Pulling up to the restaurant, an unsettling feeling overcame me, I had a bad feeling about tonight. I brushed it off, fixing my make-up quickly before climbing out of my car. I wore a long flowing, red dress with a long slit on the side, accompanied by my black-heeled stilettoes (curtesy of Evie). I smiled over at the waiter as I approached the counter.
"Hi, I'm looking for reservations for a Rowan Hingers" I asked politely.
"Oh yes of course, right this way" he stuttered before guiding me to a table in the function room.
The waiter's eye fell to the ground as he stopped at the opening, I glanced at him questionably before understanding why he was so nervous. Sitting in front of us at a circular table was Logan, Leo, Rhea, Trent, Lola, Marcus and finally Rowan. I noticed that there was a vacant seat between Rhea and Rowan and I assumed it was mine. Alerted to my presence, Rowan hopped out of his seat, kissing me on the cheek in greeting before pulling out my chair for me, his eyes downcast.
"Ah Lucy, so glad you could join us" Logan exclaimed, a smirk on his face.
"Always a pleasure to be invited" I responded, smiling although it probably looked more like a grimace.
I could feel all of their eyes on me as I took my seat, smiling slightly over at Rhea who hesitated before nodding back briefly.
"Well please, help yourself to some wine" he finished, his eyes slightly narrowed.
I nodded in greeting towards the other members before taking a slight sip of wine from my glass.
"I trust business is good?" Logan asked suddenly, looking over towards Trent who nodded slightly, his arm slung across the back of Lola's chair.
"Business is booming as usual, of course it would be better if those damn Ravens stayed on their own territory" he muttered to Logan who nodded in response.
"My dear Lucy" he began, his voice slightly cold. "Tell us a bit about yourself?"
I tensed as the attention was once again drawn to me, I straightened my posture before plastering a fake smile on my face.
"There's not much to tell" I spoke, adding a slight laugh at the end for added affect.
"Oh please, I highly doubt that, after all you caught Rowan's attention" he smirked.
"Well...I grew up in a loving family, unfortunately I wasn't blessed with any siblings" I smiled sarcastically, sparing a glance at Leo.
"It truly is a blessing, isn't it Leo?" he asked, gesturing towards his brother.
Leo nodded his head, a slight smile on his face before he took a drink of wine. It was as though no one dared to speak at the table, only waiting for Logan's approval before speaking.
"Unfortunately, not every sibling is a blessing" he spoke as though heartbroken. "After all, just look at my traitorous brother Rin"
Everyone at the table tensed at the name, especially Leo while Rhea glared over at Logan.
"I'd say he was a gift to the family" Rhea finally spoke, defending Rin.
Logan glared over at her while Leo tensed as she spoke. Logan and Rhea glared sharply at each other, their eyes narrowed as hatred practically flowed between them.
"It seems you still haven't gained control of your woman" Logan bit out, his glare not leaving Rhea.
"Logan, I'd appreciate it if you could refrain from insulting my wife" Leo growled in Rhea's defense despite avoiding eye contact with Logan.
"Women are better off seen, not heard" Logan finished before sipping his wine, ignoring Rhea's glare.
"I'd have to disagree with that" Rhea said, her head held high in defiance. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to the bathroom"
Rhea stood up, grabbing her purse before marching off. I watched as she walked, aware of how this could work in my favour. I quickly gathered my purse before excusing myself, aware of Logan's piercing gaze on my back. Entering the bathroom, I was struck by excessively bright lights and a strong lavender smell.
"Are you okay?" I asked, meeting her eyes in the mirror as she fixed her lipstick.
She let out a short laugh before putting her lipstick away and turning to face me. Frustration was clearly expressed on her face.
"I could strangle him" she started, grumbling slightly to herself.
"He can't be that bad" I said, treadling lightly, unsure if I could place my trust in her.
"Oh you don't know the half of it" she muttered while washing her hands. "Just watch your back, there's a reason we're called the Pythons"
I monitored her behavior, she was nervous. I nodded slightly as she gathered her stuff before following behind as she walked out and back to the table. The conversations were limited when we got back to the table as Logan glanced from Rhea to me.
"I trust in the time you took to go to the bathroom you learnt your place" Logan spoke as he smiled over at Rhea.
"Logan please" Leo cut in, his gaze fixed firmly on Logan as he glanced over at him.
"Finally growing a back bone there Leo" Logan laughed, patting Leo on the back but you could sense the hostility.
"Oh stop belittling everyone" Rhea growled out.
"Enough Rhea" Trent barked out.
"Yeah, learn your place" Lola added, voicing her support.
"Oh my apologies, not all of us are compliant lap dogs" Rhea argued back.
"Shut up Rhea! You're just jealous that you're nothing in this gang, you're only here because of him" Trent yelled back, pointing a finger at Leo who glared in response.
"Guys, I think you should calm down" I tried, playing peace-maker only to have Marcus intervene.
"You stay out of this! Who the hell invited you here anyway?!" Marcus shouted, joining into the argument.
"Leave her alone man, she's mine!" Rowan argued, his arm wrapping around my shoulders.
"I don't know what your problem is, you've been a bitch ever since Rin passed" Lola growled out at Rhea, drawing everyone's attention.
"Don't you dare bring Rin into this!" Rhea yelled back, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at Lola while fury grew alight in her eyes. "You didn't know him like I did"
"It's not my fault he didn't know a thing about loyalty" Lola said, crossing her arms.
"Loyalty...you want to talk about loyalty?" Rhea screeched before turning her fury towards Logan who had remained silent during the argument. "You know what you've done and I'll never forgive you for it. How dare you ask Leo to do such a task! How dare you sit there after what you did! You're nothing more than a bastard child that took all of Rin's hard work and for what?" she growled lowly, finally silencing the argument as the tension in the room suddenly increased.
"Rhea, I think that's enough" Leo quietly said, as he laid a hand on her arm, trying to prevent Rhea from continuing but she wasn't finished.
"He welcomed you into the family, he loved you and put his back on the line for you more times than you can count and this is how you tarnish his memory!" She continued, her hands slightly shaking in anger as silent tears ran down her face.
"Well maybe if he hadn't turned his back on the family and wasn't so involved with that tramp- "Logan started before being cut off again by Rhea.
"Well then why didn't you get rid of her instead!?" Rhea asked in anger.
"She will be taken care of" Logan spoke while he clenched his fists.
"What are you going to do it this time?" Rhea asked with thick sarcasm in her voice.
I could practically see the steam coming out of Logan's ears as he kept his glare on Rhea. I could feel the strong tension and was unsure if I should excuse myself from the table.
"Everyone but you two get out" he commanded quietly, pointing his finger at Rhea and Leo.
No body moved to begin with, unsure if we should after what we had just witnessed.
"GET OUT!" Logan screamed, as everyone quickly shuffled to leave the room.
I spared a glance back towards the room, my eyes meeting Rhea's before I quickly shuffled out the door. I didn't even wait for Rowan as I quickly got in my car, slightly shocked at the revelations that were shouted tonight. I could feel my eyes narrow as I recalled what had been yelled...I now knew who I had to take out.