Chapter 22
Fallon
“Ithink I handled that very well,” I say to Basil, carrying him back to the windowsill.
‘He asked a lot of questions,’ Fern comments.
“He’s a powerful man. This is serious.” I fill up the watering can and give them a smile so they don’t worry about me. “Drinks are on me!”
‘You did great, sweetie!’ Ivy coos.
I’m about to ask Basil for his thoughts about Ares when Rhys stalks back toward me.
“You should have told me he was coming,” I say, giving the herbs a drink.
“I didn’t want you to stress. You’re honest and true, and I wanted him to see the real you,” Rhys says, his voice a growl. “You did perfectly. You are perfect.”
My lips tremble into a smile. “Will he be back?”
“No,” he bites out. “He will not even look at you again without going through me first.”
“Does he…trust me?”
“Aye. I think so,” he says, jaw tight.
“But?”
“Sit down, Fallon.”
I hold my breath as my heart slams against my ribs. Rhys is going to back out of the events. He’s going inward again. But we had a deal. I feel a spiral coming on.
‘Sing to the cops!’ Basil finally chimes in.
“No! I would never do that,” I whisper.
“Fallon?” Rhys’s voice stills me.
I amble to the sofa. “Sitting.”
I worry Rhys will react the way my father did when I mentioned that some of my dolls talk to me. Then he took them all away.
Rhys lowers in front of me. “Who is Kosta?”
“Kosta?” Did I mention him?
‘You did, sweetie,’ Ivy’s vines twist nervously. ‘I didn’t want to say anything.’
“You said you worry about Kosta showing up.”
“Um… Kosta works for my father,” I say as if that’s a reasonable explanation.
“Fallon, your complexion just lost all its coloring.” Rhys takes my hands in his. “Did Kosta hurt you?”
My throat goes tight. “Uh huh.”
Rhys freezes. “Fallon…how bad?”
“Real bad,” I whisper. “But he’s in jail now.”
Rhys’s voice spikes. “He hurt you so bad he went to jail for it?”
“Not for what he did to me.” I shake my head. “Those crimes don’t always get punished. He got picked off on a robbery job for my father.”
Something dark flickers behind Rhys’s eyes. He wants details about what Kosta did to me, but I can see I’m about to spiral in his eyes, so he doesn’t dig any further, and I’m grateful.
“Fallon, what the hell does your father do?”
“Um. I don’t really know. He’s got a lot of money. He wears expensive suits and drives nice cars. But I don’t know what he does exactly.”
“Okay. What is this Kosta guy’s last name?” Rhys asks gently.
“Orlov,” I say on a swallow.
Rhys blinks, but there’s a subtle change in his expression that makes me think maybe he knows the Orlov family.
“Do… Do you know him?”
“No. Never heard of him.” Rhys stands and glances around. “How long will this guy be in jail?”
I’m coming for you.
Those terrible words ring through me. Rhys is finally stepping up to be a good boyfriend. I can’t risk losing him now.
“He was sentenced to ten years,” I say, which is the truth.
“When?”
“Seven years ago.” I twist a pillow tassel in my fingers to get through the lie.
A slow breath leaves him. “Good. He’ll rot for a while.”
My stomach flips. “Rhys…?”
“Don’t worry, love.” He drags a hand through his hair, gaze sharpening. “While Kosta is in jail, it gives me time to put things in place. I’ll make sure that if he’s still alive by the end of his sentence, he will never go near you again.”