Seductive Sin, page 20
I want to believe my brother. With all my heart I do.
“Vinnie, please promise me one thing.”
“If I can.”
“If you can’t figure out how to fake it, then run like hell. Go back to Europe. Do whatever you have to do to—”
“Sav.” He grips my shoulders and stares into my eyes. “I will not abandon you again. Do you hear me? I will not. Don’t worry about me. I got this.”
“But Vinny—”
He releases his grip. “I’ve got a plan in motion to put them off for a few months. I’ll say I need to be educated in all the inner workings, and I’m out of practice with a firearm so I need to get up to speed.”
“I just saw you shoot a few days ago. You’re hardly out of practice.”
“They don’t know that, and I’ll use it to my advantage. Grandpa is so happy to have his blood back on board that I’ll be able to subtly manipulate him. I’m not an idiot eighteen-year-old anymore. I’ve gained a lot of wisdom in the last seventeen years, and Grandpa’s an old man. It won’t be easy, Sav, but trust me. I can do this.”
I nod.
I have to trust my brother.
I have no other choice.
“What can I do to help?”
“Nothing. This is on me, Sav.” He grabs both of my hands. “You go. You live your life. Be with the man you love. Tell Falcon how sorry I am that he got brutalized so terribly, and that I’m happy he’s on the road to recovery. This is your chance. Take it. Please.”
39
FALCON
When I awake the next morning, I’m surprised to see Raven instead of Savannah in the room with me.
“Ray?” I say.
“Hey, you.” She squeezes my hand. “How are you feeling today?”
“A little better. My breathing seems to feel normal, and it doesn’t hurt quite so much to talk.” I shrug. “How do I look?”
“Like you’ve been hit by a truck,” she says, “but you look wonderful to me.”
A doctor walks in briskly. “Good morning, Mr. Bellamy.”
“Hey, Doc,” I say.
“I have some excellent news for you.” He looks down at a clipboard. “Your imaging results from yesterday afternoon look great. Your minor pneumothorax is healing nicely, and you should be able to go home later today. You’ll need to take it easy, though. Full healing will take up to two weeks, which is why I’m going to want to see you back for imaging then. Your ribs are another story. The hairline fractures will heal on their own, and there’s not much we can do except wait for them to heal. They will be painful for the next week or two.”
“Great,” I groan.
“It could have been a lot worse, Falcon,” Raven says.
Yeah. I could be dead at the hand of that fucker Miles McAllister. But I can’t say this to Raven. She doesn’t even know the full story of what happened to me. I told her it had to do with Savannah’s family, but that’s it. So far she hasn’t pressed it, but now that I’m feeling better, I know I’m in for it today.
“I’m going to sign your discharge papers today, and they’ll be good for this afternoon. I just want to keep you here for the morning to make sure everything continues to go well.”
“Thanks, Doc.” I gingerly rub my jaw. “I think.”
“Do you have any questions?”
“No.”
“Good. The nurse will go over your discharge information with you after lunch.” He looks at Raven then. “You’re not the same woman who I met when Falcon was admitted.”
“No. I’m his sister. Raven Bellamy. Savannah will be here as soon as she can.”
“Good, good. As long as someone is here to drive your brother home,” he says.
I raise an eyebrow. “You saying I can’t drive?”
“You can drive as long as you’re not taking your pain meds,” he says, “but hospital protocol dictates that you must be released to an adult. After that, drive if you’re comfortable, but my guess is it will be a few days before your pain is at a point where you can be off the meds for a bit.”
“Got it,” I say.
He looks at me as if he expects me to balk. I have no intention of that. I spent eight years of my life locked up. Staying home and not driving for a few days is nothing—especially now that I know Savannah is safe.
“Good.” He gently pats my shoulder. “You’re a lucky man. This could have been a lot worse.”
“You’re telling me.”
The doctor nods to Raven, makes a few notes on the computer, and then leaves.
Raven shuts the door behind the doctor and then sharply turns to me, her forehead wrinkled. “When are you going to tell me what’s going on, Falcon?”
“Around the fifth of never.”
She shakes her head. “You’re part of me now, big brother. We have no secrets.”
“We have some,” I say. “And they’re not my stories to tell, Ray. I’d tell you everything if I could.” A yawn splits my face. “Ow! Damn, that hurts.”
