For Fallon (18 page)

Sweat forms on my brows. “Tired as hell.”

“Me too.
I’m going up. Let’s meet at nine in the morning, son.”

I nod as he disappears. The front guard enters the living room on the other side of the foyer. “Fuck,” I whisper while clenching my jaw. I wait until the door is closed so nobody can see me going into the basement. The guard shuts that door immediately, leaving the foyer finally empty. I run to the basement door and take the few steps two at a time. Fallon’s in the last room. Ignoring my ringing phone in my pocket, I race to the last room and key in the code to open the door. Frank’s gone, and
Fallon has her back to me, a phone pressed to her ear.

She turns around, her gaze latches on to mine, and the shaken expression on her face tells me that she was calling me. I swallow back my rage when I see blood on her nose and mouth. The phone she’s clutching slips out of her hand and falls to the ground when I inch closer to her. She’s in shock. Her fearful eyes follow my slow movements. Her eyes dart to the phone and then quickly back up to me. She’s going to reach for it because Fallon’s instinct is telling her, correctly, that I’m not here by accident.

Is that Frank’s phone she’s managed to get hold of?

We both dash for the phone, and I snatch it up before she touches it. Her bound left hand restrains her, and I close the door quickly before turning back around. She edges away as I stalk toward her.
“Fallon.” I approach her like I would a scared child. “I’m here to help you.” Her look of terror and confusion magnifies. My chest achingly heaves from the displeasure simmering below the surface at seeing her in this state
.

I didn’t get to her in time
. 

Her entire body is trembling and shaking. “
Wh-what’s happening? Why… What are you doing here…”

How do I get her to trust me? “Fallon, I did not have anything to do with you being here. I didn’t know it was you in here until a few minutes ago.”

She keeps staring at me. Her shocked expression aimed solely at me. Every negative emotion glints in her fearful eyes.

“You’re bleeding,” I say quietly and slowly approach her.

“Don’t come near me,” she warns in a broken voice.

I drag my hands through my tousled hair. “Fallon, you’re bleeding. I want to check your injuries.” I need to examine the cuts on her knees and the bruises on her face.

She touches her nose and looks at her bloodied hand. With her bottom lip quivering profusely, her mouth falls open but nothing comes out except for an almost imperceptible gasp. Her eyes are stricken with consternation.

Resting my forehead on my clenched knuckles, I try to calm myself because I need to regain my composure for her. “Fallon, we don’t have much time.”

“Why…? What? I don’t understand anything.” Her eyes are overflowing with unshed tears. “Are you getting me out of here?” she asks in a nervous tone.

I see her mind desperately trying to put together a scrambled puzzle of which she’s missing all the essential pieces. She knows I’m part of this, somehow. Her fear is tangible in the vast silence while she waits for my answer.

I close the distance between us and splay my hands on the wall on either side of her head. “Listen to me carefully. There are cameras watching this. Do not let on that you know me. That will not work in your favor.”

She recoils, thinking I’m threatening her. Good. I need her fear to force her into submission now. “You are part of this?” Her voice
is infinitely small.

My brow creases. “No, not the way you think. I can and will help you, but you have to trust me for now.” I ease back to watch her reaction.

Fallon’s probably going in shock because she’s staring ahead at the door, and her eyes glaze over right before she faints. I catch her and lay her on the bed, lowering myself in front of the bed to check the blood on her face. Frustrated that I can’t find where it’s coming from, I wipe the already-dried blood away with my sleeve. Thankfully, she’s not cut. My barely contained rage storms within me when I stroke the welts on her face.

“Luca, I’m coming in.” Adriano keys in the code and opens the door. He hands me a first aid kit. “The camera is turned off in here. The house is almost empty. I’ll stand watch at the basement door.”

I accept the kit, never looking anywhere but at Fallon. “
Grazie
. Leave the door open.”

Adriano leaves, and I start to clean Fallon’s face, neck, and hands. My eyes wander over her body. I swallow heavily when they fall on her battered knees and immediately clean the cuts and gently apply antiseptic. She stirs – jerking her left arm - and rejoins our world. “
Shh.” I caress her hair. A deep sense of sadness overwhelms me when her fearful expression meets mine and realization of her situation sets in as the last couple of hours flood her memory.

“What happened?”

“You fainted. How are you feeling?”

“Luca, what’s this room? What’s going to happen to me? Please tell me. I’m scared.” The anxiety
is rising in her tone.

I exhale curtly. “Tell me how you’re feeling first, Fallon.”

“Confused.”

“Physically, how are you feeling physically?”

“My knees hurt and my cheekbones too.”

With all my power, I keep my fingers entwined to prevent from reaching out to her. Relieved that no other parts of her body hurt, I deliver her answers. “I’m not married. You misunderstood that
message on the phone. Make a marriage simply means a business merger.” I pause to take in a deep breath. “I’m part of the
Cosa Nostra
.”

Fallon gasps.

“I’m the underboss of this family. You witnessed a hit. My men are never allowed to leave witnesses so they took you. I’ve been protecting you from this life.”

“Protecting me? By lying to me from the start? Protecting me or
yourself?”

“It has always been about protecting you,
dolcezz
a.” I reach out to her face but she winces.

“Are you…” She swallows. “
You going to kill me?”

Her question saws at my heart. All the trust we’ve built in the last months vanished by this one night, by these couple of hours that have guaranteed my loss of Fallon. “No, Fallon. I need to find a way to get you out of here.”

“How do I know this isn’t a ruse? How can I trust you?” Her tone is painted with belligerence.

The entire night is weighing on my mind, and I don’t have time for her defiance now. “You have no choice, do you?” I counter, unnervingly calm.

