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Fallon

“W hat do you mean you know why he died?” I wasn’t sure if she was trying to play a joke on me or if she was being serious.

“A few times when I was around my dad, I heard some things. Crazy things.”

It tracked. She clearly knew more than I did. Her actions after we saw–and I wanted to forget–what we did, struck me as strange. Just like Brent. They were around their families before and learned more about the life we lived than I did.

And, honestly? My mom was an asshole for not telling me.

“There are families here who will kill you for one thing or another. I watched some scary men threaten some people, their families, and their kids if they didn’t cooperate–by listening, observing, and reporting back to them. We deal in more than just regular business contracts. I kept my mouth shut so I wasn’t threatened by my own dad.”

“I don't understand. What motivations are there for killing each other?”

She slumped into the couch. “How do you stay above the law? How do two people keep a secret? Threats or if one of them is dead. The connections run deep and wildly far. If I was blacklisted, I wouldn’t be able to show my face in public, let alone get a job as a grocery bagger. It’s the same thing as what made mafias so successful back in the day. We just run them publicly.”

To maintain power, multiple things needed to happen at once. Building a relationship with those who are trusted allies that support you and your goals to maintain your firm grip. These families stayed close knit for a reason. Keeping and expanding resources held power in multiple facets. If you held enough money, you could change the laws to your advantage via lobbying. How else would some of these big names remain on top? The political advantage was second to none. Then there was the threat of retaliation. If you and your allies are threatened, you band together to eliminate or contain those threats.

And those were some of the rules they played by.

“So they were asked to be what, moles?”

“Eyes. Ears. Silence. Encouragement. Those are the four tiers they want. Otherwise you’d be useless.”

“Encouragement to do what?”

“Eliminate threats.”

They killed after being threatened themselves?

I had to take a moment to look away from her. The twists and turns just kept coming, and I still needed to vomit. The standard was, what, killing? Was everyone guilty of something? Was blackmail the standard? Threatening someone’s life and turning them to killing someone else felt like a made up story, but if it’s in the name of self preservation, I wouldn’t know what I would do.

If all of this was true, I needed to get far, far away from people like Alexander who would kill me for turning him down. Sloane appeared too obsessed with what she was into and it made me wonder if she was acting in self preservation too.

Would I be capable of killing someone?

Was everyone scared for their lives?

That text was right. Let the games begin .

She waited for a few minutes before continuing. “I never wanted this life either, you know. We were born into it and it’s what our parents are handing down to us. Extreme wealth and notoriety above all others does not come without cost. It means the devil is constantly knocking at your door.”

It felt like she was trying to tell me something other than what she said out loud. My stomach was still threatening me–

Not anymore.

I threw up on the dining room floor. While it was nice that I felt major relief from my nausea, I was heavily upset I couldn’t make it to the sink or bathroom to toss my cookies.

“Jesus Christ! Are you good?” She made a mad dash for the bleach and some towels.

“Actually. I’m a lot better now.” My eyes were out of focus, but I excused myself to take a long hot shower to try to feel something.

I towel dried my hair and padded out into the living room after trying to burn myself back into reality where Kelly was watching a movie–well, texting while a movie was on. “You know what I need right now?”

“What?”

“To cash in on a promise that I think you’ll also enjoy.”

Did I want to call Brent? No. Did I want to see Brent? Also no.

But I did–I picked up the phone and dialed.

One ring.

Two rings.

“Hello?” He sounded surprised I called him so soon.

“So...I need to cash in on that delivery promise right now.”

Grunting came from the other line. “Like, right now?”

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing, Blondie. I’ll be over in...an hour. Tops. See you soon.” Click.

Kelly pursed her lips, wondering what the hell I was doing. “Delivery promise?”

I laid myself out onto the couch. “Food.” After everything that happened, throwing up in the kitchen, and my mental breakdown in the shower, I needed proper food. It was the least I could do for myself.

“I know you’ve been through a lot, babe. I’ve always been curious about you not sharing much about your mom’s business, but then I realized that you weren’t told the same things that we were as kids. Your mom was a great woman, but she did you a disservice by not telling you that you’re one of the richest girls in the country. And when she passed, I don’t know all that you went through at your aunt’s house. I just wanted to be there for you as a friend.”

There were certain demons I never wanted to talk about with other people. Aunt Sylvia was one of them. The abuse, the occasional drunken beating, the constant projection of jealousy toward my mom were her shitty coping mechanisms for not being successful like her sister. No one but myself was included in my mother’s legacy.

My mother hated her family from what I gathered. She never talked about them much, but I got the gist that she wasn’t treated well. With her success, her five siblings attempted to come around and cozy up to her when she became the family’s golden child instead of the black sheep.

She turned them all down.

I remember the stories my mother told me about when she was a kid. It was like she was a success from birth despite what her family felt about her. She started trying to make cookies for money to pay for an item she wanted. Then, she moved onto simple services like cleaning and pet sitting. It was a story I couldn’t live up to because everything was handed to me.

A go getter who took no shit from anyone? I was not her.

