For Fallon (Chicago Syndicate)

by Naomi, Soraya

  What day is it? Monday.

  The trade will take place Wednesday night. I sweep the back of my hand over Fallon’s spine. Mostly she sleeps. Camilla brought her a book yesterday, and she started reading it last night. She doesn’t talk much, but at least she ate.

  I rub my hand over my face and check the time on my watch. It’s already ten. Leaping out of bed, I shower and dress in a hurry. Fallon’s still in the same position snoring softly when I leave the room.

  On the second floor, I stroll into my office and retrieve her tiny purse from Friday from my desk drawer. Sitting behind my desk chair, I take out her phone to message her work that she’s sick. A message I would’ve sent earlier this morning had I not overslept. The display tells me that she has received three messages: two from Teagan with nonsense about her dates over the weekend and one from Jason sent this morning around nine.

  Babe, you okay? Alex told us you’re sick at home. I’ll call later. Feel better soon.

  My eyebrows crinkle together in perplexity as I lean back in my chair and re-read the text. There is one missed call from Alex before nine. There hasn’t been any contact, but Alex says she’s sick when she doesn’t show up at work. She could be late. He doesn’t know what the reason for her absence is. This is odd. Something is off and I’m not liking the possibility of what this could mean.

  With my phone, I call Adriano to meet me in my office immediately. I check the e-mails on Fallon’s phone. Nothing out of the ordinary stands out. Mostly work-related communication, some mails from Teagan and her father.

  Adriano opens my door and before he can greet me, I fill him in. “I was going to call Fallon in sick at work, and I discover that Alex told her co-worker she wasn’t at the office because she felt sick.”

  “That’s weird. Let me see the message.”

  I hand Fallon’s phone over to Adriano, and he wears the same perplexed reaction that I experienced a minute ago. “I need to talk to Fallon.”

  “I think you do.” He throws the phone back to me, and the sympathy reflected in his eyes confirms to me that he suspects Fallon might have been playing us for a fool.

  I race upstairs, feeling in every bone of my body that she hasn’t been truthful with me. A few times I’ve noticed a sudden change and distance from Fallon over the last couple of weeks, but I thought it was the result of my demanding work schedule. I’ve been preoccupied with keeping track of Leggia for weeks. It has put a strain on our relationship, pulling me away from her because I didn’t want to lie to her anymore, so avoidance has been my tactic. Only I suck at avoidance when it comes to her. When she called, I wanted to immediately see her. When I would see her, I wanted to immediately bury myself in her. When she would come, and I witnessed her writhing in ecstasy underneath me, I didn’t want to leave the comfort and pleasure her presence and body offered me so willingly. When I’m with her, she sucks me into her calm, simple, and happy life.

  Only now, I’m dreading that Friday and whatever follows in the next couple of minutes have put a definite end to how we were. I’ve uprooted her calm and simple life, and before I’ve even exchanged one word about Jason’s message, I sense this will tear us further apart. When it comes to her, I have no control.

  Silently, I unlock the door and find Fallon standing by the window, facing the sky.

  Dolcezza, cosa sta succedendo nella tua testa? What’s going on in your head?

  Fallon swings around when I bang the door shut.

  I hold her phone up in my hand and dissect her every move.

  She approaches and expects me to hand it over. Fallon has always been most beautiful in the mornings. Her long, dark hair flowing over one shoulder and sultry bedroom eyes combined with her wearing my t-shirt have me distracted for a moment about why I came up here.

  I extend my hand, holding it up out of her reach. Succeeding at keeping any angry emotions at bay until I’ve listened to her, I’m silently begging for my instinct to be wrong this once. This time I must not have missed something crucial because of my love for her. “Your colleague messaged you. Seems that dear Alex has come to the conclusion you’re sick before you or I ever texted him. You could’ve been late. Why did Alex tell your co-worker you’re sick?”

  Her eyes widen slightly and her bottom lip twitches just a fraction of a second, betraying her panic. “I- I don’t know.” She shrugs in a forced blasé manner that isn’t convincing.

