Page 226 of Deadfall

Arkady glared at him before she stormed off. My eyebrows raised as he turned to me.

“Trouble in paradise?” I asked.

“That’s the thing,” Griffin shrugged. “I don’t even know what’s going on. She won’t tell me.” He frowned. “And she always tells me.”

“Ah, love will do that,” I mused like I was some sage guru on the topic.

Griffin’s eyes sharpened and he wrapped his arms around my waist. “Yeah it will. It certainly drives people crazy.” He gave me a kiss that was much too brief before he pulled back. “Oh, before I forget, don’t go in the kitchen. I went to grab some water and nearly had a whole turkey thrown at my head.”

I giggled. “Really?”

Griffin huffed a laugh. “Yeah. It was scary enough that I don’t ever want to see Nyx have an actual crash out because I think that would probably be terrifying.”

“There you two are—” Seven came over with two beers and a glass of something clear.

He handed Griffin a beer, and me the glass, before he slung his arm around Griffin’s shoulder.

“That is courtesy of the Russian mafia,” Seven said as he nodded to my glass. “I’m told it is expensive, but I’m afraid vodka is lost on my simple palette.”

As much as I was interested in the vodka, I was completely distracted at the sight of the two men pressed together at the hip. I buried my blush in my glass at the thoughts that bombarded me. The night on the boat still played over and over again in my head. It made me all kinds of hot and bothered to think of the two of them kissing.

Unfortunately, there hadn’t been a repeat yet—between the travel time and our exhaustion when we got back, the three of us had done nothing but sleep. I was going to have to change that tonight. I was about to say something dirty, when the sound of silverware tapping glass cut across the backyard.

“Dinner is served!” Nyx shouted. “Eat anywhere you want you heathens—”

His words were cut off as Atlas put a hand over his mouth and dragged him off, while laughter rang out across the sunset-drenched yard. Griffin put his other arm around my shoulders, and together the three of us headed toward the house wrapped up in love, hope and family.

EPILOGUE

EMERSYN

I stepped from the helicopter and strode alone across the meadow and into the trees. I’d asked to go alone first, and I’d come back to get them once I was ready. I wanted to set my sights on the cabin first, and to have a moment alone with Sacha, before I invited everyone into my past that was still so much a part of who I was.

Nerves gripped me as I stepped out from the trees and there it was. A little more battered, a little rough around the edges, but it still felt more like home than anywhere else I’d ever been. Spring was in full bloom, with wild grasses knee height and flowers exploding in patches where the sunlight hit just right. I could hear the river, and a thrill raced under my skin at the prospect of stepping foot in it again.

Fang bounded ahead of me. I’d insisted he had to come with us. This was his home too. He chased a squirrel up a tree trunk, and I smiled at the nostalgic wave of memories. I walked around the house toward the back meadow, and the headstone came into view. I knelt in front of it and dragged my fingertips across the top.

“Hi, Sacha,” I said quietly. “I didn’t know if I’d ever make it back here. But, here I am. I want you to know I did it—I got my revenge. And I–I brought some people to meet you. I think my father may have a few words for you, but go easy on him, I think you two would have actually gotten along. And, Fang’s here—” At his name, Fang nudged his head under my arm and placed a paw down in the dirt below the headstone. Like he knew—like he was saying hi. It brought tears to my eyes even if it was merely coincidence.

“He says hi,” I laughed. “He’s been a good boy. He’s been through a lot. We both have. But, I think you’d be proud of him—” I looked down at Fang and ruffled his ears. “Maybe of me too.”

I stood up and dusted off my jeans. “I found my way home. I hope you did too.”

I walked back through the forest toward the helo, but before I broke through the trees, I stopped and looked back at the cabin once more. The wind moved through the cedar and fir and carried the scent of earth, moss, and new life. Birds sang, critters chirped, and the rush of water filled my senses.

For years this place had been my sanctuary, my classroom, my battlefield. I’d worshiped these old gods that stood sentinel over my grief and suffering, and my triumphs, big and small. These giants were here before I was born, and they’d be here long after I was gone—a witness to life as it died and began again, over and over again.

Because, there was never a true end to anything—only the beginning of something else.

I watched the crew step from the helo and my attention settled on Griffin, Seven and my father as they emerged. Despite the grandeur of their surroundings, their attention fell on me, and I realized that even though the rivers had held me in my grief, the mountains helped shape my resolve, and the forest taught me to endure—somewhere amidst it all were these people who were teaching me how to live.

Because even though I belonged to these wild places, and they belonged to me—I’d found that even the wildest things could eventually find their way home.

THE END