“Okay, okay. I can take a hint.” She opens the door and puts a foot out. “You rest. We’ll talk when it doesn’t hurt you so much.”
I nod and close my eyes. Savannah should be here soon, I hope. Raven said she went to Austin last night to have dinner with her mom and Vinnie, and she’d probably stay the night.
That’s not like her…which means something’s going on.
And I want to know what it is.
40
SAVANNAH
I leave my parents’ home after spending the night in my old room. I say a quick goodbye to Vinnie, but I don’t seek out my mother.
She’s hurting now, and in her mind, it’s my doing.
Vinnie tried to convince me over a quick breakfast that she doesn’t know any better. That she did her duty by marrying Dad and believes that I should be willing to do the same. Funny. She and Dad eventually fell in love. Their marriage was a happy one as far as I could tell growing up.
So of course she’s upset that her husband is gone and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison. But he did it to save the man her daughter loves.
Perhaps it’s—
“Savannah!”
I’m ready to get into the car when I hear my mother’s voice. I look up.
“Come here, please.”
I draw in a breath. Be ready for anything. “What is it, Mom?”
“I need to say something to you.”
I walk toward the doorway where she’s standing. “I think you said enough last night.”
She shakes her head. “You’re my only daughter. I never wanted any of this for you.”
“Then why the huge-ass guilt trip?”
“Because…” She dabs a tear away from her cheek with a handkerchief. “Because I love your father, Sav. I didn’t when we met. I didn’t when we got married. I didn’t even when Vinnie was born. But I grew to, and I grew to need him as much as I needed to breathe. Can you understand that?”
I nod. “Yes. I know what that feels like.”
“That’s how you feel about your young man? This ex-convict?”
“He’s innocent, Mom.”
She begins to speak but I hold up a hand.
“You can think what you want about Falcon. I believe in him, and I love him. He loves me.” I swallow. “I never wavered in my belief that you and Daddy loved me. Not until those gunmen came to Falcon’s house looking for me. I knew what it meant. I knew Daddy was going back on his word. And I also knew, Mom, that he would never do that lightly.”
“No, he wouldn’t. And he didn’t. His love for all his children always came first. That’s why he killed Miles, Savannah.”
“I know that.”
“He chose you over everything else. His family. His wife. His son.”
“That’s not fair. He didn’t even know Vinnie was back when he shot Miles.”
“I adore Vinnie,” Mom says. “I never thought I’d see him again, and I’m over the moon that he’s back. But he made your father expendable, Savannah. Your father is my heart. My lifeline. And he’s going to be in prison until the day he dies.”
I look at my mother. Truly look at her. At the fine lines around her eyes and her mouth. At the freckles, some of which have enlarged and morphed into age spots. She’s still a beautiful woman, but she’s nearing sixty.
“Your father grew to love me more than life itself,” she continues. “And I him. He’s the air I breathe, Savannah, but he’s not coming back to this house.”
“Mom, Vinnie will find a way.”
Mom sighs. “I wish that were true, but you don’t know my father the way I do. To you, he’s the adoring Grandpa who used to bounce you on his knee. To me, he’s a monster.”
I nod. What can I say? She made clear last night what she was talking about, and I honestly don’t want to know any more. A moment later, I glance around. “Mom, do you know why it was so important that I marry Miles?”
She pauses and then nods. “Yes, Savannah, I do. And I hate it. I hate what my father has become. I hate what he’s done to our family. And I hate him for dragging Vinnie into it.”
“Vinnie won’t get sucked in. I trust him.”
“He will get sucked in,” Mom says. “I watched it happen to your father, and I watched it happen to Michael. The only thing that saved your father was his love for me and his children. Michael couldn’t be saved. And Vincent… He has nothing to save himself for. All he has is an eleven-year-old fiancée and a betrayal he has to make up for.” She starts to cry. “I’m frightened for him, Savannah. And I lashed out.”
“At me.”
“Yes. It was easy to blame you. In my eyes, all the family was asking of you was the same thing they asked of me.”
“Miles wasn’t Dad.”
“No.”
“He tried to rape me.”
“I know. And I’m sorry.” She buries her face in her hands.
I lay my hands on my mother’s heaving shoulders. “Mom, you say Vinnie doesn’t have anyone to keep him grounded. That’s not true. He has you. And he has me. We’ll be his strength. He’s going to be okay, Mom. Trust in him.”
