Page 15 of Fallen Empire (The Fallen Trilogy #2)

Jaxson

The room was too quiet.

Savannah’s breathing had evened out, soft and steady beneath the low rhythm of monitors that once pulsed with panic.

It wasn’t long before Millie had passed out on the sofa, exhaustion finally taking over.

Ben stood near the window, arms crossed, watching the world outside like he was ready to take on whatever threat might dare slip through the glass.

And I sat still.

Silent.

Suffocating.

Because even with her waking up, even with her eyes finding mine again, the war wasn’t over. Not the one I’d started. Not the one waiting outside this room.

Nic’s words from earlier should’ve given me peace. She’d said the note was left before we tracked Savannah down. Before we’d taken out Bruce’s little army.

But what if she was wrong? What if someone got away?

We hadn’t left any of them breathing, but what if we’d missed one? Someone who slipped through while we were too busy watching our worlds fall apart.

Within the mafia world, I was no one. Just a ghost in the dark.

Our missions were off the books, our names erased before we ever left the ground.

But if Costa was sniffing around?

He’d find me.

He might not know the name Jaxson Westbrook…

But he knew Knox.

And if he’d seen the tabloids—seen my face beside hers—it wouldn’t take him long.

I’d have to tell Ben.

Because when Costa came, and I knew he would, he wouldn’t pull punches. He’d lay every card I’d ever hidden on the table.

And if Ben heard it from anyone but me, I’d lose him.

Didn’t matter how many lives we’d saved side by side.

That kind of betrayal would cut deep.

I wasn’t stupid.

If they figured out I was the one who crippled their pipeline—the one who dismantled the flow of cash and cargo they built their empires on—

And then found out she was still alive?

They’d come for her.

Because I made one fatal move.

I let them see what she meant to me.

And now, they knew—

She’s the only thing I couldn’t afford to lose.

I swallowed the bile rising in my throat, jaw tight as I leaned forward, elbows digging into my knees. My fingers itched to reach for her again, to brush her hair from her face or whisper something that would keep her anchored to this side of consciousness. But I couldn’t.

Not after what the doctor said. Not when even my touch could cause more damage.

I had already done enough.

My world was coming back to life, and I didn’t know if I’d just handed it over to the wolves.

Ben’s gaze flicked toward me. Sharp. Silent.

He didn’t speak. He didn’t have to.

He knew there was something I wasn’t saying. And I could feel it. The pressure building between us like a loaded gun waiting to go off.

Eventually, I’d tell him everything.

But for now, I could settle for telling him who Alex Cox really was, and pray it bought me enough time to figure out how the hell I was going to explain what I’d been up to these past few days.

If Nic’s fury was any indication, telling Ben would probably end with a fist to my face.

The door creaked open before the weight of guilt could crush me completely.

Nic stepped in, two to-go bags in hand and a look on her face that made one thing clear.

This wasn’t just about bringing back food. Not even close.

Her face morphed into normalcy the second she realized Ben was still in the room.

But he hadn’t missed it.

The man could be surrounded by a hundred people and still catch the one thing that didn’t belong. I knew it. She knew it.

“Grabbed a sub,” she said casually, walking a bag toward me. “Figured the bread would help fill you up.”

“Thanks,” I muttered, nodding as I took it, trying to avoid the heat rolling off Ben’s stare. I didn’t have to look up to know he was pissed.

“Holy shit,” Nic whispered. Her eyes were locked on Savannah. I followed her gaze.

“She’s going to pull through, isn’t she?”

“I sure as fuck hope so,” I said, voice low. “She’s fighting like hell in there.”

“Cut the fucking shit,” Ben snapped. His voice cracked through the room like glass under pressure, sharp and ready to shatter. “Tell me what the hell is going on. Now. Before I start tearing it out of both of you.”

Nic didn’t flinch. She just stayed where she was, jaw tight, eyes on Savannah.

But I felt it—the shift. The leash was off. Ben wasn’t waiting anymore.

