Chapter 28 Fallon #2
I glare at him, fighting back that demon inside me that is telling me to hurt him, telling me it's his fault that she’s gone and that I need to make him pay. Just as I take a step to go get my tablet, Dec spins, swinging his fist so hard into Teo’s jaw that he stumbles back.
“Hey! Hey! Knock it off!” Quinn jumps between them as I leave the room.
The ringing in my ears continues even after I disarm the system.
I tap through my tablet to access the cameras.
The one that filmed the alarm trigger is blinking at me so I open it up to see Fallon busting down the garage doors with Declan’s Hummer and speeding away into the darkness of early morning.
I don't bother looking at the other screens; that would waste valuable time. The argument has spilled into the hallway at this point. I’m tempted to just leave them to fight and go after her myself.
We are a family and we don’t turn on each other when things get hard.
I don’t know whose fucking voice is telling me this, but I find my feet taking me back toward my brothers and Quinn, who all have their phones out.
“Someone better start explaining this right now.” Quinn’s voice is icy and demanding as she holds the folder in one hand, stabbing her finger into it with the other.
“We found Fallon’s mother’s body. We were surveilling so many people, but Randy, Sebastian’s driver, stood out because he kept making trips to a vacant property, walking around one area and then leaving.
A few times per year for as long as we have been keeping an eye on her father.
” Matteo’s voice is one I haven’t heard before.
He sounds so hollow. He pinches the bridge of his nose as he continues.
“We started snooping and literally digging around, and that’s when we found her. ”
“How did you know it was her?” Quinn’s eyes dart between the three of us.
Declan answers without looking at her, his arms crossed over his chest as he stares daggers at our brother. “We hired a doctor and had DNA testing done in a private lab several states away.”
“And what are you going to do with this information? Clearly it states this is a homicide. Why not turn it over to the police?”
“The cops are in Helix’s pocket. We’re holding it until the right time to use the information when it will be most effective.” Matteo stubbornly meets Declan’s stare. “We were keeping it from Fallon until the right time.” Declan scoffs in response.
“You guys really fucked up. There is no right time for this. You just have to suck it up and do it.” She takes a deep breath. “She read this alone, didn’t she? Fuck. We have to find her.”
“She took the Hummer,” I tell them, holding up my tablet for them to see the video footage of her hauling ass out of the garage. “Try to call it,” I tell Dec. I feel like an idiot for not thinking of it sooner.
Declan’s phone, now on speaker, rings through to the Hummer. “This is your fucking fault.” His voice is acidic and aimed at Teo. “You better fucking fix this.” The call disconnects mid-ring. She rejected it.
“Everyone get dressed. We’re going after her.” Matteo’s command is one we follow without hesitation. We part ways but each of us keeps trying to call Fallon.
We dress quickly and rush downstairs, Quinn still clutching the folder. “Let me try,” she pleads. “What number do I call?” I read off the number that links to the Hummer, praying this actually works.
It rings twice, and then my pulse stutters when I hear her voice. “Yeah.”
We all try to grab the phone, but Quinn steps back, holding up her hand. “Fallon, you have to stop. Come back.”
“Did you see it?” The anguish in Fallon's voice is a dagger to my heart.
“Yes. Fallon, there is more to it. You need to hear them out.” Quinn’s grip on the phone tightens. I swear I haven't seen Teo breathe since Fallon answered the call.
“Fuck that.”
“Please, listen to me,” Quinn begs.
“No. Fuck them, and fuck you if you’re on their side with this.” I can feel the heat of her anger through the speaker.
“Fallon–” The call disconnects.
Declan’s fist goes through the wall.
“Let's move. Now.” Matteo resumes control, and for some reason, I still trust that. He points at me, and says, “Grab the bag.”
My eyes widen, everything in me telling me not to do it. “Are you sure?”
“We may need it,” he murmurs, his eyes shuttering with thoughts of the worst-case scenario.
I do as he says, grabbing the black bag and following him into the garage.
“Motherfucker!” Dec shouts. Every vehicle has flattened tires. I run over to my bike and my teeth clench when I see she went after that too.
Matteo takes it in stride. “Ms. T parks her car in the drive by her place,” he says. “Let’s go.”
We race after him to the guest house we had built for Ms. T. I try the doors to her car and thankfully, find them unlocked with the keys in the ignition. Declan shoulders me out of the way, and I let him because high-stakes driving in something with four wheels is his forte.
