Page 160 of Deadfall

Nyx had just set dessert on the table when Tex and Knox appeared in the doorway. Tex bent down and whispered something in Nyx’s ear. He immediately stood up and left the room with them, a grim look on his face. The warmth that had once inhabited the room faded into a chill.

I knew what was coming—I’d been waiting for them to arrive.

The front door slammed open and yelling could be heard from the hallway.

“Where is he?” A voice I knew with acute familiarity echoed through the house. “What the fuck is this, Nyx?”

I got to my feet. Atlas rose at the same time and subtly shifted toward the doorway. North casually put his utensils down and sat back.

“Your team is here,” he said calmly. “They are being detained until we figure out your little problem.”

My jaw tightened. I didn’t blame him but it still stung. I got up from the table and rounded the corner to see Kyllion with a bloody lip, and a gun in Nyx’s hand pointed at his head. Tex, Lachlan and Sakari had Rune, and the four other members of my team, on their knees.

“Gabriel!” Kyllion saw me, a vicious glare on his face. “What the fuck is this about?”

“Just a precaution, Kyllion,” I insisted.

“Griff, we figured it out—” Rune said. “Tell them to stand down—”

Everyone was talking at once, when a growl rippled through the air from somewhere in the corner of the entryway and silenced everyone.

“What the fuck is that?” Tex exclaimed. “You brought a wolf in here?”

“Oh my god,” Emersyn’s breathless exclamation cut through the noise. “Fang?”

76

EMERSYN

I couldn’t believe it. I thought I’d never see him again. My heart ached as I watched his ears perk at his name, and his giant head turned toward me. Those gold eyes I’d fallen in love with locked onto me—gold eyes that felt like home. He sniffed the air warily, still unsure as I stepped past Griffin.

A low rumble of warning escaped him, but it cut off abruptly when he realized it was me. He was a blur of grey, and then I was tackled to the ground as his whines of joy and a very wet tongue assaulted my face. I vaguely heard the echo of guns as they locked onto us, but I was too wrapped up in Fang to worry about them shooting him. I let out a laugh, choked around a sob, and blinked the tears out of my eyes so I could see him better.

“Hey, boy,” I murmured. “How are you here?”

I somehow managed to sit up as Fang continued to try and tackle me with his full-body wiggles of joy. I looked over at Griffin’s team. The man Griffin had called Kyllion had an incredulous look on his face, jaw dropped in a comical way. The other men stared in various degrees of horror.

“Oh fuck,” one whispered.

Despite the gun still pointed at him, he clutched a tablet to his chest, and I figured he had to be Rune. A sinking feeling slowly leeched the joy away as I settled on the implications of what this meant that Fang was here. My mind raced, even as I looked at Griffin’s team and asked the question I both dreaded and needed to know.

“How do you have Fang?” I asked.

“Where’s Lincoln?” I heard Griffin ask behind me at nearly the same time.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” Rune tore his eyes from Fang and I to look at Griffin. “Lincoln is the mole.”

Silence descended, a feat, considering how many people were crammed into the foyer.

“Stand down.” My father ordered, and his men immediately holstered their weapons. “Everyone into the war room. Now.”

Nyx pulled open a set of large french doors where I could see a seating area and a large wooden table. Griffin tried to help Kyllion to his feet, but the man shoved his hand away and glared at him.

“Fuck you, man. After everything we've been through—”

“I had to be sure,” Griffin said.

Kyllion waved him off and stormed into the war room, where he threw himself down into a seat. Fang stuck close to me and growled at anyone who came too close, as I followed everyone into the war room and sat down in an armchair out of the way. My father looked at the one who clutched the tablet and confirmed my suspicion.