I started to speak, but Nic beat me to the punch.

“Alex left the note.”

My eyes shot to Savannah—nothing. No twitch. She was still out cold.

“There’s a little more to it,” I added, forcing the words out. “Nic found out his real name. She can fill you in on it… just not here.”

I nodded toward Millie, hoping the implication was enough. She was curled up on the sofa, breathing steady, her hand still loosely draped off the side toward Savannah’s bed.

Ben’s jaw flexed. He didn’t take his eyes off me, but he didn’t push it.

“When the two of you finish eating, we can take a walk,” he said.

And for the first time ever, I felt the final warning of Benjamin Ford. No wonder Millie hated it when he used that voice on her. I wanted to fucking punch him.

Truth was, he was my best friend, and I wasn’t planning on leaving him in the dark. Not completely. Just dimming the lights a little.

“Sure,” I muttered, forcing a nod. “I need to stretch anyway.”

Finishing my food would buy me a little time to figure out what I was and wasn’t ready to tell him.

Ben didn’t say another word. He just gave a short, clipped nod and turned back toward the window, resuming his post like he hadn’t just shaken the ground beneath us.

Nic stood quietly, tossing her trash in the small bin by the door before settling into the chair beside Savannah. She folded her arms across her chest, pulled her legs in, and pretended she wasn’t part of the storm brewing around us. But we all knew better. She was in it as deep as the rest of us.

I picked at the last bite of my sandwich, not because I was hungry, but because it gave me something to do, something to ground me while the weight of what came next threatened to crush me.

Every bite bought me seconds. Every second gave me just a little more time to decide what the hell I was going to say to the man who’d risked his life for mine more times than I could count.

Because whatever I said next—it would matter.

Ben wasn’t just a teammate. He wasn’t just my second set of eyes or backup when things went sideways.

He was family. And if I lost him, I’d lose more than just protection.

Millie and Nic would bleed for Savannah—I never doubted that.

But Ben? He’d bleed for me too. And right now, with everything closing in, I needed him more than I wanted to admit.

I glanced at her, still asleep, still fighting. Her chest rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm beneath the blanket. There was strength in that softness, a kind of defiance even in unconsciousness. She wasn’t giving up.

And neither could I.

I forced the last bite down and wiped my hands on a napkin, the sound of crinkling paper filling the silence.

I stood slowly, brushing the crumbs from my lap and tossing the napkin into the bin beside Nic.

She didn’t look up, but her fingers tapped once against her arm. Almost like a silent good luck .

I didn’t need words. I needed strength.

I headed toward the door, and just like I knew he would, Ben followed.

“How bad is it?” he asked once we were outside.

“It could be worse,” I muttered.

“It could always be worse. That’s not what I’m asking.”

I let out a breath. “Nic ran the footage. Alex left the note for me, but it was before Savannah went missing.”

Ben furrowed his brows but kept pace beside me. “The night at the hospital,” he said, snapping his fingers. “Had to be then.”

I shook my head. “He should’ve been locked up.”

“He wasn’t,” he added. “Didn’t even get fingerprinted.”

I stopped cold. “What the fuck do you mean he never got fingerprinted?”

“He knew someone. Or someone knew him. Either way… you know how that shit goes.”

“Fuck…” I dragged both hands down my face, the weight of it all sinking in.

“Jax, man. Shit like that happens all the time. You should be used to it by now.”

I shut my eyes, trying to summon whatever strength I had left—because I was close to unraveling.

Ben’s voice dipped lower, deadlier. “What the fuck aren’t you saying?”

I turned toward him, met his eyes without blinking.

“Alex Cox isn’t his real name,” I said quietly. “It’s Aleksei Koslov.”

Ben froze mid-step, waiting for me to continue.

“He’s the new head of the Russian Mafia. Took control after a brutal coup—his own brother didn’t make it. Nic can fill you in on the rest.”

Silence. Heavy. Loaded.

