Twenty-Two (Assassins Series Book 12)

by Toni Aleo

  “Right?” Fallon agreed with a nod. “Well, hopefully, he’ll be up and at it soon.”

  “I don’t know, Fal, I just don’t know.”

  “What does that mean?” Aiden asked. “Uncle Tate’s okay, isn’t he?”

  Audrey faked a grin. “Of course. Come here. You want a cupcake?”

  Aiden laughed. “You know, I’m seventeen, you can’t distract me— Whoa, are those cookie dough?”

  Audrey smiled happily at Fallon as she shook her head, and Aiden took the cupcake. “Come on, I’ll show you the cake for Stella, and your donuts are right there.”

  Aiden looked at the donuts. “Can I have one?”

  “Save one for your dad.”

  “Okay,” he said with a mouthful as she followed Audrey to the back.

  “Kid has a tapeworm, I swear. He’s always eating.”

  Audrey laughed. “He’s always been an eater. It’s not fair.”

  “Agreed.”

  As Fallon followed her into the kitchen, Audrey looked back at her sister. “I think he might have to retire.”

  “Who? What? Tate?” Fallon’s eyes widened. “Never.”

  “Yeah, he is grief-stricken about it and things are bad, but he can’t seem to get better. I don’t know. I told him he needs to decide.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah, it’s not good. We’re fighting a lot, and he’s withdrawn because he feels like a failure. Shit’s so bad, he started to go see Wren Lemiere, the team’s therapist.”

  “Good for him,” Fallon said, exhaling hard. “I hate that for him, though.”

  Audrey nodded as she turned on her computer. “Me too. At least you don’t have to worry about that. Lucas’s got at least nine more years in him.”

  Fallon shot her sister a wry smile. “He creaks when he walks. I’m waiting for him to tell me he’s done.”

  “He won’t.”

  “I know, which makes me nervous.”

  “Yeah, but you know, Lucas would be okay. Tate…he’s not, and I just want my happy husband back. I’m worried he won’t be happy without hockey.”

  “No, he has you guys. He loves you three. So much.”

  “I know he does, and he is the best father ever. Sucky in the husband department right now, but I get it. We’ll be okay.”

  “You will,” she said, wrapping her arms around her sister. “Don’t worry.”

  “Thanks.” Audrey hugged Fallon back as the computer came on. “Okay, so here it is. The best Ariel cake for my niece.”

  Fallon grinned as she took in the perfect seven tiers of Ariel-themed cake. “She’ll flip her shit.”

  “That’s my goal.”

  “It’s perfect.”

  “Awesome,” she said, shutting her computer lid. “I’ll be over next Saturday morning to set everything up.”

  “Cool.” Fallon leaned her hip to the counter as she met her sister’s gaze. Audrey had changed so much over the years. She used to be obsessed with her weight. Now, she stayed healthy, even if she was rounder than she used to be. Kids would do that, though. One thing was for sure. Even with all the shit going on, Audrey had a grin on her face that Tate and the kids had put there. Her sister was complete, and like she’d said, she would be okay. Fallon just knew it. But Fallon was pretty sure she was going to have her own mini heart attack. “Aiden told me his coach said he could probably graduate early and that Bellevue might want him.”

  Audrey’s jaw dropped. “What?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What did you say?”

  “For him to talk to his father!”

  Audrey laughed. “Fallon.”

  “What?”

  “It would be great.”

  “He’s a baby.”

  “He’s seventeen. He’s a great kid. Smart and talented as hell.”

  “Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t think I want him to do it.”

  “If it’s going to be what’s best for his career, then he has to, you know?”

  Biting her lip, Fallon nodded. “We’ll see what my husband says. If he can even move.”

  Audrey smiled. “He’s sore today?”

  “Yes, bless him. I don’t know if he’ll make through the whole series in one piece.”

  “He is old now.”

  “He isn’t a spring chicken, for sure.” Fallon grinned. “Except in the bedroom.”

  “Ew!”

  Fallow snorted as Audrey shook her head and then smiled. “I think they’re going to go the whole way. I feel it.”

