Page 49 of Dangerously
“Where was your mother?”I refill my glass with my attention glued to her.
“My mother?” Fallon scoffs. “My mother is a raging alcoholic who turned a blind eye to the whole damn thing. She pretended it wasn't happening except when she got drunk, then she sure as shit made me feel like it was all my fault. I was a victim of entitlement and circumstance.”
“I am . . . so . . . sorry,” is about all I can muster.
“Don’t be fucking sorry. Don’t feel sorry for me. I got out.”
“Yeah, how? How did you end up in this life?”
“I ran away, and fate stepped in,” she says simply.
“How?” I’m riveted.
“There was a boy.”
“It’s always about a boy,” I echo her sentiments when I told her about Brynn, and she picks up on my wit.
“Levi was the son of one of my father’s shiny-new shady politicians. He was financially backing him to run for office. He has all kinds of nasty people in his pocket.”
“Sounds like a stand-up guy.”
“He’s disgusting.” Fallon makes her feelings clear.
“So, the son, Levi? He got you out?”
“No,” she sneers. “My father had him killed because we were seeing each other in secret. I was sixteen years old and completely destroyed. I had had enough. One night after . . .” Fallon swallows shards of glass. “It was after . . .” I get what she’s saying. “I had a meltdown. Trashed the house. Broke everything I could get my hands on. Glasses, dishes, antiques. I even threw a planter through the window. Neither my father nor my mother could calm me down. Then I ran out the door. It was pouring rain. I can still remember how hard the raindrops were hitting my face. You could barely see two feet in front of you. When I made it to the street, I got hit by a car.”
“No shit?”
“No shit. It was fate.”
“So, what happened? Who hit you?”
“My saving grace.” Fallon reaches for my glass. “A neighbor. Mrs. Di Luna.” I let her steal a sip. “She was a tough old bat. Picture Betty White in a wheelchair with sharper teeth.”
“That picture sounds oddly terrifying.”
“She was oddly terrifying. But she knew my family well. I woke up in her house and just broke down. It turns out she had a sneaking suspicion all along. I guess that’s what happens when your father, husband, and son all work for the CIA. Your intuition is super in tune.”
“So, she helped you disappear?”
“Yes. Got me a whole new identity and sent me to this military school in the middle of fucking nowhere. They trained me up. She was grooming me for the CIA, but I had other plans.”
“Contract killing?”
“Not exactly at first. I just kind of fell into it, but it was a perfect fit. It quelled the rage inside me.” Fallon taps her chest.
“I can see that.”
“And then I met March, and the rest is history.”
“So . . . where is your sister?”
Fallon shows her teeth like a dog. “Still with them.”
“You left her with your pedophile father?”
“Relax. She’s safe. He’s never touched her.”
