Page 33 of Dangerously
“Him and a whole bunch of other people. He shook down every contact you had.”
“Is that how you found me? Frenchie?”
“No, one of the places you buy your burner phones. We started tracking the serial numbers after we got a tip. We researched all the orders and numbers made by the phones, found patterns, and then found you. Tip for the future, don’t use the same liquor store over and over. And change up your order.”
I smirk. “A pint of black stuff with an Irish Catholic chaser.”
“Bingo.”
“Your insider info got me caught.”
“It’s going to get you dead, too, if you don’t get the fuck out of here.”
“Come with me.” The words just fly right out of my mouth.
“Are you crazy? How would that work?”
“You help me get Aisling out of the country. You said it yourself. Ronan got to all my contacts. I bet that means the plane that was supposed to get us out of here is compromised, too.”
Her face goes blank, and the expression tells me everything I need to know. I’m fucked. “Fallon, I can’t do this alone. I need you.”
She shakes her head, like hell no. “My help? Declan, you do know what I do for a living? I don’t help people. I kill them.”
“Exactly. You’re exactly whom I need to keep Aisling safe. Look, she’s already taken a shining to you. That’s saying something.”
“It says she’s two and has no clue about stranger danger.”
“Don’t underestimate my little one. She’s sharp.”
“Crafty like her daddy?”
“And sweet as pie like her mommy.”Fallon looks down at Aisling still sleeping on her lap. I mean, how can you refuse an angelic little face like that? “Doesn’t she deserve a chance to live her best life?” I lay it on thick. Fallon once told me children and animals were her hard limit. I’m banking on that now.
Fallon flicks her green eyes back up at me. Thank God they’re not real daggers, ’cause she would have sliced my nose clean off.
“And what happens once we get her out of the country? We become fugitives? Ronan will never stop looking for us. It’s a suicide mission. And I don’t think I like you enough to put my entire livelihood on the line.”
“You won’t have to. ’Cause we will come back and take care of Ronan. That’s always been the plan. He wanted his whole family dead, and I’m going to finish what he started.”
This seems to intrigue Fallon. I don’t know what her personal relationship is like nowadays with Ronan, but I know he always boasted she would be the lucky one who gets his last name. But something always told me the feeling wasn’t mutual. Most women throw themselves at Ronan, and if he even whispered the word marriage, there would be a line out the door. But Fallon, she never seemed to be part of that harem. Not the two years before I met her, or the two years after. If my mother taught me anything, it's that women always know what they want. And I have a sneaking suspicion Fallon doesn't want a damn thing to do with Ronan.
“It’s crazy, Declan. He’s too connected. We’ll never pull it off,” she objects.
“Yes, we will. ’Cause we know things no one else does. We know his in-betweens. And that’s what will be his downfall.”
I can see Fallon contemplating my rationale. My plan can work, and with her by my side, it’ll be nearly foolproof.
She looks down at Aisling once more. This time longer and harder. “This is our one shot for us all to be free,” I appeal.
Fallon sweeps her eyes up to mine. “I’ll never be free.”
It’s one of the most honest admissions I have ever heard in my life.
“So, you won’t help me?”
“No . . .” She stares straight ahead callously, and my stomach drops. “But I’ll help her.”
A sense of relief surges through me. She had me going for a second.