She wipes her eyes and looks around, whimpering. “This house is so big. So empty now. Vincent will get his own place, and I’ll be alone.”
“Do you want me to move back in?”
“No. You have your young man. Be with him. I’m done being selfish.” She walks back inside the house without saying another word.
I get in the car and drive back to Summer Creek.
Back to Falcon.
But first, I make a detour to visit my father.
He’s in orange. My strong and handsome father is wearing orange.
Thank God I never had to look at Falcon like this. My father is big and strong, but he’s no Savage. He hasn’t been transferred to the prison yet, thank God. Right now he’s being held in the county jail, and his attorneys arranged for him to have family visitors. We sit together in a small room, a guard watching us.
“This isn’t like I expected,” I say. “I figured you’d be behind glass and we’d be talking on one of those old fashioned telephones.”
“Not here, in the jail,” Dad says. “Once I’m arraigned, they’ll either let me out on bail, which is unlikely, or they’ll house me here or at the prison. The lawyers are working on it, but the McAllister lawyers are working just as hard against it.” He draws in a breath. “And so is your grandfather.”
I grab his hand. “Dad, I can’t thank you enough for saving Falcon. Truly. He’s the man I love.”
“He came to see me,” Dad says. “The night they beat him.”
I nod. “I figured as much.”
“I’m sorry for my hand in that. Please believe that I had no idea they would torture him like they did.”
I look into my father’s sunken eyes. He’s sad, regretful. I believe him.
“What happened?” I ask.
“I sent your grandfather a text to let him know Falcon was here. Next thing I know, one of our staff members was hitting Falcon over the head and dragging him out of my office. Your grandfather clearly had someone in our house on his payroll.”
“How did you know where they took him?”
“That old warehouse is where they do a lot of their dirty work,” he says. “I was told to stay put, and that was my intention, originally, but I couldn’t, Savannah. I couldn’t let them kill someone you loved.”
I love my father more in this moment than I ever have.
“I never wanted you with Miles McAllister,” he continues. “But I didn’t think there was any other way, Sav, and I’m sorry.”
“You let me go so many times.”
He looks into my eyes, his gaze soft. “You’re my weakness. You and your mother. But your grandpa got into a mess with the McAllisters. He always said he’d never get into their line of business, and like a fool, I believed him. He’s not a good man, Savannah.”
“Yeah. I know that now.”
“You tell your brother he needs to take care of your mother, okay? He’s the head of the household now.” Dad shakes his head. “God, I was so glad to see him, and then he got whisked away by your grandfather, and before I knew it, I was being arrested. My firstborn son comes home, and I go away.”
“It’s not fair, Daddy.”
He looks at the bland walls in the visitation room. “Maybe it is. I drove him away all those years ago.”
“That wasn’t you. Vinnie told me some stuff.”
“What?” His eyebrows are raised in question.
Does he truly not know?
I blink for a minute before I respond. “You’ll have to ask him. He’ll come see you.”
“I’m not so sure of that.” He sighs. “I’m not sure your grandfather will let him out of his sight.”
“He’s living at the house with Mom. I just had dinner with them last night.”
“We’ll see how long that lasts.” He pats my hand. “Sweetheart, you take care of yourself.”
“Thank you, Daddy. Thank you for everything.”
“I made a lot of mistakes raising you kids, but one thing never wavered. My love for all three of you.”
“I know, Daddy.”
He stands and indicates to the guard that our visit is over. “Go now. Go home to the one you love. Make a life far away from all this, Savannah. Do it. For me.”
41
FALCON
Raven and Savannah bring me back to my place on the ranch. After conferring with Vinnie, I agreed to come back here with Savannah instead of returning to the safehouse. After all, we need the safe house to stay safe, and if we’re there, we risk people looking for us and finding it.
“You good here?” Raven asks.
“We are,” I say.
“Would you like to stay for dinner?” Savannah asks Raven. “It won’t be anything fancy. I ordered some groceries and I’m making spaghetti.”
“No, no. I should get home.” She gives me a hug. “You stay out of trouble, all right?’
“Ray, you know I never go looking for trouble.”
She looks me up and down, smirking at my scars and bandages. “Right.”
Savannah sees Raven to the door and then returns. “I should get dinner started.”
“I love my sister,” I say, “but I’m glad she didn’t take you up on your invitation.”
