them.”
The corners of her lips turned up, but I could tell something was wrong by the look on her face and the way she tried her best to stay calm.
“Did something happen to… to Dad?” I asked her.
She hung her head, so I pressed more. “I heard you talking. What is it? Tell me.”
“Dad is alive, but whatever fell on him fractured his skull, he’s in coma and…”
“And?” I pressed. “He’s going to wake up, right? Even skull fractures will heal with enough time. They said Wyatt wasn’t going to wake up, but he did. So don’t—”
“I hope he doesn’t,” she whispered so low I almost didn’t hear her.
“What?”
Biting her lip, she looked at me with teary eyes. “It’s going to be too painful for him if he does.”
“Dona, just tell me, what do you mean?”
“He…if he wakes up, he’ll…he’ll be paralyzed…from the neck down. And on top of that. He’d learn that his brother…that Uncle Neal is dead, and Nana collapsed in shock.”
I stared at her, not believing it all. Neither the part about our father or Uncle Neal or our grandmother. “No.”
Hearing the door creak open, I saw my mother. The look in her eyes told me this was real.
And now I wished I hadn’t woken up, either.
ETHAN—TWO DAYS AGO
She sat at his bedside, a blanket over her. Her hair was barely brushed and pulled to the back. Around her eyes were dark. But still, she stared at my father as he lay hooked up to machines on the bed, not moving. The only proof he was breathing and alive was the monitor. I limped around the bed slowly, holding my cane, to sit beside him, to look closer. This weak and ill man was, in fact, my father, the great and beloved Liam A. Callahan. The man who was always laughing, cheering, drinking, or cursing. The man who loved to pick and tease me. It didn’t seem possible they could be one and the same.
“What happens now?” I asked my mother.
“Aren’t you the one with all the plans?” she shot back.
I frowned, glancing up at her. “Not for this.”
Lifeless, her gaze shifted to me, and even she didn’t seem so great anymore. Was this really how they were going to end up? In the end, they were beaten by a chandelier? Them? Of all people? Impossible.
“Don’t look at me like that. Your father is going to wake up,” she declared. “Then, when he wakes up, we’ll work on whatever else he needs to fix. So, don’t look at me like that, Ethan. Don’t forget who we are. We are Liam and Melody. Melody and Liam. We fought the world twice over and won. The day we go out, we will go out like rock stars. He’s going to wake up. I just have to wait.”
Was she telling me or tell herself?
When she looked back at my father, I had a feeling she was telling herself. Lifting my father’s hand, I brought it to my lips and kissed it. “Dad, we have to go. But I’m not going to say goodbye. I know you too well. The moment you’re better, you’ll find a way to come back. I’ll let it go. Maybe…maybe one day we’ll have a glass of that damn Camus Cuvee you love so much and laugh. You, me, and even Wyatt.”
There was only the sound of the machine as it beeped.
When I looked back at my mother, I kissed her cheek, her eyes glazed over and wet, but she didn’t cry. She sat there determined…willing him to wake up. I didn’t know what to say to her, so I leaned over and kissed the top of her head.
“I love you, Mom. I always have, and I always will. I didn’t understand why you left. I don’t think I ever will. And it cuts at me. I wish it didn’t, but it does. You were my whole world. Losing you hurt me more than you could ever imagine. I still can’t forgive you, but I never stopped loving you. If you need me—”
“Didn’t I tell you before we left?” she replied, looking up to me. “Don’t look for us, and we won’t come to you. Not because we don’t love you, but because we do. You are…more than capable, Ethan. You always have been. You always will be. Go, don’t worry about us. We’ll make it. Protect the rest of the family. I have your dad, and your dad has me.”
Her words, for some reason, didn’t make me feel better.
“Stay alive,” I said.
“You too,” she said as I moved to the door. I had almost made it out and when she called out. “Ethan.”
As I turned to her, she got out of her chair and came toward me, wrapping her arms around me tightly. “No matter what anyone says or what you do, you will always be mio bel leoncino.”
I froze for only a moment before hugging her back because I had a feeling this would be the last time I hugged her for real.
“Goodbye, Mom.”
ETHAN—PRESENT
When I opened my eyes, I felt tears on my eyelids…my own tears.
I hadn’t cried when I was with them or when I had left. So why now?
I glanced down at my body, feeling the weight on top of me, to see not only Calliope but Gig
i curled up on either side of me.
When had she come in?
When had I gotten off the floor?
I didn’t know. But I didn’t care.
I preferred this, knowing they were close and all right. Knowing I could get up off this bed and still talk, walk, and hold them. That I still had time was the best feeling in the world. And it made me want to live more.
“Why are you up?” Calliope whispered as she sat up.
Before I could answer, she rushed to the bathroom. I moved to see what was wrong, but Gigi clung to my arm like a koala bear. And Calliope returned, slowly getting back into the bed and curling into a ball.
I watched them both before the sun began to peek through the window. And I watched it rise, chasing the darkness of the night away.
“If it’s boy, we name him Aiden,” I whispered to her, not thinking she’d hear me.
“Aiden?” she grumbled, opening only one day.
“It means of sun and fire,” I said.
“Aiden Liam Callahan is a mouthful,” she muttered, burying her head back into the pillow. “But it’s not bad.”
She dozed off, and I leaned back into the pillows too.
This was how the world worked. The sun would set for some and rise for others.
I’d lost family.
But the Callahans as a whole would make it.
I wouldn’t be the last.
