Children of Vice (Children of Vice 1)

“He’s not.”

Both Ethan and I said at the same time.

Rising to her feet and grabbing her glass, she marched toward the door, saying before leaving, “Did you ever think this kinda sucks for me, Ethan? That just because I know you’re supposed to be a grown up and get married, and prove to everyone you can be everything Father was, doesn’t mean I’m happy about it? That giving up my chair to some random woman, whom you’ll have to put above me, sucks? That knowing everyone but me gets to stay a Callahan sucks?”

She looked over her shoulder at him, and Ethan, to his credit, looked back at her for a moment, frowning before reaching for his glass.

“I guess not,” she said, leaving.

“Good night.” He had the balls to say.

And I shook my head at him, Ethan the iron heart. “You could at least pretend to com—”

“Comfort her?” He snickered at that. “Nana, in this family Dona is the last person who needs comforting. She isn’t pissed that I didn’t tell her. She does not care. She’s pissed because she is now confronted with the fact that she, as she said, doesn’t get to be the queen Callahan. Everyone thinks because she smiles and laughs and acts so sweet that she’s actually the best of us three. But the truth of the matter is she is the child of Liam and Melody Callahan, which means like all of us she is calculating, cold, and ruthless. It’s the reason why Wyatt left. He couldn’t handle being second all the time and so he’s gone off to play hero. Dona…she’d kill for this seat, to be where I am. I didn’t tell her because I was saving her the pain of waking the fuck up and realizing no matter how much I care about her, she will never control me. Now, do you want beef or chicken?”

“Chicken,” I answered and reached for the bell, ringing it before placing it down.

“Good choice,” he said and repeated it for one of the servers.

“Right away, sir.”

When he reached for his fork and knife again I just sat in silence. I wasn’t surprised. In all honesty, I was tired. Tired of all of them. But I had a promise to keep…and this was the fastest way to do it.

“Ivy O’Davoren. I’ll go see her in the morning.” I reached for my napkin, unfolding it and placing it on my lap.

He nodded. “Expect her to be hostile.”

“Why?”

“She hates this family.”

He’s a masochist.

“And why is that?” I grabbed my drink.

Again he thought for a moment, sticking a piece of steak between his lips. “She believes we killed her whole family.”

“Did we?”

He smiled and when he did you could see how handsome he truly was. Tall, toned, ivory skinned, with the deepest green eyes, like his father, and dark brown hair that was almost too perfect and yet suited him nicely. Women fell at his feet and most of the time he’d just walk over them as if he hadn’t noticed. The colder he was, the more they loved him…but when he smiled, he looked so…innocent and sweet.

“What?” he asked me.

“Nothing.” I leaned back, making room for the server to put the plate down. “I was just thinking how handsome you look when you smile.”

“I know, that’s why I try to contain it,” he joked and it was that…that twig of humor that always reminded me he had a heart, he just kept in locked under ten feet of steel in the middle of the desert.

“This woman better be worth it.” For his plan…and for his heart. Arranged, a pawn, whatever, she had one hell of a life ahead of her. “And you still haven’t told me how you plan on getting her to not hate us.”

“By telling the truth and lying.”

I thought back to his father and for the first time since…since losing him…I wanted to smack him for leaving me with this mess.

FOUR

“Whether we are man, exile or angel - It doesn't matter. For us all, the nature of truth is unforgiving.”

~ Jessica Shirvington