As Fallon and Griffin walked hand in hand to her economics class, Daphne’s words bounced around her brain. ‘I dreamed I saw you kissing Griffin.’ What would they have done if Daphne hadn’t been so drunk she thought the whole thing was a dream? When they reached her classroom, she gave him a kiss and started inside.
Griffin grinned at her. “Is that all I get?”
“I just think maybe we should be more careful.”
His grin evaporated as he reached to encircle her waist. “No one is going to find out unless we do something stupid.”
“Like kissing in front of everyone?”
“That’s only stupid if they know it’s me. I’m not gonna tell anyone. Are you?”
“No.”
Griffin drew her tighter to him. “Then kiss me the right way.”
“What’s the right way?”
“I’ll show you.”
The moment his lips touched hers, Fallon forgot her concerns. Only one other person could kiss like he could. Just as it did when Lucian kissed her, the world melted away when Griffin kissed her. Their lips came apart, and Griffin rested his forehead against hers.
He ran a gentle finger down her cheek. I love you, Fallon.
I love you too, Dexter.
I wish you could say it out loud for everyone to hear.
Me too.
Griffin gave her one last kiss before letting her go into class. As she crossed the room to take her seat behind Seth, she felt much better. Griffin was right. All they had to do was keep being careful and their secret would be safe.
“So, that’s what it looks like,” Seth said as Fallon fell into her seat.
She frowned at him. “What?”
“That’s what it looks like when a girl’s really in love with you.”
If she didn’t know better, she would’ve sworn there was a drop of sadness in his voice. It was the same way Griffin sounded when he wanted to make things right with her after they’d been fighting.
“I hate to tell you this, but I’m not in love with you,” she teased, and he cracked a grin.
“You’re probably the only girl in school who isn’t.”
“There’s the conceited jerk I know and love.”
“So you do love me.”
Fallon burst into laughter. Only Seth could take a compliment and turn it into something like that. It didn’t surprise her to see Christian watching their entire exchange. Though she could’ve cared less what he was doing, he always seemed to have his eyes on them. No doubt he was looking for something he could use to hurt them. Suddenly, he darted his eyes toward the door. Angelica sauntered into the room and took her seat without looking at anyone. Either she was sick or she’d overslept. Her clothes were wrinkled and her hair was pulled back in a half hearted pony tail.
Fallon tapped Seth on the shoulder, and he turned to face her. “What do you think is wrong with her this year?”
Seth laughed. “What makes you think I care?”
“I don’t care either; just curious.”
“Not me. Whatever it is, I think it’s great.”
“What do you mean?”
“Haven’t you noticed how quiet the God Squad’s been this year?”
Other than the run in with Christian on the first day of school, she hadn’t heard a peep from the God Squad. Maybe Seth was right. Maybe they shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, or maybe this was the calm before the storm.
At lunch time, their group gathered in the hallway outside Fallon’s English class to decide where they’d go for lunch. For the last two years, they’d spent their lunch hour eating the crappy school food while huddled around their favorite picnic tables. Now that they were seniors, they’d developed a new routine that Fallon realized she’d have to be careful with. Too much fast food and she’d be back to looking like Tarilyn. As soon as the thought came to her, guilt bubbled up in her throat.
“Hey, Fallon, check that out,” Seth said and nodded to the end of the hall.
There, Angelica and Wendy stood engrossed in conversation. It was the first time all year she’d seen Wendy. Unlike years past, she’d been fortunate enough to avoid having any classes with Wendy this year. If she didn’t know better, she would’ve thought Christian’s most faithful followers were arguing.
Interesting, Fallon thought.
Wendy narrowed her eyes when she spotted them heading their way. In return, Fallon couldn’t resist offering her a smile.
“Hey, Wendy, what’s up?” Lucian asked.
“Heaven, the place you’ll never get to see,” Wendy retorted, and everyone but her and Angelica cracked up.
“Good one,” Griffin said.
Wendy glanced over at Tarilyn. “I wouldn’t hang out with these guys if I was you.”
Griffin laughed again as he clapped his hand over his heart. “Ah, Wendy, that hurts me right here.”
“We both know you don’t have a heart,” Wendy said.
“As fun as this is, we need to get going,” Lucian announced and looked over at Angelica. “You know, maybe you’re praying to the wrong person.”