Cancer dragged her down in the end. Far too early. I was eternally grateful for everything she gave me, but I wasn’t sure that she made the right choice. Did she really think I was capable of handling what the world would throw at me? If she did, I needed answers to my burning questions.

She wasn’t here to give them to me, so I hoped to God that I could find the answers within the company she left me.

Kelly was silent as the TV played in the background. I searched her expression to see if something else might be hiding deep down. There had to have been signs I missed if she was able to hide so much within herself. Just like Brent, she was too calm and collected for my growing anxiety.

Speaking of the devil, he knocked on my door right on time.

He was on the porch holding two very large bags full of the diner food he promised delivery for. That he pinky promised. I couldn’t contain my happy dance when I saw the bags.

“Wearing that and dancing for me? It must be my lucky night.” He kicked his shoes off and stepped into the living room.

“Woah, who said you were staying?”

“Hey, now. I went all the way over there and back to get you all this. I think I deserve to eat some food, too.”

Kelly looked up from her phone. “Brent for the second day in a row?”

I looked him up and down, biting my lip. “Fine. No funny business, though! ”

He chuckled and kissed my forehead.

This fucking guy .

He leaned down to me and dropped his voice to a whisper. “I take your business very seriously.” His eyes scanned my body with a look that said he was hungry for more.

Grabbing the bags from him, I ignored his comment and dragged them to the kitchen. I was absolutely famished from not eating enough and then throwing up. Today was shit and I was not going to process it–Evans might have ideas for therapy later.

Therapy sounded like a solid option.

But who did one talk to about witnessing a murder? Were there elite therapists too? I wouldn’t know if I could even trust another living soul enough to tell them without developing even more paranoia. Nothing would ever feel normal.

“How’s my favorite waitress?” I asked.

“She wondered if you were my girlfriend. So, I told her yes.” He sat down with the same confidence and nonchalance as he normally did. It wasn’t technically normal to be that chill, but who was I to say anything? “Also, did you know your bodyguard dude is camped out in front of your house all by himself?”

“He does that sometimes. Wait. Did you just say you told Martha that I was your girlfriend?”

Kelly came out of the kitchen with silverware and plates. “Does this mean you two are official and Garrett is nixed?”

“No,” I said.

“Yes,” Brent said at the same time.

She was obviously trying not to laugh at him injecting himself into my life. “That clears everything up. You two are something else.”

I looked him dead in the eyes. “I hate you.”

“That’s not what you were saying last night.” He casually started eating his food after looking at me again with that same expression. Hungry .

Being casual was not what I expected. My brain felt broken. Everything still felt just out of reach. “I need the both of you to explain just what in the hell is going on. Also, why are you two so chill after watching someone die? This has to be a normal occurrence if you two are as cool as cucumbers despite me trying not to lose my mind and can’t help but vomit in the kitchen.”

My world was turned upside down. My virginity gone just a day before by the guy sitting in front of me–which, I didn’t even know him that well. My best friend that I’d had for years was suddenly telling me that she knew a lot more than I did, essentially spilling secrets. I didn’t know how to cope with those two things let alone there are murderers running rampant and kids willing to sell each other out. Did I even know who I was at this point? There were so many questions for my mom and I wished she could have given me something to answer me with, but that was a long journey I had to trek on my own.

Was running away an option?

“I think you need to sit down and chill for a bit. You don’t need all the answers in one day, and you’re clearly not dealing with it well. Did she say she threw up in the kitchen?” Brent asked Kelly to verify what I said like he didn’t believe me, but it was true.

“Yup. Right there.”

He shoved some food in his mouth and scooted to his right a bit. Of course he would be that dramatic about vomit but not about death.

While he might have been right about not needing all the answers in one go, I felt too far behind to care about it. If I was already becoming a mess, why not rip the whole bandaid off and tell me that I needed to start killing people or something. It felt like a not-so-secret society.

“Fal?” Kelly’s voice yanked me out of my thoughts. “Did you hear me?”

I shook my head, physically trying to shake my brains out. Maybe they’d fall out of my nose–or ears. “No...sorry.” I weakly took a plate from her, focusing on a piece of pie that I wanted.

“What were you doing when I called you?” I glanced at Brent shoveling food in his mouth like he hadn’t eaten in weeks.

He shrugged his shoulders, unbothered by my question. “What do you mean?”

Way to play it off.

“Just what I said.” I put my fork down. “I heard grunting or something from your end.”

Exposing that sharp jawline of his, he tilted his head to the side and gave me a bored look. “I’ll tell you if you tell me that you’re mine.”

I scowled at him and looked back to my plate where I could distract myself with pie. “No.” Blueberry pie. My favorite.

“Fine,” he said with food in his mouth. “You’re mine, and I was handing someone’s ass to him.”

I guessed he was answering for me then. Yeah, no. Kelly glanced at me over the breakfast foods piled onto her plate, daring me to continue with the banter.

“Care to elaborate on the latter?” I wasn’t going to touch on his claim to me, but I would pry into what trouble he was getting into this time. The man got into fights like it was his day job or something.

