Though they held hands for their walk to Fallon’s first period class, there was an uncharacteristic tension hanging between her and Griffin that she couldn’t understand. Despite the frightening encounter at dinner the night before, things seemed fine when the three of them went to bed last night. Snuggling between them helped her get over what happened.
“Just tell me what’s wrong so I can apologize,” Fallon blurted out.
“You want to apologize for me being a pussy?”
“That’s what this is about? You’re ashamed of what happened last night?”
Griffin darted his eyes around the north hall. “I’m not supposed to be the sensitive one, remember.”
Fallon stopped walking and moved to the side of the hall. She smiled up at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck before standing on her tiptoes to kiss him. “I like it when you’re sensitive,” she whispered.
He drew her body tighter against his. “I love you so much, Fallon.”
“I love you too.”
“I hate to break up this love fest, but we need to talk.”
They didn’t let go of each other as they turned their heads in the direction of Seth’s voice. Something about the serious look on his face put Fallon on high alert.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“There’s something you guys need to hear from me before it gets around school.”
Fallon frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”
“Daphne and Ava are getting close to the truth,” Seth answered and looked at Griffin.
Fallon’s frown deepened. “What are you talking about?”
Griffin let go of Fallon. “Go to class. I need to talk to Seth.”
“But, I--"
“Please, Fallon. We’ll talk later.”
She gave them each a narrow eyed gaze before she swished down the hall. The tidal wave of her anger swelled as she entered the classroom. There were enough secrets in her life without Griffin being the one to keep them from her. Wait until she told Lucian about this. That fear she’d seen in Griffin’s eyes at dinner last night would be nothing compared to what she and Lucian unleashed on him for keeping them in the dark about anything.
Fallon took her seat and stared hard at the door as she waited for Seth’s appearance. Seeing Christian and Angelica laughing together as they came through the door fueled the fire of her anger. With as close as the two of them were acting it was as if Angelica had forgotten all about the huge favor she owed the twins.
“What’s got you looking so pissed?” Seth asked as he came to take the seat in front of her.
For the moment, Christian and Angelica were forgotten. “I think you know. In fact, I think you know a lot more than you’ve been letting on.”
Seth leaned close to her. “Which is something you should be thanking me for considering what could happen if this ever gets out.”
“How long have you known?”
“Since that back to school pool party.”
Fallon knitted her eyebrows together. How was it possible he’d known that long and never let on?
“Telling me was a test of my loyalty,” Seth said and paused when Tarilyn came into the room. “Look, we’ll talk about this later.”
Even though he was right, she didn’t like him being the one to decide the way things worked. When he turned forward in his seat, Fallon shot a glare in Tarilyn’s direction. Everything was fine until she came along. Their biggest problem was Christian and his God Squad, which they could handle with ease. Now they were on the brink of having their biggest secret exposed. It had to be more than a coincidence that all of this trouble started with the arrival of Tarilyn.
Fallon glanced over at Angelica. Maybe it was time to put someone else’s loyalty to the test.
I know you can hear me, Fallon thought, and Angelica’s eyes widened. Meet me in the north hall bathroom fifteen minutes after second period starts.
Angelica didn’t acknowledge her, but she didn’t have to. If she knew what was good for her and her brother, she’d be there.
Anger flared inside of Fallon when she came out of her economics class to find Griffin waiting for her. Instead of easing into his arms for their customary kiss, she didn’t even look his way as she continued down the hall. That didn’t stop him from coming after her.
“What are you so mad about?”
“I’m not going to answer that because I know you’re not that stupid.”
“We had a good reason for telling him.”
“I don’t care.”
“Then why are you mad?”
Fallon stopped and spun to face him. “You lied to me. You’re keeping secrets from me. Take your pick.”
Griffin tilted his head to the left. “Do you tell me everything you tell Daphne and Ava about me?”
She snorted. That wasn’t anywhere near the same thing, and he knew it. When she started to stalk off again, he reached to grab her hand.
“You know I’m not going to let you be mad at me.”
“Why? Are you afraid you’ll start bawling again?”
Griffin dropped her hand and took a step back. “I can’t believe you said that.”
Neither could she, but she wasn’t about to admit it to him. “And I can’t believe you’re keeping secrets from me. Guess we’re even.”
