Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 71179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“Of course not! Your father let you out largely because of me. I went to bat for you, Savannah, not once, not twice, but three times, first getting out of marriage to Miles at eighteen and at twenty-two, but also freeing you from the business months ago when you moved to Summer Creek. You were home free, Savannah. You are the one who made the deal with Miles McAllister.”
“That’s not fair, Mom. He sent gunmen to Falcon’s house to get me.”
“But he didn’t get you. And they would have been dealt with. This is on you, Savannah. You made a deal with the devil, and then you backed out. Vinnie, Falcon, Miles’s death, your father… It’s all on you.”
I swallow against the rage inside me.
How dare she? Though Vinnie came back for me. And now…
And Falcon… He went to Austin for… I don’t even know.
But Miles. What do I care about Miles? He was a vile rapist and a waste of human skin.
How dare—
“Wait. What? What happened to Daddy?”
My mother sobs through the phone. “He was arrested, Savannah. Arrested for the murder of Miles McAllister.”
33
FALCON
“He’ll never stop,” Eagle says. “He won’t stop until he kills me. So I’m going to kill him first.”
I gesture toward Vega’s minions. “You two should get the hell out of here. Now.” I’m amazing even myself that my voice isn’t cracking. Inside I’m a quivering mass of nerves, but on the outside? I’m standing tall, remembering the words of my father that have been jammed into my head since the day my sisters were born.
You’re the oldest, Falcon. You must protect all your siblings.
And if my brothers—especially Eagle—ever needed protection, they need it now.
The minions don’t respond to me. Not that I expect them to. Vega is most likely armed, but he can’t reach for a weapon with Eagle’s gun pointed at him.
Hawk is still trained on one of the minions, but I’ve got nothing. Eagle’s holding my piece.
“Easy, boy,” he says to Eagle. “You’re in trouble enough already.”
“Fuck you,” Eagle spits out. “Fuck all of you.”
“Eagle, come on,” I say, keeping my voice calm. “You do this, your life is over, man.”
“My life is already over, Fal.”
“You’re a kid,” I say. “You got in with some bad people. You think you’re the first kid to fuck up?”
Eagle scoffs. “You never fucked up. You and Hawk. Dad’s perfect sons.”
I raise my arm slowly. “Hey, I promised I’d help you, and I will, but I can’t unless you put down that gun.”
“You think those two shitheads won’t pump me full of bullets the moment I do?” he says.
He’s got a point. I turn instead to Vega.
“You’ve got your cash and then some,” I say, again trying to stay calm. “Just get out of here. Leave our brother alone. You’ll never hear from any of us again.”
“Yeah,” Vega says. “It’d be nice if it worked that way. But it doesn’t. This kid caused me a lot of headaches, and I’m going to take it out of his skinny ass.”
Hawk cocks his trigger. “Say goodbye to your friend, then.”
Vega scoffs. “You think I care about either one of them? They’re a dime a fucking dozen.”
“Eagle…” I say. “Please.”
Eagle’s hand shakes. He’s a good shot, but damn, a shaking hand with a gun in it never leads to anything good.
I take another step toward him. “Eagle, I’m going to put my hand over yours. I’m going to take back my gun.”
I take another step, until only about four feet separate us. I’m ever aware of the four guns in play. Mine in Eagle’s hand. Hawk’s trained on the minion to my left. And both the minions’, trained on Eagle.
If my brother shoots Vega, he’s a dead man.
I can’t let that happen.
“Please, Eagle. Think of Mom. You’re her baby. This will kill her. Think of Nana. Think of—”
“Shut up, Falcon!” Eagle steadies his hand, takes aim—
And he fires, straight into Vega’s heart.
34
SAVANNAH
The afternoon slides into evening. I hate leaving Falcon alone, but I have to go get some dinner in the cafeteria before it closes. I grab a pre-made chef’s salad and bottle of water and hurry back up to Falcon’s room, where I eat it robotically, alone with my thoughts—thoughts focusing mostly on Falcon but sliding every once in a while to my father’s arrest and a side of my mother that’s new to me and almost frightening.
A doctor in a white coat is there, but it’s not Dr. Logan. She turns to me when I walk in.
“Hi, are you Ms. Gallo?”
“Yes. I’m Savannah Gallo.”
“I’m Dr. Pinkman. I have Mr. Bellamy’s imaging results.”
My heart skips a beat. “And…?”
Dr. Pinkman smiles at me. “They look good. His punctured lung isn’t serious and it should heal on its own. We’ll keep him on oxygen through the night, but his vitals are good so he can probably go off it tomorrow.”