Page 38

I blink. “You want… his arms? That’s it?”

She just stares out the window at the car they’ve dragged him to.

Leone’s face is unreadable. He glances at me, then out the window, then back at Fallon. With a heavy sigh, he opens the door before the car even starts rolling.

He stalks over to Santos, who’s waiting by the sedan, and they speak for a moment. Both glance at our car, then Santos nods and peels off with two of his men. Leone returns, slamming the car door behind him. He doesn’t say a word for a minute, just watches the treeline as we drive.

“They’ll put him in our basement,” he finally says. It’s meant for Fallon, yet he’s looking at me.

I nod and Fallon leans into me. I wrap my arm around her. She’s not crying anymore, though I can tell she’s definitely not okay.

Leone watches her for a second, a strange look on his face, though it doesn’t seem like jealousy as I wrap my arm around her shoulders, tugging her closer.

Ever since finding out she was pregnant, I’ve wondered how I fit into this relationship now.

Worried Leone will warn me away; I’m half expecting him to, even though I know how unrealistic our relationship is now that a baby has come into the equation.

So, for now, I enjoy her warmth, knowing she is safe while bracing for the inevitable, assuming her baby is still okay.

The baby. Fuck. I haven’t even dared to ask. After Rebecca, the fire, the tree… it’s a miracle Fallon’s still standing, let alone carrying a life. If she lost it… I don’t even want to think about what that would do to her, to Leone. To us—whatever the hell ‘us’ is anymore.

Rocco drives smoothly and silently, even the radio is left off like everyone is worried noise breaking the silence will also break everyone in the car.

The city lights start to bleed through the thinning trees, painting streaks across Fallon’s pale face.

Her breathing’s evened out, a little. Still too shallow.

She shifts against me, a small sound escaping her lips, not quite a whimper, not quite a word.

Leone’s shoulders are rigid in the front passenger seat. He hasn’t looked back since we started moving. The silence in the car is thick, heavy with unspoken shit. The kind of silence that usually ends with gunfire or someone screaming. Tonight, it just… hangs.

Fallon’s fingers twitch against my side. I glance down. Her eyes are closed, her breathing even, so I can tell she is asleep.

“We need to get her checked,” I say, my voice low, just for Leone. He nods, a tiny movement. “Already arranged. Doctor Steven’s will be at the house once he arrives back in the city.” Of course he has. Leone doesn’t miss a beat, even when the world’s burning down around him.

We pull through the city, the streets slick and empty in the pre-dawn gloom. The usual city noise is muted. It feels like we’re the only people left alive. Or maybe the only ones who know what really goes on when the rest of the world is sleeping.

The gates to Leone’s mansion slide open.

Home sweet fucking home. Rocco pulls up out the front, engine cutting out with a sigh.

Leone’s out of the car before it fully stops, opening Fallon’s door.

He doesn’t try to pull her out, just stands there, waiting.

I help her sit up. She sways, and for a second, I think she’s going to pass out.

Her eyes finally flutter open, unfocused.

Leone extends a hand. “Come on, Fallon. Let’s get you inside.” She hesitates for a beat, then takes his hand. He pulls her gently to her feet, his arm going around her waist, supporting most of her weight. She leans into him like he’s the only solid thing in her world.

I get out, stretching my cramped legs. The air here is cleaner, colder. Or maybe it’s just the absence of smoke and blood. Leone walks her toward the house. I follow a few steps behind, watching them. They look… I don’t know. Like two halves of a broken thing, trying to see if they still fit.

I linger just outside the doors, lighting a cigarette I didn’t realize I was craving until this exact moment.

The first drag is harsh, acrid, beautiful.

The sky’s starting to lighten in the east, a bruised purple giving way to gray.

Another goddamn day. I turn to the sound of footsteps.

Rocco’s leaning against the car, arms crossed. “Long night,” he says.

“Understatement of the fucking year,” I reply, exhaling a plume of smoke. He pushes off the car when his phone beeps in his pocket. He pulls it out just as Santos’s car heads down toward the gates.

“Santos’s men delivered the guy to the basement. Said he’s secure; they’ve left the key to the tunnels in the garage,” Rocco tells me repocketing his phone. It must have been Santos who messaged him. Yet it makes me wonder about this Igor and about Fallon’s little request.

“Good.” I sigh knowing I will be the one who has to take his arms, though I do want to know why.

Rocco looks toward the front door. “She gonna be okay?”

I shrug. “Who the fuck knows? She’s tough.

But this…” This is a whole new level of fucked up.

Finding out you’ve got hidden sisters, watching your estranged mother die?

Yeah, that’ll leave a mark. The front door opens again.

Leone steps out. His suit’s rumpled, his hair a mess.

He looks like he’s been through a meat grinder.

Which, metaphorically, he has. He walks over, stops beside me.

Doesn’t say anything for a minute, just stares out at the grounds.

“Nathan called. Santos’s men dropped him and the girls off. Emma’s there. They’re… adjusting.” He runs a hand through his hair.

“Kids are resilient,” Rocco chimes in.

“Sometimes,” I say. Sometimes they just break in ways you can’t see until it’s too late. Leone turns to me, his eyes dark, intense.

“Did she say anything to you in the car?”

I shake my head. “She asked for his arms.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“What do you think that means?” I take another drag of my cigarette.

