Page 44 of Black Wedding

Desmond and Mum come out, followed shortly by a very dejected looking Evan. My mother hugs and kisses us both before offering her help with wedding planning. She even offers to come to London to help, which is met with a look of disapproval from Desmond. However, Bree says she will definitely ask for help if needed. Then my father steps forward as if he wants to see us off as an average family.

His actions make me want to laugh out loud. I don’t think I can ever remember a time when my father hugged me or told me he loved me. Desmond isn’t capable of showing emotion unless he somehow benefits from it.

“Well, Queen Bee, it was very nice to meet you, and I have to admit I am pleasantly surprised. You are not at all what I expected. Before I met you, I would have laughed at a female leader, but now I have met you, I am not so sure. I am willing to see what you can do, which is why I agreed to the truce. It will give me enough time to see what type of leader you are, then work out if I would be better off being on your side or taking you out. Only time will tell. I look forward to the wedding,” he states as he holds his hand out for Bree to shake.

Holding her hand out, she clasps his as she speaks. “Don’t forget this truce is also a trial period for you and your people. I only work with people I can trust, and I will need to decide if I want to work with you or not. So consider us both on trial.”

His evil laugh rings out as he drops his hands. He nods at me, indicating that he will not be giving me the same level of goodbye as Bree. I am still excommunicated, and he has not forgotten that. I motion for everyone who is leaving to get into the car. My mother stands off to the side, gently weeping as the girls refuse to hug her. She failed to protect them, and that’s a difficult thing to forgive.

“Bye, girls!” my dad shouts with a sarcastic voice and wave of his hand.

Not one of them replies. I climb into the car, and as I shut the door, I look over at both of my brothers. Gone are the depressed faces from earlier. The boys who were brave enough to ask for help are long gone. In their place stands two fucking zombies. Both stood bolt upright, their faces empty masks that display no emotions, their eyes dark and hollow. Between them and my sobbing, trembling mother, my heart breaks. My father is responsible for so much damage, and he doesn’t even care.

I stare at them continuously, lost in my own mind as I try to think up ways to help them. Ones that don’t require me slaughtering my own father. I’m pulled out of my daydream by a soft hand touching my shoulder from behind. Then I feel her soft breath on my neck as she leans forward from the back seat to talk to me.

“You can’t save them, Liam. They have to want to save themselves. You offered to help them; that’s all you can do,” Bree whispers against my skin, and I feel a bolt of electricity run straight down my spine into my cock. How does this girl manage to turn me on with just a breath of air against my skin?

“Thank you,” I reply. Although, I’m not sure exactly what it is I’m thanking her for because she has done so much for my family and me. But right now, this car can’t take me away fast enough. I want to get back to our house, to see Kellan and Hallie, and to settle into our new lives together.

The next few days after we get back from our trip to Ireland pass by in a blur. It feels like we are finding new threats every day or hearing about recent tragedies. Father is on the warpath after one of his drug runners, a fifteen-year-old boy, was shot down by an AK47. Liam and I have been given the responsibility of finding the gunman. But if we knew where the fucking guns were, we could locate the gunman. Even Kellan is coming up stuck.

Every day he tries something new, but he becomes convinced that my father and Jimmy lied to us. That they gave us wrong information of when the guns were taken and where from. Kellan has tracked every road in and out of the building, even pulling up old sewage plans so he could be sure they weren’t smuggled out underground. He has scrolled CCTV, as well as hacking into several personal cameras. He believes that either the guns were never there to begin with, or they never left. He is currently tracing back to see if there is proof the guns ever arrived, not just at the safe house but also into the country. We know what ship they should have come in on, and if we can follow them off the boat, we should be able to track their actual journey.

All of this means more work for Kellan, and he is pissed that my father lied. I, on the other hand, expect that sort of shit from him, but not Jimmy. He is usually honest with me, even if he knows it pisses me off. I need to confront him to find out the truth, but I have slightly more important things planned today.

As I sit there bouncing Hallie on my knee, my heart swells every time she lets out the cutest little laugh. She occasionally looks at me with a smile, but her gaze is permanently fixed on Liam if he is nearby. I’m not sure if he is a general baby whisperer, but he definitely has the magic touch when it comes to Hallie. In the middle of the night, when she screams like a banshee and tries to wake up the entire neighbourhood, no matter what Kellan tries, the minute Liam touches her, she calms down. The problem then becomes putting her down because she screams again, so Liam is severely sleep-deprived at the moment, but he doesn’t seem to care. He still carries on as usual and always has a smile for me.

