CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Kye
APHANTOM ENERGY BUZZED BENEATH MY SKIN AS IF SOMEONE had injected pure adrenaline into my bloodstream. The urge to pace was strong, but I couldn’t leave Fallon. Not when she’d told me all she wanted was my hand in hers. With all the ways I’d failed her, the least I could give her was that.
It felt like it took years for Ellie, Nora, Sutton, Walter, and Lolli to get the kids downstairs for a movie.
Clem had wanted to stay, but Hayden had dipped her head, speaking quiet words to her sister that had her following the rest of them.
When the door to the basement finally closed, all eyes moved to our newcomers.
“Tell us what you know,” I clipped.
Trace sent me a quelling look as he sat on the coffee table in front of Fallon and me. “First, we need to get a statement from Fallon.” He searched Fal’s face. “I can have Beth come out if you’d prefer—”
“No,” Fallon said quickly. “I’d rather you do it.”
“Okay,” Trace said softly. “Want me to clear the room?”
Various siblings made sounds of protest at that, and Trace would have to kill me if he wanted me to leave Fallon’s side.
“Enough,” Trace barked, the authority he rarely used bleeding into his voice. “We will do whatever it takes to make Fallon feel comfortable, and I will kick every single one of your asses out of here if I have to.”
“He’s right,” Thea said quietly. “It’s hard enough to talk about this sort of thing out loud.” Her gaze met Fallon’s, so much understanding in her green eyes. “Whatever you need, we’re here, Fal.”
“Love you,” Fallon whispered, her eyes shining. Because my sparrow was the ultimate empath, and she knew Thea was speaking from her experiences and pain.
“Love you, too,” Thea whispered. “And I’ll kick anyone’s ass who tries to hurt you again.”
“Anson’s building me a murder shed, so I’ve got us covered for the torture portion of events,” Rhodes added, completely deadpan.
“Reckless,” Anson growled. “Don’t say that shit in front of the cops.”
“We’re actually the sheriff’s department,” Gabriel corrected helpfully.
Fallon’s lips twitched. “And how does the sheriff’s department feel about murder sheds? Asking for a friend, of course.”
Gabriel chuckled. “Don’t make us arrest you.”
Fallon smiled, then took a deep breath, her tongue darting out to wet her bottom lip. “I’m ready.”
“Can I get your permission to record this?” Gabriel asked, pulling out his phone. “Trace will handle the questioning, but it will help to have a recording to refer back to.”
Fallon gripped my hand harder. “Of course.”
Trace leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “If you need to stop and take a break, just say the word, okay?”
Fal nodded.
“Tell me about your morning. Walk me through what happened,” Trace said, his voice gentle.
Fallon glanced at me before starting, and I nodded—as if that little movement could encourage her in some way. She swallowed, making the marks on her neck flutter. “We got up and did breakfast with the girls. Kye went to a meeting with his lawyer, and I took the girls to school.”
Another failure to add to the tally. With everything going on, I never should’ve left them alone.
I should’ve had one of my brothers with them or a goddamned security guard.
I’d be remedying that stat. Nora would take the girls tonight, and hopefully, Fal would go, too.
Then, I was getting them all a security detail until this was done and buried.
“I dropped the girls off and waited for them to get inside,” Fallon continued.
“That’s when you texted me?” Trace asked.
“Yes.” Fallon’s gaze flitted to me briefly before dropping. “Because I saw Renee outside the school, across the street.”
The pulse in my neck fluttered wildly as a million what-ifs passed through my mind. Had she been a part of this? Had she gotten someone to attack Fallon?
“It wasn’t the first time,” Fallon continued.
I instantly sat up straighter. “What do you mean, it wasn’t the first time?”
Fal worried her bottom lip. “The day we picked out furniture, she walked by as Ellie and I left. Said some choice things. I put her in her place. That was it. I just … there was something about her watching today. It looked like she was truly furious.”
Fucking hell. Why hadn’t she told me? How was she not pissed as hell that I’d brought this sort of thing into her life?
Trace drummed his fingers on his knees. “Did she say anything today? Make any threatening moves?”
“No. She just glared.” Fallon looked between Trace and me. “You don’t think—she wouldn’t—” Fal swallowed hard again, cutting herself off.
“Let’s just have you finish telling us what happened, okay? Then we’ll give you all the information we have.”
“A-all right.”
I hated the tremor in Fallon’s voice. It seeped into the air around her and then made a home in me, lighting a fury that took me out at the knees.
Those demons I knew so well swirled, the ones that spoke in a language of violence and darkness.
The ones that demanded blood for what had been done to Fallon.
Trace nodded and gave her a small, reassuring smile. “Tell me what happened next.”
