“It’s very sad,” Falcon says. “As for hating violence, most normal people hate violence. I hated what I had to do to survive in prison, what I had to do to protect others in prison. I hated every bit of it.”

  I look at Falcon’s target. “But you’re a great shot.”

  “That’s part of being a Texan. You learn to shoot around the time you learn to walk around these parts.”

  I chuckle at his joke.

  “You may laugh, but I’m not exaggerating that much. I was about ten when my dad taught me to shoot, and the next year he taught Robin and Raven.”

  “Really?”

  “Hell, yeah. Women need to shoot more than men do sometimes. Guns are the great equalizer between the sexes.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. Which is another reason why most families like mine don’t teach women to shoot.”

  “Well, you’re a natural.”

  “Like my father. And Vinnie.”

  “Did Michael ever learn to shoot?”

  “Yeah, he did. I mean he was a guy in our family, so he had to. But he was never quite as good as Dad or Vinnie. I think he probably just hated it.”

  “If he was as much of a pacifist as you say he was, then yeah, I imagine he probably did.”

  “Is it wrong that I like it?” I ask.

  He smiles at me. “It’s not wrong at all, Vannah. Shooting is an art. You’re a natural, and you’re only going to get better. And I’ll feel a lot better knowing you can protect yourself.”

  “You mean when you don’t go all alpha and protect me yourself?”

  “Baby, I will always protect you with my life if I have to. But if I’m not there, I want to know that you’re prepared.”

  He puts his ear and eye gear back on. “Now let’s go again.”

  *

  After we shoot a few more rounds, Falcon takes me to the workout room.

  “Tell me what kind of exercise you’ve done,” he says.

  “I told you. I hate exercise.”

  “You’re lucky to have such a hot little body without resorting to exercise.” He runs his hands up and down my back, making several chills run through my spine. “But exercise will help you keep it as you get older, Savannah. I’m going to make sure you get in shape. We’re going to go slowly.”

  “We are?”

  “It takes a while to get into shape, and if I push you too hard, you’ll have a lot of muscle pain. I can’t have you in pain, because we may need to leave quickly. But I’ll start you on a few things. We’ll start with some walking on the treadmill, just to get your heart rate up, and then I’ll show you some very basic strength training exercises, gently so that you’re not in any pain.”

  “Strength training?” I look in the mirror, imagining what I’d look like as a bodybuilder. “I don’t want big muscles.”

  “First of all, I just told you, we’re going to start slowly and gently. Second of all, women don’t have the hormones to develop those big muscles. You don’t need to worry about that anyway.” He pokes me gently in my abs. “I’m talking about some core strength. I’m going to start you with a few planks, and some arm exercises with three-pounders. And we’ll start easy on the planks. Only thirty seconds at first. I don’t want your abs hurting.”

  “Trust me, I’m in favor of not hurting.” I give him a smile.

  “Absolutely. I can’t have you in any pain.” He narrows his gaze at me suggestively. “But I also want you in top-notch shape for all the exercise we’re going to be doing in the bedroom while we’re stuck here.”

  I smile then. “Now that’s the kind of exercise I can get behind.”

  11

  FALCON

  Eagle freezes. “It’s him. Diego Vega.”

  My pistol’s in the back of my waistband, and I’m ever aware of it against my body.

  “How do you know?” Hawk asks.

  “I just know. Call it intuition. Call it whatever you want.”

  “We’ve got his fucking money. What else would he want?”

  “My ass,” Eagle says.

  “We won’t let anybody hurt you,” I say.

  Hawk glances around as the truck drives up to the old barn.

  “Thank God,” Eagle says. “It’s not him. He sent two of his minions to pick up the money.”

  “Good enough.” I glance at the duffel that contains a million in cash that I got from my grandmother. God, if she knew…

  But she doesn’t, and I’ll make sure she gets paid back. It’ll come straight out of Eagle’s trust fund when he turns twenty-one. In the meantime, though, it’ll come out of mine. Of the three of us, I’m the only one who has access to mine.

  If I’d been able to get cash quickly, I wouldn’t have gone to our grandmother at all.

  God, Nana. And Lawrence, who knew exactly what I was up to. That man seems to have eyes in the back of his head.

  We stay in the barn, and I watch from the doorway as two men get out of the truck.

  They both have dark hair, and they’re both wearing jeans and black T-shirts with work boots.

  And of course, they’re thugs. They have muscles on their muscles.

  Luckily, Hawk and I are both in damned good shape. Eagle is still a scrawny teenager, but he’s tall and broad.

  Three against two, and we’re armed.

  Of course I’d be an idiot to think they’re not.

  I stand there, letting my broad shoulders take up the doorway. I don’t speak.

  They’re going to have to make the first move.

  “We’re looking for Eagle,” one of them says.

  “You Eagle?” the other says.

  I simply shake my head.

  “Who the fuck are you then?”

