Page 37 of Fallen Empire (The Fallen Trilogy #2)

Millie laughed at the sight. “Oh, Vannah… what have you gotten yourself into?”

“Just find something comfortable,” I muttered, already dreading whatever emotional damage she’d inflict with her sarcasm.

She opened a few drawers before landing on one filled with T-shirts and sweats. Pulling out a pair of each, she grabbed a clean pair of panties and dangled them from her finger with a grin.

“You’re going to have to get out of those things they put you in. Want a bath? I can help you in.”

I glanced toward the massive tub, and God, did I want to soak for hours. But I shook my head. I knew my limits, and that was pushing them.

“Maybe tonight,” I said softly. “Think I can stand long enough to rinse off in the shower? I just want the hospital smell off me.”

“Absolutely.” She laid my clothes on the counter and opened the shower door to check it out. It was massive. But what made me stop was the sight of a padded stool inside, backed against the side wall, flanked by two sturdy handles.

Large enough to sit on safely.

On the smaller stool beside it were my own hair products and shower gel.

I blinked, caught off guard. “ Seriously ?”

Millie just shrugged. “It’s Jaxson. I don’t know what else you expected.”

“I guess I’ll be finding out,” I said under my breath as I started to step forward.

“Wait, Vannah…”

I looked up. That’s when I saw it—lined neatly across the counter, like a makeshift triage station: waterproof bandages, surgical gauze, ointments, medical tape. Everything you’d need to patch someone up.

“They changed the dressings around your body like clockwork in the hospital,” Millie said, her voice quieter now. “But I don’t think you ever really saw them, did you?”

I didn’t answer, because she was right.

They handled it all while I was hooked up to machines, half-asleep or too numb to care. Normally after my physical therapy sessions and lots of pain medication. I hadn’t seen the full picture because I hadn’t wanted to.

She held up a waterproof covering. “Let’s seal the chest first. Your stitches can’t get wet.”

I nodded, numbly lifting my arms as she applied the first bandage, careful and steady.

She’d placed several more around my body, some in places I couldn’t even see. I nodded when she was finally done. I exhaled slowly, the kind of breath you take before walking into something you know was going to be painful. Necessary, but painful all the same.

“I think I’ve got it from here. I can sit while I clean up.”

“Sure. But I’m not leaving. I’ll be right there.” She pointed to a second stool positioned just outside the glass door—no doubt one he’d placed there so he could be close by when I needed help bathing.

As the warm water rinsed the last of the conditioner from my hair, I leaned my head back and sighed. It felt good to be clean. To feel somewhat human again.

Millie’s voice cut through the steam, casual and soft. “When you get out, I can run and grab us some coffee, if you want. That little cafe down the street has the best breakfast platter. Bacon, eggs, oatmeal…”

My stomach growled so loud I was sure it echoed off the tile.

She laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“That actually sounds amazing,” I admitted, mouth watering. “But you really think the boys will let you out by yourself?”

“I’m not the one on house arrest,” she teased through the door.

Touché.

I turned the knob off and pushed the droplets of water from my face. Within seconds, Millie cracked the shower door open and handed me a towel. The thing swallowed me whole, plush and warm, drying most of my skin in one sweep.

I stepped out carefully, water still dripping from my hair as I scanned the room. “I uhhh…”

Millie didn’t even wait for me to finish. She crouched down and pulled a hair dryer from under the sink, holding it up like it was some kind of prize. “Looking for this?”

“Thanks,” I murmured, walking over.

“Sit down, I’ll get your hair started while you get changed. I’ve already seen you at your worst—don’t worry about modesty now.”

I hesitated.

Just for a second.

Then I nodded, walking over with the towel still wrapped tightly around me.

But as I took the last step and slowly loosened it to pull on the fresh clothes she’d set out, my eyes flicked toward the mirror, and everything stopped.

I saw myself.

All of me.

The bruises had faded to yellow and green, but the scars were everywhere. Jagged reminders of everything I’d survived. The bullet wound in my chest. The angry, healing scrapes on my thigh. The tiny stitches beneath my collarbone.

I dropped the towel the rest of the way and my breath hitched.

Every insecurity I’d ever buried came roaring back at once.

Because my body wasn’t just a war zone anymore…

It was the aftermath.

Millie’s eyes stayed glued to the mirror, watching my reaction. Watching me take in the damage—at the hands of someone else—for the first time.

“He’ll never want me once he sees this.”

