Vicious Minds: Part 2 (Children of Vice 5)

“Am I supposed to guess what you are doing right now?” I asked her.

“No need to guess.” She smacked my hands away, giving me the card, and working on my tie herself. “It’s for your vows.”

“My what?”

“Vows. You know, for weddings.” She dusted off my shoulders and took a step back. She nodded in approval over my clothes, before meeting my gaze. She smiled. “What do you want, me to write them for you? That’s not very romantic, Ethan.”

This fucking madwoman. “Now? Thirty minutes before people are to arrive, is the time you wish to tell me you want to have a wedding?”

“Is it too early?”

“Calliope.”

“What? You don’t want to renew our vows?” She frowned, holding the lapels of my suit, bringing herself closer. “Are you having second thoughts about me? Now, after all these years?”

“I need more than thirty minutes for vows,” I whispered, glancing down to her red lips as they hovered over mine, her eyes softly watched me.

“Just say the same thing you said to me the day you asked me to marry you—the first time,” she whispered back. “I was incredibly touched.”

I didn’t get a word in as she kissed me. Wrapping my arms around her, I kissed her in return, bringing her body closer to mine. Feeling her breasts against my chest, I moved to lift up the hem of her dress when she broke away.

“Later, I need to change quickly, and now, I also need to fix my lipstick thanks to you,” she replied, breaking out of my arms. She brushed her thumb over my lips, which were now stained. “See you out there, Mr. Callahan.”

“Aren’t you changing in here?”

“I left my dresses in Darcy’s room so no one would catch on,” she replied, moving to the door.

“Dresses?”

“You expect me to wear one dress all night? I need at least two outfit changes.” She winked.

I shook my head, saying nothing, instead looking down at the blank card I had dropped. She was truly allergic to doing anything simply; however, I kept following because it worked out. It made sense. People still doubted she was the real Mrs. Callahan. That she was different from Ivy or anyone else who had been on my arm. However, with them all here, as witnesses, they wouldn’t be able to deny her any longer.

She made us go to the church to trick the Italians into inviting themselves here. It would have looked bad if she had sent out invitations as the new Mrs. Callahan and no one showed up due to the current animosity toward our family. The city had calmed down slightly with Miguel Muncha currently severely wounded and in police custody. People felt a little more comfortable coming out. Then there would be those that came just out of curiosity. I’d been too focused on security—seeing as how she all but made it an open invitation—to truly focus on whatever she was planning. The pieces of her puzzle were never clear until she wanted them to be.

Knock.

Knock.

“Enter,” I said.

“Glad to see you two are getting along,” my grandmother said as she entered the room dressed in dark green and long gloves covering the burns on her hands.

“You look nice as always, Grandmother,” I replied.

She crossed her arms. “Why didn’t you tell me this was her plan when I asked you about the party last week.”

“I didn’t know.”

The look on her face said she didn’t believe me. So, I lifted the blank card, “This is apparently for my vows, which I now have twenty-five minutes to write.”

“You really didn’t know?” She stared in surprise.

I shook my head and snickered.

“What’s funny?”

“I simply imagined what look you’d have on your face if you knew when it came to Calliope. I rarely know what is going on until the last minute.”