Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 79462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
“Once I saw what she had, we naturally checked your closet. It was locked, and it looked in good order, but I had my IT guys pull all the records for the copy machine. Sure enough, that’s how she did it.”
I stare at her. My soul crumbling to sand. “When?” I ask.
“About a week ago.”
“And she’s had it all this time?”
“I assume it’s been hidden.” Adler clears his throat and turns on his laptop. “We also have a recording. She had a conversation with her brother not long after making the copies where she admitted everything. You should listen.”
I don’t want to hear it. Fucking hell, I’d rather stab myself in the throat with a knife and bleed out on this rug than listen to that goddamn recording. She keeps crying, but quieter now, her knees pulled to her chest like she’s trying to hold herself together.
I feel the same way, like I’m going to fall to pieces.
The recording starts. It’s her voice, plain as day. “I found documents in our flat. A bunch of them hidden away in a locked room. I made copies.”
Then her brother: “That’s dangerous. Are you being safe?”
“Safe as I can. The originals are back and there’s no way he’ll know I accessed anything. The copies are hidden away.”
“Don’t tell me where. You shouldn’t even be talking about this on the phone. Did they give you the device?”
“It’s fine. There’s no reason to monitor me.”
“Fallie, come on, there’s a million reasons to monitor you. Alright, look, sit on the documents, okay? I know you probably want to put it all to use right away but hang tight. We’ll wait for a good opportunity.”
“When’s that going to happen? I could mail them out to you tomorrow. You can give them to our people and let the big brains figure out what they all mean. I’ve only scratched the surface too, there’s a lot more—”
“Don’t. Just hold off, okay?”
I walk over to the laptop and slam the lid shut. Adler only stares at me as I gather myself, sucking air into my chest. The silence is painful, but I couldn’t listen to any more.
She planned this. From the start, she planned on hurting me. It wasn’t enough to hate me, to sit around and wait a year until she could be free—no, she had to destroy me too.
“Was any of it real?” I ask, turning to look at her. I keep my face neutral, but inside, it feels like I’m rotting.
“Jayson—” she says, her face buried in her hands.
“Don’t fucking lie to me,” I snarl, my broken heart lashing out with anger.
Adler puts a hand on my shoulder. “Easy,” he says.
I’m shaking. This hurts so badly, so fucking badly. I thought I found my partner, the one, the girl that could finally put me back together after the mess I’ve made of myself. Jackson’s death wrecked me, but maybe if it brought me Fallon, maybe I could salvage something in his sacrifice. Something good could come of it at least.
Now it’s all a mess and worse than it was before.
“Put her in my guest room,” I say, turning my back on Fallon. I look at my brother, the Don of my family, and I know I’m weak for asking this of him, but I can’t do it myself. “Please, Adler.”
“Alright,” he says, his face softening. “I’ll handle it, brother.”
I nod once. My hands are fists. I hate myself for falling for her, hate myself for thinking she could love a man like me.
But I killed her father. I ruined her family. I had her brothers and cousins and friends and uncles murdered in the streets.
How could I ever think she might forgive all that?
Adler walks past me and gently takes Fallon by the arm. His goons appear, and the group of them escort her away. I catch one glimpse, her eyes red, her face twisted in agony.
Then she’s gone.
I sink into the chair she left. It smells like her. It’s still warm.
I hate myself as I stay there, elbows on my knees, face in my hands, thinking about everything I’ve lost and all the pain still coming.
Chapter 34
Fallon
I sit alone in the guest room with my knees drawn to my chest, hugging myself tightly, a blanket wrapped around my shoulders.
Copying those documents was the biggest mistake of my life.
At the time, it made sense. I wanted revenge and I didn’t really know Jayson yet. Stealing that information felt like a way to hurt the man that killed my father without restarting the war.
Now I can look back and see how stupid and short-sighted I was. All I could think about was my own pain, my own situation, and I couldn’t see anything else.
I never considered Jayson’s point of view, at least not until we talked about it and I began to understand him.