He didn’t try to stop her the second time she turned her back on him. Despite the guilt churning in her stomach she pressed forward without looking back. Maybe she shouldn’t feel bad anyway. If he’d been honest with her, it wouldn’t have happened. As soon as the thought came to her, she realized how unfair it was. Using his emotions against him, especially after how ashamed he’d been, was evil even for her.
She grimaced to see Tarilyn already in her seat in second period. If Tarilyn noticed the reaction, she didn’t let on. The bitch actually smiled and said hello to her. As much as she wanted to fly across the room and kick the crap out of her, Fallon forced herself to smile back.
Keep your enemies close.
And there was no doubt in her mind Tarilyn was her enemy. Any doubt she had was erased at that stupid slumber party. Tarilyn had been foolish enough to tip her hand when she went snooping in Simeon’s study.
Fallon tried not to glare as she dropped into her seat and fixed her eyes on the clock above the teacher’s desk. Fourteen minutes into the lecture, she raised her hand.
“Yes, Fallon?”
“Can I get a pass for the bathroom?”
“Class just started fifteen minutes ago. Why didn’t you go before then?”
“I didn’t have to.”
Mr. Phelps heaved a sigh. “Fine, go, but be back in five minutes.”
“Whatever,” Fallon muttered as she grabbed the pass from the wall.
Angelica was already there when Fallon pushed open the door of the girls’ bathroom.
“You’re late,” Angelica said and then giggled when Fallon frowned at her. “I always wanted to say that to someone.”
“Lucky me. Why are you acting like this anyway?”
“Like what?”
“Like we’re friends.”
“I guess I don’t hate you as much as I used to.”
“You guess?”
“Look, I know how messed up that sounds, but I’ve spent my whole life hating Lucian and his family. It’s not that easy to flip the switch.”
“It was when you wanted something and Christian wouldn’t come through for you.”
“So, I guess that’s why I’m here right. You want me to repay the favor.”
“I want you to start repaying the favor, but I hope you know this won’t be the last time we want something.”
“I know, but it’s worth it to see Wyatt happy and healthy again.”
Fallon forgot her anger for a moment. Though she didn’t have any brothers or sisters, she understood Angelica’s feelings. There was nothing she wouldn’t do to save Griffin or Lucian if they were ever in danger. No matter how mad they sometimes made her or how many little arguments or huge fights they had, they were connected for life.
“So, what do you need me to do?” Angelica’s voice broke into her thoughts.
“Do you know anything about Ava’s new neighbor Tarilyn?”
“Like what?”
“Like, does she have some kind of connection to Christian? Is she his spy?”
“He’s never said so.”
“But you don’t know for sure?”
“Christian’s careful to keep his father’s secrets.”
“Then how are you going to help us if you don’t know anything?”
“I know she showed up at church on Sunday morning.”
“What? Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“You didn’t ask me that. You asked if she was Christian’s spy, which I don’t know.”
“What happened at church? Did she talk to Christian or his uncle?”
“I didn’t even know she was there until church was over. When I got up to leave, I saw her in the back row.”
“Did she see you? Did she talk to you?”
“She didn’t talk to me, but I think she saw me because she got up and left really quick.”
“What did Christian say?”
“Nothing; he was sitting up front with the choir, and Tarilyn was already gone by the time he came to talk to me and Wendy.”
“I need you to find out everything you know about her and Christian. Mention her to him and see how he reacts and what he says.”
“I’ll ask at lunch.”
“And make sure he doesn’t suspect why you’re asking.”
Angelica flashed her a smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful. I’ll call you tonight.”
“Just make sure it’s not at midnight.”
To be sure they weren’t spotted together, they didn’t leave the bathroom at the same time. Fallon gave Angelica a sixty second head start before she returned to her second period class. All eyes turned toward her when she entered, but there was only one person Fallon was interested in.
You’re going down you bitch, Fallon thought as she gave Tarilyn the biggest fake smile she could manage.
“Where’s Griffin?” Fallon asked.
He’d been avoiding her since their fight after first period. Though he sat next to her at lunch, he refused to look at her. If their friends weren’t already suspicious, she would’ve confronted him then and there. Instead, she made up her mind to talk to him after school. With school having let out a few minutes ago, she’d been prepared for her chance only to find him absent from the front of the school.
“Where would you go if you were Griff and you were mad at you?” Lucian countered.
