Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 71179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“I’m going to sign your discharge papers today, and they’ll be good for this afternoon. I just want to keep you here for the morning to make sure everything continues to go well.”
“Thanks, Doc.” I gingerly rub my jaw. “I think.”
“Do you have any questions?”
“No.”
“Good. The nurse will go over your discharge information with you after lunch.” He looks at Raven then. “You’re not the same woman who I met when Falcon was admitted.”
“No. I’m his sister. Raven Bellamy. Savannah will be here as soon as she can.”
“Good, good. As long as someone is here to drive your brother home,” he says.
I raise an eyebrow. “You saying I can’t drive?”
“You can drive as long as you’re not taking your pain meds,” he says, “but hospital protocol dictates that you must be released to an adult. After that, drive if you’re comfortable, but my guess is it will be a few days before your pain is at a point where you can be off the meds for a bit.”
“Got it,” I say.
He looks at me as if he expects me to balk. I have no intention of that. I spent eight years of my life locked up. Staying home and not driving for a few days is nothing—especially now that I know Savannah is safe.
“Good.” He gently pats my shoulder. “You’re a lucky man. This could have been a lot worse.”
“You’re telling me.”
The doctor nods to Raven, makes a few notes on the computer, and then leaves.
Raven shuts the door behind the doctor and then sharply turns to me, her forehead wrinkled. “When are you going to tell me what’s going on, Falcon?”
“Around the fifth of never.”
She shakes her head. “You’re part of me now, big brother. We have no secrets.”
“We have some,” I say. “And they’re not my stories to tell, Ray. I’d tell you everything if I could.” A yawn splits my face. “Ow! Damn, that hurts.”
“Okay, okay. I can take a hint.” She opens the door and puts a foot out. “You rest. We’ll talk when it doesn’t hurt you so much.”
I nod and close my eyes. Savannah should be here soon, I hope. Raven said she went to Austin last night to have dinner with her mom and Vinnie, and she’d probably stay the night.
That’s not like her…which means something’s going on.
And I want to know what it is.
40
SAVANNAH
I leave my parents’ home after spending the night in my old room. I say a quick goodbye to Vinnie, but I don’t seek out my mother.
She’s hurting now, and in her mind, it’s my doing.
Vinnie tried to convince me over a quick breakfast that she doesn’t know any better. That she did her duty by marrying Dad and believes that I should be willing to do the same. Funny. She and Dad eventually fell in love. Their marriage was a happy one as far as I could tell growing up.
So of course she’s upset that her husband is gone and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison. But he did it to save the man her daughter loves.
Perhaps it’s—
“Savannah!”
I’m ready to get into the car when I hear my mother’s voice. I look up.
“Come here, please.”
I draw in a breath. Be ready for anything. “What is it, Mom?”
“I need to say something to you.”
I walk toward the doorway where she’s standing. “I think you said enough last night.”
She shakes her head. “You’re my only daughter. I never wanted any of this for you.”
“Then why the huge-ass guilt trip?”
“Because…” She dabs a tear away from her cheek with a handkerchief. “Because I love your father, Sav. I didn’t when we met. I didn’t when we got married. I didn’t even when Vinnie was born. But I grew to, and I grew to need him as much as I needed to breathe. Can you understand that?”
I nod. “Yes. I know what that feels like.”
“That’s how you feel about your young man? This ex-convict?”
“He’s innocent, Mom.”
She begins to speak but I hold up a hand.
“You can think what you want about Falcon. I believe in him, and I love him. He loves me.” I swallow. “I never wavered in my belief that you and Daddy loved me. Not until those gunmen came to Falcon’s house looking for me. I knew what it meant. I knew Daddy was going back on his word. And I also knew, Mom, that he would never do that lightly.”
“No, he wouldn’t. And he didn’t. His love for all his children always came first. That’s why he killed Miles, Savannah.”
“I know that.”
“He chose you over everything else. His family. His wife. His son.”
“That’s not fair. He didn’t even know Vinnie was back when he shot Miles.”
“I adore Vinnie,” Mom says. “I never thought I’d see him again, and I’m over the moon that he’s back. But he made your father expendable, Savannah. Your father is my heart. My lifeline. And he’s going to be in prison until the day he dies.”