Draft version - Russian Roulette - Family secrets

Ch. 44: You're James Bond, I get it

After he had paid, Cracker escorted Alyssa out of the restaurant with a protective arm around her shoulders. They walked to the plaza where they had met and took a stroll through the small park. They did not talk, they just walked enjoying the closeness.

It was a new feeling for both of them.

"You said you'd answer my questions but not at the restaurant," Alyssa said quietly when they made their way back to the plaza.

Cracker stopped and looked at her. "I did. Did you come here by car?"
"I took a cab."
"I'll drive you home after. If you're ok with that?"

Alyssa nodded. She had no fears going with him. Mackenzie and Gareth had already vouched for him. It was what he was going to tell her, that had her worried.

"Come."

He guided her to where he had parked and held the door for her and then got in himself. They drove in silence though he did turn music on for her. It had not been his intention to take her home with him, they needed to talk about some things that were not for public ears. He parked the car outside his home.

The real one.

Not the apartment he used most of the time, the one where he occasionally brought his one-night stands. But his house.

The guys did not even come there and now he had brought a woman. And not just any woman, one he'd like to make keep coming there.

"You live here?"

Questioning, Alyssa walked towards the sleek and modern architectural wonder of a house. It was white with a small front lawn and a stone path leading up to the double front doors. There were multiple levels and balconies visible from the front. And a lot of large windows.

It was a beautifully built house.

He rubbed his neck. "Yeah. It's too big for me, but it's home."
"Who exactly is it you do security for? Beyoncé?"
"Gareth mostly," Cracker said evasively while unlocking the front door and turning off the alarm. "Come in."

Alyssa walked like a tourist in New York. Her eyes wide and darting from one thing to another. The house was amazing. Open spaces, smooth arches and a lot of white. Expensive paintings adorned the walls and the furniture was exclusive but minimalistic.

The living room was a large area to the back of the house, the wall towards the garden was all glass showing a wooden terrace illuminated by small lights, the floors were white tile and the furniture black leather and glass tables.

In many homes it could look impersonal, but there it felt right.

It was not a place where he had had a lot of big parties, she thought, everything looked pristine. Very clean and neat.

Alyssa wondered if the house represented the real Fallon or maybe who he wanted to be.

She sat down and tilted her head at him. He had to be keeping a lot of secrets to live like that. She was not certain she wanted to know.

If the picture of him would shatter with knowing about him.

Cracker poured her a glass of wine and placed it on the table in front of her before he sat down and smiled sheepishly.

Alyssa waited for him to say something, he just stared at her, then he did the one thing she had not expected. He reached out and grabbed the back of her neck pulling her to him and crushed his lips against hers.

Instinctively her one hand rested on his chest and the other slid around his neck desperately holding his face close to hers, if he should decide to stop. Her fingers found the manbun and pulled at the leather strip he had used to tie it. When free she let her fingers run through his hair.

So soft.

When she did not struggle against him and obviously had no problems taking charge playing with his hear, he softened his moves and bit gently at her lips begging for entrance. She sighed into his mouth and opened hers to him. His tongue teasingly playing with her lips until she moved hers out to meet him. Cracker made a little triumphant growl and pulled her closer never leaving her mouth.

How long they had been at it she had no idea of, she felt weirdly robbed when he pulled away with a lingering kiss on her cheek.

"I'm sorry about that," he mumbled still with his face at her cheek. "I wanted to do it before I ruined anything by answering your questions."
"Not complaining, Fallon." She pecked his cheek and pulled back reluctantly releasing her grip on his neck.

He looked so different with his hair loose, the manbun gave him a more sophisticated bad boy look, but with it loose he was all bad boy.

And he was smoking hot.

"Ok, what was it about your name?"
"Hear me out before you throw a fit or run out screaming, ok?"

She laughed. "Let me guess, you're not in security, you're a porn producer and most of your high-class films are made here?"
"I wish," he scoffed. "Well, my name is Fallon. Fallon Winchester to be exact. I grew up in Britain in a perfectly loving family with both mother and father. When I was close to 18, I ran away from home. Not because I was unhappy, but because of the pressure of being their son."

Cracker looked at her hoping he did not sound too much of a brat, she nodded and waited for more. "My father is a politician, and my parents expected me to follow in his footsteps. I wanted to see the world. So, I joined the army."
"The army uses last names and not first?"

He nodded at her statement.

"Nobody called me Fallon in there. I was a number or a last name. I was nobody. I liked it. They soon discovered my proficiency for numbers and tested me in every way possible. I could crack codes faster than anybody and soon Winchester too was erased, and I became Cracker." He took her hand. "I was trained to do special ops. I've done missions all over the world that I can't even talk about. I'm a trained sniper and a tactical specialist."
"You're James Bond, I get it," Alyssa said in a move-it-along kind of way.

He laughed harshly. "Not even close, but you get the idea. Anyway, I made some mistakes that I'll not go into, but I got dishonorably discharged. I had to make a living because I didn't want to go back to my parents with my tail between my legs..."

Cracker closed his eyes and tried to think of a way to explain that part of his life to her without her losing it. It was not a time he was proud of but with his limited skillset he had chosen to do what he was good at. He had never thought of using his math skills for anything.

"You can tell me." Alyssa cupped his cheek and soothingly rubbed it. "I'm not judging."

He sighed and leaned into her hand. "I lived as a hitman, that may be the term you'll understand best. I did that for a couple of years until I grew tired of the rootless and lonely life. That's when I contacted Gareth to offer my services."
"Gareth?"
"Gareth's father and my father were friends. I knew Gareth growing up. We were never friends, but our parents frequented the same circles."
"And he pays you to do security for him?"
"Among other things, yes."

Nervously Alyssa pulled her hand from his cheek and began wringing them in her lap. "And those other things include the skills you just told me about?"
"Yes."

He closed his eyes waiting for her outburst. Waiting for the questions to hail on him. Waiting for her to up and run out from there. Or simply just give him a piece of moral superiority.

"Can I still call you Fallon?"
"What?" he whispered in disbelief and opened his eyes in shock.
"Fallon, can I call you that," she explained in a voice like she was talking to a 3-year-old. "Or would you prefer if I call you Cracker?"
"Honestly, if you still want to see me after everything I've just told you, you can call me whatever the fuck you want as long as you call me."
"Let's give it a few more dates, but I'd like to reserve the right to call you 'mine'."

It was official.

He had most definitely won the lottery.

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