A Bloody Kingdom (Ruthless People 4)

“Wait for me!” Dona yelled, wiggling out of Liam’s arms and running as well.

“What is this obsession they have with waffles? Even when you were pregnant you were inhaling them by the truckload.” Liam tried not to smile but I could see the corner of his lips turning up.

“You’re one to talk. I ate so much Jell-O while pregnant with you, your father nearly bought stock in the company.” Evelyn smiled; it didn’t matter the conversation, she could always manage to bring Sedric into the conversation. She still wore her ring, and I didn’t think she would ever get rid of it; she made all of us feel as though he had never left. I was grateful because it kept Liam grounded, but most importantly, confident. I knew he had dinner with her every Sunday night just so he could hear her thoughts. Evelyn meant more to him now than ever before and I thought that was what gave her strength to smile even though I knew she was broken on the inside. No amount of grandchildren or attention from her family could ever fix that.

“Mel? Are you all right dear?” She put her hand on my shoulder. “I will personally look into finding a new nanny for the kids.”

“Thank you, Evelyn, excuse me,” I replied. Liam gave me a glance, but I nodded for him to follow our kids then walked back into our bedroom.

In my closet, I saw my forgotten pair of tan Gucci heels on the ground. Grabbing them, I sat down on the couch and leaned against the pillows.

I loved my family. Liam. My children. Evelyn. Everyone. But Sundays were still the hardest for me, the bubble of cheerfulness that made a part of me want to roll my goddamn eyes. What was wrong with me that I couldn’t adapt? Even after all these years, it was like I was staring at the Brady Bunch; it was too much sugar and sweetness. It was making me sick.

“Melody, it’s me.” Mina knocked on the closet door.

“Come in,” I said, buckling the straps on my shoes.

“We have a small problem.” She waltzed in dressed in a butterfly print A-Line sleeveless white dress.

“Define small.” I stood, reaching for my jewelry.

She held out her phone for me and there was a photo of Liam and me on the penthouse roof of the Glass Emperor Hotel, making out, the picture clearly showing him gripping my breast and ass…tightly. The caption read, “The Governor: play before work.”

“They could have done a much better job with the title,” I said, clasping my earrings on. “Why is this a problem? Are they going to call me a whore for kissing my husband?”

“I told you already, image is important, Melody. We are a few months away from announcing your bid for the presidency; we cannot let images become topics of debate. You know reporters will be at the church and they will hurl questions at you.”

“Disrespectful ingrates,” I muttered. “But this is hardly a problem. If anyone attacks me for it, I’ll just say I don’t see any men having to comment on their sex life.”

“Normally that would work, but last night there was a shooting in Bella Vista. A black boy was shot by gang members when he used his body as a shield to protect his two little sisters. This morning the cops still have no leads. They are going to come at you for not only having a dinner party for the police but having time to have “playtime” with your husband while violence is creeping back up again.”

“I cleaned up the Southbend and now fucking Bella Vista wants to erupt,” I muttered to myself. “Did you talk to Fedel?”

“I sent him the information, but I don’t cross that line Melody. My job is to keep you out of the mud, not get into it.”

I snickered at that. “Mina, I was born in the mud, raised in the mud, and married into the mud. All. I. Know. Is. The. Mud. You can dress me up like a saint, but in the end, I’m just a sinner. I thought you knew that.”

“I thought you were, at least, faking not to be,” she challenged.

“I heard Bella Vista has gotten a new gang. I wasn’t sure, but apparently it’s true. As governor I think I should welcome them, don’t you?”

“Melody…”

Ignoring her, I patted her shoulder on my way out. I was excited…there was nothing like a good old-fashioned Chicago welcome to get the taste of sugar out my mouth.

LIAM

Someone one was going to die or was already dying; I could tell the moment we got to the church. She was eerily quiet and smiled a little too much at the cameras,

but the most frightening was the fact that she sang. My wife sang in church. The last time she’d sung in church was when we’d first gotten married and she’d ended up beating the shit out of my ex, Natasha, in the ladies room.

The icing on the cake was when we went to the soup kitchen, as we always did after church. We had built the Orlando-Sedric, known simply as the OS Center, only a block down the road from the church in order to provide for the community. It was also a way for the Irish and Italians to peacefully get together, although the center was open to everyone. Melody personally carried out trays of water while Dona shadowed her and handed everyone napkins. The smile plastered on her face didn’t look as fake as usual, but it wasn’t real either. She was on autopilot so again. Either someone was dead, or someone was dying.

“Chocolate.” A small blonde-haired girl stared, mesmerized by the cakes in front of her, and before I could reach for it, her eyes shifted to another one. “Or maybe lemon? No, cream bundt…there are so many!”

“You’re really picky.” Ethan made a face at her beside me.

She glanced up, finally noticing us behind the counter. When her blue eyes fell on Ethan, she stuck her tongue out. “Maybe you’re not picky enough, shorty.”