Page 159 of Deadfall

“Don’t be rude.”

“Yeah, I think we should do this more often,” Knight said. “I definitely miss Nyx’s cooking.”

“Thanks, man,” Nyx beamed. “It’s nothing extravagant though—all I did was man the grill—”

“You manned the grill?” Atlas interrupted.

“Okay, sorry, Atlas grilled the chicken,” Nyx smirked lovingly at Atlas. “So if it’s burnt or tastes weird, blame him.”

Atlas sniffed. “I think I can handle grilling meat.”

“You can handle meat alright,” Nyx snickered. “Ouch!”

Atlas had obviously kicked him.

“Don’t downplay your chef skills, babe,” Kaelin said. She looked over at Emersyn. “Nyx is one of the best cooks I’ve ever met. I’ll have to bribe him to make his famous cookies—”

“That’s baking,” Graham interrupted.

Kaelin waved at him in playful irritation. “Whatever—his other stuff is good too. What’s that stew you make?”

“Cioppino,” Nyx said.

“Yes!” Kaelin moaned in delight. “I dream about that dish sometimes.”

“That’s weird,” Graham said. “And don’t moan like that at the table—”

Kaelin’s grin widened, and she slapped his shoulder lightly. “You don’t have dreams of food?”

“No, but now I’ll probably dream of—”

“Not appropriate!” Kaelin interrupted as she slapped a hand over Graham’s mouth. His eyes glittered mischievously.

“I’ll have to make that again once I can go to the market and get some fresh seafood,” Nyx said. “Or, better yet, maybe we should go out on the boat soon.” He looked at Atlas suggestively.

“What boat?” Knight asked. He turned to North. “Do you have a boat I don’t know about?”

North shrugged. “I have a lot of things you don’t know about.”

“Since when?”

“Last year,” Nyx said. “I’ve only been on it once though. Such a tragedy.”

Knight shook his head, but he didn’t look truly upset. “Holding out on me. I love boats.”

“You’ve been kind of busy,” North said.

“Yeah, with your boyfriend,” Nyx taunted.

“Cal is not my boyfriend,” Knight insisted. “He just insists I’m part of his team when I’ve told him a million times: I’m an independent contractor.”

“I get it. You don’t like to be tied down,” Nyx said sagely, but he emphasized the ‘tied down’ like it meant something else. “Totally get that.” He jerked again and his eyes flickered to Atlas, who had most likely just kicked him once more.

I watched Emersyn out of the corner of my eye take it all in. All the banter, the comfortable touches of friends, lovers, family—the good food, even better company. Even though I felt at home with these people, I still ached for Seven, for my team—before the mole accusations.

I could tell she yearned to soak it all in. At the same time, she carried herself like someone was going to tell her she didn’t belong there. I hated it. She kept staring at North and he at her, like they both couldn’t tell if this was real or just some fever dream they’d wake up from.

As dinner wound down, the awkwardness settled into something less noticeable. North reached out and touched the back of Emersyn’s hand. She jolted like she’d just been electrocuted. But then she twisted her fingers with his, and I watched her eyes fill with tears. There was a vulnerability about her in this house that I hadn’t seen before. I hoped that meant her edges would soften, a door would appear in the walls she’d built, and this would be the beginning of their healing journey back to one another.