American Savages by J. J. McAvoy
I looked over to see what else there was and laughed. He had, for the first time ever, written out his rules for me.
She folded the letter and I stared at Ethan as he licked his lips. As I brushed his hair back, and he grabbed onto my hands. The pain was still there, but the rage eclipsed it.
“Tomorrow we start again,” I told her.
“Tomorrow,” she agreed.
TWENTY-NINE
“Heroes don't exist. And if they did, I wouldn't be one of them.”
—Brodi Ashton
PRESIDENT COLEMEN
I wanted to hate them, but how could I when I’d sold my soul? Every time I entered my office, the office of all offices, I saw their faces, I heard their voices.
Puppet. They’d called me, and it was true. For months, I had almost forgotten how I’d gotten here. It was simple enough with one of them locked away in jail and the other God only knew where. Now that they were back, my life’s purpose seemed to require me to honor them and smile for them. What was worse was the fact that people truly believed in them. They were the like the Kennedys, the Vanderbilts, or the Rockefellers.
The Constitution stated that “no title of nobility shall be granted by the United States,” and yet the Callahans were a family like no other. They were a dynasty, and while historians will tell you that that doesn’t last, they are wrong. Dynasties had a way of fading into the darkness, making you believe they aren’t there until they came back with a vengeance.
I had always believed the Callahans were like roaches. Their money was stained with blood and drugs…but it was money all the same. And when my Olivia met Neal, I just knew that there would be a price to pay. But I also knew that she, and our family, would be taken care of. I hated the Callahans, but I hated the fact that I needed them more. Being “the most powerful man in the world” came at a price, and it when this ended, I would be able to relax again.
“Mr. President,” Mina said as she strutted in as usual, smartphone in hand.
“No more press conferences.” I groaned as I leaned back into my chair.
“Actually, the Director of the FBI is here. He wishes to have a word with you,” she answered.
I knew the Callahans had some kind of vendetta against the man, but I had no idea why. The poor schmuck was probably clueless as to why the whole world was spiraling out of control and was now worried about his job.
“I thought I told him to go to Turkey?” I questioned.
She nodded. “I’ll send him in.”
Sighing, I stood up behind my desk and straightened my tie as he came in with his hands in his pockets. His head was held high, and he seemed to command an air of importance.
“Mr. Doers, I thought you would have been on a plane by now.” I extended my hand towards him, but he did not take it. Instead, he looked around the Oval Office as if he were picking out something he wanted to take with him.
He ran his hand over the blue vase and then checked for dust. “How are you liking your office, Mr. President?” he asked as he moved to the couches and took a seat. Undoing his jacket button, he crossed his legs and faced me.
“It’s growing on me.”
He nodded before he got back up. “Well, it was nice speaking with you.”
“Wait, you came all this way to ask me how I’m liking the Oval Office?” Of all the things we should have been discussing right about now, that had to have been the lowest on the list.
He paused. “No. I simply wanted to see the monkey dressed in a suit who thought he could give me orders.”
“Excuse me?” He had crossed the line. “It’s time you fell in line—”
“Or what? You’ll call your sugar-daddies on me?” he snickered. “This house, hell this damn country, may be under the impression that you run things, but we both know that you are not even capable of thinking for yourself. You aren’t going to fire me, and not because you do not want to give into terrorists but because you’ve been ordered not to. You are a monkey in suit who does not deserve this office and the trust of the people who serve you. I have dedicated my life to ensuring that the filth remains on the street and out of this house, out of this government, yet here you are, swimming in it and stinking up the place. I’m going to destroy your people, and then you’re going to fade away as the worst president in history. I only came here today to get the mental before-picture.”
Enough. I’d had enough of these goddamn people talking to me as though I were a fucking child.
“I am the President of the goddamn country and you work for me, Director Doers. Whatever war you started with the Callahans needs to end. Kiss the damn ring and move on. People are dying—”
“I do not give a damn about the people,” he said emotionlessly. “I care about order, about balance, about the damn republic. Melody and Liam Callahan are not gods. They are men, men who should not be able to have the world turning at their feet. Somehow these young, reckless, hubris children have gone from selling crack off the streets to having the President of the United States in their back pocket. You think I started a war? A war was going to come no matter what. The Callahans won’t stop; they do not understand their place in the world, and the stronger they become, the more they forget that they too can bleed. A lesson I have just now started to impart on you.”
It clicked in my mind so quickly that my face dropped in shock.
“You killed Sedric Callahan.”
Again, he looked unfazed. It was as though the man had no emotion within him at all. I was staring at a shell of a man…at a dark figure…at death.
“I’m restoring order, and I shall not stop until they are gone…down to that little half-cast child of theirs.” Moving over to the vase again, he picked it up and allowed it shatter against the floor.
“By the way, you might want to ask them about what happened to your daughter,” he said as he wiped his hands and turned to leave. He opened the door and there stood Mina. She glanced up at him and immediately backed up out of his way.