  I round her slowly. She must turn unless she wants to talk to the door. When I pocket the phone, I take a swift step forward and back her against the door, without any of our body parts touching, and lock my icy eyes with hers. “We said full disclosure,” I remind her. Trembling to refrain from touching her bare, smooth skin, my accusing glare starts to show. Her sweet smell floats around me but I ignore any distractions. I need answers at this exact moment, and she’s the one who has them. I’m sure of it. Pushing the fact that she’s the one woman I love to the back of my mind with much difficulty, I wait for her lips to move in the flooding silence of the room. Not a peep out of her. She’s withholding something from me. I place my left palm next to her head. “You have one chance to tell me everything.” My right arm shoots out to cage her in.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says quietly and avoids eye contact while her rigid body seems to be battling anger and annoyance and fear.

  I’m pushing her buttons, hoping she will lash out with the truth. “One. Chance.” I already see her anger bubbling to the forefront. “I can find out any—”

  “You don’t think I know that?” she cuts me off as our eyes finally connect, ready to battle. Her voice hardens as her temper flares. “You’ve said that already. That you can find out anything. Your Mafia is everywhere. You don’t think I know that!”

  What the hell is she talking about?

  She stands firmly. “I knew.” She releases a bitter laugh, tinged with rancor. “I knew you were part of the Mafia.”

  I stammer back because of her hostility and declaration.

  She knew? She fucking knew?

  CHAPTER 37

  Fallon

  “I knew you were part of the Mafia.” Anger that has been building up since Friday starts to rule my mind. “Don’t you dare be angry with me for being dishonest.” I point my finger at him. “You have been dishonest for months.”

  He takes me by my shoulders and shakes me roughly, causing my hair to fly across my face. “How the fuck am I supposed to protect you when you lie to me?”

  I struggle free from his hold. “I didn’t know how to react or act. You have no idea how it was for me to find out!” I blurt. Irritated, yet surprised at my own outbursts, I finger my hair back angrily.

  He steps forward and crowds me. “Lower your voice,” he fumingly demands. With a clenched jaw, he backs me up against the door again. His hands slap against it, blocking me in. Luca’s entire body is trembling in fury while he quietly speaks. “Have I done nothing to help you?” His fingers mesh in my hair and pull my head back, forcing me to look at him. “I’ve watched over you every fucking second since you’ve been here. I’ve been going through every scenario possible to protect you.”

  My newfound anger dissipates as quickly as it came on. “Luca, you’re hurting me,” I breathe.

  He lets go of my hair. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he mutters in a broken voice.

  Luca increases the distance between us, like he can’t stand to be close to me. “What do you mean you knew? How long?”

  “A few weeks.” I wring my hands together in unease.

  “Alex?”

  Luca is going to flip if I divulge everything now.

  What if he doesn’t help me anymore?

  “Answer me!” he barks.

  My body shivers because of the tremor in his voice. “Yes, he told me.”

  “When?”

  “Last time we had lunch at the deli, he saw us together,” I hurriedly explain.

  Luca faces the window and clutches his hair. “
Keep talking. I’m not going to ask you every damn question. Tell me what happened after you went back to work. I can’t protect you if I don’t know everything. You’re smart enough to figure that out.”