I hadn’t meant to say it out loud. But that didn’t make it any less true.

She didn’t flinch. “Savannah, Jaxson sees you the same way I do. You’re remarkable. And your body… it’s not wreckage. It’s a masterpiece. Each scar is a story, a chapter of survival. You’re more beautiful now than you’ve ever been.”

God, I wanted to believe her.

I wanted to hold on to those words more than anything.

But the truth was, my body felt ruined. Foreign. A version of me I didn’t ask for.

I turned away from the mirror. “Can you just… take them off? So I can get dressed?”

I couldn’t bring myself to remove the bandages. I didn’t want to see any more than I already had.

She didn’t argue. Just set the blow dryer down and gently peeled away each one, her hands steady and quiet.

When she was done, I dressed quickly and sat down. She picked the dryer up again and ran it through my hair, soft and slow.

It didn’t take long.

“All done,” she said, wrapping the cord around the handle and sliding it back under the sink.

She never brought up the scars again.

And I was grateful for that.

Millie and I stepped back into the living area, both of us freshly changed and pretending not to carry the weight of what had just happened in the bathroom.

“Took y’all long enough,” Jaxson said, glancing up from the couch. “I was about a minute away from going in there.”

Then his eyes landed on me—and softened.

“You look… beautiful.”

I smiled, barely. But I didn’t let the words settle. He hadn’t seen the same body I had. He hadn’t seen the damage.

“I’m going to grab coffee and breakfast,” Millie announced, heading toward the hallway. “Want anything?”

Jaxson hesitated. “Ben left for the office. He should be back in about thirty. Why don’t you wait for him?”

“Because Ben isn’t my babysitter,” she fired back, not missing a beat.

I made my way back to the sofa and noticed a new blanket already draped over it. He must’ve put it there while we were gone.

He really is amazing.

“Okay, we can order something in,” Jaxson offered, pulling out his phone.

“Jaxson Westbrook,” Millie warned, turning on her heel. “You are not my father. I am going to get breakfast. It’s two blocks down, and I’ll be right back. Don’t tell me I can’t—”

He cut her off before the storm could hit. “Fine. At least call ahead so it doesn’t take as long.”

“I’ll call on the way down.”

They stood toe to toe for a breath, neither backing down, until she finally turned back around and disappeared down the hallway. A moment later, she returned with her purse in one hand and her phone in the other.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, and then she was gone.

Leaving me alone with Jaxson.

“You want some water?” he asked, eyeing me carefully.

I wasn’t sure if he sensed the shift in my mood or if he was just trying to be helpful. Either way, I appreciated it.

I reached forward and grabbed one of the bottles he’d placed on the table earlier, noticing the plate with two pieces of toast. “Yes. That shower was amazing, but it did leave me a little thirsty. The hot water gets… hot.” I grabbed a piece and took a bite.

“I can turn it down if you want.”

“No, it’s a good thing. I love showers that nearly boil your skin off.” I smiled faintly, trying to lighten the air between us. I took a few more bites and set the toast back down, not wanting to spoil whatever breakfast Millie was on her way to get.

He hesitated, then cleared his throat. “Savannah, I want to talk to you about your inheritance. I’ve been thinking—and I want to know your thoughts on selling the houses in Alabama. Yours and your parents’.”

I blinked, caught off guard. I hadn’t really thought about any of that.

I’d been too busy trying to survive to worry about real estate. Too focused on breathing to care about what blood money had paid for what. And maybe that was all it was now—houses built with a legacy I wanted no part of.

But before I could answer, his phone rang. He pulled it to his ear. Someone already speaking on the other side.

“ What do you mean she’s gone?” Jaxson stood as he said the words, venom dripping from each one. The hair on my arms stood up. Panic crawled up my spine like ice water.

Millie? No. It couldn’t be her. She had just left.

“Are you sure?” Another pause. Then—

“Fucckkk,” he roared.

I was already on my feet, inching closer, trying to hear whoever was on the other line, trying to make sense of what was happening.

“I’ll figure it out,” Jaxson snapped. “Millie just left to go—”

He cut off. A deep roar echoed through the phone. It was Ben.

“I’ll call her and get her back now.”

Another beat of silence.

“Yeah. Okay. Thanks. I’ll be there soon.”

He turned, and didn’t realize how close I’d gotten. His body slammed into mine and pain shot through my chest like lightning.

“Damn it. Shit. I’m so sorry,” he said, hands steadying me. “Savannah, baby, are you okay?”