Fallon didn’t even need time to consider her answer. There was only one place he’d go, just like there was only one place Lucian would’ve gone if the situations were reversed. Lucian offered her a smile as he held the car door open for her, and she suddenly felt like the most evil person in the whole wide world.
“I think my dad’s got a lock on that category,” Lucian said when he got behind the wheel.
“Does that mean you’re not mad about what I said to Griffin?”
“I think it was kind of messed up, but I get it.”
“You get it?”
“I get why you did it. This is one screwed up situation the three of us have.”
Fallon turned to stare out the window. That was the exact reason they should’ve had each other’s backs instead of stabbing them.
Most days she could handle their situation. She even liked it. Having both of them was having the best of both worlds. Lucian was sweet and sensitive. Griffin was cool and collected. Lucian was shy and artistic. Griffin was outgoing and instinctive. If Simeon hadn’t split him in two, Lucian would’ve been one perfect person, but she wasn’t sure how she would’ve dealt with that. Whenever she had a problem with one, she went to the other and they worked it out. Would she and Lucian have been able to do that without Griffin?
Lucian pulled his Escalade behind the security gates that obscured the house from the rest of the world. He came to a stop and killed the engine, but neither of them moved.
She turned to face him. “Are you going to come with me to talk to Griffin?”
“You go ahead. There’s someone else I need to talk to.”
“You mean your father?”
His lips twisted into a semblance of a smile. “It still sounds weird, you know.”
“Weird doesn’t have to be bad, does it?”
“I don’t know. It’s just hard to get over the betrayal. All these years I always felt lucky to have Sim. I even thought he was a better dad than the one I had because he was around for us.”
“Now you’ve got what you always wanted. That seems pretty lucky to me.”
“I get why he didn’t want anyone else to know, but why didn’t he tell us?”
“Maybe you should ask him.”
Lucian leaned forward and ran the backs of fingers down her cheek. “Maybe I will after I do this,” he murmured and then brought his lips to hers.
Each forgot their troubles for a brief moment before they didn’t have any choice but to face the inevitable. While Lucian headed into the house in search of Simeon, Fallon trudged toward the guest house. She could’ve saved herself the walk with a transport, but she needed the time to gather her thoughts. Other than ‘I’m sorry’, she had no idea what she’d say to Griffin.
When she reached the guest house, she paused at the threshold. Should she just go in or should she knock first? It was the first time she’d faced that dilemma. She decided on knocking.
A frowning Griffin pulled open the door. “Why’d you knock?”
“I didn’t know if you’d want to see me since you’re still mad at me.”
“You’re way off. I’m not mad.”
“Then why aren’t you talking to me?”
“I’m talking to you now.”
Fallon heaved a sigh. “Fine, why didn’t you talk to me at school today?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Griffin said and followed the words with a shrug.
“It matters to me.”
“Actually, I don’t think it does.”
His words hit her with the sting of a slap across the face. “If it didn’t matter, I wouldn’t be here trying to tell you I’m sorry.”
Griffin’s left eyebrow went up. “Is that what you’re doing?”
“Yes, but you’re not making it easy.”
“I didn’t know I was supposed to make it easy.”
“Don’t make it easy. I don’t care.”
A sly grin played about his lips. “If you don’t care then why are you getting so mad?”
“You know what? Just forget it. Stay mad at me forever if you want.”
When she turned to leave, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her body into his. His lips met hers with a crushing intensity that took her breath away.
“Don’t you know, Fallon?”
“Don’t I know what?”
“It doesn’t matter how bad you hurt me. I could never stay mad at you.”
Her heart swelled with the realization of how evil she was. There was only one other person she loved as much as she loved him. Instead of protecting him and guarding his secrets, she used them against him. She wouldn’t have blamed him if he hated her forever.
Tears slid down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Dexter. I wasn’t thinking.”
Taking her face in his hands, he moved to kiss her tears away before returning his lips to hers. Her body filled with warmth when his tongue found hers. Without taking his lips from hers, he drew her into the house and led them to the couch.
Fallon leaned back and whipped the shirt over her head and tossed it aside. Then she unhooked her bra and dropped it on floor. In seconds, she was naked beside him. That was all the invitation Griffin needed to shed his clothes.
“I love you so much, Fallon.”
“Show me, Dexter.”
“I will,” he murmured.