“I am too,” she says. “I think the two of us need some quiet time alone.”
“Not that quiet.” I take her hand and lead her to the bedroom.
“Falcon…” She pulls back on my arm. “It’s too soon. You’re still all bruised up, and you’re still recovering from your punctured lung. And those ribs. You can’t possibly be comfortable.”
“Vannah, I have never been too sick or injured to have sex, and I’m not about to start now.”
She raises an eyebrow. “So you’ve had sex when you’ve been sick or injured before?”
I stare into her beautiful brown eyes. “Never with anyone who mattered.”
She touches my cheek gently. “Does this hurt?”
“Your touch could never hurt me.” Though it does sting just a bit.
She gently runs her fingers up my arm. “Tell me what to do. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t.” I cover her hand with my own. “I’d do anything for you. I think I’ve proved that.”
“Why did you go see my father, Falcon?”
“For answers. To try to get you out of this arranged marriage.” I sigh. “I was just so… so… angry, Vannah. Angry at what McAllister tried to do to you, what I knew he would do if he ever got his hands on you again.” I look her in the eyes. “I’d lay down my life to protect you, but if I were gone, then what? I thought if I talked to your father, made him see reason…”
“Reason is different in my family.”
I exhale sharply. “Yeah, I gathered that.”
“We’re here now,” she says. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Just for tonight, can we forget about it? Can we just love each other?”
I groan. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted since the first moment I laid eyes on you in that dive-ass bar.” I pull her to me and kiss her.
Hard and passionate, and damn, it hurts.
But it hurts so good.
We undress each other in a frenzy, although she takes special care with my chest. Then she leads me to my bed—our bed now, because she’s never moving out of this house—and helps me lie down on my back.
“Vannah…”
“Quiet. You lie there and be still. I’m taking care of you tonight.”
She slides down my body, trailing light and feathery kisses over my chest and abs until she gets to my hard cock. She grabs it at the base and slides her tongue over my cock head.
“Fuck,” I growl.
She takes me into her mouth, about three quarters of the way, and then pulls back, sucking gently.
And then not so gently. With her other hand, she cups my balls. They scrunch up at her caress, and damn, I’m so ready.
“Easy, Vannah, or this will all be over too soon.”
“Vinnie, please promise me one thing.”
“If I can.”
“If you can’t figure out how to fake it, then run like hell. Go back to Europe. Do whatever you have to do to—”
“Sav.” He grips my shoulders and stares into my eyes. “I will not abandon you again. Do you hear me? I will not. Don’t worry about me. I got this.”
“But Vinny—”
He releases his grip. “I’ve got a plan in motion to put them off for a few months. I’ll say I need to be educated in all the inner workings, and I’m out of practice with a firearm so I need to get up to speed.”
“I just saw you shoot a few days ago. You’re hardly out of practice.”
“They don’t know that, and I’ll use it to my advantage. Grandpa is so happy to have his blood back on board that I’ll be able to subtly manipulate him. I’m not an idiot eighteen-year-old anymore. I’ve gained a lot of wisdom in the last seventeen years, and Grandpa’s an old man. It won’t be easy, Sav, but trust me. I can do this.”
I nod.
I have to trust my brother.
I have no other choice.
“What can I do to help?”
“Nothing. This is on me, Sav.” He grabs both of my hands. “You go. You live your life. Be with the man you love. Tell Falcon how sorry I am that he got brutalized so terribly, and that I’m happy he’s on the road to recovery. This is your chance. Take it. Please.”
39
FALCON
When I awake the next morning, I’m surprised to see Raven instead of Savannah in the room with me.
“Ray?” I say.
“Hey, you.” She squeezes my hand. “How are you feeling today?”
“A little better. My breathing seems to feel normal, and it doesn’t hurt quite so much to talk.” I shrug. “How do I look?”
“Like you’ve been hit by a truck,” she says, “but you look wonderful to me.”
A doctor walks in briskly. “Good morning, Mr. Bellamy.”
“Hey, Doc,” I say.
“I have some excellent news for you.” He looks down at a clipboard. “Your imaging results from yesterday afternoon look great. Your minor pneumothorax is healing nicely, and you should be able to go home later today. You’ll need to take it easy, though. Full healing will take up to two weeks, which is why I’m going to want to see you back for imaging then. Your ribs are another story. The hairline fractures will heal on their own, and there’s not much we can do except wait for them to heal. They will be painful for the next week or two.”