Kellan comes running down in a rush, as always, and I take a moment to appreciate the fact he has dressed up. He is wearing smart dark jeans and a dark blue shirt with the sleeves rolled back to his elbows, showing off his tattoos. He may be a computer geek, but there’s no denying he has muscles that are clearly bulging in that tight shirt. His usually relaxed face and carefree smile have gone, replaced with a serious expression.

“Liam, your girl is perving on me again!” Kellan shouts as he winks at me. With my free hand, I flip him the bird, and he chuckles.

“Why are you all dressed up?” Liam asks.

“Because this is a job interview. Just because she is a friend of Bree’s does not mean I will give her the job, nor does it make this any less formal. You want me to trust this person with the most important thing in my life, to trust she will be safe and well looked after with this person. So, yeah, I’m taking it seriously,” Kellan states as he moves to the dining table, where he sets out a glass of water and prepares some pieces of paper.

“I don’t want you to hire her for me, Kellan. I truly believe she will prove to you that she is good enough,” I argue, but with a sweeping hand gesture, he dismisses me, and I can’t help but roll my eyes at him. Then again, I can’t imagine what it feels like to be hurt by all the women in your life. It’s no wonder he doesn’t trust people. Hallie only deserves the best.

The doorbell rings, and Kellan stands to go and answer it. He takes a few big deep breaths, almost like he is nervous, before turning to look at me, Liam, and Hallie. “You can stay here as long as you don’t upset the interview process. If you do, you are out, understand?”

Even Hallie laughs, although I suspect she is just copying Liam. Kellan mutters something under his breath before he goes to answer the door. I hear talking, introductions no doubt, before I watch my friend Mia walk into the room. She goes to approach us to say hello, I assume, but Kellan interrupts her.

“Please, don’t pay them any attention. If they become too disruptive, they can leave. We will get on with the interview, and you can speak to them afterwards, does that sound okay?” Kellan asks, using a posher voice than I have ever heard him use before.

“Of course, I am happy to get started,” replies Mia.

Mia takes off her coat, and I almost groan. I have always been jealous of her figure. It is literally the perfect hourglass shape with decent sized tits. Girls with skinny waists don’t often have the curves to match. Combine that with her five foot six height, which in heels makes her a giant compared to me, and she is basically a supermodel.

She has those perfect high cheekbones that everyone craves, lips that always seem to be plump and inviting, and the brightest green eyes that always seem to glisten. Her long blonde hair usually hangs down to her waist, but today is pinned back into a butterfly clip. She is wearing a tight, knee-length, black pencil skirt and a soft lilac blouse that has been tucked into the skirt. She is dressed to impress.

I notice that I’m not the only one looking at my friend as she places her jacket on the back of her chair. Kellan looks like he is mesmerised by the very sight of Mia as he watches her every move. I’m guessing he isn’t just looking at her as a potential employee anymore. They both sit down, and as soon as he realises Mia is also looking at him, the mask descends. Kellan looks away, picking up the papers in front of him, before starting the interview.

“Thank you for meeting with me, Miss Whitlock. Is it okay if I call you Mia?” he asks, and I hear Liam snort from beside me before not so subtly trying to disguise it with a cough. Kellan flicks the evil eye at him, and we know we are in the shit now. Mia confirms that she will reply to her name and Kellan continues. “Let’s jump right in then. Why do you want this job?”

Mia sits up straight and keeps eye contact with Kellan the whole time as she answers him. “I love working with children. I am working and training at the same time as I get my childcare qualification. I love being a nanny. I like getting to know the children I work with and learning about their personalities. Every baby responds and learns differently. Once I have figured that out, helping them is a whole lot easier. I have heard a lot of good things about Hallie and you. I would love the opportunity to get to know her and to see if I can help her grow up.”

Mia talks with passion and conviction with each question Kellan throws her way. No matter how stupid or ridiculous they are. Just as I can feel them getting ready to close things up, confident that there is no possible way he can turn down my girl, Kellan picks up the piece of paper in front of him. As he speaks, it is like he has been waiting to get to this bit, and I already want to groan with disbelief.

“Mia, when I asked you if you have any known criminal connections, why did you lie?” Kel asks, and this time Mia looks shocked. Her eyes dance around slightly like she is unsure exactly where to look.

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