  “None of your damned business.” I dig my heels into the ground. “But I’ve got what you want. You’re going to take it, and then you’re going to get the fuck out of here.”

  The bigger one of the two closes the distance between us until he’s only about three feet away from me, his dark eyes glaring into mine. “You don’t make the rules here, asshole.”

  I raise my arms to either side of my body. “This is my property, so I’m the only one who makes the rules here. I could have you arrested for trespassing, but I won’t. I’m here to keep Eagle’s end of the bargain. You’re here to take it, and then get the fuck off my property and never return.”

  “I know who you are,” the other one says. “Falcon Bellamy, Eagle’s oldest brother. You think you’re tough?”

  “Is that a rhetorical question?”

  “The fuck is that supposed to mean?” the other one asks.

  Okay, I’m not dealing with bright people here. Of course I’m not. Smart people wouldn’t get involved in the drug trade, or if they did, they wouldn’t be acting as someone’s delivery boy.

  Which of course doesn’t say much about my youngest brother.

  “Stand back, and I’ll get what you came after.”

  “We need to see Eagle.”

  “Eagle’s not available.”

  “Diego says we’ve got to see Eagle.”

  “Did I stutter?” I take a step forward, holding my ground. “Eagle’s not available. You came for the money. I’ve got the fucking money. Take it and scram.”

  Hawk walks in front of me, throwing the duffle outside the doorway. “Take it, and get out of here.”

  One of them turns to Hawk. “You Eagle?”

  Hawk doesn’t reply, but then I hear the click of a door.

  A man gets out of the truck, and for a moment I’m not sure where he came from. He must have been hiding in the backseat. He’s as muscled as the minions, and he wears steel-tipped cowboy boots, jeans, and a black button-down shirt. His features are sharp and pointed.

  I know who I’m looking at, even though I’ve never seen him face-to-face.

  This can only be Diego Vega.

  “Where’s Eagle?” he demands.

  “He’s not here.” I grit my teeth. “Just take your fucking money and get out of here.”

  He narrows his eyes at the two of us. “You must be Falcon and Hawk Bellamy.” He laughs mockingly. “Birds of prey, both of you. You think you can take me on, tough guys?”

  Hawk is rigid next to me. He hates violence, and he hates people who break the law even more. What Vega is doing is illegal, and he’s doing it on our property.

  He stalks toward me, but before I can brace myself to take whatever Diego thinks he’s going to do, something pulls at my back.

  Fuck. It’s Eagle. He barrels through the doorway…and he’s got my gun.

  “Just take your money,” Hawk says. “Take it and don’t ever come back.”

  “I don’t think so,” Vega turns to Eagle. “This little shit and I have some unfinished business.”

  “It was my brothers,” Eagle shouts. “They got rid of the stuff, man. It wasn’t me. But we got the money and then some.” His hand shakes.

  “Oh, I’ll take the fucking money,” Diego says. “And then I’ll take it out of your ass, you fuck-up.”

  Eagle raises his arm, trains the gun on Vega.

  In a flash, both the minions have their pieces trained on Eagle.

  “Eagle,” I say, willing my voice not to shake. “Put down the gun.”

  “No, Fal.” His entire body quivers. “He doesn’t have any intention of letting me out of here alive. I tried to tell you guys. I tried to tell you.”

  “Eagle”—this time Hawk speaks—“you’re going to be fine.” He retrieves his gun and trains it on Vega. “Because once you put your gun down, I’m putting a bullet through his fucking head.”

  “Hawk doesn’t miss,” I say, as low and menacing as I can.

  “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 trembling 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.

  After I show Savannah how to exercise with the three-pound dumbbells, I join her in a half hour walk on the treadmill.

  “We’re going to do this every day?” she asks.

  “The walking, yes. The strength training will only be every other day. Your muscles need to rest between workouts.”

  “What workouts do you do?”

  “I do a lot of different ones. Different parts of my body each day, letting each part rest between days. Upper body one day, lower body the next.”

  “What about my lower body?”

  “We’re going stick with the walking for now. People don’t realize this, but walking is a weight-bearing activity. And as a woman, you can use your own body weight as resistance. I need more than that.”

  “But you stayed in such great shape in…” She pauses and looks at her feet.

  “Prison, Vannah. You can say the word. You were a parole officer, for God’s sake.”

  “I just don’t like to think of you there.”

  “I know you don’t, but I would go there again to save you.”

  She doesn’t speak.

  And damn, this woman is stronger than I give her credit for. She was raised to be traded. To be used as a bargaining chip.

  That didn’t weaken her. Not by a longshot. And I know, if given the choice, she would do it again to save me.

  I love her for it.

  But I won’t allow it.

  “I’m going to finish my workout now,” I say to her. “You go rest. Draw yourself a bath, add some Epsom bath salts.”

  “There are Epsom salts here?”

  “Savannah, there is everything we need here.”

  She raises an eyebrow. “Are bath salts really a necessity?”