“Great,” I groan.
“It could have been a lot worse, Falcon,” Raven says.
Yeah. I could be dead at the hand of that fucker Miles McAllister. But I can’t say this to Raven. She doesn’t even know the full story of what happened to me. I told her it had to do with Savannah’s family, but that’s it. So far she hasn’t pressed it, but now that I’m feeling better, I know I’m in for it today.
“I’m going to sign your discharge papers today, and they’ll be good for this afternoon. I just want to keep you here for the morning to make sure everything continues to go well.”
“Thanks, Doc.” I gingerly rub my jaw. “I think.”
“Do you have any questions?”
“No.”
“Good. The nurse will go over your discharge information with you after lunch.” He looks at Raven then. “You’re not the same woman who I met when Falcon was admitted.”
“No. I’m his sister. Raven Bellamy. Savannah will be here as soon as she can.”
“Good, good. As long as someone is here to drive your brother home,” he says.
I raise an eyebrow. “You saying I can’t drive?”
“You can drive as long as you’re not taking your pain meds,” he says, “but hospital protocol dictates that you must be released to an adult. After that, drive if you’re comfortable, but my guess is it will be a few days before your pain is at a point where you can be off the meds for a bit.”
“Got it,” I say.
He looks at me as if he expects me to balk. I have no intention of that. I spent eight years of my life locked up. Staying home and not driving for a few days is nothing—especially now that I know Savannah is safe.
“Good.” He gently pats my shoulder. “You’re a lucky man. This could have been a lot worse.”
“You’re telling me.”
The doctor nods to Raven, makes a few notes on the computer, and then leaves.
Raven shuts the door behind the doctor and then sharply turns to me, her forehead wrinkled. “When are you going to tell me what’s going on, Falcon?”
“Around the fifth of never.”
She shakes her head. “You’re part of me now, big brother. We have no secrets.”
“We have some,” I say. “And they’re not my stories to tell, Ray. I’d tell you everything if I could.” A yawn splits my face. “Ow! Damn, that hurts.”
“Okay, okay. I can take a hint.” She opens the door and puts a foot out. “You rest. We’ll talk when it doesn’t hurt you so much.”
I nod and close my eyes. Savannah should be here soon, I hope. Raven said she went to Austin last night to have dinner with her mom and Vinnie, and she’d probably stay the night.
That’s not like her…which means something’s going on.
And I want to know what it is.
40
SAVANNAH
I leave my parents’ home after spending the night in my old room. I say a quick goodbye to Vinnie, but I don’t seek out my mother.
She’s hurting now, and in her mind, it’s my doing.
Vinnie tried to convince me over a quick breakfast that she doesn’t know any better. That she did her duty by marrying Dad and believes that I should be willing to do the same. Funny. She and Dad eventually fell in love. Their marriage was a happy one as far as I could tell growing up.
So of course she’s upset that her husband is gone and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison. But he did it to save the man her daughter loves.
Perhaps it’s—
“Savannah!”
I’m ready to get into the car when I hear my mother’s voice. I look up.
“Come here, please.”
I draw in a breath. Be ready for anything. “What is it, Mom?”
“I need to say something to you.”
I walk toward the doorway where she’s standing. “I think you said enough last night.”
She shakes her head. “You’re my only daughter. I never wanted any of this for you.”
“Then why the huge-ass guilt trip?”
“Because…” She dabs a tear away from her cheek with a handkerchief. “Because I love your father, Sav. I didn’t when we met. I didn’t when we got married. I didn’t even when Vinnie was born. But I grew to, and I grew to need him as much as I needed to breathe. Can you understand that?”
I nod. “Yes. I know what that feels like.”
“That’s how you feel about your young man? This ex-convict?”
“He’s innocent, Mom.”
She begins to speak but I hold up a hand.
“You can think what you want about Falcon. I believe in him, and I love him. He loves me.” I swallow. “I never wavered in my belief that you and Daddy loved me. Not until those gunmen came to Falcon’s house looking for me. I knew what it meant. I knew Daddy was going back on his word. And I also knew, Mom, that he would never do that lightly.”
“No, he wouldn’t. And he didn’t. His love for all his children always came first. That’s why he killed Miles, Savannah.”
“I know that.”
“He chose you over everything else. His family. His wife. His son.”
