21. Fallon
Fallon
“Girl, you’re smiling again.”
I glance up at Monroe in the mirror and try but fail to erase the smile from my face.
“I can’t help it.” I shrug, then playfully push her shoulder. “Leave me alone. I’m trying to concentrate on cutting your hair straight.”
Monroe snorts. “Uh-huh.”
“You’re annoying,” I tell her, though I’m grinning.
“Are you in love with this guy?”
My hands freeze in midair. “No.”
Definitely not. I barely know Luciano.
“Oh my God, yes, you are. You’re in love with the mafia Daddy. I’m so jealous!”
I choke on air and shake my head, waving a hand.
Her jaw drops. “Wait, have you called him Daddy? I need to know the details. Was it hot? I bet it was hot. Oh my God, I’m jealous.”
My cheeks burn, and I glance around the salon, glad that it’s empty except for the two of us.
Everyone who works here was giving me looks earlier.
I know they were dying to ask questions about Luciano, but I kept myself busy all day to avoid them.
While I know it was safe to tell Monroe what he does, I’m going to need to come up with better answers for other people in my daily life.
Maybe I’ll just say he’s a businessman. Who knew it was so complicated dating a mobster?
I’m sure the guy who came and switched posts with Angelo is lurking out front like a stalker. It’s so strange, knowing there’s someone outside to keep an eye out for my safety.
“So? What’s it like? I’m genuinely curious.”
“It’s not what I expected,” I answer honestly.
It’s difficult to explain someone like Luciano.
I always thought a man telling me what to do would make me want to punch him in the throat. And sometimes I actually do want to do that.
But then he shows me the gentle side of himself, the side that only wants to protect me and keep me safe. To take care of me. Even this ridiculous bodyguard situation. I understand why he’s doing it, even though I still don’t love it. Maybe it takes some getting used to.
“He makes me feel safe and cared for,” I finally say.
Monroe sighs, and I think I see hearts in her eyes.
“And sometimes he’s an overbearing asshole. But even then, he still explains his reasons behind it. It always comes from a place of caring.”
She smiles. “Which is totally different than Joshua’s bitch ass.”
That makes me burst out laughing because, yeah, she’s correct. Joshua cared about himself. His image. His car. His job. Everything was about him. He always wanted to be the center of attention.
And in just a few short days of knowing each other, Luciano looks at me like I’m something special. Like he’s obsessed. Like I’m his center of attention.
Which is probably not the healthiest thing in the world, but damn, it sure feels good.
I brush off the stray hairs from Monroe’s shoulders before I spin the chair and pull off her protective cape. “You look stunning.”
She smiles widely and checks herself out in the mirror, fluffing up her long tresses. “I can’t wait to meet this guy. I bet he loves you.”
“Get out,” I say with a soft laugh because she’s such a pain in the ass sometimes.
“And you love him, too. I see it in your eyes.”
I hold up my cutting shears. “I have scissors, and I will fuck up this perfect haircut if you say one more thing about love.”
Monroe grins. “So violent.”
We both laugh and throw our arms around each other.
“I do love you,” I say.
She strikes a little pose and then winks at me. “And I love you.”
She digs through her purse and tosses several twenties onto my work tray. I shoot her a look because I hate when she pays me, but she always insists.
“I want to meet him,” she says.
I snort. “Of course you do.”
“Soon? Please?”
“I’ll ask him. He already knows everything about you.”
Her smile falls. “What?”
“I’m pretty sure he ran a background check on you. Or one of his men did.”
“Why?”
“Because, apparently being my best friend makes you a potential security threat. I told you, he’s protective.”
She stares at me for a long moment. “That is diabolical, Fallon.”
I laugh. “It’s the life in the mafia. Can never be too careful, I guess.”
“Well, mafia or not, you tell him that if he hurts you, I’ll hunt him down and kill him myself.”
We both grin, and she swings her purse over her shoulder, then heads for the door. “Byyyyye.”
“Call me tomorrow.”
She throws me a thumbs-up. “I will. Peace out, girl scout.”
Then she waltzes out of the salon, and I follow to lock up while I finish cleaning.
When I look through the glass, the new bodyguard already has the black SUV parked out front at the curb.
He’s standing near it, waiting for me. We haven’t spoken, but I like Angelo better for some reason.
Maybe when I bit him, it was like a blood oath or something.
It’s possible. I believe in that sort of stuff.
I return to my station and finish sweeping, and then I wipe down all the surfaces at my station. Finally, I take the dirty towels and load them in the washing machine.
My phone buzzes in my pocket.
Luciano: Let me know when you leave work and when you get home.
I smile.