“Means she’s pissed. Means she wants a piece of him. Literally.” It wasn’t exactly rocket science. Leone nods slowly. “She can have them. After I’m done with him.” There’s a coldness in his voice that makes even me pause.

Igor was fucked before. Now? Now he was a dead man walking, even if Fallon only wanted his limbs.

“You going down there now?” I ask.

“Later.” He glances back at the house. “She needs to rest. I need to…”

“Dante?” I ask and he nods slowly.

“Leave it, spend time with Fallon. Dante isn’t going anywhere,” Rocco adds. Leone seems to think for a second and sighs heavily holding his hand out. I know what he wants, he wants a cigarette so I hand him my packet and lighter, watching as he lights one.

“Fallon?” I ask him.

“Went to the room, I heard the shower turn on… She locked the door, I figured I’d give her a few minutes before I kick it down.”

“You think it’s wise leaving her alone right now?” I ask worriedly.

“If she wants space I will give her a moment. I don’t like it any more than you do,” he answers.

“Dr. Stevens?”

“A couple hours away; no point rushing her to a hospital, it won’t change any outcome if…

” he doesn’t finish. “I don’t want her thinking that is all I care about.

As long as she is okay, we’ll be okay,” Leone adds.

Rocco must feel awkward with the topic because he bids us goodnight, before Loene stops him.

“Tomorrow I make some calls and find out about Sienna.” Rocco nods once, disappearing around the side of the house and I glance at the front door wanting to go in, not sure where I stand with all this now. If Leone wants me to step back, I will. It will kill me but I would do it.

“Come on, we should head inside. I need to check on her,” Leone says flicking what’s remaining of his smoke.

I toss mine following him inside and upstairs.

I’m not sure if I’m imagining it or if everything just became tenser, because I find myself hesitating as he pushes his bedroom door open.

Leone must notice that hesitation because he pauses.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, I shake my head and follow him inside the room, and he quickly wanders over and knocks on the bathroom door where I can hear the shower running.

She doesn’t answer and I move closer nervously.

Leone moves to his bedside table and pulls out the keys and moves to quickly unlock it.

The moment he does steam billows out and I can hear that she is sobbing.

Leone pauses like he has been punched and glances at me.

He steps into the bathroom before wandering back out.

“I will grab some towels, she’s in the bottom of the shower. ”

“I can grab them.”

Leone shakes his head. “No, go check on her.” There’s panic on his face. Blood, gore, death he can handle. A crying woman and he becomes all flustered. I grip his arm, and he stops.

“She thinks she is my incubator, and probably thinks she is in trouble. I need you to check on her.”

“You want me to hop in the shower with her?” I ask and he looks at me strangely.

“Yes, get in the shower with her; I’ll be gone for five minutes. I don’t want to spook her.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

Leone tilts his head to the side regarding me. “What is going on with you, you’ve been quiet for weeks.”

“She is pregnant, Leone.”

“I know, what is your point and get to it fast.”

I sigh and run a hand through my hair.

“She is pregnant with your child. And now I don’t know where I stand in all this. If you want me to step back, I can. I get it, it would be hard to explain to a child. I can move out to one of the guest hou—” Leone grips the back of my neck.

“You’ve been acting like this because you believe we are tossing you aside because she is pregnant?” he snaps and I swallow thickly at the anger on his face that is usually reserved for those he’s about to kill.

“I get it, it won’t work. And now you have to think of your baby…” He shoves me back.

“No, you don’t get it. Pull your head out of your ass.

If I didn’t want you here, I would have said it already by now.

Our baby won’t think anything of having two fathers when it’s all they’ve known.

Now fucking get in the shower before I decide to kick your fucking ass for being so stupid,” he snaps, storming off.

I stare after him in shock. I thought he was angry for mentioning the elephant in the room.

It turns out he is angry that I thought he was going to ask me to step aside.

Staring at the bathroom, I move toward it but I pause remembering his words.

Two fathers. For a second, I’m stunned before I manage to shake it off and step into the bathroom.

I find Fallon on the shower floor, sitting directly under the steady stream.

Stripping my clothes off, I step in with her and immediately reach down to grab her, pulling her to me.

She makes a strange sound as I pull her up her back against my chest. Reaching for the soap, I wash her.

She is like a puppet in my arms, letting me move her and do as I please with her, like she has slipped so far inside herself she has become lost in her own head.

Leone comes in a few minutes later, setting some towels down next to the sink before shedding his clothes.

“Maria is cooking for her,” he tells me as he slides the door open and turns the other showerhead on.

He moves closer, helping me rinse her off before I pass her to him so I can wash myself.

His arm slips around her waist gently, holding her to him.

He leans down. “Dr. Stevens is going to come check on you soon,” he murmurs as if he is afraid of spooking her.

She doesn’t react and Leone hugs her closer like he can absorb her and take whatever pain she’s in.

Once I’m finished washing myself, I reach for her so Leone can wash all the blood and grime off.

He has just finished rinsing out his hair when she makes this horrendous noise that nearly makes me let her go thinking I’ve somehow hurt her.

“Fallon?” Leone murmurs sweeping her hair back from her face. She says nothing, eyes distant when she grips his forearm, her nails digging in. Leone looks at me worriedly and I lean down to whisper.