“That’s not fair. He didn’t even know Vinnie was back when he shot Miles.”
“I adore Vinnie,” Mom says. “I never thought I’d see him again, and I’m over the moon that he’s back. But he made your father expendable, Savannah. Your father is my heart. My lifeline. And he’s going to be in prison until the day he dies.”
I look at my mother. Truly look at her. At the fine lines around her eyes and her mouth. At the freckles, some of which have enlarged and morphed into age spots. She’s still a beautiful woman, but she’s nearing sixty.
“Your father grew to love me more than life itself,” she continues. “And I him. He’s the air I breathe, Savannah, but he’s not coming back to this house.”
“Mom, Vinnie will find a way.”
Mom sighs. “I wish that were true, but you don’t know my father the way I do. To you, he’s the adoring Grandpa who used to bounce you on his knee. To me, he’s a monster.”
I nod. What can I say? She made clear last night what she was talking about, and I honestly don’t want to know any more. A moment later, I glance around. “Mom, do you know why it was so important that I marry Miles?”
She pauses and then nods. “Yes, Savannah, I do. And I hate it. I hate what my father has become. I hate what he’s done to our family. And I hate him for dragging Vinnie into it.”
“Vinnie won’t get sucked in. I trust him.”
“He will get sucked in,” Mom says. “I watched it happen to your father, and I watched it happen to Michael. The only thing that saved your father was his love for me and his children. Michael couldn’t be saved. And Vincent… He has nothing to save himself for. All he has is an eleven-year-old fiancée and a betrayal he has to make up for.” She starts to cry. “I’m frightened for him, Savannah. And I lashed out.”
“At me.”
“Yes. It was easy to blame you. In my eyes, all the family was asking of you was the same thing they asked of me.”
“Miles wasn’t Dad.”
“No.”
“He tried to rape me.”
“I know. And I’m sorry.” She buries her face in her hands.
I lay my hands on my mother’s heaving shoulders. “Mom, you say Vinnie doesn’t have anyone to keep him grounded. That’s not true. He has you. And he has me. We’ll be his strength. He’s going to be okay, Mom. Trust in him.”
She wipes her eyes and looks around, whimpering. “This house is so big. So empty now. Vincent will get his own place, and I’ll be alone.”
“Do you want me to move back in?”
“No. You have your young man. Be with him. I’m done being selfish.” She walks back inside the house without saying another word.
I get in the car and drive back to Summer Creek.
Back to Falcon.
But first, I make a detour to visit my father.
He’s in orange. My strong and handsome father is wearing orange.
Thank God I never had to look at Falcon like this. My father is big and strong, but he’s no Savage. He hasn’t been transferred to the prison yet, thank God. Right now he’s being held in the county jail, and his attorneys arranged for him to have family visitors. We sit together in a small room, a guard watching us.
“This isn’t like I expected,” I say. “I figured you’d be behind glass and we’d be talking on one of those old fashioned telephones.”
“Not here, in the jail,” Dad says. “Once I’m arraigned, they’ll either let me out on bail, which is unlikely, or they’ll house me here or at the prison. The lawyers are working on it, but the McAllister lawyers are working just as hard against it.” He draws in a breath. “And so is your grandfather.”
I grab his hand. “Dad, I can’t thank you enough for saving Falcon. Truly. He’s the man I love.”
“He came to see me,” Dad says. “The night they beat him.”
I nod. “I figured as much.”
“I’m sorry for my hand in that. Please believe that I had no idea they would torture him like they did.”
I look into my father’s sunken eyes. He’s sad, regretful. I believe him.
“What happened?” I ask.
“I sent your grandfather a text to let him know Falcon was here. Next thing I know, one of our staff members was hitting Falcon over the head and dragging him out of my office. Your grandfather clearly had someone in our house on his payroll.”
“How did you know where they took him?”
“That old warehouse is where they do a lot of their dirty work,” he says. “I was told to stay put, and that was my intention, originally, but I couldn’t, Savannah. I couldn’t let them kill someone you loved.”
I love my father more in this moment than I ever have.
“I never wanted you with Miles McAllister,” he continues. “But I didn’t think there was any other way, Sav, and I’m sorry.”
“You let me go so many times.”
He looks into my eyes, his gaze soft. “You’re my weakness. You and your mother. But your grandpa got into a mess with the McAllisters. He always said he’d never get into their line of business, and like a fool, I believed him. He’s not a good man, Savannah.”