Angelica’s eyes widened and then she hardened her expression. “Go to hell, Lucian.”
When she turned and stalked off, Wendy went after her. Free of their brief distraction, their group carried on with their lunch plans. Fallon made sure to let Tarilyn and Ava walk ahead of them before she asked the question that had been on her mind for the last two weeks.
“What do you think the deal is with Angelica?”
“I don’t know all the details, but I get the feeling there’s something she really wants and Christian’s dad won’t give it to her,” Lucian answered.
“Seth said pretty much the same thing,” Fallon agreed.
“Too bad we didn’t bet on it,” Seth said with a grin.
“How come you don’t know what she wants?” Fallon asked.
“Their faith is strong enough to keep us out of their minds and hearts,” Lucian said.
“So, Angelica’s faith is weakening a little and we’re getting in,” Griffin added.
“I’m not so sure that’s a place I’d want to be no matter how weak her faith is,” Fallon said, and the boys cracked up.
“You’re kidding, but we do need to be careful,” Lucian admitted. “This whole thing could be a trap to lure us in and then ambush us.”
That sounded like something the God Squad would do, but they weren’t going to get away with it. Even if they didn’t know it yet, they were going to lose whatever game they were playing. Fallon and the twins would make sure of that.
“Where the hell have you been?”
Fallon jumped at the sound of her mom’s voice behind her. She did her best to conceal her surprise as she turned to face her mom who shouldn’t have been home from work this early.
On the days her mom worked, Fallon always went to the twins’ house after school and spent most of the night there. Since her mom didn’t get off work until midnight and didn’t get home until almost twelve thirty, she never knew Fallon got in just moments before she did. She always made sure she was in her pajamas and in bed before her mom made it in the door. Having gotten home just a few minutes ago, she’d only gotten as far as putting her pajamas on.
“I asked you a question. Where have you been, Fallon?”
“I’ve been here.”
“No, you haven’t.”
“Yeah, I have.”
“No, you haven’t. I’ve been sitting on that couch waiting for you since ten.”
“Oh, well, I haven’t been home all night,” Fallon stalled. “I went to Lucian’s house after school, but I got home at ten.”
“Then how did I manage to miss your entrance?”
“You were sleeping.”
“I was sleeping?”
“Yeah, you were sleeping on the couch and I didn’t want to wake you up.”
Gwen’s gaze faltered a bit as the seed of doubt Fallon planted in her mind began to take root and flourish. Unbeknownst to her mom, Fallon heard the wrestling match she was holding with herself as she questioned her sanity. With all the doubts squirming in her mom’s brain, now was the time for her to strike.
“What did you want?”
Gwen frowned. “What?”
“Why were you waiting up for me? What did you want to tell me?”
“Oh, well, it wasn’t important. It can wait.”
“Are you sure?”
“It’s fine. Go back to bed.”
“Is it okay if I pee first?”
Gwen’s frown deepened. “What?”
“I got up to pee.”
“Oh, right, go ahead.”
“Thanks. I guess I’ll see you in the morning then.”
“Yeah, I’ll see you in the morning,” Gwen echoed as Fallon entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
That was close, Fallon thought.
On the way to school the next morning, the twins cracked up as Fallon recounted her run in with her mom. Last night, it hadn’t seemed so funny. In the light of day, with the incident behind her, Fallon could see a little bit of humor.
“Telling her that she was sleeping when you got home was pretty smart,” Lucian said.
“I can’t believe she bought that,” Griffin said.
“I’m not so sure she did,” Fallon admitted. “On the way out this morning, she made sure to tell me I needed to be home for dinner tonight so we could have a nice talk.”
“What do you think she wants to talk about?” Griffin asked.
Fallon heaved a sigh. “I don’t know, but I’m so sick of her being in my business all the time.”
“You know, there is a way we could keep her out of your business for good,” Lucian said.
“I hope you don’t mean we could kill her,” Fallon said. “As crazy as she makes me sometimes, she’s still my mom.”
“Nothing that extreme,” Lucian assured her.
“Then what would you do?” Fallon asked.
“Use our black magic to make her forget all about you,” Griffin answered for his brother.
Fallon drew her eyebrows together. “You mean like I never existed.”
“Only to her,” Lucian said. “It doesn’t unmake you or anything like that.”
“Where would I live if you did that?”
“With us where you belong,” the boys answered in unison.