  His insult stings and adds another jolt of anxiety to my already disordered state. I reveal everything. “Alex saw us sitting together in the deli. After returning to the floor, he called me into his office - I thought for more workload. Inside his office, he mentioned you immediately. He asked me, and I quote, ‘If I knew with whom I was getting involved by dating the likes of Luca DeMiliano.’ He thought I was working for you. When he caught my surprised expression calling you a Mafia man, he realized I didn’t know. He plotted a way to use me. Alex has been threatening my life since then. My fear began that day. He threatened not only me but also my parents if I didn’t get him incriminating information on you within a month. Something he could blackmail you with.” Too confused to think clearly, I kept that information to myself. I didn’t believe Alex, yet I didn’t trust Luca enough to confide in him. Deep down, I just didn’t want to believe Alex. Accepting the truth also meant accepting how I’ve been purposely ignoring warning signs because I fell in love. I could’ve never guessed Luca lives an entirely different life in the underworld. Until Luca explained everything to me yesterday, I didn’t understand the enormity of the danger I’m in. Luca’s distance helped me to keep my secret. As the days progressed and Alex kept his distance too – only twice verbally inquiring if I had information - I became increasingly confused and was foolishly thinking I could maybe end things with Luca to have Alex back off. In the back of my mind, I knew I was in trouble. I let the days slip by, evading and prolonging the inevitable, and it took me two weeks to decide to confide in Luca. After finding the ‘make a marriage’ message on Luca’s phone, I Googled it and landed on various sites explaining that it’s Mafia slang. This was my confirmation that Luca was part of some Mafia. However, between Luca and Alex, Luca then was the lesser of two evils that I hoped could help me. I never believed he was married, but I had to think quickly when he caught me with the phone, so I led him to believe my lie. Later that night, I decided to tell Luca about Alex. I couldn’t handle the fear Alex instilled in me anymore. It was a risk I was willing to take, but I acted too late because that night I was taken by Luca’s men. Everything happened so fast and I, again, didn’t know who to trust.

  Luca’s hands clench powerfully. “Did he hurt you?”

  “Not physically; only with his threats.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me before?” Luca doesn’t spare me a glance, keeping his fuming focus trained ahead.

  “I haven’t trusted anyone since that day. My fear shut me up. Alex told me that he would find out immediately if I told you. I had no idea what kind of Mafia you and Alex were in. I didn’t even know if he was telling the truth. I was scared, Luca.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me yesterday?”

  I have been withdrawn from Luca since the day Alex called me into his office with the news that tilted my world on its axis. Alex preyed on my panic. The angst he instilled in me robbed me from making smart decisions. Tears drip from my eyelashes. “Luca.” I move toward him by the window. “I haven’t been thinking clearly. I’m not sure—”

  “Were you going to tell Alex what you learned here? You have absolutely no evidence. I think he meant incriminating information in the form of tangible evidence. Are you working with him?” Luca demands in a hostile tone.

  “No, no,” I deny with a shaking head. That thought hasn’t crossed my mind. I hesitantly touch his back.

  Luca crosses the room to get away from me.

  “I was going to tell you today. After the weekend and everything that happened, I do trust you a little again, Luca. I finally felt that you could help me with Alex, but I wanted to know for sure to trust you before I got myself into more trouble.” Luca needs to believe I do trust him. If he’s angry with me, he might change his behavior. I do fear him slightly because anger makes people irrational. And these people are members of a Syndicate who murder others.

  “Why is he telling people you’re sick?” Luca’s voice is soft and controlled, yet he’s unsuccessful at hiding his growing impatience with me.

  How am I supposed to know that?

  “Maybe he doesn’t want anyone to ask questions, and he must know that my disappearance could be connected to you? Maybe he thinks I’m retrieving his information?”

  “Are you sure you’re being honest?” Luca’s eyes narrow, hardening the lines in his face.

  “Yes,” I answer resolutely. When Luca opens the door to leave, I go into panic mode. “Wait. Where are you going, Luca?” The urge to know his next move explodes inside me.

  Resentment and doubt cloud his eyes as he scans the length of me before closing the door.

  I dash forward in alarm when he locks it and smash my fists against the door while I scream for him. “Luca, Luca!”

  I should’ve confided in him. He loves me, and he would’ve helped me. Why didn’t I confide in him when I had the chance? As I peer down at the floor, a few tears land on my bare feet and I irritably dash them away. Will he still help me? I’m back to being locked in. Is he going to trade me? Luca loves me, but I know all too well how love can be ruined by disloyalty. One message from Alex, and the tables have turned. He knows everything I’ve been holding back, except for my plan with Camilla. Do I know everything he lied about? He said full disclosure, but a man as conniving as he apparently is must have held something back. I’m no match for the shrewdness of men like Alex and Luca.

