Page 168 of F*ckboys

Raine sets plates of eggs and toast in front of Fallon and me, her piercing gaze lingering on Fallon.

The TV blares, "Kent Farrington and Isabella Warner, found dead, sunk in the river."

My gut twists with a mix of triumph and dread. "Wow, our Grandmother really doesn't play," I say to Raine.

Raine nods and smirks. "She never has, and she never will."

Fallon pales, clutching her mug. She knows what our Grandmother is capable of, and the lengths she'll go to protect her family. A shiver visibly runs up Fallon's spine, her knuckles whitening around the mug as she trembles. "I'm never going to fit in here either, am I?"

"Of course you are," I say. I try to meet her gaze but she looks down, averting eye contact.

"No. Why would you assume your family is so much better than mine?" Her eyes flash as she blurts out what she's thinking. Raine and I exchange a look.

I reach over, covering her hand with mine. "It's over now. You're part of the family. Grandmother accepts you, accepts us."

"Yeah, I'll just remember not to get on her bad side!"

Raine and Fallon laugh. "Easier said than done, sometimes," says Raine. "Although I think she has a soft spot for you." She beams at Fallon. "I think you're only at risk of her wrath if you try to soil the King family name. Or if you try to pass her pumpkin pie recipe off as your own. That's grounds for homicide, for sure.

The three of us laugh.

Fallon frowns and looks like she wants to say something, but instead, she excuses herself and steps outside.

Ten minutes later, she hasn't returned, and I go searching. I find her in the gardens, sitting on a stone bench with her head bowed. Her shoulders shake with silent sobs.

My heart clenches. I walk over and sit beside her, close enough that our thighs touch. She doesn't pull away this time.

"I'm sorry," she whispers. "I shouldn't have snapped at you or got all awkward. I just got so jealous and envious that you have a grandmother who would move mountains to make things right for you. And I can't even get back at the guys who—"

"You have every right to be angry about your lot in life." I take her hand, relieved when she lets me. "What they did to you—".

"It's in the past." She cuts me off and looks up, her eyes shining with tears. "It still hurts, but I'll work through it. I've spent so much time dwelling on it, resenting them. It's been hard not to when they never received justice. I guess that's why I got so hellbent on exacting revenge on behalf of everyone else. Peoplewho stand a chance at actual retribution. People who the system might have failed, but I pledge not to." She pauses and finally meets my gaze. "What matters now is the future. Our future."

A surge of hope ignites in my chest. "You mean that? You really see the two of us having a future, making it in the long-term?"

"I do." A watery smile curves across her lips. "We make a good team, you and I. We survived this together...and we'll survive anything else that comes our way."

"Damn right we will." I pull her into my arms, pressing a fierce kiss to her adorably fiery hair. "I love you, Fallon. So goddamn much. We'll get through this, and whatever else life throws at us, together."

"Together," she echoes, tightening her arms around me.

The battle isn't over, not by a long shot. But with Fallon by my side, I know we'll win. We're survivors. Fighters.

And we have a long, vengeful memory.

Chapter 96

Fallon

My heartbeat drums in my ears as I lead Grave and Aksel down the crumbling alleyway behind O'Malley's Pub. Four figures slouch against the brick wall, bathed in shadows, their faces obscured by the dim light of a single flickering bulb.

But I'd recognize those silhouettes anywhere.

It didn't take much to lure them here, eager to get their hands on me once again. Thrilled that I'd respond to their sick little game of cat-and-mouse on our phones.

My stomach clenches, bile rising in my throat. I grip Aksel's hand, my knuckles turning white. He squeezes back, a silent reassurance. Grave stalks ahead, rage radiating off his massive frame in waves.

I stop before the men who ruined my life and whisper, "Them. They're the ones who raped me."

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