When he moved toward her, Fallon grabbed his shoulders to stop him. “Really show me.”
Griffin drew his eyebrows together. “How do I do that?”
“Show me, Dexter,” she explained, and his frown deepened.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
He moved from atop her long enough to morph from the human he disguised himself as to the demon he truly was. Just as he was as a human, he was identical to Lucian as a demon with his thick scales and clawed hands and feet and pure blackness from head to toe. As she studied him, it occurred to her this might be the one time she wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.
“Are you sure you want this?” Griffin asked.
“I’m sure,” Fallon said and then hesitated before she reached to embrace him. “There’s just one thing.”
“What?”
“Promise not to scratch me with those talons.”
Griffin laughed. “I promise.”
With that settled, their bodies came together and the heat between them melted away the rest of the word.
Despite the tension of the night before, dinner that night was the same easy affair Fallon had grown accustomed to. That was fine with her. Between the excitement of last night and the drama of today, she didn’t think she could handle anymore.
After dinner, Fallon and the twins retreated to the game room. Rather than play any games, they stretched out on the sectional sofa. With her in the middle, Griffin lounged at her left and Lucian at her right.
“I’m guessing you two made up,” Lucian said, and Fallon nodded. “That’s good. I don’t like it when you fight.”
“You know it’ll probably happen again. Eternity is a long time,” Griffin pointed out.
“It’ll happen in about two seconds if you’re not careful,” Fallon teased and looked over at Lucian. “What about you and Sim? Did you two make up?”
“We talked.”
Fallon furrowed her brow. “But you didn’t make up?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just need a little time to sort everything out.”
“Just make sure you do,” Griffin suggested.
“He gave me her diary,” Lucian said.
It was Griffin’s turn to frown. “What?”
“Lucy kept a diary and Simeon kept it and he gave it to me.”
“That was nice of him,” Fallon said.
“He said it might help me understand things better,” Lucian said and shifted his gaze to Griffin. “You want to read it when I’m done with it?”
“Not really.”
“Why not?”
Griffin shrugged. “Lucy’s your mother, not mine. We all know I don’t really have a mother or a father or a real life.”
It broke Fallon’s heart to hear him talking like that. As much as it hurt her, it had to be harder for him. If it wasn’t for Simeon breaking apart Lucian’s body and soul, there wouldn’t be any Griffin. She couldn’t imagine living with that truth.
“You know I hate it when you say that,” Lucian snapped. “So what if you’re the other half of me? I’m not sorry he did it.”
Griffin gave him a half hearted grin. “Sorry, Loosh.”
Fallon’s cell phone suddenly rang. Though she didn’t recognize the number, she knew who it was. Her hunch was confirmed when she answered it.
“It’s Angelica.”
“What’d you find out?”
The twins regarded with her with identical expressions of confusion.
“Aren’t you at least going to say hey and ask me how I’m doing first?”
Fallon laughed. “Why should I? We aren’t friends. Why pretend we aren’t using each other?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“So, what’d you find out?”
“Tarilyn’s not Christian’s spy yet, but he’s going to see if he can use her.”
“How?”
“He thinks maybe she showed up at church because she’s started to wonder what’s going on with all of you. If she shows up again, he’s going to see if he can convince her of the truth and get her to work with him.”
“What’s the truth?”
“That Lucian and Griffin are the sons of Satan and need to be brought down.”
“Brought down?”
“Yeah, Christian wants to make a major move against them by the end of the school year, and he thinks Tarilyn can help.”
“Why the end of the school year?”
“Once we graduate and go our separate ways, they won’t be as accessible to him. He’s afraid they’re going to get even stronger without him around every day to keep an eye on them.”
“What kind of major move is he planning?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“You think he’ll try to kill them?”
“I don’t think so. That goes against everything he is and everything he believes in.”
Fallon snorted. How was it that Angelica could still have so much blind devotion to Christian when he’d been willing to let her little brother suffer for no reason?
“Anyway, that’s all I know for now,” Angelica finished.
“Okay, let me know if she shows up at church on Sunday and what Christian does about it.”
“I guess I’ll talk to you later then.”
“Lucky me,” Fallon said and clicked her phone off without saying a real goodbye.
The boys wore deep frowns. “What was that about?”
“Nothing you need to worry about yet.”
“What does that mean? Sounds like you’re keeping secrets from us.”