Her frown deepened as she gnawed on that thought. As much as she liked the thought of being able to live with Lucian and Griffin, the idea of being wiped out of her mom’s life forever didn’t sit right with her. She’d already lost her dad. If she lost her mom, she’d be an orphan.
Just like the twins, Fallon thought.
They got out of the car, and Lucian came around to stand face to face with her. He gave her a soft smile as he ran his thumb over the wrinkle she could feel resting between her eyes. Then he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her body against his. The moment his lips touched hers, she forgot she was supposed to be worried about something.
“Is this all you two ever do?”
Both Fallon and Lucian turned their heads at the sound of Daphne’s exasperated voice beside them.
“And why do you always stand here and watch this?” Daphne continued as she focused on Griffin.
“It turns me on,” Griffin answered, and Fallon didn’t think he was kidding.
Daphne rolled her eyes. “You’re such a pervert.”
“Besides ruining our morning, and annoying the crap out of us, what are you doing here?” Lucian demanded.
“I only annoy the crap out of you,” Daphne retorted.
“Actually, you annoy the crap out of me too,” Griffin agreed.
“That’s because you two are practically the same person,” Daphne said. “I don’t want to talk to either of you anyway. I need to talk to Fallon.”
“So talk,” Lucian suggested.
“Alone,” Daphne said.
“How long is this going to take?” Lucian asked.
“For Lucifer’s sake, Lucian, you can live without her for the five minutes we have left before class starts,” Daphne snapped.
Lucian grinned at her as he let go of Fallon and took a step toward her. The anger burning in his eyes her made it unnecessary for him to speak as he stared down at her. He held Daphne in his fiery gaze a moment longer before backing off.
Daphne waited until he and Griffin were well into the campus before she spoke again. “Honestly, Fallon, how can you deal with his power trip all the time?”
“He’s not like that with me. So, what’s up?”
“I need to ask you something that might sound a little weird.”
“What is it?”
“When we were at the party the other night did I do anything I shouldn’t have?”
Fallon giggled. “You mean besides getting so drunk you have to ask me what you did.”
“This is serious.”
“What’s serious? Just tell me what’s on your mind.”
“Donavan broke up with me last night for getting drunk and making out with Seth.”
Fallon stopped walking and turned to frown at her. “You made out with Seth?”
“That’s what Donavan says, and he says I went home with Seth.”
“I didn’t see you making out with Seth.”
“I know, and I know I left with you, but Donavan doesn’t believe me.”
“Then maybe you should just forget about him. You don’t want to be with a guy who doesn’t trust you.”
Tears glistened in Daphne’s eyes. “You don’t understand anything,” she said and then turned and stalked off.
Maybe it was the evil in her, but Fallon didn’t feel the least bit bad for her. Daphne brought this on herself. Did she expect something good to come of getting so drunk she couldn’t even remember her own name let alone what happened at all that night? Besides, Donavan was right about her leaving with Seth. For all she knew, Daphne did make out with Seth before he brought her to Lucian’s house.
Speak of the minion, Fallon thought when she walked into her first period class where Seth was already in his chair.
“How’s it going?” he asked.
“All right; I just talked to Daphne.”
“So what?”
“So Donavan dumped her for making out with you at the party.”
“What?”
“Donavan broke up with her for making out with you at that stupid party.”
“He said that?”
“I guess so.”
“That’s a fucking lie. If he wasn’t so busy trying to nail every other girl at that party, he would’ve been able to keep her from almost being raped by his stupid jock buddies.”
“I’ll bet that’s why he broke up with Daphne. He wanted to put it off on her and make it her fault before she found out what he did that night.”
“Maybe so, but he’s not going to get away with this.”
“What do you mean? What are you gonna do?”
“I’m gonna make him sorry he ever looked at her.”
“No offense, but why do you care so much? You guys broke up a while ago.”
Fallon’s eyes widened as Seth mashed his lips together and cut his eyes toward the wall. Even without him saying it, she knew he was still in love with Daphne. She wondered if Daphne knew it.
Instead of going to the twins’ house after school, Fallon had them take her home. She could almost feel the poverty swallowing her up when she walked through the front door. Having spent so much time at Locke Manor, she was always sort of shocked by just how small her apartment was.
Her mom turned off the television and looked up at her. “How was school?”
Fallon shrugged. “School was school.”
“Which means what?”