Fallon: Bossy
The bubbles appear immediately.
Luciano: Fallon Camille.
Fallon: Ohhhh, the government name. I’m in trouble.
Fallon: Calm down, Daddy. I’m done with work and finishing cleaning up now. No need to get all cranky.
Luciano: Keep it up, Little girl. Keep it up.
A shiver runs through me as I read the message. Even though he said he won’t be home until morning, I can’t wait to see him. I miss him, and I’m bummed I won’t get to cuddle with him tonight.
Maybe Monroe is right. Maybe I am in love with him.
With a sigh, I tie up the trash bag and flip off the lights, then grab my purse and head toward the back exit that opens to the alley, where the dumpsters are. I unlock the metal door and step out, the cold Seattle air hitting my face as it swings closed behind me.
Just as I lift the lid and toss the bag inside, I hear gravel crunching behind me.
“Fallon.”
Every muscle in my body tenses. I know that mouth-breathing voice. I slowly turn around as Joshua steps out of the shadows.
“What are you doing here?” I ask with disgust.
I hate him.
I’ve realized it’s not all men that I hate. Just him and the ones like him. The ones who are fake at first to fool you into thinking they’re the greatest guy in the world, when really, they’re just snakes.
“You won’t answer my calls or texts.”
It takes me a minute to register his words. “Because I blocked you.”
“I want to talk to you,” he says.
I move toward the door. “I have nothing to say to you.”
Before I get there, Joshua stands in front of me, and my stomach tightens. I’m not going to back down.
I glare up at him. “Move.”
“You need to tell me what the hell is going on, Fallon. You’ve been running around with that fucking criminal? I lost my job today! And who do you think is responsible for that?”
I square my shoulders, refusing to shrink as my voice gets louder. “You probably got fired because you fucked your secretary with your tiny dick on top of your desk in your office.”
His jaw clenches and when he exhales, I catch a whiff of alcohol. I try to walk past him, but his arm snaps out, and he grabs mine in a painful grip.
The anger I felt so many days ago returns. I swing my free arm, punching him in the face. “Get the fuck off me!”
Joshua curses and releases me. I don’t wait. I drive my knee straight between his legs. When he folds with a strangled groan, I turn to go inside.
“You fucking bitch!” He grabs my hair and yanks me back as I try to get away.
His grasp is painful. I turn and swing again, using every ounce of energy and rage I have. I hit him over and over. Finally, I send my elbow into his face, hitting him square on the nose, making him release my hair.
My scalp burns as he grabs his face while blood drips from it.
“You broke my fucking nose!” he yells.
“Good!”
His face twists, and his eyes almost look black as he scowls at me. He lunges for me. I scream as his body slams into mine, knocking both of us to the ground. I claw at his face like a pissed-off cat.
“Get off me!” I scream.
“You ruined my life! This is your fault,” he roars back.
I bring my knee up again, but he twists, and I miss his crotch this time. His hand closes around my throat, and fear spreads through me like I’ve never felt before.
I want Daddy.
Then I remember Luciano’s comments about how one of his favorite things about me is that I’m a fighter.
I am.
I promised myself when I was sixteen that I was never going to let another man hurt me.
And that’s not going to change with Joshua “Tiny Dick” Matthews.
I jam my thumb into his eye, and he jerks his head away, loosening his grip enough for me to scream.
“Help!”
Joshua tries to clamp a hand over my mouth, but I bite him, hard. He screams, and I get a rush of intense satisfaction and adrenaline.
Using that moment to get away, I twist and try to kick out from under him, but he catches me by the hair again. Pain burns across my scalp, though I refuse to cry out.
“You crazy bitch!”
Where the hell is my bodyguard? I’m sure he can’t hear me all the way around the other side of the building. I’m here in this alley, trapped with this monster.
He slams my head against the ground, and my vision goes blurry while he screams in my face. “You ruined my fucking life!”
As he pulls me up by my hair, I try to fight him, but he’s straddling me, all of his weight holding me down.
And then he slams my head backward again.
White-hot pain rips through me just as someone shouts in the near distance. Joshua releases me, but I can’t move. I think I’m going to die right here, under the starry Seattle sky. I just wish Luciano were here with me.
“Miss Davis!”
My vision swims, and the alley becomes fuzzy as Joshua takes off, running away while another figure runs toward me.
My bodyguard crouches over me, looking up several times as if trying to see where my assailant went.
Darkness hovers over me.
I try to tell him it was Joshua.
To tell him I want Luciano.
But my mouth won’t cooperate.
“Miss Davis! Fallon! Can you hear me?”
I blink, but I can’t speak.
And then everything closes in on me, and the world goes black.