For Fallon (12 page)

Fallon

The wet and wild season of spring turns into an unprecedented hot and humid summer. Luca and I have become even closer the last couple of weeks. After the Gina altercation, nothing out of the ordinary has happened, and the seeds of mistrust have been quelled. Luca has been spending a lot of time at my place. We decide to spend a weekend at a cottage in Lake Forest. Unfortunately, my parents are on vacation again so we won’t be able to visit them.

I wear a thin, short white strapless dress, but Luca has the air-conditioning on the coldest setting so my nipples are rock hard in the car, even though it’s hot outside. “I’m cold.” I point to my nipples, making sure he notices my sideways grin.

Luca glances at me, then back at the road,
then whips his eyes back to my chest area. “You have no idea how much I’ve fallen in love with you. Every day you obsess me a little more.”

I affectionately shove his cheek to force his gaze back on the road.

He smirks as his right hand cups my left breast underneath the dress, and he groans. “It makes me hard in a split second when you don’t wear a bra.” Luca grazes his fingertips over my nipple.

I moan when his touch heats my skin, but I push Luca’s hand out and pull my dress back up to properly cover my breast so that he can concentrate on the road.

We manage to arrive at the lake without any accidents. During the summer, the lake is swamped with people and today is no exception. Even finding a vacant parking space seems to take forever.

I want to find a place in the shade, so we walk to a more secluded area and locate a spot under a tree only fifteen feet from the water. After I lay out our towels, I remove my dress to reveal my bikini underneath and Luca removes his shirt. His taut body glistens in the sunlight. I move my pilot glasses
on top of my head to soak in the sight of him. Through his sunglasses, I see his gaze is also trained on me.

His lips twitch up as he lies down on the towel and takes me with him. Removing the sunscreen from the bag, he starts to rub it on my stomach, arms, and legs. “Turn over.”  Luca rubs an excessive amount on the insides of my thighs and swell of my behind. “You want to come, Fallon?”

My head snaps up. “People are going to see.” I look around suspiciously, but nobody is within a few feet of us.

“No, relax. I’m
blocking you with my body. I would never allow anyone to see you come.” A shudder sparkles through me as he meets my eyes, and I wonder whether that was a threat or a promise. Luca massages down my back and his hand disappears in my bikini bottoms.

Luca groans when his middle finger trails down my behind and between my legs, rubbing softly in a circular motion for minutes before
he pushes in two fingers.

“
Shh.” When I start to moan, he smothers my cry with a kiss until my peak subsides.

Satisfied, I keep my eyes closed and enter dreamland.

When I wake, the sun is hanging low in the pale blue sky and Luca’s not lying next to me. Rubbing my eyes, I stand up to search for him and check my phone. I’ve been asleep for almost an hour, and it’s less crowded now. I scan the lake from left to right but can’t see Luca.

Searching for my water in my bag, I groan from thirst when I can’t find it. The bottle must’ve fallen out. My mood turns cheerful, however, when I do find the car keys in the bag, so I pack my towel and head for the parking lot.

I choose a different path through the opulent green trees to walk back to the car. It’s eerily silent at this part of the lake around this time. I hear a rustling behind me and have the distinct feeling someone is watching me. As I turn around quickly, I see nothing out of the ordinary, but I can’t shake the feeling someone is trailing behind me. I pick up my pace and search for my phone in my bag to call Luca. Of course, my phone has fallen out of its compartment. My rummaging is becoming increasingly frantic because unidentified noises are closing in on me. At the bottom of my bag, my hands finally touch the smooth surface of my phone. I’m relieved to find it and press to call Luca.

Thankfully, he answers on the first ring.
“Fallon.”

“Where are you?” I hiss.

“We forgot our drinks. I went back to the car, but I can’t find my car keys—”

“They’re in my bag. I’ve got them.” I hear the crunching of branches behind me. I look sideways.
Nothing.

“What’s wrong?” Luca asks, concerned.

“I’m heading back to the car to get a drink. I’m walking through the trees, and I hear noises behind me.” The unease in my stomach is growing.

