For Fallon (27 page)

“Don’t,” he warns and looks up into my eyes. His nostrils flare in an attempt to keep control over his spiraling emotions. This is Luca almost losing control. He keeps spitting fire into my amber irises when he barks orders to
Adriano, “Drive the beamer home. I’m taking Fallon, you take Camilla. Restrain her. We meet in my room.” Luca tugs me with him by my upper arm to the trunk of the Maserati.

No, am I going in the trunk?

Popping it open, he searches it and keeps his grip firmly on me beside him. A stack of tie-wraps appear. “Put your hands behind your back,” he demands.

“What? No, don’t tie me,” I protest.

Luca grips both my underarms and pulls them back, holding both wrists captive with one hand easily while I uselessly attempt to break free. My wrists are being tied with one black tie-wrap. Luca pulls the wrap tight and hisses in my ear, “Don’t say a word. You’re pushing my limits with you.”

His warm, unsteady breath fans my cheek when I crane my neck to see Camilla being heaved in
to the back seat by Adriano. The same is done to me.

Adriano and Luca step on the gas with urgency. The drive back is excruciatingly silent as the Maserati speeds back to that damn house. Not once does Luca catch my eyes in the rearview mirror. His sight is frozen on the road. His silence is scaring me most. Luca parks the car in the driveway. He cuts the engine and stares ahead for several minutes, his labored breathing constantly increasing my anxiety.

Adriano pulls in behind us, hiding the damaged part of the BMW from the guard’s view, and jumps out of the car to the front guard. Camilla and I aren’t seen behind the tinted windows of the back seat. Adriano and the guard disappear into the house and Adriano returns alone, striding toward Camilla.

Luca tr
ies to wrench me out of the BMW but stops sharply when he notices my bare feet. Didn’t he see my lack of shoes earlier? He stands up straight. I shiver uncontrollably when, out of the blue, his fist comes down on the roof with furious power, and I can hear an anguished ‘fuck’ being muttered.

Adriano and Camilla are already inside the house.

Luca clutches my arm and pulls me out with heavy force. “Get out and move.”

His
directive tone discourages me from fighting, and I comply promptly. With Luca at my back, we’re back in the room I despise within minutes.

Camilla’s sitting on the foot of the bed, face hanging down
, as Adriano stares unbelievingly at her from the window. Camilla and I lock eyes ever so briefly after Luca shoves me to sit next to her.

Adriano hands Luca a pair of scissors that he uses to cut the ties, freeing my hands. I rub the skin on my wrists softly. No marks.

“How the hell did you get out of the house and in possession of Damian’s car keys?” Luca seethes with his arms across his chest towering over us, still avoiding eye contact with me.

Damian? Another name I need to remember. My eyes roll sideways to Camilla whose lips are quivering as bad as mine.

“I stole them from Damian,” Camilla answers quietly.

“How?”
Adriano bellows at her and joins Luca standing in front of us.

Her shoulders hunch forward.
“I spiked his drink,” she confesses.

Adriano’s hands wave around, and Camilla and I rear back on impulse. He braces them behind his neck. “What the fuck? Where is he?”

“Passed out in one of the private rooms,” Camilla says.

The second Luca’s stare is fixed on
me, I feel the hairs along my nape stand on end in distress. Through my eyelashes, I meet his terrifyingly dark and bleak eyes. He stares at me without blinking or moving a muscle.

Adriano continues.
“Private room? Did you fuck him?” he demands to know angrily.

“No.” Camilla shifts closer to me. “We… kissed…”

The storm brewing inside Adriano erupts at Camilla’s confession. “Are you fucking kidding me?” he roars and starts pacing back and forth.

I gawk at her too. She has some balls to seduce him. While Camilla was obviously scared too when we attempted to escape, she was also tough and determined. Now she’s acting like a delicate, shy victim. The noticeable difference in her personality has me frowning in thought. Immediately, I try to disguise my surprised expression, but Luca – who has been watching me with careful, perceptive eyes - has caught it.

Luca motions for Adriano to calm down and they move to the door, whispering back and forth until Adriano turns and tugs Camilla up and out the door so quickly, she doesn’t even get the chance to look back at me.

Alone with Luca, his quiet rage suffocates the air in the
room. I’ve never encountered him with this level of intense anger.

Luca closes the door with his head bent down and his left palm planted against it. I can clearly hear him inhaling deeply, and then he smashes his fisted right hand through the wall.

My body tenses up, seeing him unleash his anger on the wall.

