“Miss Black?” Simon asked, cocking his head to the side. His wiry dark hair stood out against the light from the lamp behind him. Actually…I’m not sure Malek was too far off when he joked about that lampshade being somebody’s skin. I kinda want to vomit for more than just the anxiety of this idiotic situation.
“No. Seven doesn’t do that anymore. You know that. And that was,for sure, a man in the woods.”
“Shamrock protect?”
“It’s not Mal, either. I went straight there after I left your house. He’s good at hiding shit from me, but he wouldn’t even know Sev if he hadn’t needed a cleaner. Did I honestly just stumble into the life of somebody like us? What if he’s not doing this to protect me at all? What if he did it for blackmail?”
Simon sighed and raised up from his chair, waddling over to his antique desk and pulling my file. “We wait. Show again. If do…we kill.” The large envelope teetered in his small bony hand. “Bigger problem.”
“You found something?” He nodded and I joined him at the desk. He spread out a few papers, and the small brass key we still haven’t figured out. He tapped the key with his fingertip.
“Key has number. Safety deposit.”
“So, this is…what bank?”
“Don’t know.” He flipped through papers until he pulled one of the statements from Jonas’s estate settlement, and big shock…there were several different accounts…in several different banks. I guess it was a start, at least. “We find box. Get answers.”
“And Zach McKinley?”
Simon shook his head. “Just child. Much money…no sense.”
“Natalie said he spent a lot of time chasing pussy with Zane O’Dell. Did you find anything there?” Another silent ‘hell no’. But it does seem obvious to me. If we’re gonna find dirty dealings…they won’t be hidden in anythinglegal. We’re looking in the wrong place for it. Declan could put this to bed in a single day. I’ve seen him do it. But he can’t know about this. “Two of these banks are within an hour’s drive. I can check those today.”
“Need married. Access.”
Fuck…fuck, he’s right.
Which means trying to rid myself of this god-forsaken family and their name is gonna have to wait. I won’t be able to access shit with any of these banks without this in my corner. It might be the only good thing coming out of this train wreck. I think I’m gonna yack.
“But once we have what we need…you can get me out of this?” I know I sound desperate…but I’d rather have fuckingdied than to be tied to this in any way. When he didn’t answer, I turned my face to see him staring at me. “What?”
“Power,” he started, raising his finger to my forehead. “Starthere.” We stared for a really awkward handful of seconds before he pointed to my chest. “Not here.”
“So, you’re saying I should stay married to this prick?”
Simon shrugged. “Prick dead. Throne…empty.”
“Both houses are done, Simon.” I shook my head and bit down on my lip, choosing to look away. “We buried both names. There is no throne. Not for us,orthe O’Dells.”
“Wrong.” My head snapped back towards him and the malice in his strange eyes made the psycho underneath shine through. “Build empire. Crush all.”
“I’m not a queen, Simon. You saw how well I handle something as simple as gutting a bitch and leaving her in the woods. Daddy was right. So was Jonas. I’m only good for one thing. It’s all I’ve had to use. What else is there?”
His smile was enough to make you piss yourself. Creepy as fuck, and not at all sane.“Revenge.”
The minute that word left his mouth, it felt like injecting a poison straight into the vein. It spread like a virus and started to consume me…burning like eternal flame. All of a sudden, the idea of watching themallburn in eternal flame…becameeverything. My Daddy’s face filtered in and out of my mind’s eye. He was so calm when I left that room. Cancer or not…this started before Malek fell for Sev. This started because of the love he had for us that he couldn’t showanyone…not even his own fucking children. He hid it so well, especially when it came to Malek. I’m pretty certain that before he gave our father a deathwith some dignity, that moment might have been the first time Mal even believed he ever loved him at all.
But I remember…
I remember seeing that for myself the day that we found out about Shavonn. The day I ran into his office while my brother’s soul was ripped out of his fucking body downstairs. Daddy made a decision that day. I think it was the death that started it all…and he thought his would be the one that ended it. He told Malek that he wanted us to go and have the life he couldn’t give us. Maybe this is the reason why I can’t make that final step and accept happiness the way my brother has. Maybe that’s why I’m so terrified of closing the deal with Declan, even though I fuckingknowhe deserves it just as much as anyone else.
There is no salvation for us.
Malek’s happiness couldn’t start without all the pieces falling on the chessboard. I never got the chance to have the satisfaction of playing the hero…and maybe this is how the villain is made. We’re not built to be heroes. And the queen is still standing. Misplaced, maybe…scarred, surely. But fuckingstanding.
They killed my Daddy. They took life from the House of Byrne. They picked the wound to watch us bleed…
They didn’t fucking cut deep enough.