Doors slam and tires squeal as we race backwards out of the driveway.
I am in the back seat, my tablet open on my lap with the GPS to the Hummer pulled up.
“She’s using the GPS to get back to the city.
She hasn’t put in a specific destination, though.
Where would she be going?” There are several options, and if we guess wrong, it's all over. It might be anyway.
“Home, maybe?” Quinn guesses from the seat beside me, clutching the door handle for dear life as we careen around a corner.
“No, she was too angry,” Declan says, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. “The question is, who will she go after first?”
“That narrows it down to three options. Clay, Sebastian, or Randy,” Teo responds.
“Wait, why Randy?” Quinn asks, her eyes darting to me in confusion.
“The folder makes it seem like he was the one who killed her. He’s how we found the body.
To us, he’s a suspect, one of several, but I don’t think Fallon would see it that way.
” My eyes meet hers before sliding back to my tablet.
DISCONNECTED flashes across the screen in blood-red letters.
“Fuck! She disabled the GPS. We’re blind. ”
Declan is breaking every driving law there is as he tries to figure out where to go. “What was her last location?”
“Just entering Axton Harbor city limits, headed north.”
“Her dad and Clay live on the east side. She has to be going for Randy.” Teo looks at Declan who meets his eyes and nods in understanding. No one speaks after that, all of us too lost in thought about what just took place and what we might find when we reach Fallon.
We finally pull into the driveway in a small neighborhood, right next to Declan’s Hummer. Bingo.
I barely register getting out of the car, grabbing the bag, or running up the driveway to the front door.
Teo tries to open it, but it’s locked. Declan raises a fist to beat on the door, but Teo stops him with a hand gripping his shoulder.
“Too many neighbors. We can’t draw attention to ourselves.
Let's go around back and get inside.” We file toward the back, but I spin around, stopping Quinn from going any farther.
“Dont even fuck–”
“You can’t come with us,” I tell her. “We may need your hands clean. Stay with the car and keep an eye out. Call if there is anything suspicious.” I send her my phone number in a text and leave her there.
I catch up to my brothers at the back door. Declan tries the knob but, of course, it’s locked too. This time Matteo doesn’t stop. Booted feet lead to splintered wood as the door breaks open.
As we step into the dimly lit room, each of us is armed and ready. That is, until we lay eyes on Fallon. Nothing could have prepared me for what we just walked in on.
Fallon stands stock still in the middle of the kitchen, knife in hand. She’s splattered in blood, with it dripping from her face and hands. She doesn’t acknowledge us as we step inside, just stands there, chest heaving, staring at the mutilated body of Randy Peters at her feet.
“Siren.” I calmly put my knives away, approaching her as I would a wounded animal, but she doesn’t respond, doesn’t even blink.
Declan walks around the kitchen counter, checking that part of the house. Then he edges closer to her, trying and failing to get her attention. We exchange glances, both of us at a loss of what to do here.
“Baby.”
Fallon’s head snaps up at Matteo’s voice, and her features twist with rage.
She raises the hand holding the bloodied knife, pointing it at him.
“You. This is on you. I should fucking kill you!” Matteo doesn’t move as she lunges for him, but Declan’s arms wrap around her from behind, stopping her.
She tries to fight him off, but he has her upper body in a lock-iron grip.
I didn’t think I could feel worse about this, but then tears track down her cheeks.
“You knew.” Her voice breaks, and her body sags in Declan’s grip as she sees the truth of that statement shining back at her from mine and Matteo’s eyes.
“You fucking knew.” A sob erupts from her followed by renewed rage.
“I’ll fucking kill you!” Declan’s grip on her tightens as she struggles against him, his brow furrowing in a mixture of anger and concern.
She’s definitely not going to leave here quietly. I cast a devastated glance at Matteo. He nods toward the bag on my back, then closes his eyes and turns away from the scene unfolding before us, his shoulders hunched with guilt.
Swallowing hard, I take the clear bottle out of the bag and soak the cloth in my hand. She’s still jerking in Declan’s grasp as I approach her, pressing the cloth against her nose and mouth. Her body goes limp as she inhales the chloroform, succumbing to its effects.
Her eyes flutter and meet my own, the betrayal written so clearly in her gaze it makes my chest hurt.
“I am so sorry, Siren. We didn’t want it to come to this.”