“You good with that, Falcon?” Rocky’s voice was full of amusement, which meant I missed something important.
“Yep. Sure.” I knew I was busted but with these guys you couldn’t give an inch, or they’d bust your balls all day.
“Don’t worry about the security for the whorehouses, or your shifts at the gun range, the auto shop, and the tattooparlor,” Diesel explained, his words tense. “Just focus on keeping Viv safe.”
“And here,” Rocky added, his tone more serious than it usually was.
“Yeah,” T-Bone laughed. “You done staring off like a lovesick asshole?”
I flipped him off. “Are you saying I look like you?” The fucker’s been walking around with heart eyes since he met Faith.
He shot me a bird right back before pushing away from the table.
One by one the brothers left until it was just me, Rocky, and Diesel. Slate had gone back to his office, digging into the Russians was my guess. Diesel’s gaze was steady on me, no hint of teasing found. “Vivian is your responsibility, Falcon. You’re in charge of her protection. Is that gonna be a problem?”
I didn’t even hesitate. “Nope.”
He arched a brow.
I met his doubt head-on. “Not on my end anyway. She might think she’s leaving but TJ needs her. He needs both of us and I’ll make damn sure that happens.”
A long silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken doubts and unanswered questions. “Good,” he said finally. “Handle it.”
“Consider it handled.” The last fucking thing I wanted was to see Viv hurt and now that I was solely responsible for her safety, I wouldn’t fuck it up.
Viv was mine and I wasn’t letting her go.
Not again.
Chapter Twelve
Vivian
My phone vibrated on the bedside table, and I watched it like it was a ticking time bomb, because history had taught me that nothing good came when my phone made a sound. My chest hammered at the insistent buzzing that stopped to start again. Someone was trying to call me and there was no fucking way I’d answer.
Another buzz sounded, sending the phone bumping across the table as if the universe was intervening to keep me from bad news. When the phone stopped altogether, I reluctantly reached over to grab it, holding my breath as I flicked the screen to life. It was an unknown number and when I tapped it, a short message appeared, making my stomach sink.
Offer still stands. Be mine and all of this goes away.
I swallowed hard as I read the words five separate times, because I was apparently a glutton for punishment. It wasn’t the first time I’d received a version of this message. Sometimes they were gentle, prodding messages like this. Almost cajoling as if this was having that second lava cake. Other times they were demanding and threatening. The message was always the same. Come back to James and all of my professional worries would disappear.
I knew without a doubt it was James because who else would it be? The familiarity of the message just pissed me off because of course he thought dangling my career in front ofme would force me to come back to him. James never accepted rejection well, even more so when he was rejected by someone he deemed beneath him.
The bedroom door opened and Falcon appeared. I opened my mouth to share the message from James with him but the look on his face brought me up short.
“Falcon? Is everything okay?”
He shook his head looking shellshocked as he clutched two sheets of paper in his hand. He took another step forward and closed the door behind him, his expression completely unreadable.
Instinctively I took a step back, noting my increased heart rate and my suddenly sweaty palms. “Falcon,” I tried again, my tone calm and placating.
“I knew it,” he finally said, his voice rough and emotional as he held the papers up like a prize. His expression changed into something lighter but intense, as if in his hands he held good news and a bomb. “I fucking knew it. I mean, I didn’t doubt it, but we had to do this right. But now? Seeing his full name, the match, it’s all real. Travis Junior is mine.”
I nodded as it all became clear. “I never planned on keeping him from you. I told you what things were like, I thought it was for the best I—”
“I understand,” he said, though I could hear the hurt in his tone. He let the papers fall at his feet. “I get why you did it, Viv. But I keep thinking about everything I missed, all those firsts.” He scrubbed one hand over his face and then the other. “I don’t wanna fight about it and I’m not angry at you, just thegoddamn situation. This is all on the Russians and your fucking ex.”
I understood that more than he knew, but none of it mattered now because I was leaving. After years of running I knew there was no escape. They’d always find me and then the harassment and threats would start again. The only way I could guarantee that my son had any chance of a normal life was to get as far away from him as possible.