“It means it was the same thing it’s been every day for the last twelve school years. It’s long and boring, and I can’t wait for it to be over.”
“The school year just started.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“Where are you going?” Gwen called when Fallon stepped into her bedroom.
Fallon turned to frown at her. “No where. You wanted me home remember.”
“I mean what are you going to do right now?”
“Nothing, just hang out and wait for another fabulous dinner. What is it tonight? Tuna casserole or spaghetti or tacos?”
Gwen blanched. “Now you don’t like my cooking?”
“Your cooking is fine, but it’d be nice to have something different once in a while.”
“I think you’re just getting spoiled by all those gourmet meals at your boyfriend’s house.”
Fallon couldn’t help the smile that came to her lips. Of all the things her mom could fright with her about, she picked the stupidest thing.
“What’s funny?” Gwen demanded.
“Nothing,” Fallon said, but she giggled when she said it.
“This is exactly what I’m talking about. Elliot’s right. You don’t have any respect for me or my authority as your parent because of all the time you spend with the Locke’s.”
Fallon’s smiled faded. “Who’s Elliot?”
“You might know more about me if you weren’t running around town with Lucian at all hours of the day and night.”
“Who the hell is he?”
“Don’t speak to me like that.”
“Then answer the question. Who’s Elliot?”
“He’s a dear friend.”
“How come I’ve never heard of this friend?”
“I wanted to be sure of my feelings before I introduced you to him.”
“I thought you said he was a friend.”
“He is a friend, but he’s starting to become more.”
“How’d you meet this guy?”
“He works at the hospital as a volunteer chaplain. We got to talking and--”
“A chaplain? You mean like a minister?”
“Yes, in fact, you actually know him.”
“Believe me, I don’t know any ministers.”
“You may not know him personally, but you went to his church a couple of years ago.”
Fallon’s stomach dropped. “Are you talking about Elliot Church?”
“Yes, that’s him,” Gwen said and resumed her wide smile.
“You’re dating Elliot Church? What about Dad?”
“Your father’s been dead for two years. I think it’s okay to move on.”
“Fine move on, but move on with someone else.”
“What makes you think you have the right to choose who I date?”
“I’m your daughter.”
“Exactly, which means you do as I say and you respect my decisions whether or not you like them.”
“Are you choosing him over me?”
“If there’s any choice to be made, I choose both of you.”
“It doesn’t work like that, Mom. It’s either me or Church. What’s it gonna be?”
“You do not have the right to issue me ultimatums. Go to your room, and don’t come out until I say so.”
The apartment was quiet as Fallon and her mom stood locked in a dangerous staring contest. Fallon let her mom win when she spun on her heel. Though she stomped into her room and slammed the door behind her, she didn’t have any intention of staying there.
“Fuck you, Mom!”
Just as Gwen threw open her bedroom door, Fallon faded away. Within seconds, she reappeared in the foyer of Lucian’s house. Her shoulders sagged as she looked at the empty space around her. Normally when she transported into their house, she took herself right to the twins. Her emotions were getting in the way of her ability to do proper black magic. How many times had Lucian warned her against the dangers of losing her concentration?
Fallon closed her eyes. Sinister, Dexter, where are you? I need you.
That was all it took for the boys to appear in front of her. She threw an arm around each of them. As they drew her closer, a feeling of peace washed over her. Everything would be all right now. Her twins would make everything all right.
“What’s wrong?” they asked in unison.
“My mom’s dating Elliot Church.”
They leaned back to look at her with identical expressions of shock. “What?”
Still standing in the foyer, Fallon spilled the story of her fight with her mom.
“We have to tell Simeon,” Lucian said.
Griffin glanced down at his watch. “He’s probably in the study. It’s too early for the sitting room.”
With Lucian at her right and Griffin at her left, the three of them headed down the hall. The soft sounds of classical music coming from the study told her Griffin was right about Simeon’s whereabouts.
Simeon offered them a short lived smile when they entered the study. “What’s got you three looking so troubled?”
“Elliot Church is dating Fallon’s mother,” the boys answered.
Free from the scrutiny of others, they often spoke in unison. When they did, Fallon took comfort in it. It reminded her they were the same person, which made her feel better about the relationship they had.
Simeon furrowed his brow. “Are you sure?”
“That’s what my mom just told me,” Fallon said. “I guess he’s been doing some volunteer minister work at the hospital or something and that’s how they met.”