  Fallon nodded. “I do too. Rumor is, Elli was in the locker room crying last night. She’s so emotional.”

  “Think she’s pregnant again?”

  Fallon laughed. “Lord, I hope not!”

  “Right? She’s already so damn busy.”

  “I know.” Fallon shook her head. “Are you going to Lucy’s baby shower next Sunday?”

  “Did you not check the group?”

  Fallon just looked at her. “Obviously not, Audrey.”

  “It’s been postponed until further notice.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of the play-offs.”

  “That’s dumb. Why plan it around the play-offs, then?”

  “I don’t have an answer for that, but they called me asking to hold off on the cake.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah. Which is good ’cause I can focus on Stella’s cake.”

  “This is true. Ariel needs all your attention anyway.”

  Audrey grinned as she leaned into her sister. “You know, you can come by more.”

  “Same for you. Or come to the winery, and I’ll get you drunk.”

  Audrey beamed. “That’s a plan.”

  “Mom! Let’s go! Penny is going to make me fat.”

  Penny’s giggles met them in the kitchen, and Fallon laughed. “Kid couldn’t get fat if he tried.”

  “Right?” Audrey asked, shaking her head. “And what’s up with his hair?”

  “I don’t know. I want to cut it, but he won’t let me.”

  Audrey laughed as they went out of the kitchen to find Penny feeding Aiden cookie after cookie. “Mom,” he whined, and Fallon laughed.

  “Hey, boogey butt—”

  “Audrey!” Aiden complained, and they all laughed since he hated his nickname. “I told you about calling me that.”

  She feigned hurt. “You are my baby, and I will call you that if I want. Even when you’re a big, hotshot hockey player, I’ll be in the stands hollering, ‘That’s my boogey butt!’”

  “Mom,” he groaned, and Fallon just kept laughing.

  “Anyway, if I throw gum in your hair, will you let me cut it?”

  He glared. “Stay away from me.”

  “It’s so long. And dirty,” Audrey said, coming toward him, and when Fallon saw the scissors in her hand, she tried to stifle her laughter.

  “I washed it like ten minutes ago!” he said, slowly stepping back from his aunt.

  “It’s ugly. Let me cut it.” She went for the bun, but he deked around her, running to Fallon and hiding behind her. Which was pointless since he was practically seven times her size.

  “Leave me alone! Mom! Tell her to leave me alone.”

  “We’re leaving.” Picking up the donuts…well, the three that were left, Fallon shook her head. “Bye, Penny loaf,” she called to Penelope.

  “Bye, Auntie!”

  “Bye,” Audrey sang. “I’ll get you later, Aiden James.”

  Going outside, Aiden looked over at Fallon. “You won’t let her cut my hair, right?”

  “I mean, if she gets to you before I do, I’m sorry for ya.”

  “I look amazing!”

  “You look like a damn fool,” she said, opening the door. “But I love you.”

  He shot her an exasperated look. “Do I really have to be Sebastian next weekend?”

  “No,” she laughed, shaking her head. “Asher is Sebastian. You’re Flounder.”

  “Mom!”

  With a grin o
n her lips, she got in the car.

  But she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t worried about Aiden.

  Or Tate.

  Or even her dinosaur of a husband at home, who might or might not make it through the play-offs.

  2

  Don’t Leave Me

  When Fallon got home, Aiden held the door as she walked through, a grin on her face. “I did well with you.”

  He shot her a wry smile. “Or Dad beat me until I remembered to hold the door for women.”

  “That too.”

  “Aiden!” Asher hollered, running up and wrapping his arms around his brother’s waist. “I need you.”

  Aiden beamed. “What happened?”

  “TooHoot invaded my world and burned it to the ground. I need you to come help me retaliate,” Asher exclaimed, acting as if his game of Minecraft was real life, while Fallon thought it was a bunch of bullshit. Setting her purse on the bench, she looked back as Aiden’s eyes widened.

  Aiden nodded, his brow furrowing. “Oh, it’s going down.”

  “Right!”