He scoffed at me with a smirk playing on his lips, sitting back and crossing his arms. His blue eyes flashed with intensity. “Can you tell me you’re mine?”

“Possessive much?”

“Yes, I am. I will admit it to everyone in this room that I want you to be mine . You didn’t seem to have a problem with it earlier...” He leaned back over with his eyebrows raised playfully to eat more food, eyes locked on mine.

I laughed. “The only people here are Kelly and me.”

He held his phone up like a trophy, eyes flickering with mischief as he accepted some unspoken dare. “I will publish it to the media unless you say something nice to me.”

A part of me wondered if he would do it. He seemed the type. I played along with him, not wanting to test any more things that would have Evans having a heart attack. “You have a nice butt.”

Kelly laughed.

“Hmm. I’ll take it. Look at you being such a good girl. Now,” his eyes darkened, grin widening. “You said you want answers? I can give you some, but...you need to take the news easily. Finish your pie so you’re comfortable.”

He wanted me to comply with his every demand. Asshole. It was hard to take him so seriously with how aloof he was. I never thought he’d be the type to be so playful. He was blunt, intense, distant, and above all, a major playboy. What was his angle? I wasn’t keen to trust him–or Kelly for that matter. Both of the people sitting in front of me had secrets beyond my wildest imaginations, and I wasn’t sure how much news I could handle.

Paranoia threatened me. The danger on–and off–campus was enough to make someone feel like they were losing their mind. I was handed this world on a silver platter and I had no idea how to navigate it. What would come next? I worried that I would become a target in my naivety, an open target for someone to try to take down for not being deeply entrenched in the depths of criminal business practices.

Was this how the wealthy lived? Beyond the law? The government?

“Business isn’t black and white. That’s what you get for tonight. Stick with me and I’ll keep you safe.” He refocused on the food, piling more onto his plate for a second round. “Can I stay again? I’ll behave.” His question was directed at Kelly, not me.

She chewed while pretending to ponder the question. “Hmm.” Rubbing her chin, she played into the joke. “Maybe I should ask my mom if you can stay; I’m not sure if she likes me having boys over. What do you think, Mom?” She smiled at me. Both of these people are assholes, my God.

“You two are ridiculous. Both of you do whatever you want.”

He leapt to his feet with an evil grin spread across his face as he strode to the kitchen. Opening the fridge and rustling around, you’d think Brent owned the place. My house was not his place to pretend to be this comfortable at. The fridge was also not his to rummage through.

Kelly also stood, stretching out her limbs with a yawn. “You two don’t moan too loud today. I’m going to call it a night. Brent, thanks for the food,” she said, leaning over to place a kiss on the top of my head, wrapping an arm around me in a hug. “Love you.”

“Love you too, dude,” I replied, looking up at her. She had a sad smile, eyes full of an unsaid apology.

I’d known her long enough to at least know her facial expressions and body language as well as I spoke English, but there looked to me more deep beneath the surface that made me feel uneasy. My best friend, entangled for far longer in a world that she didn’t seem to want to be a part of anymore than I did. Protecting her felt like my duty, but I failed us both by being blissfully unaware of the elite system. I wished I knew what she went through behind the curtain. I wished I knew more entirely to keep us both safe.

After she padded away down the hallway, Brent returned to the table with my jug of orange juice. He made himself so comfortable in my house that I wondered if he’d ever leave at this point.

“I hope you’re not too comfortable. Why do you want to stay here anyway?” Maybe I was curious, maybe I was looking for validation. Or I was just looking for what was wrong with his noggin that he thought he would be a regular guest.

“Two reasons. One, we have real business to get to. Two, I wanted to see you.” He plopped down after pouring two cups for us.

I wanted to get the business out of the way. In over my head, he might have more insights for me. “Start with number one.”

He shifted in his seat and rubbed the back of his hand before relaxing and sitting back with his cup. “My grandfather wants me to bring you in to bring you up to speed on his partnership he had with your mother. The group you have running things right now have put major dents in what was an otherwise smooth process, and he doesn’t want to lose anymore time. He’s old, cranky, and has even less patience since he crossed over into his sixties.”

Everyone talked about the relationship he had with my mother and I wanted to know more about that, but that question would be better suited for Augustus himself.

I crossed my legs, unsure of what to do with my hands or how to respond. The table between us was great to have as space, considering I needed major distance from everything right now. My heartrate spiked with anxiety from revelation after revelation, and coming to terms with what my mother was involved with was not something I wanted to deal with–like, ever.

The lump in my throat paired with my thundering heartbeat in my chest wouldn’t let my voice squeak anything out.

His eyes flickered with concern as he dropped his smile to a thin line. He saw how truly beneath water I was, trying to swim in the deep end without a single swimming lesson. My inexperience wasn’t solely my sex life, it was in everything . “My grandfather and I run a large scale operation in the black market. Arms, drugs, shit like that. Your properties across the globe are places we use as meeting points and safe houses. My grandfather expects complete cooperation.”