I opened my eyes, breath caught in my throat. “Yeah. Sorry, I—”

He cut me off. “Baby, don’t apologize. Here, sit down.” He helped me back to the sofa, kneeling in front of me.

“What’s going on?” I asked. I wasn’t waiting for him to pick and choose the parts he thought I could handle.

He exhaled slowly, shaking his head. “I promised myself I wouldn’t keep anything from you.”

His eyes locked on mine. “We sent an agent in to do undercover ops with Koslov. She’s missing.”

My heart pounded. “ She? Nic?”

“No, no. Nic was supervising the mission—but something went wrong. The agent’s name is Layla.”

I stared at him. “So… what now?”

“I need to run to the office, but only to pack up what we need. We’re moving everything here. We’re not leaving this place again.”

“So… Millie will be here with me?”

“Yes. And Reaper. He was with us the day we found you. He should be here any minute.”

As the words left his mouth, a knock echoed through the room.

Jaxson moved to the monitor beside the door and typed in a code— 1-2-8-0. He glanced over his shoulder. “It’s your birthdate. Backwards.”

Before I could respond, the door opened—and a man stepped inside.

No… not a man. A machine . The kind you only saw in movies.

He had to be at least seven feet tall, all muscle and quiet threat. Tattoos covered nearly every inch of his body—his arms, neck, even the sides of his shaved head. And somehow… despite all that, he was still handsome. In a terrifying, holy-shit-don’t-mess-with-him kind of way.

“Savannah, this is Reaper. Reaper, Savannah.”

Then Jaxson turned to him, all command and control. “Do not let them leave here. For anything. If the place is burning down, you wait for us to get here. Understood?”

“Yes, Boss,” Reaper answered without hesitation.

I nearly laughed. The guy could probably toss Jaxson across the room like a ragdoll, but here he was, taking orders like a loyal soldier.

Jaxson pulled out his phone again and dialed. “Hey, Millie. About how long?”

A pause. “Okay. Come straight back. I’ve got to head to the office, but Reaper’s here.” Another pause. “Millicent, just… hurry.”

He hung up, slipped the phone into his pocket, and looked at me.

Something in his face had shifted—like a storm brewing just behind his eyes.

And I knew then…

Whatever calm we’d just found—

Was about to be shattered.

Jaxson gave me one last look before grabbing his jacket off the armrest. “I’ll be back soon. Reaper’s got you until then.”

I nodded, but I couldn’t stop watching the door even after it clicked shut behind him.

The silence that followed wasn’t peaceful. It was loud. Heavy. And laced with dread.

Reaper stood at the door like a statue, arms crossed over his chest, gaze sweeping the windows like he could see danger before it even formed.

I pulled the blanket down, tight around my shoulders and stared at the bottle of water on the table.

Something was wrong.

It wasn’t just the missing agent. It wasn’t even the fact that Millie hadn’t walked back through that door yet.

It was the way Jaxson’s voice broke when he said her name.

I could feel it rising inside of me, like static in the air before a storm. My nerves were on edge, the wait nearly unbearable. It felt like he’d been gone for hours.

“Reaper… I’m not sure where my phone is. How long has it been?”

He glanced at his watch. “Twelve minutes.”

Twelve minutes. Millie should’ve been back by now. “Do you have Millie’s number?” I asked. I wasn’t even sure he knew who she was.

But he pulled out his phone, tapped a few buttons, and the ringing echoed through the silence. Once. Twice. Three. Four times—then voicemail.

Maybe her hands were full. It’s Millie though. She doesn’t miss phone calls.

I waited a beat. “Could you try calling again?”

He nodded and did just that. The ring cut through the quiet like a warning.

Two rings. Three. Four.

“You’ve reached Millicent—”

He hung up.

I stared at the phone in his hand, willing it to ring. Willing her voice to fill the air. To say she just got delayed. That she was fine.

But I knew it.

Deep in my bones.

Dread sank into every cell of my body.

I looked up to Reaper.

“Call Ben.”

He didn’t hesitate. He dialed, holding the phone to his ear this time.

And before he could even speak, I heard Ben’s voice through the receiver—

“No sir, she—”

He didn’t get to finish.

The scream that followed was the sound of a man being brought to his knees.

A single tear slid down my cheek.

And just like that…

The wound in my chest that had only just been stitched up felt like it was being ripped wide open all over again.

Millie was gone.