“Come get a smoothie with me,” Amethyst begged from the door of the tattoo room.
Fallon turned with a sigh. “I don’t know. Not sure I feel like having a smoothie.”
“You could sneak a coffee. I’d never tell,” Amethyst singsonged.
Feigning offense, she covered her stomach and shot a narrowed look at Amethyst. “And endanger these two?”
She shrugged. “Some studies say it’s not that big of a deal.”
“Rather not take that chance.” Her heart twisted. Brody’s fear still swirled around her head. Coffee wasn’t the issue.
Amethyst’s hands landed on her hips. “Then come talk to me. Something’s bugging you. Might do you good to get it off your chest.”
“All right, you win.” She grabbed her phone and wallet and shoved them into her pocket before following Amethyst out front. Fallon nodded at Adam. “Be back in a few. Getting a smoothie. Want anything?”
“Nah, I’m good. See you when you get back.”
Amethyst took Fallon’s arm and practically dragged her across the street. “Spill. What is it?”
Fallon let out a heavy breath. “Brody’s scared he’s going to lose the babies and me. After Sarah, it makes sense. I’d never leave him, never put our babies in harm’s way. What do I do to make him see that?”
“Has he said anything to you?”
“No. But I heard him talking to Adam. He was crying, Ame. Last night, he woke up so terrified his emotions woke me up. How do I fix this?”
Amethyst stopped before opening the door to A Good Book. “Maybe it was just that, a dream. And now he’s over it.”
“He said he can’t stop worrying about it. Sounds like his concerns are eating at him. It’s really bothering him.”
“Try talking to him. Maybe if you can sit down and get it all out in the open, you’ll find neither of you has anything to worry about.”
“Yeah. Maybe.” She didn’t buy it, though. Brody was perfect, well, as much as anyone could be, so that had to fade away at some point.
“Quit doubting. He hasn’t asked you to stop doing anything, has he?”
“No.”
Amethyst rolled her eyes and grabbed her arm, pulling Fallon into the bookstore.
Tremaine’s brow arched as he looked up. Then he frowned. “What’s going on?”
Fallon groaned. “Nothing. Drop it.”
“Don’t do that, Fallon. I know you better than that,” Tremaine warned in a low tone.
Her eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Drop it, Trem.”
He glared back.
One lavender brow arched as Amethyst’s gazed ping-ponged between them. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you two had history.”
Fallon winced.
Tremaine smirked.
“Oh, my goodness. Really? How did I not know?”
Fallon sighed. “That was forever ago, and he wasn’t an ass. We just didn’t work.”
Tremaine chuckled. “You were too young and wild.”
“Too young?” Amethyst asked.
“Nineteen. My fearlessness made him nervous, not to mention my age.”
Amethyst shook her head. “And Liz isn’t too young?”
Tremaine snorted. “She is. However, she didn’t nearly get me killed by trying to save my ass when I was fine.” He gave Fallon a look.
“You had a knife in your back. Literally.”
“You went up against a dark mage assassin. He could have drained you dry.”
“He didn’t. I kicked his ass, in case you don’t remember.” Fallon smirked at him.
“Sorry, my consciousness was in and out because you waited to pull the blade out instead of letting me help you.”
She tossed her hands up, a look of indignation on her face. “I suck at healing. I did more good making sure he stopped attacking you than attempting to put you back together. That’s what Emily’s good at.”
Tremaine sighed. “Only problem, he got away.”
“But you haven’t heard from him since, right?” Her brow arched, stepping closer, glaring up at him.
He rolled his eyes. “No. But I guarantee Jarod didn’t crawl away to die.”
“Then where did he go? No one has heard a peep about him since. Wasn’t he the go-to assassin for the times?”
Amethyst balked. “You stopped an enforcer from dealing with an assassin?”
“I mentioned he had a dagger in his back.” She shot Tremaine a look. “While Jarod’s hand was still wrapped around it, I turned to make sure he couldn’t finish the job.”
“Gabriel still blames me for you breaking your hand!” Tremaine spat.
“Wasn’t your choice to get in a fight. And he left with more than a broken hand. Fucking translocating asshat.”
Amethyst’s brows shot up. “So he could pop in any old time like Robert?”
“That was forty-five years ago. He’s never come after either one of us since.”
“Yeah, because a nineteen-year-old druid girl humiliated him.” Tremaine pointed out.
“One who you were fucking at the time.” Fallon’s brow arched as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“And I didn’t realize how young you were until Gabriel jumped all over my case for getting you into a mess with Jarod,” Tremaine added hotly.
“I was legal. It wasn’t like I lied about my age.”
“Technicalities. You knew how old I was.”
Fallon threw her hands up. “And I didn’t have a problem with it.”
“How old were you, Trem?” Amethyst asked, excitement building in her tone of voice.
He groaned. “Hundred and seventy-five.”
Amethyst giggled. “Hayden has a few hundred years on you.”
“You were in your twenties at least.”
Fallon sighed. “I was almost twenty. And like I said, I didn’t have a problem with your age. You were being a good guy.” She snorted.
“For Mystra’s sake, I’m sorry I felt weird robbing the cradle. There is no way around the fact you made me feel old.” He rolled his eyes. “And I’ll admit feeling inferior when you took out the assassin I was supposed to be hunting.”
“Sorry, old man. Never meant to bruise your ego. Only keep your ass alive because I was pretty fond of it.”
“Shit. Fond? That’s what you’re calling it? You…” he shook his head, looking up at the ceiling. “That was ages ago, and last I checked, we’re both quite happy where we landed. You were certainly memorable, and I did regret leaving a time or two, but let’s face it, we weren’t meant to be.”
Fallon grinned. “True.”
“What are you two drinking?”
Amethyst hopped up on a stool. “My smoothie.”
He dipped his head.
Fallon answered, “Surprise me. No caffeine.”
“Yes, mama.” He ducked behind the counter with a grin and made their drinks.
“Talk to him,” Amethyst whispered to her.
Fallon nodded. “I will.” Though maybe not about what she’d heard.
“Talk to who?”
“Brody,” Amethyst answered.
“About?”
Fallon groaned. “Goddess, can we drop it?”
“She overheard him after he had a nightmare. He voiced fears about their babies, about her.” Amethyst shot her a pointed glance. “Now she’s convinced he’s going to expect her to stop doing everything.”
“Hmm.” He slid Amethyst’s drink her way and nodded at the door. “Hayden’s on his way in. These are on me.”
“Ooh, thanks.” She still shoved a few bucks in the tip jar.
“Need to chat with you a second, Fallon. Yours will be ready next.”
“Sure,” she answered slowly.
Amethyst glanced between them. “Oh, was your hookup a secret?”
Fallon’s nose wrinkled. “Not really. But I never mentioned it to Brody. I hadn’t really thought about it since I met my mate.”
He laughed. “At least, I didn’t make your list of assholes.”
Amethyst giggled. “Trem, I can’t see you like that.” She hopped off the stool and bounced out the door.
He placed the drink on the counter but held it out of her reach. “Call me tonight.”
Fallon’s eyes widened. “What? Why?”
He sighed. “Do it. It’s important. Brody’s out there with Hayden. Go.”
“No hint?”
He shook his head. “Don’t want you to worry your pretty little head.” He slid the drink over. “Don’t forget to call.”