When Ben finally spoke, his voice was flat. “Why the hell would he care about Savannah? Bruce’s operation was child’s play compared to what the Russians are running. We’ve seen it. We’ve beat it.”

I nodded slowly, the weight of what I was about to say pressing against my chest like a fucking boulder. I didn’t have to tell him about Costa. That threat hadn’t touched him. Yet.

But I had to give him the truth.

“He doesn’t care about her,” I said, my voice low. “Not directly.”

Ben’s jaw ticked. “Then who?”

“Me.”

The word was bare. Stripped of everything but the truth.

“Only he doesn’t know it yet.”

Ben narrowed his eyes. “What the fuck do you mean? And I’ll say this once—you better tell me everything. Because I’m not losing someone else because you waited until it was too damn late.”

Fair shot. I deserved it for keeping him out. For keeping Nic out.

“He wants the person who shut off his cash flow.”

Ben didn’t speak. He just stared—watching me like he was trying to read between the lines I hadn’t drawn yet.

“I’m the reason Sinclair Holdings is underwater,” I said finally.

“I’ve been dismantling it piece by piece since they hauled her off in a chopper.

Since I watched her take her last breath.

That much blood... no one survives that.

So I didn’t wait. I started burning it all down.

The operation was still running without Bruce. I had to. For her legacy.”

I swallowed hard. “Koslov was one of the men who lost everything because of it. Collateral damage I hadn’t considered.”

“Jesus Christ...” Ben exhaled. “And now she’s fucking pulling through.”

“I couldn’t see past the tubes wrapped around her body when I started it four days ago.”

“And what happens now?” I could feel the rage building in his chest—like he was barely keeping it down. “What happens when he fucking finds out she isn’t dead?”

“He’ll come for her.”

There was no sugarcoating it. No sidestepping the truth. A man like Aleksei Koslov didn’t back down. He didn’t wait. He eradicated.

He’s not driven by pride or vengeance. He’s driven by order. His order. His world runs on fear, built on precision and silence. When something breaks that silence, he doesn’t make noise.

He makes an example.

The kind that ends with a body on display and a message carved into the bones.

“He doesn’t give a shit about revenge,” I added, eyes locked on the floor. “He wants to make sure anyone who dares cross him gets a final warning,loud and clear.”

Ben walked through the opening to the lounge and dropped into the first seat he found. His hands ran through his hair, his leg bouncing beneath the weight of what I’d just told him. He hadn’t stopped shaking his head since I laid it all out.

The silence between us thickened—tight, suffocating, waiting to break.

“And Nic knows all of this?”

“She’s the one who told me who he was. I had no clue. Not sure it would’ve made a difference at the time.”

And it wouldn’t have.

I didn’t give a shit whose empire I was burning to the ground, not when I thought I’d lost her. I would’ve set the whole fucking world on fire if it meant avenging the woman I loved.

But now… now that I’d seen her fight to come back, part of me wished I’d believed in her strength a little more. Wished I hadn’t let the rage lead the way.

“We need to be ahead of him when he comes.”

Ben’s words hit me like a punch to the ribs—sharp, unexpected, and hard to recover from.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t fucking play dumb. I’m not in the mood.”

I sat down beside him, shoulders heavy. “I’m not asking you to fight a war I started.”

“Jaxson,” he said, eyes locking on mine, “when the fuck have you ever had to ask me to do anything?”

I paused, letting that settle. Years of missions flashed behind my eyes. Silent glances, unsaid promises, blood spilled in places no one knew we’d been. He was right.

I’d never asked.

He just went.

Because that’s who Benjamin Ford was—protector first, soldier second.

A man who didn’t wait for permission to fight.

He was born for survival, hardwired to recognize threats before they formed and eliminate them without hesitation.

When others hesitated, Ben struck. Fast. Lethal. Controlled chaos wrapped in calm.

But this time, it felt different.

“Why?” I asked, voice quieter than before.

He didn’t answer right away. Just shook his head slowly, the movement so subtle I almost missed it.

“Because you’re not the only one with something to lose.”