“No. Fuck them, and fuck you if you’re on their side with this.”
“Fall–” I disconnect the call. Hot tears fall down my cheeks and I don't bother wiping them away.
I feel like a fucking robot that only has one emotion:anger; everything else feels numb. I pull into the driveway, my eyes scanning for anyone that might be out and about in this quiet little neighborhood. Given the early hour, I’m certain he’ll be at home and likely all alone. I climb out of the Hummer, walk up the front steps, and give two sharp raps on the door.
He opens the door, shock written all over his face. “Fallon? You’re alive!” His eyes scan me, taking in every detail. “Get in here.” He grasps my shoulder, pulling me inside, almost as if he’s actually concerned for me. Almost.
“What happened to you? Everyone has been–”
I pull the sharp blade from my pocket and descend on him.
One Hour Earlier
Akio
“Perimeter breach. Perimeter breach.”
I jolt awake to the alarm system going berserk. Grabbing the knife from under my pillow, I jump out of bed and race to Fallon’s room, her safety my number one priority. Apparently Declan and Matteo have the same thought, because Dec and I get to her room at the same time we hear Teo thundering up the stairs.
“What the fuck is going on?” Quinn bursts out of the guest room she used last night just as we enter Fallon’s.
Dec and I freeze, taking in the empty room.
“Siren?” I call out as I hurry over to the connected bathroom, but she’s not in there, either.
Matteo crashes into the room, but when I turn to look at him, both he and Declan are staring at her bed, wide-eyed and stiff as stone.
I walk over and my stomach drops when I see the file on Fallon’s mother placed in the middle of the bed.
She knows.
I feel sick. Iknewthis would happen. Every fear that revolved around this situation has come to fruition. My hand shakes as I rake it down my face, trying to gather my racing thoughts.
Quinn pushes past us, and with a curious look, picks up the file. No one moves to stop her. I don’t think any of us are capable at this moment. Her eyebrows raise as she skims the pages. The alarm is still blaring in thehouse, but we all know what triggered it without having to look. She left; it’s that simple. She saw we lied, and she left. I feel something inside me shatter.
Quinn shakes her head as she looks up at the three of us, her mouth open in shock. “What the fuck is this?”
Matteo is the first to snap out of whatever trance has us all riveted in place. “What does it look like?” His voice is sharp and angry, but I know that anger is more at himself than anything. “Akio, go deal with the alarm.”
I glare at him, fighting back that demon inside me that is telling me to hurt him, telling me it's his fault that she’s gone and that I need to make him pay. Just as I take a step to go get my tablet, Dec spins, swinging his fist so hard into Teo’s jaw that he stumbles back.
“Hey! Hey! Knock it off!” Quinn jumps between them as I leave the room.
The ringing in my ears continues even after I disarm the system. I tap through my tablet to access the cameras. The one that filmed the alarm trigger is blinking at me so I open it up to see Fallon busting down the garage doors with Declan’s Hummer and speeding away into the darkness of early morning.
I don't bother looking at the other screens; that would waste valuable time. The argument has spilled into the hallway at this point. I’m tempted to just leave them to fight and go after her myself.
We are a family and we don’t turn on each other when things get hard.
I don’t know whose fucking voice is telling me this, but I find my feet taking me back toward my brothers and Quinn, who all have their phones out.
“Someone better start explaining this right now.” Quinn’s voice is icy and demanding as she holds the folder in one hand, stabbing her finger into it with the other.
“We found Fallon’s mother’s body. We were surveilling so many people, but Randy, Sebastian’s driver, stood out because he kept making trips to a vacant property, walking around one area and then leaving. A few times per year for as long as we have been keeping an eye on her father.” Matteo’s voice is one I haven’t heard before. He sounds so hollow. He pinches the bridge of his nose as he continues. “We started snooping and literally digging around, and that’s when we found her.”
“How did you know it was her?” Quinn’s eyes dart between the three of us.
Declan answers without looking at her, his arms crossed over his chest as he stares daggers at our brother. “We hired a doctor and had DNA testing done in a private lab several states away.”
