“No,” he answered. “Well, a customer of sorts. They were doing terrible things, and Everett here, along with his brother and sister, went to Russia to send them a message. A message they didn’t quite receive. I’m not sure why they sent two Americans after you,” he went on, glancing to Everett and back, “but it’s been made clear that the van that you’ve been seeing, the woman that spoke to you a few weeks ago, and the men in the woods yesterday, are all connected to them.
“It seems to me that due to the contract between you and my son, they, not knowing about our business here, have misconstrued the situation. They believe that Everett and you are more than just client and boss. So, they see you as leverage against us. A weak target to either break or kill him.”
I laughed, despite myself. “Well, that’s wrong,” I told him, my smile falling. “From what I’ve seen, nothing makes him waver. They could kill me, string me up by my ankles, gutted and bleeding out on the floor and your son wouldn’t even blink.Evelyn would be a better target, but then again, you’ve trained her well enough that they’re too chicken to go after her. I assume you trained them, right?”
His smile widened, laughter on his lips. “You are very observant, I did, yes. Every single one of them.”
It wasn’t hard to notice. The look in his eyes was the same look in Everett’s eyes, only slightly different. “So it’s clear why, after assuming something like that, they chose me. They’re terrified of facing you fully, so they’ve turned towards the weakest link; me, trying to pull you out of hiding, I suppose. Kill Everett, pulling his brothers out, kill them one by one, until they’ve found the head of the snake, so to speak. Classic fairytale.”
I straightened, meeting each pair of eyes briefly before finding Malachi’s again. “I won’t pretend to know anything real about this world, but I do know what I’ve read. You’ll either cut your loss, me being just a client or you’ll use me as bait. Lure them in, capture them, torture and kill them after, if you feel so inclined, getting whatever information you may want from them. But it’s a choice you have to make because they’re going after your family for going after theirs.” I shrugged. “Like I said, classic fairytale.”
There was pride in his eyes. The kind of pride that, when I first had dinner with him, had made me feel so…good. But now a veil had been lifted, and while I wanted to feel good about that pride, I couldn’t.
I knew Everett. I knew Everett as well as someone could in this situation, but Malachi? All he was to me was a good conversation over dinner. An actor playing a part to get what he wanted out of me.
I had met too many people like that in my life to let it get to me now that I knew the truth.
“We’re going to discuss how to move forward,” he said confidently. “My sons and I. A meeting of The Family. You’ll know your role soon enough, but you do understand what thisalways was.”
I nodded, my hand stilling on Lucy’s head. “My life hasn’t been my own since the day I was born, the fact that I’ve finally been given a time limit is almost relieving.” But my future was still uncertain.
It was all down to Everett whether I lived or died now. His father didn’t seem like the kind of man to double cross, so maybe I wouldn’t give him a choice. Maybe his choice would be that he could either help me die or find me long since gone because I certainly wasn’t going to allow him to let himself get hunted and killed by his family for me.
“Good.” He stood, and I followed his movements. “Thank you so much for the coffee, I am always a sucker for exquisite taste.”
I nodded, offering a bare smile, feeling immense relief that they hadn’t made a single comment about the sweats, despite the fact that they had most definitely noticed me wearing them. “You’re very welcome.” I nodded at Diedra. “It was good to meet you.”
Her smile brightened. “You seem like such a lovely woman.”
“Thanks,” I replied with another nod.
Malachi beamed. “Everett will come by and let you know what we’ve decided, but I can’t promise when. Things come up.”
I nodded in understanding, glancing over as Everett stepped away from the wall.
His eyes met mine, hard and unforgiving, before he followed after his father and Diedra without a word.
Evelyn pushed away from the wall when they all left the room, her warm brown eyes on mine. Flicking to the collar and back.
She glanced towards the door, waiting for it to shut, before turning back to me. “It’s a mistake.”
My heart stuttered, but of course, she knew. Of course, she did. They worked together. She probably knew Everett better than anyone. “It wasn’t a choice.” But fuck me, if it had been, Iwould’ve made the same one.
She shook her head. “I know, baby girl, but you’re going to have a lot of choices to make in the near future, none of them good, and I’m so sorry about that.” She walked up to me, that look in her eyes that brought me such comfort and reassurance. “He has a good reason for wanting to keep it a secret, but whether they know it or not, you’re apart of The Family now. You’re protected. For now, that protection only goes to me and Everett, but I will do my best to help in any way I can without them finding out about what’s happened. You understand that that can only go so far until Everett tells everyone the truth.”
I nodded, sanding my hands together. “I understand.”
She gave me a small smile and grabbed my hand, giving it a loving squeeze. “Okay. Then let me be the first to welcome you. We’re not perfect, but I can assure you that there is no other family in this world that will love as hard as we do. It just comes out a little differently.”
And the reassurance I felt at her words was unmatched. I was a part of The Family now.
I was protected.
3
Olivia
June 22nd, 2022
