Violent Beginnings (The Moretti Crime Family 2)

What I see has my blood turning ice cold. Bile rises in my throat as I take in the image before me. It’s a picture of Markus holding a woman in his arms, cradling her, a woman who seems to be dead, killed by a gunshot wound to her head.

A woman who looks very much like me.32MarkusI watch Fallon as she rushes into the library. Her heart-shaped face is etched with sadness, and her plump lips are turned down in a permanent frown.

Telling her to leave when all I wanted to do was take her into my arms was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do but necessary since this is what would’ve happened anyway. She was always going to run, always going to try and help her sister. Admitting I wanted her in any way wouldn’t have changed the outcome. We were headed here from the beginning.

Brave, and so beautifully selfless. She was willing to endure my wrath again and again to save her sister. Pushing her away was the only way for me to get the full picture. It hurt like hell. Her walking away was like a bullet being embedded into my skin.

She wasn’t ever going to trust me enough to help her any other way. Maybe she would after this, or maybe she wouldn’t.

What I do know is that now Fallon will lead me right to Timothy. It’s not the most ideal situation, and definitely more dangerous than I’d like it to be, but it is what it is. I’ll make sure Fallon gets out of this unscathed.

I’m across the street from the library. The busy city surrounds me, and no one seems to notice me sitting here in my car. I kept my distance, stayed far enough back that any time Fallon looked over her shoulder, there was no way she would’ve seen me or the car.

A few minutes pass, and she appears again at the entrance of the library. I’m guessing she watched the video on that drive.

I wonder what she thinks of me now. If it changes how she sees me.

Looking out into the street, she descends the steps. She pauses when she reaches the bottom step and glances over her shoulder like she’s expecting to find me there.

No, baby… I’m right in front of you.

Rushing across the street, she heads straight for Beans, the coffee shop.

From the spot I’m sitting in, I can see the door to the coffee shop perfectly and inside through the immense glass windows that overlook the street.

Fallon goes up to order a coffee and drops into the first seat she can find—in front of the window. She looks so incredibly sad. I wish I could take all the pain I’ve caused her away. I want to be better for her, but is it even possible?

When all of this is over, is she even going to want me? I’ve broken her and held her captive. She could never want me…never want to stay by choice.

As I stew in my own misery as I watch Fallon. She occasionally sips on the liquid in her to-go cup while staring out the window like she is waiting for someone.

Of course, she called Timothy to let him know she had the thumb drive. All that hassle he went through for a video. So stupid, so fucking stupid, but his stupidly is what’s going to get him killed. I’m doing this for Fallon, for her sister.

My blood pressure spikes, and I have to force myself to remain in the car when a white van pulls up. The moment she sees the van, she hurries from her seat, leaving her cup behind. The front windows of the van are tinted, so I can’t make out the faces of the men inside.

She walks up to the passenger side door. Whoever is in that van exchanges words with her because the frown on Fallon’s face deepens. She nods apprehensively, and the side door on the van opens. She’s devoted to finding her sister, and I’m devoted to protecting her.

I might have said she could leave, but I never meant it. In every physical way, she is mine. She will always be mine.

Fallon climbs inside the van, and the door closes behind her. My heart sinks into my stomach. I hate not being inside that van, hate not being able to see her. I swear to god if they touch her, I will rip every appendage off their bodies and feed them to them.

The van pulls away from the curb, and I start my car, the soft purr of the engine fills the cabin. I keep a safe distance behind them. I don’t need to blow my cover, not yet. The drive isn’t a long one, but it feels like it is. Turning into the business district, we drive a little further. The van turns into an old parking lot with an abandoned warehouse on it.