He started to walk back towards the direction War had gone, but I knew that wasn't what was going to help. I reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Hitch, no! We can't."
He turned back to me, his eyes blazing. "Why not? He's a fucking threat, Fallon. He could have hurt you."
"I know, but we can't be like that," I said, trying to contain the fear I was feeling. "We can't be like them. Foley would win."
Hitch stared at me, his rage slowly subsiding, replaced by confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"It doesn't matter, okay?" I begged, not wanting to say much else. "He's just messing with us, Hitch. This is a game to him. We can't let him know we're scared."
"And are you scared?" he asked. The question hung in the air, a test of my composure.
I took a deep breath, fighting the tremor in my voice. "Yes, I am. But we can't show him."
Hitch studied me intently, searching my eyes for the truth. Finally, he nodded slowly. "Okay. What do you want to do?"
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. I took one last glance at the spot where War had stood, the memory of his touch burning on my skin.
"We need to protect Julian."
twelve
a killer threat
Hitch
Ifucking loathed War. I fucking despised him. The man was a stranger, yet I felt such hot, burning hatred for him. He was a threat, jeopardizing everything I'd built with Fallon. Now, she was once again heavily guarded. But something felt different this time. From the start, there was an obsessive connection between them—a dangerous pull—and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t worry me.
Fallon knew how I felt about her—she always knew. She knew I loved her—I had loved her since I was seventeen and she was nothing but my stepsister. But because of the shit I did, she’d put up an invisible barrier around her heart, forbidding herself from ever falling for me. She was afraid I would hurt her again, but I wouldn't. Though I had to push her away, to protect her from Foley’s grasp. Yet, it seemed she was caught inhis web regardless, and I was consumed by a desperate need to understand their story. I knew she was hiding something. I just didn't know what.
As I pulled on my black Carhartt jacket, my beanie, gloves, and face shield, my thoughts remained with Fallon. What secrets was she hiding? What had truly happened between her and Foley, and why was she so terrified of him? What was War doing stalking Fallon? I was ready to get it all out on the table. But would Foley be ready to spill his dark secrets?
I stepped into the biting cold, the flurries dancing through the city in the light, persistent wind. As I began the long walk toward Foley's, I let my mind wander. Foley was particular; no vehicles were permitted on his property, not even for his employees. Anyone working for him had to walk to work and down the mile-long driveway leading to his colossal, all-black mansion, shielded by a towering black iron gate that kept the world at bay. Foley was ruthless, the kind of man you didn't cross. The kind of man who looked like sin in a suit but had the devil hidden inside him.
I wished escape were simple, but it was anything but. Once you were in with Evander Foley, the Mexican Mafia boss, there was no exit unless you were riddled with bullets and hidden so well that the world would never find you.
I’d met Foley by chance. At seventeen, I'd accumulated a rap sheet of charges: murder, bike gang affiliation, strong armed robbery, sex trafficking, drug trafficking. I was busted, thrown in jail with a five-million-dollar bond. I was beyond hopeless. But not fifteen minutes after being booked, a CO came to inform me that my bail had been paid in full, and I was a free man—for the time being.
I was utterly shocked, but I was out of jail, so I didn't ask questions. That was the day I met Evander Foley. He knew who I was. He’d been watching the videos of me on the news. He paidmy bail, provided me with the best lawyers, who eventually got all my charges dropped and dismissed, and then he explained how I could repay him.
He wanted my soul, and I gave it. He wanted my life, but that belonged to Fallon, whether she allowed me to love her or not. Foley had already ruined my life; I wouldn't let him destroy any chance of a future with Fallon.
They say everyone gets one person in this world. One person they'll fall so deeply in love with, they'll never forget them. I'd known since I was young that Fallon was the love of my life. It didn't matter that she was my stepsister; I'd loved her the moment I saw her, and I couldn't walk away. I knew I had hurt her, but I was trying to make it up to her every single day.
Now War was involved, and I knew she felt something for him. But I wasn't one to share my things. I absolutely didn't play nice with others. I was selfish, and I was an absolute fucking menace. But if having a chance to be with Fallon meant sharing her with War, I'd learn to cope, because I would rather have her with him than not have her at all.
On the daunting walk to Foley's, the snow intensified, and the flakes swelled in the blink of an eye. They sparkled under the streetlights, glimmering like diamonds raining down around me. Of course, I thought of Fallon, for no particular reason, except that I couldn’t get her off my mind.
I replayed the questions I wanted to ask Foley, knowing he probably wouldn’t answer half of them. I wanted to know how he knew Fallon. I wanted to understand what had happened between them that left her constantly terrified. I wanted to know War's assignment, and I wouldn’t back down, even if he ordered me to leave.
The wind whipped around me, the cold seeping into my bones despite the layers of protection. I pushed open the wrought-iron gate, its ornate design so different from the ominous sleek,black mansion that loomed ahead. The snow crunched under my boots, each step a testament to my unwavering determination.
I’d dealt with Foley before, felt his cold grip on my life, but this felt different. This was about Fallon, about the woman who was the very air I fucking breathed. My heart hammered in my chest, like a frantic drumbeat urging me forward. I wasn't afraid of Foley, not anymore. Not after the things I had seen and done. I had to know, for her. I had to tear down the walls she'd built around her heart, find the truth, and protect her, no matter the cost, even if I was still in the dark about what she was hiding.
As I neared the mansion, the heavy front door swung open, and a figure emerged. Tall, imposing, with a gaze that could slice through steel. It was War. His dark hair was slicked back, his eyes like chips of obsidian, and a cruel smirk played on his lips.
"Well, well," War drawled, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "The prodigal felon returns. What brings you to Foley's doorstep, again?" He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, the picture of casual arrogance.
