“Not now, lover boy.”I cross the room to stand in front of the coffee table.“Get upstairs, dress in a long-sleeve shirt, and hide your tattoos.”My gaze sweeps over to Atlas.He looks less like a thug than Ares, but cops take one look at all that ink and think they’re in a gang.“Maybe you should too, Atlas.The police want to speak with both of you about us staying in with Mom and watching Gone with the Wind.”
“What the fuck?”Ares groans, tugging at the short ends of his black hair.“I hate that fucking movie.”
“Well, Mom loves it.I told the officers we watched it with her in the den at eight-thirty.”
Atlas gets up first.“Do they think we had something to do with the fire?”
I shrug.“Who knows?But they’re asking questions like they think we could be involved.”
“Those are just standard questions,” Ophelia says.“The cops always come here, grilling my dad about stuff that happened at his clubs.They need your alibis to rule you out as suspects.”
I clap my hands since Ares isn’t moving from the couch.“Chop, chop.Get upstairs and change into something decent.You can’t walk into the kitchen without a shirt and all that ink.”
Ares slips his arm behind Ophelia’s back and lifts her off the couch.
“Ares,” she whines.“You know I hate?—“
“You’re fucking perfect, little dragon.There’s no part of you I will ever find disgusting.”He bends down and kisses her forehead, his hand dipping beneath the hem of her T-shirt.“This is mine.”
A soft moan slides past her lips as he caresses her beneath the shirt.“Ares, I’m not yours.”
“Mine,” he growls as his hand falls away from her body.“Come on.We have to talk to the cops.”
“She can’t come with us,” I interject.“I didn’t mention Ophelia being here tonight.They’re already suspicious.We don’t need to add fuel to the fire.”
“So,” Ares shoots back.“She lives here.Ophelia has every right to be in this house.”
“Technically, I don’t live here anymore,” she says in a clipped tone.“I live at Uncle Alexander’s house.”
“The police will ask why your dad kicked you out,” I tell her.“Stay here until they leave.”
She moves in front of my brothers and looks at me.“Which officers are here?”
“Matthews and Lawrence.”
A smile tips up the corners of her mouth.“I know Lawrence.He’s in my dad’s pocket.I’ll go with you.”
Ares curls his arm around her and smirks.“Come help me change, little dragon.”
She rolls her eyes, but there’s a desire in them.He attempts to kiss her again, and she turns her head.
“This isn’t playtime, Ares.The cops are waiting for us.”
ChapterForty-Five
OPHELIA
My heart hasn’t stopped poundingsince I saw the club on fire.Despite what my mom wants to tell me in the video, I still love my dad.Even though I know he's not, I hope he’s still alive.
Atlas admitted to selling his bar for help from The Serpents.They’re a no-nonsense gang known for pulling off complex jobs.There’s no way they set that fire and left my dad alive.Not unless they had something to gain by doing so.
He’s dead,I tell myself as I change into a pair of jeans and a clean blouse.They killed your dad.
Tears sting my eyes, which are raw from crying so much tonight.I dab some concealer beneath my eyes and brush my hair.
Good enough.
I know one cop, so it shouldn’t be that big of a deal.We can talk ourselves out of this mess.After that, I will watch my mom’s video.It’s all I have thought about since I read the letter.
