On the outside she looked cool, calm, and collected, but on the inside I could see the lioness trying to claw its way out of its cage.

“Fedel, leave us.”

I stared in her eyes, scanning them quickly before standing. She finished off the rest of her drink before rising along with me. We both walked into the private room at the back of the plane without speaking.

The moment I closed the door, she took a deep breath and tried to stand still for a second but couldn’t.

“I want her head on a plate.”

I wasn’t sure why, but I chuckled. “Is this jealously? Are you mad that this woman is on the same level as you are?”

A knife flew at my face giving me only a second to react. I moved out of the way before it embedded itself in the door.

“No one is on the same level as me.”

“She killed her brothers.”

“Half-brothers don’t count. I would kill them too if they stood in my way,” she replied.

“She betrayed her father.”

She glared at me, her eyes searching my face. “Her father was an honorless, spineless bitch. I would have killed him first.”

Brushing her hair back, I brought my lips closer to hers. “Then why are you so angry?”

“Because I read the rest of the letter.”

I stared at her, confused. “You don’t know Russian.”

“I may not be able to speak it, but I can read most of it just fine. My IQ may not be the same as yours, but I handle myself.” She took a deep breath. “I believe she said I a classless, emotionless, cunt-faced daughter of a whore. She knew that my parents were separated, and she also knew that my mother was having an affair with her bodyguard, Roger. That I should have burned with her in the plane. The only way she could have known that is if she was with Amory and Vance. So I want her head on a fucking plate!”

Every time I thought I knew her, I figured out something new. When I gave her that letter, I honestly didn’t think she would be able to read it. I had read ahead and stopped when I noticed where the letter was going.

“Then her head on a plate you shall have. However, it will be next week. The men need this. We will keep Fedel and Declan on top of everything they do. But we can’t go after them with our men acting like children remember.”

She nodded, and I turned to leave when she grabbed my arm. Facing her, I watched as she opened and shut her mouth twice before dropping her hand and stepping back.

“I don’t know how to do this, Liam,” she replied, crossing her arms. “I don’t know how to be open. I’m not that type of person.”

“Bullshit.” I laughed, causing her to look me in the eye. “You don’t want to know. You can speak God knows how many languages. You are an expert fighter, shooter, and a master manipulator. If there is something you wanted or needed to be able to do, you would force yourself to learn. You would commit to it through blood and sweat. You would do that for everything but me. So don’t try that card with me. I do not accept that excuse. I know you too fucking well for that shit.”

“I am trying! You are closer to me than anyone else, Liam!”

“That would be enough, if everyone else wasn’t dead.” She froze at my words.

I stepped in her face again and kissed her forehead. “I. Am. All. You. Have. Just as you are all I have—fuck Declan, Neal, Olivia, Coraline, even my parents. My family and loyalty start with you and you alone. The sooner you fucking realize that, the sooner we can get back to losing ourselves within each other and actually killing all those who stand against us.”

She said nothing, looking away from me, and I turned to leave. She didn’t stop me, because she was my Mel and hardheaded as fuck. I could say it to her a thousand times, but she needed to realize it herself. Tomorrow she would, and it couldn’t come fast enough. Then I would fuck her senseless for all the frustration she had caused me.

MELODY

Once he left, I laid back on the bed, trying not to think, but failing miserably.

I. Am. All. You. Have. His voice replayed in my mind even as I tried to push it out. I didn’t understand why he couldn’t just be happy with sex. I was willing to have sex. I wanted to have sex. However, instead of a quickie, I was laying on a bed alone. My mind felt so clouded. He was making it that way. I should have been thinking of ways to kill Amory and Saige, but instead, I was thinking of him, stupid fucking sexy Irish man.

I rose from the bed, fixing myself before walking out. I didn’t bother looking at Liam. Instead, I grabbed my things and walked off the plane. The moment I stepped out, I took a deep breath and smiled. I loved Cascadia. It was small, it was quiet, and it was green. I had hated it at first, but now the trees gave me peace. Nature was the only thing that made sense.

In front of the plane were Jeeps waiting to take us to the camp. I walked straight to Monte, and he already knew not to ask. Instead, he threw me the keys. Before driving off, I glanced back at Liam who glared at me. However, in the rearview mirror, I watched as he ran faster than any fucking man I had ever seen and jumped onto the back of the truck with ease.

He smirked at me before turning back to the rest of the men, fist in the air. They applauded him like he was something special.

“Camp Callahan begins now!”

Never mind, he was special . . . a stupid, special kid. I was tempted to turn sharply and send him into one of the tress, but he climbed into the front with me.

“If I wanted you to ride with me, I would have waited for you,” I said as he looked out at the small town we drove through.

“Why Cascadia?” he asked me, ignoring my comment completely. When I didn’t answer, he said, “This is a good time to be open, Melody, or does that only happen after sex?”

Stomping on the pedal, I drove us even farther, taking a path onto an abandoned road in the middle of the forest.

“I went to community college here. It’s small, rainy, and unknown. Cascadia is the place you go when you don’t want to be found,” I replied, turning left near the riverbank.

“You went to community college?” he asked, surprised, but of course he was. He was a rich kid from Chicago. I was a rich, too, but I was never really a kid.

“Yes, and I’m damn proud. Just because we have money doesn’t mean I wanted to waste it at some big fancy university, studying for a career that isn’t really an option. Nor did I want to deal with all the fake people who walked through the halls. I met Adriana here actually.” It was freshman year, and she looked so nervous. However, I saw what she could do one night after a few guys were just a little bit too rough.

“You didn’t want to go to school with two-faced people because you wanted to be the only one in the room,” he stated, causing me to stomp on the brakes, and he jerked forward.

“You don’t make me want to try. Do I lust after you? Yes. Any straight female would. Do I find you attractive and smart? Yes, and yes, again. But you are so very cocky, arrogant, possessive, and chauvinistic. You think you see me as an equal, but you don’t. You are pushy, annoying, and childish way too often. You piss me off! I signed that contract. I was going to try, but then you came at me like an animal. You disrespected me. You tried to make a fool of me. You insulted me, and now you think you can demand my love. You think you can force me to love you because my father is dead? Because you’re being a dick? I don’t give a motherfuck. I really don’t. So fuck you, Liam Callahan. I. Am. All. I. Have. That is how it has been and always will be.”

He stared at me wide-eyed as I unbuckled my seatbelt and stepped out into the forest. Grabbing my bag from behind my seat, I walked up the side of the hill by myself. I knew the forest well enough.