And another punch before he swivels around and fumes, “Why can’t you just fucking listen for once!”

Another shock jolts me, due to the level of his voice, and a lump fills my throat.

“Everything, I have done to keep
you
safe. All you had to do was listen to me until I could safely bring you home. Because of you, I’m constantly worrying about fucking damage control. And did you think beyond escaping?” His words drenched in fury. “Without any shoes?” He grits his teeth and edges toward me. “You have no clue who you could’ve met, or what could happen without anything to protect yourself!”

On instinct I scoot back on the bed as Luca’s control completely shatters before my eyes.

He clutches his hair and kneels in front of me, pulling me roughly back to the edge of the bed with his hands behind my knees.

With widened eyes, I keep still when he buries his head in my neck and pulls me to him while my arms hang limply to avoid returning his suffocating embrace. My eyes fall closed as his lips move against my collar bone.

“I’m so fucking angry at you. Yet…yet I can’t retaliate the only way I know how. I don’t even want to. I want to go back.” Luca’s rests his forehead on my shoulder. “So conflicted…” His voice chokes as he looks up into my wary eyes.

Where is he going with this?

Out of nowhere he cups the back of my head and kisses me with bruising force. In a quick move, he drives me back on the bed with his entire rigid body and surprises me by cuffing one wrist to the bed and stands back up just as quickly. Back to the status of Friday night - I’m cuffed, and Luca and I glare at each other. 

The days have been slow, except for this morning and the last hour where so much has happened. My brain still hasn’t caught up. From being taken Friday night and thrust into an underworld where Luca works, to constantly being on edge
about what’s to come, I’m weak. But I’m not confused enough to forget the most important thing. “When is the trade?”

Luca cocks his head to the side and shifts his hair back. When I don’t think he’ll answer me, he speaks in a voice I don’t recognize.
“Tomorrow, midnight.”

I fought m
y best to escape. For nothing. When I close my eyes, the last shred of hope leaves my body with a tormented cry.

“I’m not trading you, Fallon,” Luca divulges suddenly.

My eyes snap open in astonishment. “What?”

Luca rubs his fingers over his forehead. “I know you’re confused, but you have to cooperate for one day.” He sighs tiredly. “You constantly trying to escape
is making this more difficult. I get you don’t trust me, but for now, stop being clueless and open your eyes. See and feel how much I’m sacrificing for you. I thought you were smarter than this.” He shakes his head in disappointment. “Yes, we’re taking you to the trade. However, I’m not trading
you
. We need you so that we can end this. You’ll be safe and after you’ve cooperated with us, you can return home, to your life.”

I stare at him with thinning eyes. It can’t be this easy. “What will happen at the trade?”

“We’ll capture Leggia and Danny.”

“Then I’m free to go?”

“Yes. But you’ll be tied to this ‘crime’ and can’t inform the police without facing charges yourself,” he relays without any emotion.

There’s the catch.
“Blackmail?”

“Insurance.
I think we both lost all trust in each other,” he retorts in a cold voice. And with that he strides to the bathroom.

My head is pounding
, so I’m glad when Luca returns with a glass of water in one hand and a towel and first aid kit in the other. He cleans my feet gently with the wet towel and hands me a Tylenol with the glass of water. “There’s a bruise forming.” Luca hunches beside the bed and caresses my temple. “Does it hurt?” he asks harshly and releases a pained sigh.

I shake my head, and the tears that have been brimming behind my eyes find their way out.

Luca rubs my tears away with his thumb and cups my face. “Please just do as you’re told for one day. I’ve been protecting you from day one. I will still protect you, even if I’m so fucking angry at you. I’m also angry at myself.” He shuts his eyes tightly for a brief second. “I didn’t want any of this.”

I know he didn’t want any of this, or plan this for that matter. But this mess was caused by him.
By him allowing me to fall for him. By him lying to me. By him scaring me. And yes, he has taken care of me in his own way while I’ve been occupied with failing to escape. My muddled feelings still tell me to distrust him, but the exhaustion of tonight is weighing my fighting spirit down. Maybe for this one day I should trust him? I’m cuffed anyway so I can’t do anything else but wait. “What kind of life is this, Luca?” I ask sadly.

“Not a life for you, Fallon.” He combs my hair back with his fingers, and then stands to leave me alone.

