him could peel paint. He pretends not to notice, as usual. Easier to act like he doesn’t hear me than openly defy my orders.
“What exactly is it that Callum wants?” I clarify, splaying my fingers out on the surface of the counter. Those blue eyes of his stare right back at me, promising that if I mess this thing up, he won’t be such a tame puppy for me anymore. Maybe Bernadette can’t see it, but I know, always have known. Callum Park is a nightmare in dreamlike clothing.
He smiles at me, but I stand my ground.
“You know what I want, Victor. It’s what I’ve always wanted: Bernadette.”
Cal’s statement ripples through the six of us, making me grit my teeth. His blue eyes are locked on mine, watching, waiting. I don’t doubt that I could bring the other guys to heel. It’s what I do; I’m the motherfucking boss.
The thing is, I love them. They’re my brothers. My family.
I look at Bernadette and find her studying Oscar, of all people, like she’s waiting for a statement from him. He gives her nothing, as usual, pushing his glasses up his nose. I think that out of all of us, he’s disappointed at seeing her here, crawling on her belly in a nest of vipers. We are all snakes now.
“Whatever your conclusion, Victor,” Oscar begins, turning back to me with that stoic mask of his in place. His mouth is a flat line, his eyes as gray as the ocean in a storm. “Make your mind up, and do it quickly, so we can move on. As entertaining as romantic entanglements can be, we have life or death business on our roster.”
“Is that how you really feel?” Bernie asks him, frowning hard, nostrils flared with anger. I can see her hands tightening into fists where they rest on the counter. My eyes lift to hers, and I see that Oscar’s hurt her. Makes me want to wring his neck, to be fucking honest with ya. “Let Vic decide, move on. Business as usual.”
“Were you expecting something different?” Oscar asks, setting his iPad on the counter. If I know him—and I do—he’s going to wait until everyone else is asleep before he eats anything. He’ll do it in the dark, by himself, because god forbid we see him with a bit of sauce on his lips or crumbs on his shirt. He’s never wanted to be human. Fucking Bernadette the way he did? That proves he is and he hates it.
“When I said you owe me a blowie, what I meant was that I’m now officially single and unattached so …” Hael inserts, and I grit my teeth.
“And Bernadette Channing is a married woman.” I step back from the counter, my eyes finding Aaron’s. He’s been awfully quiet, but that won’t last. He’s only going to keep his tongue for so long before he challenges me. If he does, I’ll have to put him in his place, and I don’t want to do that.
You have two choices, Victor, I tell myself as I stare at Aaron. Choose Bernie for yourself or choose Havoc.
There has only ever been one appropriate choice.
“When you’ve been lied to by everyone around you, when you have nothing else, you realize the one currency you can carry is truth. So a single word does have meaning. A promise does hold importance. And a pact is worth carrying to the grave.”
My own words echo around inside my head, a reminder that when we laid out Bernie’s price, I said our girl. A Havoc Girl. I am as bound and beholden to that price as she is.
She cannot belong to me and me alone while I still hold the reigns of this family. Those things are mutually exclusive.
Just … I can’t make any changes today.
I am not ready today.
“She’s a married woman, and this is my honeymoon. I am done discussing this shit tonight.” I gesture with my chin toward the stairs. “Let’s go, Bern.” She tears her gaze away from Oscar like she’d just as soon slit his fucking throat.
“You’re right: we can talk about it later,” Aaron agrees, while still also managing to be an asshole. I resist the urge to flip him off. I gave Bernadette to him to take care of once. Nobody can ever say that I didn’t try. I did. I left her alone. I gave her away. I pushed her away. Yet, here she is.