“I headed toward the DHS offices, but on the way, I got a text message from Rose about a new case. She asked me to meet Noah at an address.”
Dex and Anson shared a look that had my skin prickling. There was something there. Something about that message.
The moment Deputy Fletcher arrived on the scene, Fallon begged him to send officers to the house to check on the children. But there had been none. The cabin had been foreclosed on years ago, and no one lived there.
Fallon took a deep breath. “When I got to the address, only one car was there. I didn’t recognize it, but I thought it was an unmarked law enforcement vehicle.”
“How come?” Trace pressed.
“Navy sedan. No markings.”
“Did you happen to get a plate?”
Fallon shook her head, making wisps of blond hair flutter around her face. “Sorry, no. I should’ve known something was up, but I thought maybe I was late or something.”
Trace leaned forward and rested a hand on Fallon’s blanket-covered knee. “None of this is your fault, okay? Not one damn thing.”
Fallon bit her lip but nodded. “As I walked up to the front door, I heard crying inside. It was so real. I would’ve bet my life that a child was in the cabin.”
Dex’s jaw clenched so hard the muscle in it started to flutter. “It was a recording.”
“The unsub left it behind. A digital recorder,” Anson explained.
“Oh, God,” Fallon whispered.
Fury lit anew. The level of manipulation and deception scared the hell out of me. Because it wasn’t just hatred. It was smart and calculated. They’d lured Fallon to a house with one of the few pieces of bait they knew she’d never question.
“When no one answered, I just went in.” Fallon’s fingers dug into the back of my hand. “I thought an officer might have had their hands full with a crying baby and couldn’t get to the door. But when I stepped inside, someone flew at me. They slammed me against the wall and then started choking me.”
I couldn’t imagine how terrified she must’ve been. How out of her mind with fear and terror.
Trace’s sheriff’s mask was in place now, hiding everything he was battling like I was. “Did you get a look at the assailant?”
“No, I—they were wearing some sort of zombie mask. And the eyes were black. I couldn’t even see that.”
“What about size? Skin color?” Trace pressed.
“I-I don’t know. Taller than me.”
But that wasn’t hard. Fallon was petite and willowy.
She twisted the blanket around her fingers. “Gloves. He was wearing gloves. And a hoodie. I didn’t see any skin at all.”
“What about a voice?” Trace asked. “Did he say anything to you?”
Fallon’s gaze drifted to the side.
“He did,” Trace surmised.
“I didn’t recognize his voice,” Fallon croaked.
“What did he say?” Anson asked softly. “It’s important.”
Fallon’s fingers twisted tighter in the blanket as she stared down at her lap. “He said, ‘He doesn’t deserve you. He doesn’t deserve happiness.’”
Everything in me went still. It was as if the world had stopped spinning. I didn’t breathe, feel, or … anything else.
I knew it had to be about me. My goddamned past. The reckless choices I’d gotten Fallon mixed up in. But hearing it like this? I couldn’t take it.
Trace swore.
“But I—I remembered what Kye taught me.” Fallon looked up at me, all innocent trust. “I heard your voice in my head, telling me to fight, telling me exactly what to do. I broke his hold, kneed him in the balls, and ran.”
“Damn straight, you did,” Cope praised, but there were unshed tears in his eyes as he spoke.
Fallon squeezed my hand as if begging. “You helped me get free.”
But she wouldn’t have had to break free in the first place if it weren’t for me. My gaze cut to Anson and Dex. “Tell me what you found out.”
There was no request in my tone. It was a brutal demand, and Anson didn’t wait for permission. “Someone cloned Rose’s cell phone.”
“What?” Fallon rasped.
“It’s easier than you might think,” Dex explained. “If you can get the person to click a link in a text message or email on the device, it can grant a hacker access.”
My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as I struggled to swallow.
“They were able to text you as her and receive any responses, as well,” Dex went on. “Neither of you would’ve known.”
“That’s pretty damn ballsy,” Linc muttered. “What if she was already at DHS when the text came in?”
Anson and Dex shared another look.
“What?” I snarled.
Gabriel held up a hand, telling me to keep it together. “We had our evidence techs give your vehicles a once-over when we brought them back to you. The SUV that was vandalized, as well. There were trackers on both of them.”
A buzzing lit in my ears as I struggled to breathe. “They knew exactly where we were at all times.”
“Yes,” Anson said, not pulling any punches. “It’s clear that whoever this is has an obsession with you—wants to hurt you in any way they can.”
“And how the hell am I supposed to keep my family safe?” I ground out.
No one spoke. Because no one had the answer. And worse, it was because of me that they were even in danger in the first place.