Page 81 of Little Fury

“Did you eat? “

“Yes, Matt, I ate; Caden gave me snacks.” He rolls his eyes at me.

“What?”

“I’m sorry about Jake.”

The mention of Jake brings a pang of sadness, but I try to push it away.“It's fine.”I tell him.“Really, who in our business gets to have something like that? I had him for six months, and I wouldn't give that up for anything.”

“I know, Ava, but after all the shit with Marcus when you were together, I worried that maybe you would never fall in love again.”

“I loved Marcus, but I was never in love with him like he was with me. I thought I was. But after meeting Jake, I know now that I wasn’t. Or, at the very least, I didn’t love him enough. That was ultimately what did us in. He was in love with me, and one day, he woke up and realized I would neverlove him that much. Well, that and the drugs and the other women and Alexi.”

“So what? He started plotting your death after that?”

“Ha! No. He stayed with me for a while after he realized it. I think he wanted to make sure he was right. Or he hoped to prove himself wrong. It all changed once Marcus realized that his feelings for me gave me power over him. Alexi was finally able to get his claws into Marcus. He was able to influence him and finally drive a wedge between us.”

I take a sip of my sports drink as we start down the runway, getting up to speed for takeoff.

“No, I’m pretty sure he didn't start plotting my death until about nine months ago.” Matt looks at me and raises an eyebrow.

“I’ve had a two-day drive to think about it,”I say.

Caden comes out of the cockpit and sits beside Matt.

“What are we talking about?”

“I was just starting to fill Matt in on when I think Marcus started to plot my death.”

“Ahh yeah, that's a story I'd like to hear as well,”Caden says, and Matt grunts back, looking out the window.

“Can I listen as well, or is it an adults-only story?”Ben calls from behind us.

“It is going to be so great living with him. I honestly can’t see me wanting to kill him for being a smartass,”Caden tells us.

“No killing the kid; we need his skills. I don't want to have to train a new one,”I scold him.“Anyway, as I was starting to tell Matt, nine months ago, I had a meeting with the Irish. They needed a couple of people taken care of, and they couldn’t do it themselves. They also wanted it to look like an accident. Thomas Murphy sent them to me. Marcus wanted to tag along because he had been trying to get a sit-down with Liam Campbell for a while. We met in Vancouver.Liam was cordial to Marcus but wouldn’t even pretend to discuss business with him. He told Marcus that he had no interest in doing business with him. He said that while he does have his hands in some drugs, heroin is not one of them and never will be. Liam made sure Marcus understood that he considered him less than.”I sigh, remembering the shit show that night was.

“Once Liam told Marcus flat-out no, Marcus got pissed off. He stood up from the table and started to walk away. When he saw I wasn’t following, he snapped his fingers at me. He snapped his fucking fingers like I was a fucking dog or one of the whores he fucks. Before I could call him on his shit, Liam stood up and walked calmly over to him. Have you ever met the Campbells?”

They all shake their heads.“Well, Liam Campbell is all man. You guys are men, but Liam Campbell is something else. He’s six foot four. Black hair and blue eyes. Dark lashes and brows. He has a jawline that should be illegal. Liam Campbell demands your attention. He is devilishly attractive. I say devilishly because Liam looks like how you’d picture the devil. Oh! And shoulders that make Matt look small.”

“You and Irish men, hey Ava?”Caden laughs at me.

“It's so true. I can’t even explain what the Irish accent does to my lady parts.”We all laugh, remembering every single time I had to interact with Thomas Murphy.

“Anyway, Liam stood up, walked over to Marcus, and got right in his face. Marcus is tall and in good shape. But next to Liam Campbell, Marcus looks like Ben.”

“Hey! I’ve put on a ton of muscle. Don’t be mean.”

“Sorry, Ben, yes, you have.”I chuckle again and keep going.“Anyway, Liam got in his face and calmly told him never to speak to me like that again. And that ‘he should learn some fucking respect for the woman who is probably the only reason he was still alive and that anyone still doesbusiness with him.” I close my eyes, taking a breath.“Liam said some things to Marcus I couldn’t hear, and Marcus said nothing, just nodded and looked at me, then turned and left with Alexi. Marcus called me about five minutes later. I told him I would take the job from Liam and talk to him the next day. That night still pisses me off.”

“That went over well with Marcus, I’m assuming?”Caden asks.

“Caden, it really didn’t,”I reply.

“Will you have dinner with me, lass?”Liam asks me.

“I think I could be persuaded to do that.”

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