“Interesting,” Simeon murmured.
Interesting wasn’t exactly the word Fallon was thinking of. Tennis matches were interesting. Plays were interesting. Her mom dating Elliot Church was closer to being horrific or even tragic but not in the least bit interesting.
From the wry grin Simeon gave her, Fallon knew he’d heard her thoughts. “I say it’s interesting because I’m quite certain he didn’t find your mother by accident.”
“You think he picked her because he knows I’m Lucian’s soul mate?” Fallon guessed.
“You’re my soul mate too,” Griffin reminded her.
Fallon turned to glare at him. “Seriously, Dex? You’re gonna pull your jealousy act now?”
“Fallon’s right. Now isn’t the time for such talk,” Simeon agreed. “Not to mention, that piece of information is something that needs to remain top secret.”
“So what do we do now?” Lucian asked.
Simeon resumed his grin. “Now we wait for Gwen and Elliot to make the next move, and I suspect we won’t have to wait too long.”
Fallon didn’t care if they waited one hour or one hundred years. Right now, she didn’t even care about her mom that much.
“Excuse me, sir, but Mrs. Keyes is here asking that her daughter be sent out at once.”
Simeon cast a smile in Fallon’s direction. They hadn’t even made it through dinner.
“Sebastian, invite Mrs. Keyes to join us for dinner, and be certain she understands her refusal won’t be accepted.”
Sebastian gave half a bow and then backed out of the room. Within moments, he returned to the dining room with Fallon’s mom behind him.
“Gwen, it’s such a pleasure to see you again,” Simeon announced and got to his feet. “You’re just in time to join us for dinner.”
Gwen focused a hard stare on Fallon. “I’ve come to take you home,” she said, and Fallon glanced over at Simeon. “What are you looking at him for? You’re my child; not his.”
“Why don’t you take a seat and we can discuss this over dinner?” Simeon suggested.
Gwen spun to face him. “There’s nothing to discuss. Fallon is coming with me, and that’s that.”
“Come now, I think we both know it’s not that simple.”
“Elliot told me you’d try to keep me from taking her.”
“Then am I correct in the assumption that he told you why I’d so such a thing?”
Gwen’s face reddened as she moved to stand face to face with him. “You listen to me, you evil monster. You may be the richest man in town, but that doesn’t mean I’m letting you take my baby from me. I don’t care who you are. I’ll kill you if I have to.”
“Mom, you have to stop. You don’t know what you’re saying.”
The corners of Simeon’s mouth twitched. “It’s all right, Fallon.”
“It’s not all right,” Gwen snapped.
Gwen drew her hand back as if to slap him and then suddenly stopped. Her eyes darted back and forth as she stood frozen in place.
“I’m sorry it has to be like this, Gwen, but you’ve left me no choice,” Simeon said. “I’m sure you know by now Fallon isn’t going anywhere with you. Not now and maybe not ever, but that has yet to be determined. You tell Elliot Church your only chance at getting your daughter back hinges on him agreeing to meet with me in person. Tell him until this meeting takes place, she’ll remain here with us and we’ll kill anyone who tries to take her.”
Gwen’s eyes grew huge. In response, Simeon widened his smile.
“Now, as to the time and place of the meeting, I think Friday at six at Machiavelli’s will do just fine. It’s been a long time since I’ve dined there, and I’ve got a hankering for it so we’ll be killing two birds with one stone so to speak.”
Fallon gave in to a giggle. Only Simeon could take something so serious and make it seem so matter of fact.
“Yes, I do realize that’s four days away, but I think that’s just the right amount of time for you to contemplate life without your daughter. Perhaps, you can help Elliot to see the light.”
While Simeon chuckled at his own joke, tears seeped from Gwen’s eyes. Fallon didn’t feel the least bit bad to see the tears sliding down her mother’s cheeks.
“So it’s a date then?” Simeon said, though Gwen didn’t answer. “Wonderful! Tell Elliot we’re looking forward to it.”
With their bargain struck, Gwen disappeared from the dining room.
Simeon turned toward Fallon. “Don’t worry. I didn’t harm her. I only sent her home.”
Fallon shrugged. She didn’t care what he did as long as it meant her mother was out of the way. Her soul belonged to Sinister and Dexter. No one was going to take that from her, not even her mother.