  I shrug, “I would think so.”

  A small smile creeps across her lips. “Did you request them specifically?

  “I might have.”

  She bursts into laughter.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  She looks me up and down. “I just…never took you for a bath guy.”

  I smirk. “Because I’m a big burly manly man, I can’t enjoy a good bath now and then?”

  She shakes her head quickly. “No, of course not. I just…” She looks into my eyes. “You surprise me more and more every day, Falcon. Thank you for taking care of me.”

  I wrap her into a hug. “I always will, baby.” I grab her face. “And if you spent as much time on the inside as I did, you’d realize what a luxury a hot bath is. Spending every morning in the cold-ass prison gang shower with a dozen other guys isn’t the ideal way to get clean.”

  “I suppose it isn’t.” She gets on her tiptoes and kisses me on the cheek. “All right. I’ll take a bath, soak my muscles. Then I’ll make us some lunch.”

  “That sounds great. Thanks, baby.”

  She grabs a towel, throws it around her neck, and leaves the gym. I don’t hear her walking up the stairs because everything is soundproofed.

  But she’s safe in the safe house.

  If there’s a breach, I’ll know. I continue my workout, and by the end of it, I’m tired and hungry.

  I walk upstairs, expecting to see Savannah in the kitchen fixing lunch.

  But she’s nowhere to be found.

  “Savannah?”

  No response.

  My hackles rise.

  There’s no way she could even get out of this place. You need a code to do so, and I didn’t give it to her.

  I should give it to her.

  She was locked in that room with Miles McAllister, and I don’t want her to feel locked in again.

  “Savannah?”

  I find her in the bathroom, in the bathtub, her eyes closed. I stick my fingers in the water. It’s lukewarm.

  The poor thing fell asleep.

  I nudge her on the arm. “Savannah. Wake up.”

  Her eyes pop open. “Shit.” She moves around, splashing water. “Damn. Where am I, Falcon?”

  “You fell asleep, Savannah. Don’t you know you should never fall asleep in a tub full of water?”

  “Of course I know that. God, I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” I grab a towel and hand it to her. “The water’s cool now. You need to get out before you catch a chill.”

  She stumbles out of the tub, and I get a good look at her naked body. God, she’s so beautiful. Every part of her.

  But right now, she’s shivering. I wrap the towel around her and hug her close. “Promise me you’ll never fall asleep in the tub again.”

  “I promise.” She shivers. “That was really stupid.”

  I say nothing more. Just hold her.

  She finally pulls away. “I was supposed to make you lunch.”

  “Don’t worry about that. I’ll throw together some sandwiches. You get dressed.”

  “What are we going to do for the rest of the day?”

  I cast my gaze toward the bedroom. “I have an idea.”

  She chuckles. “That’ll be great, but what about after that?”

  “Savannah, I can do that for a long damned time.” I kiss the top of her head and then I leave her in the bathroom, head through the bedroom and out, making my way to the kitchen.

  My satellite phone rings on the table.

  I take a look. It’s Leif.

  “What’s up?”

  “Just checking in to see if you’re okay.”

  “So far so good. Good thing we’ve got a lot of books and movies here.”

  “I’m sure the two of you can find something to pass the time.” The tone of his voice tells me he knows exactly what I’m planning on doing with Savannah.

  “I taught her to shoot this morning. The girl’s a natural.”

  “She should be, coming from her stock.”

  “Can you believe they don’t teach their women how to shoot?”

  “Doesn’t surprise me. I don’t know a lot about organized crime, but from what I do know, women are both coddled and treated poorly.”

  “That’s kind of how Savannah was describing it.” I tap my fingers on the kitchen counter. “Anyway, I know you’re a newlywed, Leif, and I don’t want to bother you and Kelly too much, but I need you to find someone for me. And seriously, if you can’t take the time, give me the name of someone you trust.”

  “Depends on how quickly you need it done and on who you want me to find.”

  “Vincent Gallo Junior,” I say. “Savannah’s older brother.”

  “Okay. Where was he last seen?”

  “That’s just it. Nobody knows. According to Savannah, he left the family. Went to Europe. No one’s heard from him since.”

  “Europe? That’s a lot of ground to cover.”

  “I know. And he’s probably using a different name.”

  “You got a photo?”

  “Savannah might. I’ll see if she does, and if so I’ll send it to you by satellite.”

  “What’s his middle name?”

  “I don’t know. Savannah’s in the bathroom. Hold on. She should be out any minute.”

  Savannah comes walking out then, wearing yoga pants and a large T-shirt. Her hair falls in damp waves around her shoulders, and damn, she looks luscious.

  “I’ve got Leif on the line,” I say to her. “Does your brother have a middle name?”

  “Same as my dad’s. Lorenzo.”

  “Lorenzo,” I say into the phone. “Just a minute. I’m going to put you on speaker.” I push the button on the screen. “You there?”

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21