Chapter 39

THIRTY-NINE

I don't like to admit it, but I'm scared for my girl. Whoever is behind the attack on her and Evelyn's and the manager's murders surely have their eyes on her. They were warnings to make her stop, since they knew killing Fallon wouldn't go unnoticed and they wanted to scare her off, but they should have known better.

Threats just make my girl dig her heels in. She's not scared of dying. She's scared of being weak.

It's one of the reasons I love her, but I'm scared for her. She's intent on bringing this world down, and I'll help her, so while she focuses on that, I focus on her safety.

She becomes annoyed by the constant guards, but I don't care. I also won't let her out of my sight. Where she goes, I go. It means I cancel nearly all my upcoming arrangements and leave my team flustered, but whatever.

Fallon always comes first.

We spend two days going down the list she has. All but one agrees to help, and we both know when it comes down to it, they still might pull out, so the more the better.

"What now?" I ask, sitting next to her in the living room. She is looking at the papers spread before her, my laptop open as we review the evidence, making sure we have everything in order before we make our move.

"Now, it's time," she murmurs and grins over at me. "Elijah knows what to do. Tell him it's time."

Picking up my phone, I drop him a text, leaving the finer details to him. We need to keep it as quiet as possible, but once we have the date and time confirmed, we can relay it to everyone we collected.

Fallon sits back. "It's ready. It's finally about to be over."

My phone rings, and I answer. "Okay, so for the dates—" Elijah starts to ramble, his perfectionist side coming out. I roll my eyes at Fallon as she laughs, and when the doorbell rings, she gets up to get it.

"Elijah." I sigh as he carries on. "Elijah." I keep repeating his name louder and louder until he finally stops. "I trust you. You know what we need, so you don't have to run it all by me."

"You . . . You trust me?" he murmurs.

"Of course. You've been with me for years. I'll let you handle it—" A scream splits the air.

Fallon.

I drop my phone and run faster than I ever have, my heart pounding in fear. I find her in the hallway, surrounded by shattered glass and flowers, but that's not all. Something glitters between the petals, and when my eyes swing to her, she turns and holds her hands up to show me one of them is cut and bleeding. It races down her arm and hits the floor like rain as she blinks at me.

"I thought they were from you. They have razor blades in the petals. I cut myself." Her voice is calm, but she's pale.

"Find out who sent them!" I bark at the guards who rush in. Uncaring about my bare feet, I walk over to her, glass cutting into my soles, but I don't stop until I'm at her side. Ignoring my pain, I scoop her into my arms and head straight to the kitchen. I place her on the counter and step between her legs, grabbing a hand and lifting it so I can inspect the cuts.

"Sir," one of the guards interrupts. I don't spare him a look as I turn her hand.

"They are shallow, just bleeding a lot," I tell her softly .

"Sir, I have the first-aid kit. I'm a medic in training. Do you want me to help?" he asks.

I debate it, but the idea of another man's hands on her, especially right now when I'm on edge, has me shaking my head. "I can handle it. Get that mess cleaned up and check the cameras. I want answers."

The box is placed next to us, and he retreats without a word.

"I thought they were from you," she repeats, sounding odd. She seems detached, which worries me. Fallon has a tendency to retreat into herself, to overthink and push everything away when life becomes too much. I don't want that to happen, so I keep a firm hold on her hand, open the box, and lay out what I need as I speak to her.

"I'd never send you roses, sweetheart. Dahlias for us, okay?" She nods, and I turn to her hand. "This is going to hurt, beautiful."

"Just do it." She nods jerkily, both of us ignoring the blood dripping steadily across us from our position.

She doesn't cry, not even as I disinfect the wounds, but I know it has to hurt.

"You're doing so well, sweetheart," I coo as I clean them up and try to stop the bleeding, but they just keep going, so I grab some bandages and make quick work of binding her fingers. She won't be playing the piano anytime soon, but they will heal. It could have been a lot worse, and she's okay, but that doesn't stop the terror trapped in my chest that started from her scream.

It's a sound that will haunt me. I almost lost her once. I can't let it happen again.

I lick the blood from her hand and arm as she watches. "I'll make them bleed for this," I promise against her skin, watching the goose bumps rise on her arm. I lean in and kiss her so she can taste her blood and my promise.

They will pay for making her bleed.

Cupping her face, I pull away, watching her blink. "Are you okay?"

She nods, looking down at herself. "I need to change. This dress is ruined, isn't it?"

"I'll buy you ten more," I tell her. Hell, I'll buy her every dress in the fucking world if it will get her to smile right now, but she just nods and steps past me. I watch her with a frown as the feeling of something wrong fills me. She's been like this before, distant, like she's not quite there.

I know Fallon struggles with her emotions. I've seen it firsthand, and as I follow her into the hall, I worry they are getting the best of her once more. She's been so strong recently despite everything, so maybe it's all finally caught up to her.

I watch her head upstairs, and then I turn, my eyes narrowed.

"We found this, sir." The guard hands over a folded bit of card, blood staining the front like a watercolor promise.

Flipping it open, I read the hastily scrawled threat, my anger only growing.

Stop now or else these flowers won't be the only thing cutting into your skin.

I hand it back over. "See if you can get fingerprints. I want answers, and I don't want anything like this to happen again. Every delivery is stopped and does not come in unless I approve it. I don't want anyone at this door. This is her sanctuary, her safety. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

My eyes go back to the stairs where my princess just disappeared.