Chapter 32
Connor
Ryan's been in surgery too long. Too fucking long. My leg won't stop bouncing, knuckles white from gripping my jeans. Jackson keeps shooting me annoyed looks, but he can fuck right off.
He finally places a hand on my thigh. “Stop. You're driving me insane.”
I shove his hand away. “Touch me again and I'll break your fingers.”
“Connor—”
“Shut up.” My jaw clenches so hard my teeth might crack. “Do you understand, shit can go wrong. Complications. Infections. People even die from—”
“Ryan's not dying.” Zach doesn't look up from his phone.
Like he fucking knows.
I swallow hard, fingers digging into my thighs. Didn’t expect him to show up, but he’s here. Merci too. I apologized to both of them. Zach just shook his head and said it was over, that families fight. Then he told me I'd better have learned my lesson.
I did.
Merci, on the other hand, still appears to be holding a grudge. But I can't tell if it’s more to push my buttons, or if the little terror is actually still mad, even though I let him keep all that goddamn shampoo he ordered.
My phone buzzes and I take it out of my pocket.
Viktor: Monster Cheeks okay?
Him and these fucking nicknames.
Me: Still in surgery. Find anything?
Alexei: Three more security dead out back. Same wounds like your mother’s.
Fuck.
My fingers tighten around my phone. Ryan and I were supposed to be safe with my parents gone. We were supposed to be free.
Now someone else is a threat. Someone unknown.
Viktor: My mom is pissed. Keeps yelling at me every five minutes.
Viktor: Forget the fact I almost could’ve been one of these bodies. No. Apparently, my situational awareness is sloppy.
Viktor: She hit me. Twice.
Alexei: Durak. Not time to complain.
Alexei’s right. I can’t deal with Viktor’s bullshit right now.
I tuck my phone back into my pocket, then rest my head in my palms, fingers digging into my skull. A professional hit like that requires serious money and connections. I’m fucking thankful the Novotnys are looking into it. It's their world after all.
Jackson taps my shoulder. “Doctor’s coming.”
I shoot to my feet as Dr. Francois makes her way over.
She stops in front of me and gives a small smile. “Your husband came through surgery beautifully. The bullet lodged in his deltoid, but no major blood vessels were hit. And there was no bone damage. He’s lucky.”
Lucky?
My husband threw himself in front of a bullet meant for me. And this bitch is calling it lucky.
Jackson places a hand on my shoulder. “Breathe.” He looks at the doctor. “When can Connor see him?”
“He should be awake within the hour. We'll get you as soon as he's ready for visitors. He's going to be fine, Mr. Walsh.” She gives a curt nod, then heads to the nurses' station.
I take a deep breath, dropping back into the chair.
He’s okay.
Eli returns from the cafeteria with Merci. He walks over and hands me a water bottle. “Figured you might be thirsty, and Alexei told me no coffee, that you’re already too amped up.”
I take it, twist open the cap, and drink half the bottle, stopping only when Merci flops across Zach's lap, making himself comfortable.
Jackson shoves his hands in his pockets and rocks on his feet. “So, hate to add more shit to your plate. But how exactly do you plan to explain your parents' deaths? Or disappearance?”
I swallow the remaining water, then wipe the back of my hand across my mouth. “No fucking idea.”
Eli settles into the chair next to me, both hands wrapped around his cup of coffee. “Aunt Irina probably has a plan.”
Jackson's nose wrinkles. “Aunt Irina. Fuck, that's never not going to be weird.”
I snort. “Says the one wearing a collared sweatshirt with the Serpents logo.”
He gives me the finger.
But Eli's right. Mrs. Novotny is coming up with a plan. Nothing I can do for the next hour except wait for Ryan to wake up.
“Actually, I have a solution.”
My head snaps up. Ben Callahan stands near the vending machine, hands shoved in the pockets of an oversized black hoodie, his auburn hair sticking out in choppy layers around his ears.
“The fuck you do.” I spring up out of the chair and stalk toward him. This spineless little fuckling needs to go. Don’t even know how he knew we were here.
Ben doesn’t move, just stands his ground, looking me dead in the eye—the complete opposite of the scared kid who normally hides behind Veronica. “We’re on the same side.”
“Bullshit.”
Jackson and Zach pull up alongside me.
Ben glances at them, then back to me. He smirks, a slight tilt to his head. “Oh? And who do you think knocked out all the surveillance in your parents’ neighborhood?”
What. The. Fuck.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Does that mean he knows what went down? That he—
“Easy there, Walsh.” He chuckles, shaking his head. “Let’s talk.”
I cross my arms. “So, talk.”
“First, tell your friends over at the mansion to hold up. We can’t have them fucking up my plan by destroying all the bodies.”
Mother. Fucker.
Zach growls. “You’re watching them?”