“Where are you?” he barks. “Why didn’t you stay put?”

“I don’t know how to explain where I am.” Fallen branches obstruct a clear view of the pathway. I’m confused about which way to head.

“Fallon, from where we were lying, did you head left or right toward the trees?”

“Uhm….” The rustling is coming closer, igniting my anxiety, and I pick up my pace.

“Fallon!”
I hear Luca screaming from the phone dangling in my hand beside my hip as my legs race toward the parking lot. “Motherfucker!”

I’m still unsure which way to run. I swirl my head around and spot some vague movement in the distance.

“Fallon, answer me, now. Answer me!” Luca shouts.

I recognize three entwined trees on the left and remember that way leads to the lot. I bring the phone back up to my ear. “I’m almost at the lot.” I’m dripping in anxious sweat, mixed with the heat of summer.

“Where? And don’t you dare hang up on me or stop talking!” he orders loudly.

I flinch from his harsh tone of voice.
“From the left of the parking lot where we parked.”

I turn to the left and then straight ahead. Breathing heavily, I spot
a parked silver SUV far ahead: the parking area. I keep walking hurriedly, my focus ahead on reaching the lot.

“I see you, Fallon. Keep coming toward me.” I recognize Luca’s silhouette stepping in front of the silver car. He seems so small, so far away, but Luca is an excellent sprinter and reaches me quickly.

He takes me into his arms and places my phone in his pocket as he holds me tightly. “You’re safe,
dolcezza
. You’re fine. You’re fine,” he keeps repeating more to himself than to me. Luca pushes me away, holding me at arm’s length, giving me a once over. “Are you hurt?”

I shake my head, trying to catch my breath. “That was such a scare.” I hold up my trembling hand for him to see, and I let out a weak laugh when I
realize that I probably overreacted. “I just had this eerie feeling someone was watching me.”

Luca’s eyes narrow as he stares behind me and pulls me back into the protection of his embrace.

We’re both breathing heavily, our chests heaving in relief.

“Come,
dolcezza
.” Luca takes my bag and slings it over his shoulder, tucking me into his side and guiding us to his car.

I crane my neck to look back.
“Don’t, Fallon,” Luca orders and holds me tightly, his voice trembling. He must’ve been scared too.

“Nothing happened; I’m okay.” I try to ease him and caress his stubble-covered jaw as he tightly closes his eyes.

Luca

I lie awake at two a.m. with Fallon in my arms and my eyes trained to spit fire at the ceiling. She’s draped over me, her head resting on my chest. Hugging her securely to me, I push my lips in her hair.

My heartbeat accelerates thinking about this afternoon. I should’ve been more careful. She was having a peaceful sleep at the lake, and people were around us. She was supposed to be safe. I ran to the car and forgot my keys, and then she called me saying the words I’ve been dreading to hear. I’m fuming that she walked via an isolated path. She needs to be more aware of her surroundings. I’ve told her this before.

I ease out from under her, and she stirs and turns on her other side to continue her deep sleep. I drive my hands through my ruffled hair and get up from the bed as soundlessly as possible and head to the chair where my clothes are folded in a pile. Taking my disposable phone from my pants pocket, I read Adriano’s text message.

Damian has him.
At the warehouse within 10 min. You coming?

I’m coming now. Do not touch him.

While I’m dressing, my gaze is set on Fallon lying on the bed. She has pulled me in deeper than I ever thought possible. Buttoning my pants, I search for my gun out of habit before I remember I’ve stashed it in the car; I can’t risk her discovering my handgun. I drop on the chair to watch her sleep some more. The rise and fall of her chest has a calming effect on me. The last month I’ve been putting in a lot of effort to gain her trust and not have her exposed to anything Syndicate-related. That has given us a chance to build a relationship. I’ve been delegating more work to my
Capi
in order to have free time with Fallon. But this Leggia business will force me away from her for the next couple of weeks. James and I need to know what Leggia is up to, and it’s my primary duty as the underboss to find that out as soon as possible.

She’s fine, but for how long?

I will do anything to keep her. I’m prepared to do anything to protect her.

