Vicious Minds Part 3 (Children of Vice #6) - J.J. McAvoy Page 0,1
loud. Melody didn’t answer me. She just sat there lost in whatever murderous thought was bubbling over in her mind, which was an answer in itself. I had to know whatever it was that was getting to her so badly. Especially after the week we had just had.
“Mel?”
“Hmmm,” she replied, lifting her head to my voice, her brown eyes finally meeting mine.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” she lied, shaking her head before exhaling and tossing down her phone to pick up whatever desk work she was going to pretend to be interested in.
“So, we’re lying to each other now?” I stated, walking over to the bar and helping myself to some brandy. “Good. Now is the right time to tell you, I like that haircut on you. It’s nice.”
Her head whipped back to me, and whatever murderous plans she had been directing for someone else, she immediately shifted them to me. Her jaw cracked to the side as she leaned back in her chair. “Is that your way of telling me you don’t like my hair?”
I grinned before sipping my drink. “You couldn’t tell by my face?”
“You are such a fucking asshole,” she grumbled, tearing her attention away from me and turning it back to her work.
Stepping over to the side of the desk, I moved to touch her hair, and with lightning speed, she slapped my hand away like a fly. “If you don’t like it, don’t fucking touch it,” she sneered at me.
“I love your hair. I just hate it when you cut it.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “It’s still past my shoulders.”
“Barely,” I pouted before drinking.
She sighed. “Did you come in here to annoy me?”
“Yes,” I smiled. “But you were already annoyed when I got here, so now I’m curious who's been irritating my wife in my place.”
“You have three children, Liam, when do you plan on not being a child yourself?”
“Ah, so it’s the children annoying you?” I asked, ignoring her comment before shaking my head. “No, even when they drive you close to insanity, you don’t have that look in your eyes.”
“And what look is that, Obi-Wan Kenobi?”
I grinned like a mad man on laughing gas, placing my hand over my heart.
“What?” she snapped at me.
“After all these years and so much effort, you’ve finally joined me on the dark side…get it? Dark side? Star Wars—”
“I will shoot you,” she snapped.
“You do know that threat becomes less menacing each time you shoot me.” I replied with a slight smile.
“How about you stop making me threaten you?”
“How about you just tell me what’s wrong the first time I ask?”
“How about listening when I say nothing is wrong?” I could tell from the look in her eyes she was bothered.
“So, nothing is wrong?”
“That’s what I said.”
“So why were you glaring at the walls?”
“I wasn’t glaring.”
“You were glaring. I know, I saw you; you didn’t see yourself.”
She exhaled. “Liam, I was just thinking.”
“About?”
“Must I share all my thoughts with you?”
“No, but it would be so fucking helpful, baby.” I winked and prepared to duck just in case.
“You aren’t going to leave me alone until you find out, are you?” she questioned.
I lifted my glass to her. “Bingo.”
She huffed. “Of all the men in the world I could have I ended up with…I got you.”
“Aren’t you lucky? Who else would be able to—”
“Careful with your next sentence, husband.” her eyes narrowing as she crossed her arms.
I grinned and let it go. Handing her a glass, I looked to her now. “You’ve been deep in thought all day. What is it? Seriously? I know if it were serious enough to actually be a concern, I would already know. But even small problems are worth my attention.”
“I didn’t tell you because you are going to blow me off,” she grumbled, finishing off the rest of her brandy. She made a face. She hated it but nevertheless drank it whenever I gave it to her.
“Try me anyway.”
“Fine,” she stated, lifting her phone for me to see.
I read the message but didn’t understand. “What does some random plane ticket have to do with us?”
“Look at the name.”
I checked it again. “Calliope Affini? Who is that, and why do we care?”
“Remember that little girl I was speaking to at Wyatt and Dona’s birthday party?”
I thought back, vaguely remembering, even though it was only a few days ago. We’d spoken to so many useless people that they all blurred together.
“The little girl Ethan was in the bathroom with?” she added.