“Get me in touch with Olivia, now,” I snapped at her.
She nodded already dialing.
It rang.
And rang.
And fucking rang.
It was all I could hear in the background of my mind as I tried to remember the last time I had spoken to her.
THIRTY
“I'm a fighter. I believe in the eye-for-an-eye business. I'm no cheek turner. I got no respect for a man who won't hit back.
You kill my dog, you better hide your cat.”
—Muhammad Ali
MELODY
“BREAKING NEWS: It is with great sadness that we report to you that the kidnapped FBI Agent, Rebecca Pierce, has been killed. Her dismembered head was discovered at the feet of the Lincoln Memorial statue by two passersby who immediately alerted the authorities. The rest of her body has yet been to be found. The FBI is now attempting to go through surveillance footage for any possible leads, however it seems that all cameras in and around the area had been disabled at the time of the event. How could this possibly happen? Now with our senior analysis…”
I stared at the television not really listening to the gibberish and fake sympathy that poured from the reporter’s lips. Turning away from it, I watched as Liam walked into my closet and flipped over the rack of my clothes to get to my secret stash of guns. He placed two of them at his back and slipped a knife into his shoe. I wasn't one hundred percent on board with his plan. However, I was going to have to give him this.
We’d arrived back in D.C. this morning, with Neal and Declan. Fedel and Kain had stayed behind in Chicago with Coraline, Evelyn, and Ethan.
Evelyn had spent most of her days in bed, or organizing things. She had been the hardest one to convince to move into the safe house. I had them all underground, and none of them were coming out until this was over. Liam had Fedel replicate Evelyn’s room in the safe house.
Our house in Washington had become a command center. All the furniture had been pushed aside to make room
Placing the brass knuckles in his pocket, Liam put his hat on his head as he stepped forward.
Pulling me to him, he kissed me hard with his hands on my waist and cheek. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him back before I pulled away. He did this now, every time we were splitting up for a few hours; he would kiss me as though it were the last time we would ever see each other. I hated it and loved it, all at the same time.
“Have fun at lunch,” I said to him as he moved around me and out the door.
“I plan on it,” he replied.
Shaking my head, I grabbed a pair of pearls and black pumps. Stepping out into the living room where Declan had set up four computers, I looked over the screens. All of them contained lines and lines of coding. He had been there for the last five hours, and though he was dressed well, the bags under his eyes proved how he was dealing with things.
I understood how they felt, but I was starting to grow tired of mothering them. Heading to the kitchen, I grabbed an apple, a pre-made sandwich, and a bottle of water before I walked over and handed it to Declan. As he looked up at me, my phone beeped, notifying me that my car was here.
“I’m not hungry.”
“I don’t give a fuck. I’m not burying another one of you, nor do I want you to fuck up my plan. Let’s go.”
Rolling his eyes, he grabbed the sandwich and followed me out the front door. “I have the list and the photos. When do you want to release this?”
“Let’s wait until Liam and Neal return,” I replied.
I glared at the driver as Declan sat up front beside him. I disliked switching people even though they were in-house.
Note to self: visit Monte.
The streets passed by in a blur of colors, and as I leaned back, I thought about how I had spent the last few days hacking and rerouting IP address across three different continents, just so I could go through FBI files and find every undercover cop and informant across the country. All of their photos, old and new, had been compiled into a three part video that Rsamas would be releasing tonight. And by tomorrow morning, there would be blood flowing through the streets.
“I’ll have the message sent out in as many languages as possible,” Declan said as he typed on his laptop, and I joined him by pulling out my tablet and reading through the chat rooms.
“Apparently they’ve gained a few thousand followers. Who would’ve guessed?” You could always count on people’s hatred to propel bad news. On top of that, the actual Rsamas had already taken credit for our actions within these chat rooms. We needed to keep tabs on them; if I could’ve found them in less than an hour, the FBI could of as well. Declan and I had spent half the night making sure they weren’t tracked…yet. There was a time and place for these idiots to be caught, and now was not that time.
“We’re here, ma’am,” the driver said as he pulled up to the gate. Parking the car, he came around and opened the door for me as Declan handed me my sunglasses. There were only a few photographers outside with flashing lights, and I smiled and waved to them as Declan and I walked through security. Outside the gate, the guards checked through bags and scanned our clothing. Usually we could walk right through as family.
They wanded us both, and when I showed them my ID, the guard shook his head.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but you haven’t been cleared,” the fat guard stated as he handed me back my purse.
“I’m sorry?” I said slowly as I stared at him.
“No one gets into the White House without being cleared.” He pointed to the checklist.
“May I ask who forgot to place the President’s family on the list?” I asked him again fighting to keep my smile in place.
He frowned and shrugged. “Ma’am, I don’t make the rules. The FBI gave me the rules. I’m sure it was a mistake.”
My jaw tightened as I glared at him, trying my best not to bash his head in with my phone.