Having no choice anymore but to follow his instructions for one day, I resign myself to my fate. I’m too exhausted to fight. Working against Luca is pointless; he’s too powerful. My failed escape attempts and the unbearable wait until the trade doesn’t alleviate the tension from my body at all. An uncomfortable night follows. Sleeping with a cuffed wrist is impossible.

Luca

I storm into my office where Adriano is already seated with his elbows on the desk, head resting in his hands. Shrugging off my suit jacket, I undo an extra button in agitation after I drop into my chair. I’m torn as I rake my hands through my hair twice, keeping them
clasped behind my head. I’m torn between wanting to kill her for being stupid and wanting to whisk her away to safety forever, away from all this. I’m still furious at her for leaving and putting herself in that kind of danger, and I hate that I had to cuff her. She’s being led by her fear instead of logic. When I cleaned her feet and saw her empty eyes, I wanted to comfort her despite my anger. I held back and it took everything in me to leave.

The reality remains that I’m the one who took the risk by falling for a non-Syndicate-related woman. I have not only fallen for her, I’m obsessed with her.
Consumed by her. I’m hers. Period. But she’s can’t be mine.

She would be eaten alive.

I need to accept that she can and will never accept to live in my world. I need to accept that I can never trust her again, and she will never trust me again.

Not a life for you, Fallon.

“Damian is indeed passed out in the private room. He’ll just think he drank too much,” Adriano says when he leans back slowly, worn out from this long night too.

I never would’ve predicted these two women would collaborate.

“I texted Damian that I took his car and had a slight accident. The car will go to the garage tomorrow. Camilla’s in the private room. I’m sleeping there with her to keep an eye on her.” He shakes his head and rests his elbows on the armrests.

“She has to go,” I tell him. He knows she can’t work for us anymore.

“I know. We’re not hurting her.” He gives me a pointed look.

“No. Fire
her, make sure she’s bound into silence. I don’t care how.” They did manage to escape quietly. At least I can call it a night since Adriano took care of every loose end. Nobody witnessed them escaping. “Get some sleep.”

Adriano heads out first to join Camilla. As I stroll through the deserted house, I battle with myself to sleep in the private room and not run up those stairs to Fallon.

Eventually - after minutes of standing lost in the hall - I step into the lonely private room with nothing but regret and resentment to keep me busy through the night. The depth of my conflicting emotions concerning Fallon follows me deep into the night, triggering constant insomnia.

Luca

Tonight, the trade will be at The Parish of the Blessed. Around six this morning, I went into my room to check on Fallon. I adjusted her sleeping
body after releasing the cuffs, an
d
I left her food and drinks, along with a note that I’d be back tonight.

James, Adriano, Salvatore, and I meet up in James’ office that evening to discuss our plan.

“Fallon’s on board?” James asks from behind his desk.

The rest of us are seated across from him. I take a sip of my coffee. “She is. And
I
will protect her constantly. She’s the first to leave if anything,
anything
, goes wrong.”

Adriano suggests, “I think Damian should come too. He can scope out the perimeter while we’re inside the church.
Leggia will have men outside too.”

My overwhelming anxiety is quieted slightly by Adriano’s offer. I tap my fingers on my thigh. I can’t afford to be distracted by Fallon’s presence. This is my only chance to end this quickly. Only for her am I able to put my anger aside and
focus.

James grants the request.
“Fine. Father Eli has been instructed as well?”

“Father Eli will help anyone who pays him enough. But as back-up, I have photo evidence of his unsavory proclivities,” I state blandly.

“Biagio is informed?” Salvatore inquires.

Adriano and I talked to
Leggia’s underboss, Biagio, Tuesday night.  We etched reasonable doubt with Biagio, and now he’ll work with us to eliminate Leggia. The underboss has to be the one to search us for guns tonight and allow us to keep our piece. Biagio’s far smarter than Leggia and not as power hungry. He’s a family man who doesn’t want the war Leggia’s inciting. “Yes, he agreed on the course of action when we spoke Tuesday night.”

“Then let’s end this fast.” James puts on his beige jacket.

“Get Damian. I’m getting Fallon,” I order Adriano while leaning forward as I conceal my handgun in the ankle holster and slip my pants over it.

Trudging back upstairs, I find Fallon’s already waiting on the bed in a dark green summer dress Adriano got from Camilla.

“Are you ready?” I ask her. I’m not, but this must happen.

She lifts her eyes. “No.”

Closing the distance, I kneel before her. “You have to listen to me, Fallon. Stay with me at all times.” Last night, the thought crossed my mind that she might want to help Danny. Fallon’s volatile behavior makes it difficult to predict her next move. She appears to have calmed down since we caught them last night. However, I’m keeping my eye on her every second because she can turn on us the moment her fear overrules her mind.