“Yeah. I know that now.”
“You tell your brother he needs to take care of your mother, okay? He’s the head of the household now.” Dad shakes his head. “God, I was so glad to see him, and then he got whisked away by your grandfather, and before I knew it, I was being arrested. My firstborn son comes home, and I go away.”
“It’s not fair, Daddy.”
He looks at the bland walls in the visitation room. “Maybe it is. I drove him away all those years ago.”
“That wasn’t you. Vinnie told me some stuff.”
“What?” His eyebrows are raised in question.
Does he truly not know?
I blink for a minute before I respond. “You’ll have to ask him. He’ll come see you.”
“I’m not so sure of that.” He sighs. “I’m not sure your grandfather will let him out of his sight.”
“He’s living at the house with Mom. I just had dinner with them last night.”
“We’ll see how long that lasts.” He pats my hand. “Sweetheart, you take care of yourself.”
“Thank you, Daddy. Thank you for everything.”
“I made a lot of mistakes raising you kids, but one thing never wavered. My love for all three of you.”
“I know, Daddy.”
He stands and indicates to the guard that our visit is over. “Go now. Go home to the one you love. Make a life far away from all this, Savannah. Do it. For me.”
41
FALCON
Raven and Savannah bring me back to my place on the ranch. After conferring with Vinnie, I agreed to come back here with Savannah instead of returning to the safehouse. After all, we need the safe house to stay safe, and if we’re there, we risk people looking for us and finding it.
“You good here?” Raven asks.
“We are,” I say.
“Would you like to stay for dinner?” Savannah asks Raven. “It won’t be anything fancy. I ordered some groceries and I’m making spaghetti.”
“No, no. I should get home.” She gives me a hug. “You stay out of trouble, all right?’
“Ray, you know I never go looking for trouble.”
She looks me up and down, smirking at my scars and bandages. “Right.”
Savannah sees Raven to the door and then returns. “I should get dinner started.”
“I love my sister,” I say, “but I’m glad she didn’t take you up on your invitation.”
“I am too,” she says. “I think the two of us need some quiet time alone.”
“Not that quiet.” I take her hand and lead her to the bedroom.
“Falcon…” She pulls back on my arm. “It’s too soon. You’re still all bruised up, and you’re still recovering from your punctured lung. And those ribs. You can’t possibly be comfortable.”
“Vannah, I have never been too sick or injured to have sex, and I’m not about to start now.”
She raises an eyebrow. “So you’ve had sex when you’ve been sick or injured before?”
I stare into her beautiful brown eyes. “Never with anyone who mattered.”
She touches my cheek gently. “Does this hurt?”
“Your touch could never hurt me.” Though it does sting just a bit.
She gently runs her fingers up my arm. “Tell me what to do. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t.” I cover her hand with my own. “I’d do anything for you. I think I’ve proved that.”
“Why did you go see my father, Falcon?”
“For answers. To try to get you out of this arranged marriage.” I sigh. “I was just so… so… angry, Vannah. Angry at what McAllister tried to do to you, what I knew he would do if he ever got his hands on you again.” I look her in the eyes. “I’d lay down my life to protect you, but if I were gone, then what? I thought if I talked to your father, made him see reason…”
“Reason is different in my family.”
I exhale sharply. “Yeah, I gathered that.”
“We’re here now,” she says. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Just for tonight, can we forget about it? Can we just love each other?”
I groan. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted since the first moment I laid eyes on you in that dive-ass bar.” I pull her to me and kiss her.
Hard and passionate, and damn, it hurts.
But it hurts so good.
We undress each other in a frenzy, although she takes special care with my chest. Then she leads me to my bed—our bed now, because she’s never moving out of this house—and helps me lie down on my back.
“Vannah…”
“Quiet. You lie there and be still. I’m taking care of you tonight.”
She slides down my body, trailing light and feathery kisses over my chest and abs until she gets to my hard cock. She grabs it at the base and slides her tongue over my cock head.
“Fuck,” I growl.
She takes me into her mouth, about three quarters of the way, and then pulls back, sucking gently.
And then not so gently. With her other hand, she cups my balls. They scrunch up at her caress, and damn, I’m so ready.
“Easy, Vannah, or this will all be over too soon.”
