Page 157 of Magic or Madness

“Sounds perfect, Bambi,” he says quietly, and now I know something’s up.

Ozzy would never let me drink on the roof without supervision, he’s terrified I’ll twirl right off the edge.

“What are you hiding?” I feel his body freeze beneath mine, and his pulse races, a sure sign that I’m onto something.

“I’m just stressed about the meeting, that’s all,” he tells me, but I don’t buy it.

“You’re lying to me?” I ask, rather than accusing, frankly because I’m shocked that he would even attempt to lie to my face.

He claims to have the ability to read me like an open book, but two can have the same power, especially with how connected we are, and I can tell when something is off.

“Fallon, let it go, please,” he begs, but I climb off his lap, not budging until he looks at me.

It’s one thing for him to attempt a lie, but now he’s pushing back on our connection, and that I won’t stand for.

“Look at me, Ozzy.”

Reluctantly, his eyes meet mine, and he’s fighting a battle in his mind, that much I can tell.

“Talk to me,” I plead, and he shakes his head, staring at the ceiling.

“We have to leave. The client is threatening to release videos that imply Journey, Max, and Oliver are murderers, ones that he manipulated,” he confesses, and my jaw drops.

That is monumental, and I have to push my anger aside knowing this is what he was hiding and lying to me about, but there’s more at stake than that glaring issue at the moment. My world feels like it’s flipping upside down, but I’m confident that I’ll find my footing, following Ozzy anywhere.

“When?” I ask, scooting closer to him.

“We’ll decide that in the meeting, but the deadline was two days,” he tells me, and my mind is racing.

How the hell are we expected to abandon our lives and start over in less than forty-eight hours? It seems impossible, especially without a destination.

“Let me know how I can help. There’s a lot to pack,” I offer, but he sighs, and somethingstill feels off. “I’m coming with you.”

I fold my arms across my chest, hoping that he’s not actually stupid enough to believe I’ll be anywhere but beside him. He nods, avoiding my eyes again, and hell will absolutely fucking freeze over before I let him walk away from me.

“Are you sure that’s what you want? Our lives are his now, we work for him, any slip up and I have a feeling he’ll turn the guys in anyways,” he says but I immediately cut him off.

“You’re not leaving without me, Oswaldo, not a fucking chance. I just got kidnapped, and what, you want to leave me behind? Not happening. I love you, and you know I’d follow you across the world, no matter the circumstances.” I don’t blink, barely breathing, fully prepared to stay in this spot until he agrees with me.

“I feel guilty, Fallon. I crashed into your life, got you involved in a motorcycle heist at your job, you haven’t spoken to your friends in months, and you got fucking kidnapped! Now what, we run across the country together, always battling threats and looking over our shoulders?”

“Yes. That’s exactly what we do, together. That’s what forever, through thick and thin means,” I argue, and he drops his head in his hands, the stress affecting him deeply.

I feel terrible for him, and I know this decision is weighing on him, but there’s nothing we can’t face together, I’m confident in that, inus.

“Alright, Bambi. You’re right, I’ve already lived without you, and I don’t intend to do it again,” he says softly, a faint smile on his face while pulling me back onto his lap.

“Let’s go somewhere warm,” I suggest, and he laughs, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

I hate seeing him so conflicted, he's too soft for all this, even if he’d never admit it.

“What about Cami and Pepper?” I whisper, almost afraid of what his answer will be.

“That’s up to them, if Olly and Lex choose to share what’s going on. You can’t say anything, Fallon, it’s not your business,” he tells me, and I sigh, hating all this red tape.

Lying is the worst thing you can do to someone you love, it destroys trust and leaves them hollow inside, something I don’t want to do to Cami, or Pepper. I love them both, in different ways, but my life is infinitely better with them in it, and I can’t lie to the people I love.

“I won’t, I promise.”

---