Needing to end this fast, I clasp her hand in mine and we walk out of the house.

Damian drives out first, via another route, to the church.

Salvatore takes the driver’s seat, next to James. I slide in the back middle, next to Adriano and then Fallon moves in beside me.

“Ms. Michaels,” Salvatore and James greet.

“Hi,” she says in a weak voice, not daring to look at them. She’s also evading Adriano’s eyes.

Due to the heat, I left my jacket at the house and just wear my white-collared shirt sans tie. I roll up the sleeves and see Fallon’s hands trembling uncontrollably in her lap while she stares out the window. This time, my love triumphs my anger, and I can’t resist comforting Fallon by resting my arm behind her and hugging her to my chest while kissing her hair.

Tensing up, she hides her face in my chest without making a sound. 

“It will end today,
dolcezza
,” I whisper.

Only these few more hours, then Fallon can go back to her life. The last obstacle to ensure her safety and end a Mafia war before it has a chance to ignite. Fallon’s only been informed of her role. She’s to stay behind me and remain quiet. If anything goes wrong, she’s to follow my instructions. Silence consumes the vehicle
during the entire ride because we can’t talk any business with Fallon present.

The Chicago skyline sparkles against the night sky when we enter The Loop. We’re right on
time, and Salvatore parks the car in front of the church. The street is deserted this time of night except for a pedestrian walking his dog.

As James and Salvatore exit the vehicle, I tilt Fallon’s head up and rehash the plans with her. “Don’t say a word, even if someone addresses you. And stay close to me
at all times
.”

She nods with an uncertain glow behind her eyes.

“Tell me with words, Fallon.” I need to hear her voice.

“Yes,” comes out in
a small tone.

Salvatore opens the car door, signaling
that it’s showtime. James leads the way through the massive church doors to the vestibule. The historical cruciform architecture of this place is similar to the church I used to attend with my parents. We pass the aisle down the middle, heading toward the elevated altar in the center end, which is surrounded by devotional statues and lit candles. The massive black organ pipes behind the sanctuary are visibly running up the walls. Every inch of the dome is decorated with Renaissance paintings of angels.

Fallon’s pressed behind my back, following me with unstable steps
.

Biagio
and his
Capo
are waiting to search us in front of the altar.

James and I spread our arms in front of the two men. Salvatore is the only one not packing. Adriano, James, and I have our guns holstered, as discussed with
Biagio Tuesday night.

Biagio
nervously searches James, which concerns me. James keeps his stare on him the entire time. James and I tower over this short Italian man. Biagio’s
Capo
stands back while his boss takes his time to inspect all of us. I tug Fallon more behind me as my unease over Biagio’s anxious expression grows. Restless prickles stroke down the back of my neck.

“The girl.”
Biagio motions Fallon over to him.

What the fuck? We never discussed the girl being searched. My arm shoots out behind me to calm Fallon who tensed up instantly at
Biagio’s request. “Nobody touches the girl,” I hiss through clenched teeth.

Biagio
drops it immediately.

I’m the last to be searched and step forward a
s Adriano moves beside Fallon. Biagio and I lock eyes. Is he betraying us? He’s dripping with anxiety.

Biagio
puts my arms up, and his hand meanders over my clothes. Padding down to my legs, he looks up when his hand comes in contact with my ankle holster. Sweat is glistening on his upper lip.

I bend my head to display a warning glare
in case he’s considering fucking me over.

He swallows heavily. “Clear.”
Biagio rises to whisper, “Danny is in the adjacent bathroom. Leggia has a Glock in his shoulder strap. Eli hasn’t ratted on us. Leggia ordered me to strip search the girl to piss you off.” He gives me an apologetic look. “You calm?”

I nod once for him to continue and immediately step back to feel Fallon’s warm breath on my back again.

Biagio moves toward the sacristy - the chamber where Eli prepares for mass in the back of the church - and lets us through the door.

Leggia
welcomes us with a smug smile. “I was wondering how long it would take for you to come to your senses, Calderone.”

Biagio
stands by the door behind us with another
Capo
as the other one joins Leggia. Leggia came very well prepared with his entire fucking army. A guy holds guard in front of the bathroom where Danny is to my right. That guy is not a high-ranking soldier of his Syndicate – which confirms how stupid Leggia is. Breaking the most essential rule of how to keep yourself out of the eye of law enforcement. Only the first soldiers can come to meets.
Capi
, underbosses, and bosses do not go out in public with random soldiers. Only with their first soldier; a soldier without a criminal record, like Damian. This way the high-ranking officers are never connected to any criminals.