Distress colors her eyes again. She’s smart enough to keep quiet now.

“I know you must have many questions. Ask them now.” Adriano is guarding the basement, and since the house is empty, I want to be honest with her. Maybe with honesty I can provide her a sense of security. I move to sit beside on the bed with my fingers interlaced between my knees.

“I don’t know where to begin.” She pauses to formulate her inquiry.  “Where am I?”

“You’re still in Chicago. About one hour from The Loop.” I don’t tell her she’s up north, near Lake Forest. “This is the basement of a house. It’s our headquarters.”

Fallon licks her dry lips. “Was it all a lie?”

“No. My work was partly a lie. My feelings, never doubt those.”

She’s holding in a snort because of her fear. “Who are you?” She never breaks eye contact, but the tremor in her speech is a constant reminder of her fear.

I reign in my emotions to lay it all out for her methodically. I’m only willing to disclose this information once in order for her to comprehend the seriousness of her predicament. “I’m part of the Chicago Syndicate. James is the
Capo crimine, the Don
. I’m his underboss. We rule the underworld. I have
Capo
regimes that work for me and James; they handle the day-to-day business. All the
Capi
report to me, as the underboss, and I report to James. Adriano, my friend you’ve met, he’s one of the
Capi
.”

“Syndicate?”

“Mafia,
Cosa Nostra
. We prefer the term Syndicate.”

Stunned, she tentatively probes, “So you don’t have your own company?”

“Yes, Adriano and I are silent partners in a legit company.” I pause to check her reaction. “But that company is used to launder money too.”

“But what exactly do you do for this….”

“Syndicate?” I fill in her words. “I can’t disclose everything, Fallon. It’s for your own safety that you don’t know the details.”

Her hand covers her mouth as tears leak down her cheeks. Her gaze snaps to mine. “Are you his son?
This James’ son?”

I privately laugh at her comment. “No, we
’re not technically family. We’re a Chicago Crime Syndicate. Contrary to common belief, ranks and affiliations are not hereditary in the
Cosa Nostra
. None of us are blood related.”

Fallon shakes her head. “I have so many questions now, but everything is blurred. I’m too shaken up. I’m too scared of what’s to come. What’s going to happen to me?”

“I need you to fill in some blanks, Fallon.”

Confusion clouds her face.

“Do you know what time you were taken? What were you doing in that alley?” I keep my voice focused to not betray my disapproval.

“How do you know I was kidnapped in the alley behind the venue? What time is it now?”

“Focus,” I remind her sternly. I told you my men seized you. I already spoke to them; that’s how I found out you were the one taken captive.” I glance at my watch. “It’s almost ten p.m.”

Caution is clearly perceptible. I’m silently thanking god that she has always been easy to read and wait patiently for her response, although I can’t refrain from touching her anymore. When I lean forward to massage her cuffed wrist, her eyes narrow, but she allows my touch so I let my other hand rest below the bruise on her cheek, my thumb softly stroking the purple-covered skin. In this vital moment, we stare at each other, both realizing our entire relationship has changed forever.

Never will we go back to just being Luca and Fallon.

Never will she trust me again.

Never will I have her full devotion again.

She breaks from the intensity of our stare and faces the wall. Without looking at me, she speaks. “I wanted to talk to you, so I decided to leave the charity around seven, maybe seven thirty. Alex was crowding the front entrance, which is why I used the back exit. I opened the door and saw two men shooting another man. The door closed, and you can’t open it from outside. They saw me. I ran, fell, and scraped my knees. The blond guy caught me, hit me, and knocked me out with his gun.” Fallon’s tears trickle onto the pillow.

I stiffen as she summarizes the events of this horrible night.

“I heard the two men talking about how they screwed up when they thought I was still unconscious. When I woke up, that blond guy came in here – drunk - and tried to rape me. His phone fell out of his pocket without him noticing, so I snatched it and hid it under the covers, and my first instinct was to call you.” A disillusioned look is thrown at me.

Fucking Frank
.

I’m secretly proud of Fallon. She’s obviously telling the truth because her story lines up with what I witnessed on the camera.
Somewhere
she does still trust me.

The usual light in her amber eyes is missing.
Her eyes that sparkle in the daylight, illuminating her gorgeous face. Those eyes that have lured me since the night we met. Those usually innocent eyes, filled with so much love for me, are now haunted by hurt. I will kill Frank for ever laying one hand on what’s mine. My hand hasn’t ceased massaging her wrist.

“Luca, can you undo the cuffs? They cut into my skin.”

I tightly shut my eyes to refrain from undoing them. I want to so badly, but she wants to be released to fight me. I know this. She has just learned disturbing news and is trying to manipulate me to escape. The human mind will always try to escape these circumstances. I stand back, bracing myself for the disappointment that will radiate from her. “I can’t. I’m sorry, Fallon. I need to find a way to get you out without endangering you more.”

Fallon is startled by my reluctance. “Are you going to leave me here?” The incredulous look she shoots me powers me backward.

I need to leave before I undo the cuffs and create more problems for us.

“Luca, Luca.” Fallon scrambles up on the bed and lunges at me. With her left arm pulled behind her, attached to the bed, she touches my chest with her right hand. “Luca, you can’t leave me alone here. What if he returns? What if someone else comes back? What am I supposed to do? I’m so scared. Please, please don’t go.” She fires all of this at me at once.

I cover her hand on my chest. “Nobody will come here. I can promise you. See that camera?” I point to the camera in the corner. “I will watch over you every minute, Fallon.”

“You’re going to leave me alone here?” she cries, clutching my hand. “Please don’t do this,” she pleads.