Earlier, I texted Adriano to come to Lake Forest with Damian.
They were at the house, which is not far from here. Like Lake Forest, the house is also situated up north, bordering the suburbs. Adriano was to drop everything to find the man that frightened Fallon. It must have been one of Leggia’s men. The spy we have in the Leggia Syndicate - one of my
Capo’s
soldiers - was ordered to find out which of Leggia’s soldiers was assigned to Lake Forest today. Adriano had confirmation on whom and his whereabouts within three hours.

Fallon wasn’t followed the week I was in Michigan. My man was watching her around the clock that week.
Leggia’s sending me a message by having his soldier following her when she’s with me - first in New York and now here. Although I’m not sure what the message is, yet.

She’s usually a deep sleeper; I hope she doesn’t wake during the night. If she does, then I’ll cross that bridge when it happens.

I take one set of keys that hang next to the front door, sneaking noiselessly out of the wooden cottage.

***

Within fifteen minutes, I’m at my destination. Adriano and Damian are already present.

Damian lets me in. “First room. Ramón Vasquez.”

I immediately make my way to the first concrete-floor room on the right. Adriano sits on a chair beside a square wooden table and a sink on my left, smoking his cigarette. The hideous orange paint on the walls is peeling off. Dangling on a hook – on a steel bar that hangs from left to right in the back of the small six by five room - with his wrists tied together is the man I was looking for: Ramón Vasquez. The man who was also watching us in New York. The man with the scar through his right brow. His feet hover an inch from the ground.

I commend Adriano with a swift nod for catching him this fast. “Well, well. Ramón, I distinctly remember telling you what would happen i
f you were in close proximity to my woman again.” I stand before him with my hands folded behind me for a long minute while his harsh breathing fills the room. I can see a will to fight in him, even though his body is hurting and his face is beet red from his painful position.

“I-I was hoping to get into Fallon’s sweet little pussy,” he tries to taunt me but stutters.

A layer of sweat gathers on my forehead from reigning in my fury.

Adriano lets out a laugh at Ramón’s attempt to still act tough and hints his cigarette toward the tools he has set out on the table: a hammer and a crimper.

Next to the crimper is a folded, sheer plastic hospital gown which I throw on to prevent staining my clothes. I grab the medium size hammer from the table and wrap my fingers tightly around the handle. “You just signed your death warrant, Ramón.” I was already wound up from this afternoon, and he threw fuel on the fire by speaking about her like that.

Ramón’s eyes extend in fear. “No, no. I was kidding. I was only hired to follow her, nothing more. I’m sorry.”

I close my eyes and roll my neck. When I open them again, I can’t hold back. “Too little.” I bring the hammer up slowly to make him aware of how far he’s pushed me, and then I smash it down on his right knee. “Too late.”

I hear t
he crunch of Ramon’s bone breaking as his body bangs against the wall and his earsplitting screams dance around the room. 

Throwing the hammer on the floor, I drive my fist into his nose, over and over, pouring my entire wrath into my hits. The blows splinter through my knuckles, and I relish it. His blood scatters on my face, and his head smashes
against the wall behind him as it slouches back from my fists. Son of a bitch thinks he can scare Fallon. “Nobody threatens Fallon. Look. At. Me.” I fist his hair roughly.

Ramón’s eyes focus on me, blood trickling from his nose and mouth. Suddenly, I smell urine and look down to see him soiling himself.

“Don’t you wish you knew when to shut the fuck up instead of taunting people when
you
are the one tied up?” I bang his head against the wall and bring the hammer back up to prepare for another blow to his knee. “Have you had enough?” I spit through my tense breathing.

“Pl-please….stop,” he stammers pathetically. 

My arm falls down beside my body when I look at his battered face, and I decide that it’s enough. I toss the hammer into the sink – out of breath - turn on the faucet and clean it, then my face. Removing the plastic gown, I check to ensure I’m clean of any blood. “Am I spotless?” I ask Adriano to check my face.

He scans me up and down. “Yes.”

“Come,” I order.