  What will Luca do now?

  CHAPTER 38

  Luca

  I storm back into my office antagonized by conflicting feelings. Her confession is sending me down a spiral of raging emotions that are on the verge of blowing up.

  Adriano twists his hand up in question. “Not good news?”

  I lean forward with my palms on my desk. “Alex has some balls. He’s been threatening her for three weeks and disclosed that I’m part of the Syndicate to her.”

  Adriano copies my stance. “She knew?”

  “This never leaves this room. Chiaro?” Understood?

  Adriano confirms I can trust him with an instant consent.

  I vehemently rub my hand over my lips. “She’s been lying for weeks too. He wanted intel from her.”

  “Is she working with him?” Adriano inquires, aghast.

  “No.” But my judgment isn’t the best when it comes to her. I believed Fallon was easy to read. I piece back all our interactions from the last weeks. Fallon was distant and quiet, more so than usual. She was pulling away from me, but I wouldn’t let her.

  Fuck!

  I slam my fist on the table. I was aware of her overreaction on Friday and distinctly got the impression she was acting. No, she can’t be working with him. Fallon’s not that good an actor. With a sharp breath, I drop down into my seat. “This mess keeps on getting bigger. I can’t trust her, and that enrages the hell out of me.”

  “Is everything out in the open now?”

  “Yes. No. Not positive. I’m not positive of anything anymore when it comes to her.”

  Adriano starts to recap. “Alex threatened her. With what?”

  “Only words. Her parents, the usual bullshit when you want to intimidate someone.” Could it be I’ve underestimated Leggia? “Alex doesn’t have the nerve to threaten a woman he believes is dating me. You know how skittish Alex is when we pay him a visit. What if someone put him up to it? Someone like Leggia? Leggia did the background check on Fallon the second he found out she was connected to me. His intel must’ve notified him that she works for Alex. And Leggia knows Alex is our associate.”

  Adriano nods, following my line of thinking.

  I continue connecting the dots out loud. “What if Leggia contacted Alex and is pulling all the strings from different angles? Leggia instructed Alex to terrorize Fallon to break us apart.”

  Adriano interjects, “But how would
Leggia know Fallon wouldn’t just come clean to you?”

  Good point. “Risk he was willing to take?” I offer as explanation.

  “Possible.”

  “Now Leggia has two operations set in motion to break me loose from James’ Syndicate. And both involve Fallon - the trade for Danny and the fact she was being disloyal. I think this is playing out even better than Leggia had planned. Frank kidnapping Fallon gave Leggia the upper hand.” I take Fallon’s phone out of my pocket to see if any new messages have been sent to her. Nothing.

  “Motherfucker is smarter than we gave him credit for. Where’s Fallon now?”

  “In my room, locked in.”

  Adriano’s brows crease. “You’re probably scaring her. What’s our next move?”

  The need to protect her overwhelms me. I vouched for Fallon, and although my scenario about Alex and Leggia is pure conjecture, all the pieces are falling together. Her distance, her contradictive behavior - she wanted to believe I wasn’t part of the Mafia - her odd reaction Friday, why she wanted to avoid seeing Alex Friday night and went in search of the back entrance. “Alex is out. We proceed as planned with one small addition. Where is the meet Wednesday?”

  Disapproval sculpts Adriano’s face. “Parish of the Blessed, Father Eli’s church.”

  Of course Leggia is taking precautions and chose a public place like his church, but he doesn’t know that Father Eli is already on my radar and this I can use to my advantage. “That’s good. We can use Father Eli. Where are we meeting Biagio tomorrow tonight?”

  “Warehouse.” Adriano stands to leave. “Luca, what are you doing with Fallon?”

  I need to calm down before I speak to her again, so I toss my room key to Adriano, and he catches it with one hand easily. “Let Camilla help her today. I can’t see or talk to her now. Let’s take care of our business.” I have three days to clean up this cluster fuck, and James must not find out about Fallon’s disloyalty. Since I vouched for her, it will not go well for her or me if James was to know so I’m determined to fix this mess.