I scrape my fork over the last of the frosting while I consider the question. I’ve seen cruel, and Maxim is not it.
“He’s being unreasonable.”
“Hm.” Vanessa pulls her lips down into a frown to hide a smile. I hate her amusement, mostly because she sees something that I do not and it makes me feel obtuse. “That sounds unlike him.”
I will admit that maybe a core tenant of Maxim’s personality is his level headed surety and ability to think through problems rationally. It’s why everyone I’ve met loves working for him and with him. It’s very antithetical to his role, and the complete opposite of his father.
“You heard him this morning, he doesn’t like when I do my job,” I explain. Once again, her face shows no sympathy.
“He can join the club,” she says. I’ve heard the argument from her before, the pleas that I choose anything else, but that’s different. She’s family. He’s just—well, my husband. “You are very good at what you do Mary, and I respect that you want to do it, but you know I’d rather you work in an office like Willa. Or on job sites with Sean. Dad felt the same.”
“Who would do all the illegal stuff, then?” I ask, though the answer is still all of us. We all are doing illegal stuff, Willa and Vanessa just don’t have bruises to show for their work.
“Lackeys?” Vanessa offers. I can tell she’s not actually pushing the argument, just talking about it casually.
Lackeys are fine, but none of them are that scary. It’s not all that hard, what I do, beating on people. I’ve always said I do it because I’m the best, but I don’t say what’s harder to admit; Idon’t believe what I do is particularly difficult, only that I don’t know if I’d be good at anything else.
Vanessa yawns. “It’s time to sleep again.”
When she stands, the metal jangle of Ranger’s collar tells that he’s ready to follow her upstairs. She takes the container and drops it in the sink before squeezing my shoulders in a tight hug.
“Is Maxim coming to dinner tomorrow?”
“Yeah. I’ll go back with him after.”
“Okey dokey,” she says. It took no time at all for her to be infected by Nate’s dorky ass way of speaking.
She kisses the side of my face, loud and a little slobbery and laughs when I tell her that’s gross and try to push her off. Vanessa smiles, lingers at the doorway. “There are worse things than having someone worry after you.”
“Goodnight, Ness.”
Vanessa nods and trudges sleepy toward the stairs, Ranger’s collar jingling behind her as he follows.
19
MARY
The basement has always beena place for me to blow off steam. When I was a kid, my dad sent me here to work off my excess energy and anger, and, still, exercise is the best way to keep me level-headed. Endorphins, whatever.
Training the next day consists of Leo, Nate, and I sparring while Vanessa does some weight lifting and walking on the treadmill. She still works out since being pregnant, but no fighting.
“Trouble in paradise?” Nate asks while I take my turn on the punching bag.
I kick the bag with extra force. “What gave you that idea?”
“I think you should give him a chance,” Nate says.
Even though he’s gotten pretty fit after a year of training with us, he still sweats like crazy every workout. I think he might just be a sweaty person, like it might be in his nature, alongside annoying optimism and general nosiness.
“I’vegivenhim a chance. The ultimate chance, I fucking married him.”
“Yeah but have you given him a chance since?”
I stop my combo and drop my arms to hang at my sides.
“Get to the point, Nate.”
“He’s asking you how big of a bitch have you been to Maxim since the wedding,” Leo calls from where he stretches on the mat.