Adriano accompanies me to my car. “Leave him hanging there until morning. Then burn his body. Let
Leggia wonder what happened to Ramón.”

“Harsh,” Adriano mutters.

My head shoots to him in annoyance. “He came too close to her, Adriano.”

He sighs. “I know. But, Luca, I’ve never once seen you lose control. Tonight came fairly close.”

I brace my neck, trying to ease the tension out. “I don’t know how to keep her safe without eliminating all the threats.”

Adria
no changes the subject. “Where’s James by the way? I haven’t seen him in two weeks.”

“James is too busy with organizing everything behind the scenes for our business in the east. He and Salvatore have to set up the financial routes.
I
even barely speak to him, which currently suits me fine. I don’t know how long I can keep him in the dark about Fallon.” I open my car door. “I have to get back before she wakes up.”

***

The cottage is still dark, and Fallon hasn’t called me. In total, I’ve been gone forty minutes. Slipping back into the house, I step out of my clothes in the hall and open the bedroom door. She’s sleeping in the exact same position as when I left her. I fold my clothes and leave them on the chair as they were before and step into the bathroom to check one more time for any blood remnants.

I slide in behind her warm body, and her hair tickles my nose. She’s only wearing panties, nothing else. I sift my hands over her soft skin, a little too roughly in my still decreasing furious state. Her fragrance evaporates my demons of this night.

Fallon rouses, curls into me, and throws her leg over my hip to push her core over my boxer briefs.

I feel and smell her arousal, and I harden instantly.

Her eyes flutter open. “I’ll be quiet,” she promises in a sugary sweet tone that makes it impossible for me to deny her.

Sliding my hands over her hips, I pull down her panties to take them off. I trail my fingers back up the inside of her thigh and hook her leg higher over my hip as I glide my lips over her cheeks while she moans softly.

I probe between her legs, circling her wetness with two fingers.

She pushes down my boxers and strokes me with her addictive touch.

I pull her closer by the leg hooked over me and rub my head over her wetness. Then I drive inside her in one hard thrust, swallowing her soft cry with a kiss. Her head rests on my extended arm on the pillow, and I cup it to push her into my kiss. The other hand grips her ass and pulls her into me to fuck her hard. 

“Luca,” she groans.

My eyes close. Visions of Jack, Ramón, and the first associate I ever killed invade my head. I shake my head to lose the thoughts as I respire my actions of tonight, my exertion of our fucking, and my love for her into the hollow of her neck while driving myself into her sweet and tight body.

“Luca.
Luca.” Fallon’s hands rest on my chest. “Luca, where are you?”

I keep my thrusts brutal with eyes secured shut.

I won’t give her up. I need to protect her.

Her hands aren’t resting on my chest
anymore. Now she’s pushing me away.

“Luca,” she
whisper shouts. “Stop it.” Two warm hands cover my cheeks. “Open your eyes. Come back to me.”

Her soft voice breaks my trance. My eyes open and I meet her worried ones. I still immediately, blinking and burying my head into her cleavage as I pull out of her.

Fallon hugs my neck. “Where did you go, Luca? Come back to me.”

“I’m back,” I assure her and look into her eyes as I brush her hair away with my fingertips.

“What happened?” Her look is earnest with concern. “You were a million miles away.”

“I’m scared of losing you,
dolcezza
.” Partly the truth.

“I’m fine.” She takes my hand and holds it over her heart. “I’m fine. We had a scare
today, I didn’t know it bothered you that much. You should’ve talked to me.” Her fingers trail down the side of my face.

“
Ti amo così tanto.”
I love you so much. I press my lips into her hand. “It scared the fuck out of me.”

“Me too, initially.
I love you too. We’re together and I’m fine, and that’s what I keep reminding myself.” She pauses in thought. “Is something else going on?”

I can’t tell her how I handled her stalker. “I’ll keep reminding myself of that too from now on. Let’s sleep.”

My actions of earlier are another vision added to the nightmares that haunt me. Only my nightmares not only haunt me by night, but also by day.

She’s in danger by association with me now. I should’ve stayed away from her.

We keep our position, our bodies intertwined, trying to fall asleep.