I would do better than my own father. We’d go on and on until they killed every last one of us. There was no turning back, no giving up, there was nothing other than this.
Epilogue
“There are four kinds of homicide:
felonious, excusable, justifiable,
and praiseworthy.”
~ Ambrose Bierce
LIAM
“I think Wyatt was a little jealous of seeing his brother as a father, so we’ll be getting a third grandchild soon.”
She smiled beside me as she cleaned my hand, not that I could feel it. “What do you think Helen will let their daughter be named after me instead of her mom? Ethan already honored you, and I doubt Calliope will be getting pregnant again, so it’s only fair, right?”
I didn’t reply.
I just watched her.
I just listened.
I didn’t have a choice.
Since the beginning of our marriage, I had always wanted her to open up to me, to cling to me, to be submissive and soft. Oh, how I had gotten my wish and oh how hated it. I hated it so much I wanted to slit my own throat. But I couldn’t lift my own arms! I couldn’t move my legs! I couldn’t fucking move!
What day was it? I didn’t know.
How long had I been like this? It felt like centuries.
This was a prison, and I did not do prison.
“Did I tell you?” she asked, getting up and taking the blankets off my legs so she could message them. “Darcy’s won his political campaign for senator. Apparently, it’s step one to his road to the presidency. Ethan wasn’t very happy about it. He had other plans for Darcy, but I guess he figured a Callahan president might come in handy somehow. It is bound to happen, especially with Mina as his campaign manager. I—”
“Mel…” My voice was so hoarse that even I didn’t recognize it.
She paused but only for a second before she continued working and talking. “I just remembered, Dona…she definitely has to name her daughter after me whenever she gets pregnant. But she and Gabriel are doing fine now, so it can’t be that far off—”
“Mel…” I said again. “Please.”
Turning back to me, she stared for the longest time before shaking her head. “Stop it…stop looking at me like that.”
“All I can do…is look…” I frowned, hoping this time she’d listen and do as asked. “Mel, please. I…I can’t stay like this. Please…end it.”
The tear slipped down her cheek, and she moved back up the bed with her face above mine. She kissed my lips.
“Kill me. Please, love.” I had begged God knew how many times now.
It was the only thing I wanted. Dying by her hands, by the great Melody Nicci Giovanni Callahan, would be a thousand times better than living like this.
She held my face, placing her forehead on mine, shaking her head repeatedly. “Never. Death is going to fight me to my last breath before I ever let you go. We will fix this. We will win. We always win.”
That was another thing I had wanted once upon a time, for her to cry freely in my arms. Each time I begged her, she broke down, and because of her tears, I fell silent.
And I would remain silent, to fall asleep and wake up again to her hovering and watching over me anxiously.
I was in prison… so was she.
Death was the only way she and I could be free, but she refused to kill me. At least that was one thing that had never changed. No matter what, Melody never just danced in the palm of my hand and did what I asked.
I loved her.
I hated her.
And then I loved her more. The tighter she held on, the more I realized, no matter what, my life and my death would be praiseworthy.
THE END
Afterword
To My Ruthless Fans,
There is too much to say. When I started this series, I was nineteen and just starting university. I didn’t publish it until I was twenty-one. I’m twenty-seven now. Which means this series has shaped some of my most formative years. Ruthless People changed my life because it allowed me to connect with you all from my little dorm, where I often felt so alone and frustrated with the world around me. Ruthless People was my book to vent in. I never expected anyone to like it, let alone love it and beg for more. But there you were alongside me, venting with me, cheering with me, and even crying with me.
I’d never thought I’d be reaching people all across the United States and Canada, let alone Brazil, Mexico, Iran, Turkey, India, Indonesia, Poland, France, Slovakia…even Italy and Ireland. Every day, I am amazed by you all and the lengths you go to reach out to me.
Thank you so much.
It’s been such a long road. I’ve lost some on the way, but I’ve gained so many others, too. I’ve grown up a lot because of all of you. I’m not sure where my writing will take me in the future. I’m exploring different genres right now and really enjoying that. But who knows when the mafia will come calling for me again.
Until then, I say goodbye to the Callahans.
It’s been a wild and insane ride.
And I’ve loved it!
So, with love…I declare this the end.
~ J.J.
Also by J.J. McAvoy
Ruthless People Series
RUTHLESS PEOPLE
THE UNTOUCHABLES
AMERICAN SAVAGES
A BLOODY KINGDOM
DECLAN + CORALINE
Children of Vice Series
CHILDREN OF VICE
CHILDREN OF AMBITION
CHILDREN OF REDEMPTION
VICIOUS MINDS: PART 1
VICIOUS MINDS: PART 2
VICIOUS MINDS: PART 3
Single Title Romance
MALACHI AND I
BLACK RAINBOW
RAINBOWS EVER AFTER
THAT THING BETWEEN ELI AND GWEN
SUGAR BABY BEAUTIFUL
CHILD STAR
About the Author
J.J. McAvoy first started working on Ruthless People during a Morality and Ethics lecture her freshman year of college. If you ask her why she began writing, she will simply tell you “They wanted to get their story out.”
She is the oldest of three and has loved writing for years. Her works are inspired by everything from Shakespearean tragedies to modern pop culture. Her first novel, Ruthless People, was a runaway bestseller. Currently she’s traveling all across the world, writing, looking for inspiration, and meeting fans. To get in touch, please stay contact via her social media pages, which she updates regularly.
Facebook
Twitter
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J.J. McAvoy, Vicious Minds: Part 3 (Children of Vice Book 6)
