Trying to Score (Assassins) Read online

  “I know but why am I cleaning out my bank account?” Fallon asked confused.

  “Because you and I both know that dad is gonna cut you off, and you’re gonna need that money to survive on.”

  Oh yeah, Fallon thought. Thank God Audrey thought of that because if she hadn’t, Fallon would have been screwed.

  “You need to apply Vanderbilt, like today. Make sure you get in before you call dad.”

  “Audrey, I can’t go to school and raise a baby!” Fallon said in distress. She was already freaking out about having to come back home a failure, and now Audrey wanted her to go back to school too?

  “You have to Fallon, or he will disown you, or worse. Please, just believe me. I’ll help you,” Audrey pleaded. Fallon sat for a moment, tears gushing down her cheeks as she tried to figure out how she could have let this happen.

  How was she going to ask her sister to help her raise her baby? Audrey needed to have a life too. This was her and Lucas’ problem, there was no reason to bring Audrey into it. She needed Lucas’ help, but how was she gonna tell him?

  “Whose baby is it?” Audrey asked.

  “You don’t know him,” Fallon answered.

  “Okay, have you told him?”

  “No, we aren’t together.”

  “Why?” Audrey asked.

  “Cause he’s a cheating bastard.”

  “Okay then, are you going to tell him?”

  Fallon sat for a moment. Was she gonna tell Lucas? She couldn’t even look him in the eyes, never less talk to him. How was she gonna tell him they were having a baby?

  She wasn’t.

  “No, I’m not.”

  Fallon didn’t even realize she had started crying until tears fell on Aiden’s head. He looked up and made a face just as Audrey said, “Why are you crying?”

  “I’m not, something got in my eye,” Fallon said playing it off as she wiped her eyes. “Now come on Aiden, let’s get to bed.”

  “Alright mommy,” Aiden said as he skipped up the stairs, giving Audrey a kiss before heading into the house. Fallon grabbed her things and started up the stairs but was stopped by Audrey when she grabbed her free hand.

  “You sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Fallon said again as she put on a fake smile for her sister and started back into the house.

  Fallon laid her things on her brown suede couch and headed up the stairs to Aiden’s room. With every step she took, a picture of Audrey, Aiden and Fallon smiled back at her. She had made sure to take a picture with Audrey when she was nine months pregnant, the three of them when Aiden was born, and then of the three of them ever since, for the last six years.

  It had always been just her and Audrey with Aiden against the world. She couldn’t thank her sister enough for the sacrifices she made for them, and Fallon could honestly say she couldn’t have done it without Audrey. When everything happened, and Fallon made the call home to tell her parents about the little baby that was growing in her belly, her father, William, freaked. He told her to get an abortion and of course, Fallon said no. He then threatened to take everything, but Fallon had already taken all the money so she was good.

  After packing up everything in California and getting on a long plane ride home, Fallon came home to the apartment Audrey had already gotten for them. Fallon started at Vanderbilt and it was actually easier than she thought it was gonna be, but that was all thanks to Audrey. She did everything to make sure Fallon was taken care of. Sometimes Fallon wondered which one of them was the oldest, because Audrey sure did act like she was. Not so much anymore, but back then she was running things while Fallon was a basket case. Not only was she pregnant but she was also trying to mend a broken heart.

  Hard feat for a pregnant woman.

  It was three months before William found out about Fallon living with Audrey, and he again flipped out, saying Fallon was dead to the family and that if Audrey didn’t kick Fallon out she would be dead to him too. Audrey argued that Fallon was still in school, working hard to support herself — which was true — but William wouldn’t even talk to Fallon to find that out, Audrey had to tell him. He left that afternoon in a huff and didn’t talk to either one of them until the day Aiden was born.

  Fallon shook her head as she reached her baby boy’s bright blue door. It seemed like a lifetime ago when everything happened, but in reality only seven short years. William still didn’t talk to Fallon much, but he did trust her enough to be the senior chief public relations manager, and he did love Aiden something crazy, so really how much more could Fallon ask for?

  Her trust fund would be great.

  Fallon pushed the door open and Aiden stood in the middle of his bright blue room with his army men in hand. “Mommy, Captain Timber is gonna kill everyone!”

  “Yay!” Fallon gushed as she walked around the room, picking up as Captain Timber killed everyone. Aiden was so full of life, so busy. Sometimes he reminded Fallon of Lucas so much that it just blew her mind. How could he be just like his father when he had never met Lucas? It made no sense, but his face was Lucas all over. It probably had everything to do with the fact that Aiden looked nothing like Fallon and everything like Lucas.

  Fallon looked over at her active little guy and smiled. He was taller than most kids his age, with shaggy brown hair that came into the exact same gray eyes of his father’s. His little nose was probably the only thing he got from Fallon because his lips were his dad’s. Aiden was a little stocky but not fat, more like thick. The kid could wrestle Fallon to the ground and have her screaming mercy in two seconds flat, just like his dad. Lucas had loved to wrestle, in and out of bed.

  The kid was his daddy 10 times over.

  And Fallon was the worst person ever for not telling either of them.

  “Mommy, why are you staring at me like that?”

  Fallon blinked twice before she smiled sweetly at him. “Cause duh! I’ve missed you all day! Come here and give me some kisses!”

  Aiden grinned widely and ran to her, wrapping his small arms around her. Oh, Fallon had fucked up, and she had a feeling that things weren’t going to work themselves out. She was gonna have to face Lucas Brooks and tell him the truth, and then she was gonna have to tell Aiden.

  Fallon just didn’t know how she was going to do that.

  *****************************************

  “I just got done checking your e-mail. You have practice tomorrow morning at six, a meeting with Mrs. Adler at two, and then interviews at three and on.”

  Lucas looked over at Levi from the chair he sat in, a mouth full of food and nodded.

  “Good, I’ll go with you to everything, just in case.”

  “Sounds good,” Lucas said with a nod after swallowing his food.

  “Um, I refuse to do that research for you.”

  Lucas shrugged his shoulders. “Fine, I’ll get someone else to do it.”

  “Why? Just let it go dude,” Levi said aggravated. Lucas knew that Levi hated that he still cared for Fallon and wanted to know what she was up to, but Levi didn’t understand. Lucas had never loved a woman the way he loved Fallon. She was everything to him, and after just one night of stupidity, he lost her. Fallon wouldn’t deal with a cheater, she was stronger than that. Levi had said that if she really loved him, she would have worked it out with him, not leave, but Fallon had made it pretty clear many times that she wouldn’t deal with being cheated on. Who could blame her?

  “I did her wrong, she’s my one regret,” Lucas said before taking another bite of food.

  “I just think it’s a waste of time.”

  Lucas shrugged his shoulders again. “Then don’t worry about it. I’ll make some calls.”

  A file appeared in front of Lucas’ plate and he looked up at Levi. “Fallon Parker is the senior chief public relations manager for Rocky Top Wines. She has taken the company from the bottom to the top-selling wine in the U.S. Rocky Top Wines and the Assassins are partners,” Levi said with a look of disdain.

&nbs