Page 54 of Magic or Madness

“With the thing?” I drop my voice low, and he nods.

“You have to come with me, it’s time sensitive,” he says, and I get the hint.

“Okay, give me two minutes,” I tell him, and he leans against the wall outside the door.

Mick and Rae are going to lose their minds, but I know I have to help the guys. They wouldn’t come to me, in the middle of the job, if it weren’t an emergency.

“Girls, I have to go,” I say, gathering my purse and essentials.

“Who was that, Fallon?” Mick asks, her hands planted on her hips.

“One of Ozzy’s friends, Oliver. They need my help at work,” I explain quickly, running around the apartment like a crazy woman.

“So you just drop everything and go?”

“Yes, Mick. He needs me, and you may not understand, but I have to go,” I answer, turning my back to them and slipping out the door.

I may have just destroyed the last hope I had of reconciling with my friends, but this is more important. I don’t give Mick a second to give me shit, or Rae a chance to beg me to stay. Within seconds, I’m out the door and by Oliver’s side.

“Let’s go.” He leads the way to the van, and we race to get to the body shop.

I didn’t have time to change, so I’m running off in my silk pajama set and fluffy slippers, looking like I was at a fucking slumber party for teenagers.

“Is it the code?”

“Max can’t crack it,” he says, fiddling with his earpiece, the same one Ozzy had the night he found me at the coffee shop.

“I don’t know the code, though,” I say softly, and he whips his head in my direction, confusion plastered on his face.

“Max will give you all the information, I’m just the muscle and the messenger.” He laughs, pulling up something on his phone, and it’s silent for a few minutes until he starts talking into his earpiece, which I assume is connected to the crew.

“Got the package, five out,” he whispers, and I realizeI’mthe package.

“Is that connected to Ozzy?” I ask, and he immediately pulls it out of his ear, handing it to me.

My hands are still shaking from the chaos of the last twenty minutes, but the second I can connect to him, hear his voice, I know it’ll stop.

“Are you okay, Ozzy?” I speak quickly, forcing this tiny device into my ear and waiting with bated breath until he finally answers me.

“I’m okay. Thank you for coming,Bellissima,” he says, and I can finally exhale a full breath.

It’s almost as if a tidal wave of relief crashes onto my shore, and I’m filled with the relief that comes with knowing he’s alright.

“Anything for you,amore mio.” The rest of the world fades away now that I’ve got him, and I forget everyone else can hear us.

“Stop speaking fucking Spanish and give Oliver back the mic, Fallon,” Max says sternly, and I feel like a kid who got in trouble with their parents.

“It’s Italian,” I quip, knowing that Ozzy is probably shaking his head, laughing about my smart mouth.

I toss the earpiece over the middle console at Oliver, and we ride in silence the rest of the way, but my anxiety rises higher and higher as we get closer to the body shop.

One wrong move and I could ruin this for all of us.

I distinctly remember placing the sheet with the new code on Keith’s desk before leaving this afternoon, but sneaking into his office also requires a code, and there’s a camera that picks up motion behind his desk.

It transmits to his phone immediately, so he knows whenever someone enters his office.

Not that he has anything worth stealing in there, but it makes him feel powerful when he questions people for entering when he’s not around.

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