Page 12 of All My Broken Pieces

I swallow, glancing at the sputtering man lying on the pavement before looking back at Andrew. “Arriana.”

Who knew that night would be the beginning of, well, everything. Shortly after that first meeting, Andrew and I became close friends and one thing led to another and now I’m a super badass hitwoman with Andrew as my business partner.

A grunt sounds beside me as Killian picks up the deceased man’s body and gets to work cleaning up the crime scene.

Okay, a super badass hitwoman withtwobusiness partners, one of which might not be my biggest fan. But I’m working on that.

“Fallon came by.” Killian says, shocking me out of my thoughts.

I narrow my eyes at him, confused why he’s telling me this. He’s not usually a wealth of information and I have to typically pry anything from him. “Okay?” I ask slowly.

Shrugging, he continues his task. “She seemed upset.” He moves his eyes to mine and a shudder runs down my body at the look in them. “Thought you’d want to know.”

Okay, something is definitely wrong.

And I need to find out what.

I don’t respond to him, working quickly to help clean up so we can get the fuck out of here.

I knew it was a dumb idea leaving things how I did.Estúpida. So fucking stupid.

My stomach churns with an unfamiliar anxiety as we work, Fallon’s downcast expression haunting me with each passing second. I’m practically buzzing by the time we climb back into the car we rode over together in. My knee bounces the entire way back to our shared building.

As soon as Killian puts the car in park, I leap from the vehicle and rush inside, brushing past the doorman on my way in. Jamming my finger against the elevator button, I chew on my fingernails as I wait.

Killian joins me, stepping into the lift without a word, the forever stoic man.

Unless it’shisrelationship on the line.

I suppress an eye roll at the familiar scene and howIhad comfortedhimat the time, but alas, the man has no words of wisdom or comfort for me.

Of course not. Stupid men.

He inserts his key into the elevator, twisting to unlock the doors so they slide open to reveal his living area. His penthouse is fancier than mine, but I don’t need all this, my nice two bedroom condo with a beautiful view of Seattle is enough for me and mine.

Rushing into the room, I look around wildly. Ava comes down the hall, her hair wrapped up in a towel. “Oh.” She mumbles, coming to a stop when she sees me.

My eyes narrow and I take a step toward her. “Oh?” I echo, something about her reaction to seeing me doesn’t sit right, beyond our usual slight animosity toward one another.

Gulping, she adjusts the waistband of her sleep shorts, shifting her eyes between Killian and me. “Did, um, did you talk to Fallon?” Her voice is barely above a whisper, genuine concern filling her eyes.

Taking another step closer, I grit my teeth. “No. Where is she?”

I don’t know what she sees on my face, but whatever it is is enough to trigger her fight and flight response. Squaring her shoulders, she opts for fight. “She’s not here.” Ava snaps, crossing her arms.

Okay, this bitch.

Before I can react further, Killian steps around me, blocking her from my view. “Enough.” He growls, jutting his arm toward the elevator. “She’s not here so leave.”

I puff my chest out at him, my body humming with fear fueled anger. Deciding it’s not worth the effort to deal with them right now, I spin on my heel and leave. My heart is pounding erratically in my chest the entire ride down to my floor. By the time I slide my key into the door and push inside the apartment, I’m surprised I haven’t had a heart attack.

“Fallon? Baby?” I call, closing the door behind me.

Quiet cries reach me and I run.

Sprinting as fast as I can, I dash down the hall and skid to a stop in our bedroom, my head whipping around for the cause of her tears. I come up empty, finding the only person in the room is Fallon. She sits on the edge of the bed, wringing her hands in her lap with her head dipped forward, her hair hiding her face.

I move to take a step forward to comfort her when my eyes land on the suitcase sitting on the floor beside her. A strangled noise escapes my throat at the sight, pulling her attention to me. “Baby?” I croak, taking a shaky step toward her.

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