“They’ve been cleared,” Mina stated as she walked up to us.
“I have to get a call—”
Mina dialed and he answered his phone inside his small white booth.
“The Callahans have been cleared,” she said into the phone and the man nodded.
Moving forward, I shook my head. Walking into the White House was like walking into a newsroom. Members of the White House press corps were moving all over the place. They were reading, recording, and trying to get any information they could out of anyone who would talk to them. However, no official seemed to pay any of them a second mind.
“As you can see, our house is on fire,” Mina frowned as she continued walking through.
“It’s only temporary,” Declan reminded her coldly.
She faced him, eyebrow raised, but didn’t say a word. Then she tuned to face me. “Just so you know, Avian came by earlier.”
“Let me guess, he wasn’t going down without a fight?” I asked as we headed to the Oval Office.
“You knew he wouldn’t?”
“I was counting on it.”
I smiled at the President’s secretary who nodded for us to head in from behind her phone. She looked stressed out as she fielded calls.
“We have a press conference in two hours; please don’t tear into him too badly today,” Mina said with a sigh as she pushed open the door.
I looked her over for the first time; she was the only one who didn’t seem stressed or worried. It was like she was going through the motions. In fact, she looked pretty.
“You and I are due for a chat,” I told her, and fought back a smirk when I saw fear flash through her eyes.
“Mr. President, First Lady,” Declan stated as we walked in.
They both stood near the desk.
“Where is Olivia?” the First Lady yelled as she rushed to me and grabbed onto my arm with her long, painted nails. “What did you do to our daughter? I know you did something! Oh my God, I knew something was wrong.”
My very first instinct was to break her bloody hand, but for now I needed them on our goddamn side.
I shook my head at her and whispered in a shaky voice, “She…she’s dead.”
“Oh…oh…oh my God,” she gasped as her body went weak.
I grabbed onto her as she broke down in sobs. I glared at Declan who looked more bored than sorry, until he finally gave in and took her out of my arms. Then I turned to face Colemen.
He was a statue with tears building in his eyes; they must have burned as he glared at me in pure hatred.
“You did this, you killed her.”
I frowned. I wished I had killed her. “No. No, I promise you that I didn’t.”
“You’re lying!” he screamed at me.
Walking over to him, I took his hands and stared into his eyes. “I swear to you, I did not kill her. And in all of the time that we’ve known each other, have I ever lied to you? I’ve always told you the truth even when you did not want to hear it. Olivia was family, and even though she betrayed us, we would never kill family.”
“What do you mean betrayed you?” the Jackie Kennedy wannabe called from behind me as she sat on the couch.
Declan simply stood at her side. So much for comforting her.
Sighing, I faced her as well. “She was working with Avian, he hates this family, and when we found out, we used her to get Intel on him. But when he found out, he killed her…the things he did to her. He sent us a message regarding her fate the same time he sent us one about Sedric. We only just found out, that’s why we came here. He came to visit you, right? He told you?”
Fake tears built in my eyes as I stared at him.
He nodded. “He asked me if I had spoken to her.”
“He was messing with you. He wants to break you. He’s sick, he wants to be the strongest guy in the room, and your daughter, my sister-in-law, got in his way.”
“You got us into t
“Avian will pay for this, I swear to God he will pay for trying to destroying your family—our family. We just need your help.” I looked into Colemen’s eyes. “She was your only child, and he did not even give us enough to bury her.”
“Get out,” he snapped at me. The tears fell from his eyes as he went to hold his wife.
“I’m so sorry. I’ve already handled all the details, and when you’re ready to talk, please call me…I know you need time. We all need time. But time is not on our side,” I whispered to them, as I turned back to the door where Declan stood.
Closing the door behind us he shook his head in mock disgust. “How do you fake your emotions without making yourself sick?”
“By remembering that there is a bigger plan. We need them, and they need an enemy. Avian did what I thought he was going to do. A man like him would never just leave, and he would damn sure make that clear.” I wiped the leftover tears from my eyes with ease.
“How did you know that Avian knew about Olivia?” he asked as we walked down the hall once again.
“Olivia hasn’t spoken to him in days, and she wasn’t in any of the paparazzi photos at the funeral. He would’ve put the two and two together, and knowing him, he couldn’t wait to use that to hurt Colemen for trying to push him out.” He thought that no one would be able to track him, but surprise, bitch, I was a people hunter. He thought like me, or I thought like him, maybe it was just in our blood. Either way, I was going to do everything in my power to keep the upper hand.
LIAM
There had to be at least fifty people within the restaurant, all of whom were talking, laughing, and going about their business as though nothing could interrupt their special day. However, I was deaf to it all. I could see their mouths, filled with food, in some cases laughing outright. I knew they were there, but they didn't matter to me. Each step across the beige marbled floor led me closer and closer to him. I could feel my pulse quicken and my hands twitched with the need to strangle him. I wanted to rip his intestines out of his ass and shove them back down his throat.