Fallon glared at them. “You two should talk. You told Seth the truth about us without asking me if that was okay and then never even told me about it.”
They grinned at her. “You wanted us to ask your permission?”
“It would’ve been nice. I know this makes you two look like a couple of studs for nailing the same girl, but I’m coming off like a slut.”
The twins resumed their matching frowns. They could be as mad as they wanted, but she was right. There was a reason they kept their relationship secret, the biggest being that she didn’t want another threesome rumor floating around the school. When that rumor hit the air waves last year, they were being congratulated while she was labeled a slut.
“We keep it a secret because we don’t want Christian to find out we’re the last,” Lucian reminded her. “If he sends The Holy Servant after us, it will end our bloodline.”
“It’ll also bring about the end of Hell as we know it,” Griffin added.
“How would it do that?” Fallon asked.
“If we die without producing any heirs, there will be no one left to maintain the balance between good and evil,” Lucian explained. “The scales will tip in the favor of good and eventually wipe out the evil that feeds the existence of Hell.”
“Then why did you tell Seth the truth about us? Why take the risk?” Fallon said.
“We needed a confidante and this was his test of worthiness for that task,” they answered.
“A confidante?” she echoed.
“The confidante is the highest ranking minion of his generation,” Lucian said. “He does the bidding of the master and is his most loyal servant.”
“Who’s Simeon’s confidante?”
“Sebastian,” they replied together.
Sebastian, the crusty old butler was Simeon’s confidante? Besides looking older than dirt, he never spoke more than two words at a time. What kind of bidding did he do for Simeon? What could he do besides answer the door or take their coats?
“You should know better than anyone the truth isn’t always what it seems,” Lucian reminded her.
“Okay, that’s true, but I still think you should’ve talked to me about this. What if I wanted Daphne or Ava to be the confidante?” she said, and the boys laughed. “Why is that funny?”
“Besides the fact that Daphne and I have a past, you can’t give the job to a woman,” Lucian said.
“You’ve got to be kidding me?” Fallon scoffed. “The son of Satan is a sexist?”
“Girls can’t keep secrets to themselves. For whatever reason, they feel like they have to tell all of their friends when they find out something about someone else,” Lucian pointed out. “That’s why Tarilyn told Ava about seeing you kissing Griff and why Daphne and Ava have been talking shit behind your back.”
“What?” Fallon shrilled.
“They got suspicious after you told them to drop the me having a secret girlfriend thing,” Griffin said.
“So, they got together after they left on Monday and had a nice little lunch to go over all the signs of why it was you,” Lucian added. “They even invited Tarilyn along so she’s now privy to their theories.”
“Those bitches! What’d they say?”
“According to Seth, the signs pointing to you are as follows: there was a rumor last year that we were in a three way and that rumor came out after Griff and Katie broke up, Katie was the last girlfriend Griff had, you almost kissed Griff in front of them a few weeks ago, the girl kissing Griff had long blonde hair like you do, and instead of helping them try to get to the bottom of this you’re telling them to back off. Even the fact that you live here is a source of suspicion because they think it means you and Griff have it that much easier to find ways to be together.”
Griffin laughed. “Kind of ironic that they’re right.”
“Ironic but dangerous,” Lucian said. “It’s especially problematic that they let an outsider in on this since we don’t really know where her loyalties lay.”
“Angelica said Tarilyn showed up Elliot’s church last Sunday, and Christian’s going to see if he can use her to help destroy you two.”
Lucian smiled. “So that’s who just called?”
Fallon nodded. “I thought maybe it was time to call in the favor and get something out of her since I don’t really trust Tarilyn.”
“And we definitely can’t trust Daphne and Ava,” Griffin said.
“But can we trust Seth?” Fallon countered. “He’s still got feelings for Daphne and he asked Ava out.”
“He asked Ava out to see if he could come between her and Daphne and make them doubt each other,” Lucian admitted.
“And to see if he could get some,” Griffin said.
“That too,” Lucian agreed.
Fallon didn’t join them in their laughter. It was hard to find something to laugh about when the list of people she could trust was shrinking by the day. First she lost her mom. Now her best friends were stirring up trouble behind her back.
I guess I’ll just have to beat them at their own game, Fallon thought. Tarilyn was going to be sorry she came to Lockwood, and Daphne and Ava were going to regret the day they turned against her.