She held her breath, slowly allowing her eyes to focus on me. The hard crack of her hand across my cheek was unexpected, but the instant flash of pain was jarring enough to remind me that I was still alive.
I kept my eyes closed after the force of the strike drove my head to the side.
“I fucking hate you, Navarro,” she spit out then shook her head. “No, that’s not even true. I don’t hate you, but I should.”
“It’s better if you don’t care about me, Fallon.”
“Why? Because I’d become a problem for you? A weakness?”
I gritted my teeth to the point my molars hurt. “Yes. You’ve already been used as a pawn to get to me and to Jago and the entire Torres organization.”
“Another game being played.”
“It would appear so.”
She wasn’t backing down. “Then I guess we need to develop a plan of action.”
“We? There is no we.”
“You won’t leave me out of this. Period.”
When she tried to stand, I grabbed her arm, pulling her close.
Our lips were centimeters apart, her heated breath skipping as it pulsed against my face. “I’m so sorry you’re caught up in this, but you’re not going anywhere, Fallon. You’re also not going to be a part of anything I consider dangerous. You’re going to stay right here so I can keep you safe. If you try and do anything rash, you’ll face the consequences.”
All I could think about was keeping her safe. I was blinded by the need.
“Are you threatening me, Navarro? Is that what you need to do so you can keep your sanity? Do you feel like a big man? If that’s what you think, then you’re truly nothing but a monster.”
Her defiant attitude should rile me, but it didn’t. Her strength and determination were enthralling.
“No, Fallon, I’m not threatening you. What I feel is responsible for the chain of events that destroyed both our families. If I hadn’t intervened in saving you from that horrible fuck of a human being, maybe our lives would be intact. Just maybe. But if I hadn’t, I would have put a bullet in my brain because I’d chosen not to save you.”
Her mouth twisted as a single tear slipped past her long lashes. I couldn’t stand it when she cried.
“Maybe you don’t remember every detail about that day, and I pray to God you don’t, but you would not have survived, Fallon. What that man was going to do was…” I scrubbed my jaw, furious that I’d told her this way. Furious with myself I couldn’t hold my shit together.
“You killed him,” she repeated.
“I did what I had to do. If that’s what makes me a monster, then so be it. That’s my cross to bear. But that you discovered the truth about our fucked-up world changes nothing. Whether your father is working for the Alcarez Cartel or Farid Fassi, I just don’t care. He is responsible for creating another fucking death sentence by making the cocaine highly addictive. And too fucking strong.”
“What you’re suggesting is that my father is working with a cartel, using whatever formula I found in his notebook.”
“That’s what it seems like. If that’s the case, your father already has a target on his head. Which means so do you.”
“Then I guess we need to work together. My sister is the true victim in all of this.”
“And I meant what said earlier. I will work to find her.” I wasn’t prepared to tell her we had a lead. What Silvio discovered would determine the next steps taken.
“She might be all I have left. Remember who you were all those years ago, Navarro. A hero. Be my hero again.”
Hero. There was no chance I could ever become a hero for anyone. Not after everything I’d done.
I allowed her to walk away, watching as her shoulders continued to heave. “I wish things had been different, Fallon. I truly do. Your father did the right thing taking you away so you and your sister could enjoy a normal life.”
She closed her eyes. “Normal. What I have learned is that there is no normal in our worlds.”
“Just keep in mind that not every day is filled with gunfire and explosions.”