  “Yeah, let—”

  “That’ll have to wait, Aiden James.” Aiden and Asher looked up at her, both of them on the verge on complaining until she held up her hand. “Asher William, you have a room to pick up, and Aiden has to talk to Daddy.”

  Asher looked up at Aiden, his eyes wide, and Aiden waved him off. “I’m not in trouble.”

  “Oh, good, I didn’t want you getting grounded during this time of importance.”

  “Agreed, bro,” he said, tapping his fist to his brother’s as he went to the garage to put his bag away.

  Before Fallon could get far, though, Asher stopped her. “Momma, can I read after I clean my room? Like, I don’t have anything to do today, right?”

  “Nope, you only have three days till school starts back. You finish that advanced reading stuff?”

  Asher grinned. “Yeah, Mom, like last week.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Of course you did, smarty pants. Okay, go do you.”

  He wrapped his arms around her, and she squeezed him before he ran off down the hall. Fallon smiled as she walked around the living room, picking up random toys and crap and throwing it down the hall. She could hear the girls upstairs, singing to Ariel. Usually, she’d tell them to cool it, but she had to talk to Lucas. Heading toward the kitchen, she called out, “Lucas, I need you in the kitchen.”

  He moaned from their bedroom. “Why?”

  “’Cause I do. Get your Jurassic ass up and come on.”

  Aiden scoffed as he shut the garage door, going to the fridge. “Jurassic butt.”

  She hadn’t known he was there, but eh, it wasn’t like he hadn’t heard her lose her shit in the car before. “Fal, for real. I’m dying.”

  “For real. We need to talk.”

  “For real, I’m legit dying.”

  “For real, Lucas Brooks. Aiden needs to talk to us.”

  “Ugh. Why? Is he pregnant?”

  Aiden glared. “I’m a dude!”

  “That’s debatable,” Lucas said, basically limping into the kitchen. “I think I pulled something in my ass.”

  “Seriously?”

  “No, I’ll go get them to rub it out today.”

  “Wonderful,” she said as she sat at the breakfast bar, glancing over at Aiden, who was leaning against the fridge.

  “Is this about the truck?”

  Aiden perked up. “I’m getting the truck?”

  Fallon rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t, but thanks for ruining the surprise.”

  Lucas looked from her to his son. “Surprise.” Aiden laughed which made Fallon glare, while Lucas just shrugged. “I don’t know what you want from me.”

  “Maybe to shut your mouth until I ask you to open it.”

  “Hey, you’re not the boss of me,” Lucas asserted, and that had all three of them grinning.

  “She’s the boss of everyone,” Aiden announced, and Fallon nodded as Lucas laughed.

  “So you think,” he said, glancing back at Fallon, his eyes dark, which she grinned at.

  “That’s gross.”

  Fallon rolled her eyes as she held her hands up. “Anyway, Coach Glen had some interesting news for Aiden today.”

  Lucas’s grin dropped before he looked back at Aiden. “What?”

  Aiden shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. “Bellevue is looking at me. They’ve come to my last three games apparently, and they’re coming to next week’s game to meet me. They aren’t ready to meet my parents yet, just me—to see what I’m about.”

  Lucas held his hands up in triumph, glancing over to Fallon. “I mean, this is awesome. Why do you look like you want to cry?”

  Fallon shook her head. She hadn’t realized she looked like that until he said it. “There is more.”

  Lucas looked back at Aiden. “What? I thought you wanted to go to Bellevue.”

  “I do.”

  “Okay. Then, what?”

  “Coach was saying this is awesome for me, which it is, because it’s what we want. But he thinks I should talk to my counselor because last time he checked, I had enough credits to graduate early if I take my two required senior courses over the summer. So then I would start in at Bellevue in the fall.”

  Lucas chewed his lip for a second. “What do you think? That would give you no break whatsoever.”

  “I don’t want a break. I want to get into Bellevue, and I want to play. I want eyes on me. I want to go into the NHL, and Coach said that if I’m seventeen, playing the way I’m playing, that I’ll get looks.”

  Fallon watched as Lucas nodded slowly. “So, you’ll talk to your counselor, or do you need us to do it?”