Ben shrugs. “Turned some of the cameras back on. And my guy is watching too.”
The little fuckling’s working with someone? Someone who’s monitoring my house?
Shit.
I pull my phone out and open the text app.
Me: Benedict Callahan is here.
Alexei: Why do we care?
Me: Because he turned some of the cameras in the house back on.
Viktor: Fuck!
Me: Also, someone’s watching you. Not sure from where.
Alexei: What does he want?
Me: Wants you to stop cleaning. For now.
Alexei: Fuck no.
Me: I don’t trust him either.
Viktor: My mom’s got some of our guys on it. We’re dismantling the cameras now.
Me: I’m gonna hear him out.
I tuck my phone back into my pocket. Don’t like this one bit. But Ben also holds all the cards. I have no idea if he’s got anything that happened at the mansion recorded. “All right, Callahan. What’s your solution?”
“Why don’t we all go sit?” Ben turns to Zach. “Your boyfriend should go get himself another drink. Have him take his friend with him.”
Zach’s upper lip twitches, and he crowds Ben.
The youngest Callahan doesn’t flinch, doesn’t even back up. Just fucking grins. “No reason for them to get incriminated, don’t you think? Plausible deniability.”
He has a point.
I turn and look over my shoulder. “Eli, you and Merci go take a walk.”
Merci huffs. “Fuck no. I just got back.”
Zach's fingers flex at his sides. “Little Scorpion. Go. Now.”
Merci stands, Eli following, and they walk down the hall. Both keep glancing back—Merci scowling and Eli looking concerned.
Once they’re out of sight, the four of us make our way over to the far corner of the waiting room and sit.
Ben drums his fingers against the armrest. “Gotta say, Walsh, I’m kind of annoyed about what went down. Had this whole elaborate plan, then your father’s lackluster security shows up with your husband.”
I exhale hard through my nose. “What the fuck are you rambling about?”
“Oh, you know. I couldn’t sit back when my father decided to sell my sister off to your family.” His index finger keeps tapping the armrest. “She deserved better than you.”
I snort. “And Damien is so much better?”
His finger pauses, the corner of his eye twitching, and that fucking smile falls right off his face. “Don’t go there. That’s your only warning.”
Well, fuck.
Skinny, defenseless Benedict has some bite.
Jackson rests his ankle on his knee. “Connor married Ryan, so whatever plan you had went out the window.”
“True. But that just caused my sister to end up with a bigger monster.” Ben looks me up and down. “It’s funny how people don’t pay attention to you when they think you’re meager, weak even. But strength—power— isn’t all about physicality. Not now. Not when technology dominates our lives.”
I glance at the clock on the wall. Thirty more minutes before I can see Ryan. “Get to the point.”
“You’re so impatient. That’s part of your problem.” His index finger goes back to tapping on the armrest. “I hired someone to take out your family and set it up to look like it was my father’s plan. Left a digital paper trail and all. Even fucked with Callahan Holdings’ financials.”
“The person who killed my mother—”
Ben smiles. “My guy. You were supposed to die, too.”
I growl, about to launch out of my chair, but Zach grabs my shoulder and holds me back, then glares at Ben. “Then why is he still breathing?”
Ben sighs, the sound full of annoyance. “Because Connor’s innocent husband got caught up in this shit. And Veronica would never forgive me. She has a soft spot for the guy. Not sure how she knows him.”
Me neither.
And I sure as fuck intend to find out.
My lips press into a tight line. “I’ve heard enough bullshit for the day.”
Ben holds his hand up. “Don’t think I can’t frame you along with my father. You both have motive.”
“Are you threatening me, you fucking piece of shit?”
Ben rolls his eyes. “I’m not scared of you, Walsh. And what I am doing is offering you a solution to your problem. I already set up all the pieces for my parents to go down. Take it.”
Jackson leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You also just blackmailed him. Hell, blackmailed our friends at his house.”
Ben reaches under his sweatshirt and pulls out a manila envelope. “Inside is information you can hold over me.” He holds it out for me to take. “What I’m offering serves both of us. It's the only reason I came here.”
I take it and hand it to Zach because I’m not done with this little fuckling yet. “How the fuck does it serve you?”
A muscle near his jaw tics, nostrils flaring. “Damien.”
I sit straighter. “He hurt her?”
Ben nods.
I glance at Zach. His eyebrows shoot up as he looks over whatever is in the envelope, then he nods at me.
“Zach will give you Petrov’s number. Whatever your plan is, it goes through Alexei. Fuck us over and I’ll come after you. But right now, I’m going to check on my husband.”
I get up and walk over to the nurse’s station. They’d better let me see Ryan now, because if they don’t, I’m tearing the goddamn door off its hinges to get into that recovery room. No one’s keeping me from my husband a second longer.