“
Leggia.” Nobody can aggravate James in public. Leggia’s condescending remarks don’t bother him a bit.

“Welcome, Ms. Michaels.”
Leggia peruses Fallon. “You’re quite the sight for sore eyes.” Leggia’s taunt is directed at me.

She shivers but doesn’t make a sound, and I block her from his view entirely. He’s stalling. I take a step back and Salvatore and Adriano mirror my action. We need to be ready to retrieve our weapon. Adriano has an extra weapon for Salvatore if needed.

“Leggia continues. Tsk tsk, why so protective, Luca? You want Danny, right?”

“Where is the boy?” James demands to know, growing impatient with this farce.
Leggia is such a theatrical yet ignorant man.

Leggia
is seemingly uncomfortable. I anticipated for him to act on his own plan of action, just like us, but we have Biagio and at least one
Capo
in our pocket. He’s breaking out in a sweat because his plan is about to set off, or because he knows my plan will fail. I’m still not convinced by Biagio’s odd behavior.

Commotion behind me has me hurriedly reaching down for my gun on instinct and aiming at
Leggia. I shouldn’t have acted so suddenly because the
Capo
behind me grabbed Fallon as I bent down for my piece.

James cocks
his gun at the soldier to his right in one easy move.

Leggia
jumps out of his seat with a vicious scowl and takes out his piece too.

Everyone has their gun out now.

Leggia’s aim on James.

Biagio’s
end of the barrel on me.

Mine on
Leggia.

James targets the soldier in front of the bathroom because he realizes that this so
ldier can’t escape whatsoever - he has seen our faces.

Adriano targets the
Capo
next to Leggia.

Salvatore’s unarmed.

Fallon takes in the scene with her mouth half open, and tears coat her cheeks in revulsion and complete terror. Her eyes follow my controlled aim on Leggia while she’s being hauled back against the
Capo’s
chest with the barrel at her temple.

The room that was starting to spin in all the commotion instantly freezes on Fallon. My aim switches in a split second to the soldier threatening Fallon with his weapon.

Fallon gulps in panic of the movement.

Biagio’s
finally proven himself worthy when he works with me instantly and finds a new mark in Leggia.

“What the fuck,
Biagio?” Leggia screams and fires his gun - still aimed at me - as realization of the betrayal of his underboss sets in.

I duck and turn, frenziedly trying to find an
open shot on the
Capo
, who’s now hiding behind Fallon. My ear feels like it’s burning when a slice of flesh is grazed off by the bullet almost hitting me, and the sound of the fire arms is muted. Fallon stoops down and to the side, giving me an opportunity to shoot. I blast my gun, hitting the
Capo
in his shoulder – he’s obviously not the one in our corner. He sways on his feet from the push of the bullet inside his flesh, and I take another shot, this one fatal to the head. Then I sprint to Fallon and push her down, throwing myself on top of her, shielding her with my entire body.

Her arms cover her head, and she screams from the impact of hitting the floor on her knees and stomach.

James is much quicker than the soldier blocking the bathroom door and shoots him in the heart before he has a chance to properly cock his gun. The soldier sags down and hits the floor right in front of Fallon and me.

She screams louder when she sees the dead body collapsing in front of her with a crimson halo surrounding the upper chest.

Placing my arm over Fallon’s head, I say, “Don’t look. Stay down, Fallon.”

Salvatore an
d Adriano jump behind a bookcase.

Leggia
dives behind the desk when he realizes his own men are betraying him and empties three bullets into his own
Capo
.

James dodges a shot
from Leggia and dips down in front of the desk.

Fallon and I elude the bullets, and I rush her to hide beside a dresser against the wall, folding my body over hers as we’re crouched down.

James motions for me to keep launching bullets at the top of the desk, above Leggia’s hiding place. He rounds the corner and stands up. “Drop it.”

I hear a weapon being dropped on the floor and see it slide out via the side when James kicks it away.
Leggia rises from the desk with his hands above his head.

My vision blurs slightly and I feel a warm fluid trickling down my shoulder and onto Fall
on’s back. I keep her head down because I don’t want her to see what James will do next. An incessant ringing has started in my ear, but I ignore the pain on the side of my head.