  “No, I plan to do it Monday. I sent an email after practice this morning asking for a meeting on Monday.”

  Glancing down at the ground briefly, Lucas rested his hands on his hips as he nodded. “And this is what you want?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Okay, then. Done deal,” he said, slapping his hands together before reaching for Aiden and hugging him tightly, his hand coming up to hold Aiden’s head to his shoulder. “I’m so proud of you.”

  Aiden’s arms wrapped around his father, and Fallon’s heart swelled so big at the sight. They had always had such a beautiful relationship, but the respect and love between them continued to be awe-inspiring. Pulling back, Lucas held Aiden’s face and shook his head. “Two problems, though.”

  Aiden laughed, his brows going up. “What?”

  “Not sure you want to do this with all that hair. You’ll get made fun of.”

  Aiden scoffed. “Everyone loves my hair.”

  Lucas shook his head quickly. “Not me. I hate it.”

  Aiden cheesed big at his father. He had grown a good inch taller than Lucas, which Fallon found very comical since he had always been so small as a child. Now, her baby was almost a man. A man she had worked so hard to ensure would succeed. Had she made the best decisions during the first part of his life? No, she shouldn’t have kept him from Lucas, and it was something she regretted more than she could ever put into words. She was lucky Aiden had become the person he was today, and she owed a lot of that to Lucas. He was hard when he needed to be, but he was also the most loving man she had ever met. He loved that boy more than he loved Fallon, she swore, but then, watching him with Asher, Stella, and Emery, she was surprised there was any love left over for her.

  But there was plenty.

  And then some.

  When Lucas glanced back, his eyes meeting Fallon’s, his lips pulled up at the side as he said, “But don’t forget your mother.”

  Aiden looked at Fallon as confusion took over her face. “Huh? What about her?”

  “She’s going to cry herself to sleep because you’re leaving her.”

  Gasping, Fallon glared because, in addition to Lucas loving her, he also knew her the best.

  And his statement was the scary and absolute truth.

  Lucas watched as his wife
’s eyes changed from complete worry to anger in an instant before she threw an apple at him, but he caught it with ease. As he took a bite of it, she yelled out, “Don’t tell him that!”

  Aiden’s eyes filled with worry. “What? You’re going to cry?”

  “No.”

  “Yes,” Lucas laughed. “We both will.”

  “Lucas!”

  Aiden glanced back at his father, a grin pulling at his lips. “You’ll cry?”

  Lucas grinned ruefully as he held the eyes of his eldest. Aiden had grown to be such an amazing and sweet young man. Yeah, he had the grit, the drive that came with being a hockey player, but he also had the heart. He was kind and loved his family with all of that heart. He wasn’t like some of these other kids, running around, getting in trouble; Aiden didn’t do that. He stayed at the rink, or he hung out at home with his siblings. He was the complete opposite of what college-age Lucas had been, and sometimes he wondered if the kid was his. But then he looked into the dark gray eyes that mirrored his own, and he knew the truth.

  The kid with the man bun was his.

  Stupid man bun.

  “Like a baby,” he answered, holding Aiden’s gaze. “My boy, living his dreams? The same dream I had, and you’ve watched me accomplish through the years? Yeah, I’ll cry because I will never feel like this again. We all know Asher doesn’t have the drive for the NHL, or the girls. You’re the only one to carry on my legacy. And, Aiden, I can’t even express how I feel about that.”

  Aiden looked away, sucking in a breath as he nodded, and with one glance at Fallon, he saw her crying. She was so sappy when it came to her kids. “Thanks, Dad.”

  “No, thank you. For making me proud. We’re so proud, bud, really. And I can’t wait to see where you go.”

  Aiden beamed. “All the way.”

  “Exactly.”

  “I’ll bring the Cup home.”

  “Sounds like a plan. I’ll bring it home this year, though.”

  Aiden scoffed. “If your body lets you.”

  “Son, I’m a spring chicken.”

  Fallon snorted. “In your dreams.”

  “Hush, woman.”

  Slapping Aiden’s back, Lucas squeezed his shoulder. “All right, good talk. I’m going back to bed.”