Page 8 of Falcon

Chapter 3

Falcon

“Marco!”

I hear the screech that belongs to my sister as soon as her car door opens. I stand from my perch on the swing that resides on the far end of their front porch and flash a wide, genuine smile when I see her burst from the car toward me.

“Nora!” I say, mocking her tone, but I’m genuinely just as excited to see her as she is me.

“You’re lucky I’m excited or I’d junk punch you for making fun of me.” She jumps into my arms and squeezes me tightly. “You’re here.”

“I’m here.” I wrap my arms around her and hold on. “God, I’ve fucking missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, so much. I just got your text. I’m sorry. I should have specified which one was ours.”

“It’s all right. I met your neighbor through your mistake. It was very entertaining.”

I’m just setting her on her feet when I hear a throat clear from the steps.

“Oh!” She steps away from me and takes the hand of a man with blondish hair who is roughly my height. “Case, this is my brother, Marco. Marco, this is my fiancé, Case.”

Case extends his to me. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Marco.”

“You can call me Falcon.” I firmly shake his hand in return, giving it a little extra oomph of the I’ll fucking kill you if you hurt my sister variety.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, no, you absolutely do not need to call him Falcon,” Nora chimes in. “Take the fighter hat off for once.”

“Nah, it’s okay, I know him as Falcon more than Marco anyway. I saw your last fight. Great job, man. Really,” Case adds, as he slips an arm around my sister, letting his hand linger at her waist. My eyes settle on it for a minute then back on their faces.

“See. I should just legally change my name to Falcon at this point.” I laugh. “Gorman was a beast, but we handled business in the end.”

My head aches at the memory of the final kick he landed on my temple before I knocked his ass clean out.

“Where’s your stuff? We can help you get it inside,” Nora offers.

“It’s just one bag. I can get it shortly.”

“You’ve been on the road all day, and it’s hot. Let’s get inside and we can get you something to eat and drink,” she says.

“Absolutely. Come on in and make yourself at home,” Case adds.

“Oh, and just so you know, there’s a pretty big dog in here, Arya. She is amazing, but she does get very excited about new people, so prepare for a lick or two.” My sister shakes her head.

“I could make a dirty joke in there somewhere about preparing for a lick or two, but I’ll refrain.” Case laughs.

“Damn, stole my thunder,” I add, as they unlock the door.

“Oh God, two of you in the same house. I’m going to regret this,” says Nora.

The door opens and I’m immediately met with a huge ball of German Shepherd energy, hopping up and down, demanding to know who I am, where I came from, if I have dogs with me, what I smell like, and if I have food. All of which comes in the form of small barks, jumps, and licks.

“Hey, hey, hey.” I scratch her head. “I know, I know, I’m a chick magnet, I’m used to it.”

“Arya, sit,” Case says with a firm tone, and she listens immediately.

“Damn, I need to learn how to do that. You never know when it might come in handy,” I say, and groan instantly when Nora swats my stomach, calling me a pig.

“She’s his partner. She’s a trained K9 officer. She is incredible,” Nora brags.

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