Page 75 of Last Hand

“A couple hours away; no point rushing her to a hospital, it won’t change any outcome if…” he doesn’t finish. “I don’t want her thinking that is all I care about. As long as she is okay, we’ll be okay,” Leone adds. Rocco must feel awkward with the topic because he bids us goodnight, before Loene stops him.

“Tomorrow I make some calls and find out about Sienna.” Rocco nods once, disappearing around the side of the house and I glance at the front door wanting to go in, not sure where I stand with all this now. If Leone wants me to step back, I will. It will kill me but I would do it.

“Come on, we should head inside. I need to check on her,” Leone says flicking what’s remaining of his smoke. I toss mine following him inside and upstairs. I’m not sure if I’m imagining it or if everything just became tenser, because I find myself hesitating as he pushes his bedroom door open. Leone must notice that hesitation because he pauses.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, I shake my head and follow him inside the room, and he quickly wanders over and knocks on the bathroom door where I can hear the shower running.

She doesn’t answer and I move closer nervously. Leone moves to his bedside table and pulls out the keys and moves to quickly unlock it. The moment he does steam billows out and I can hear that she is sobbing. Leone pauses like he has been punched and glances at me. He steps into the bathroom beforewandering back out. “I will grab some towels, she’s in the bottom of the shower.”

“I can grab them.”

Leone shakes his head. “No, go check on her.” There’s panic on his face. Blood, gore, death he can handle. A crying woman and he becomes all flustered. I grip his arm, and he stops.

“She thinks she is my incubator, and probably thinks she is in trouble. I need you to check on her.”

“You want me to hop in the shower with her?” I ask and he looks at me strangely.

“Yes, get in the shower with her; I’ll be gone for five minutes. I don’t want to spook her.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

Leone tilts his head to the side regarding me. “What is going on with you, you’ve been quiet for weeks.”

“She is pregnant, Leone.”

“I know, what is your point and get to it fast.”

I sigh and run a hand through my hair.

“She is pregnant with your child. And now I don’t know where I stand in all this. If you want me to step back, I can. I get it, it would be hard to explain to a child. I can move out to one of the guest hou—” Leone grips the back of my neck.

“You’ve been acting like this because you believe we are tossing you aside because she is pregnant?” he snaps and I swallow thickly at the anger on his face that is usually reserved for those he’s about to kill.

“I get it, it won’t work. And now you have to think of your baby…” He shoves me back.

“No, you don’t get it. Pull your head out of your ass. If I didn’t want you here, I would have said it already by now. Our baby won’t think anything of having two fathers when it’s all they’ve known. Now fucking get in the shower before I decide to kick your fucking ass for being so stupid,” he snaps, storming off. Istare after him in shock. I thought he was angry for mentioning the elephant in the room. It turns out he is angry that I thought he was going to ask me to step aside. Staring at the bathroom, I move toward it but I pause remembering his words. Two fathers. For a second, I’m stunned before I manage to shake it off and step into the bathroom.

I find Fallon on the shower floor, sitting directly under the steady stream. Stripping my clothes off, I step in with her and immediately reach down to grab her, pulling her to me. She makes a strange sound as I pull her up her back against my chest. Reaching for the soap, I wash her. She is like a puppet in my arms, letting me move her and do as I please with her, like she has slipped so far inside herself she has become lost in her own head.

Leone comes in a few minutes later, setting some towels down next to the sink before shedding his clothes.

“Maria is cooking for her,” he tells me as he slides the door open and turns the other showerhead on. He moves closer, helping me rinse her off before I pass her to him so I can wash myself. His arm slips around her waist gently, holding her to him. He leans down. “Dr. Stevens is going to come check on you soon,” he murmurs as if he is afraid of spooking her.

She doesn’t react and Leone hugs her closer like he can absorb her and take whatever pain she’s in. Once I’m finished washing myself, I reach for her so Leone can wash all the blood and grime off. He has just finished rinsing out his hair when she makes this horrendous noise that nearly makes me let her go thinking I’ve somehow hurt her.

“Fallon?” Leone murmurs sweeping her hair back from her face. She says nothing, eyes distant when she grips his forearm, her nails digging in. Leone looks at me worriedly and I lean down to whisper.

NINETEEN

Fallon

The water scalds my skin. I don’t turn it down.

It pounds over my head like maybe, if it burns enough, it’ll strip off everything I’m feeling. The blood. The dirt. The death. The helplessness. Maybe if I let it scald me long enough, I’ll wash away all the bad memories.

Instead, I’m overflowing with them.

Not with water.