Page 70 of Deadfall

“Some calls?”

Lev looked positively gleeful. “He’s going to get the team together.”

“Team?” I echoed, dumbly.

“Of course,” Lev said. “You didn’t think we could do this alone—oh right, you did…you were—”

I frowned. “I didn’t expect help.”

Lev brightened again and he gave a cheeky smile. “More the merrier when you’re trying to take down a massive underground organization, with multiple kingpins, in multiple avenues of corruption that span the entire world.” He winked. “You’ll see.”

Lev returned to his computer and cracked his knuckles before launching himself at whatever it was he was doing. I watched Riggs as he wandered off with his cell phone against his ear. I wasn’t sure how I felt about having help. Part of me felt overwhelmed and like I didn’t have control over what was happening. The other part knew, but hated to admit, that they were right—I needed help. This was bigger and darker than I’d ever imagined, and I knew it was time to put a little trust in the people who wanted to help.

31

EMERSYN

Age 18

I fiddled with a bullet as I sat in the war room and watched Lev hook up the fifth and final monitor. The last seven days were a blur. Turns out, Sacha had left everything to me—officially. Apparently, Sacha had asked Riggs to put him in touch with a lawyer and had documents written up, and a will drafted a few years after Sacha found me. He’d left all the details with Riggs, who after hearing my name, deduced I was likely the beneficiary. Sure enough, the paperwork was solid and after I’d gotten over the shock of how much money it was, I had Lev help me get a handle on it and started putting it to good use. Five days later, we were packed up and headed on the road toward our first safe house outside the city limits at a country estate.

The monitor flickered to life and Lev pulled up the security feeds.

“Looks like they’re here,” he said.

I frowned at the screen. Four men were unpacking gear from various vehicles. Riggs had taken over putting the team together with a bunch of his ex-military buddies. He’d consulted me exactly zero times and hadn’t asked for my opinion at all. I was worried it would become a trend and I’d be bulldozed into going along with whatever he decided. The only thing that held me back from protesting was that he was right—he did have more experience than I did.

Who was I to be the leader of men who’d seen shit out in the field that I’d only trained at?

I heard the front door open, followed by murmurs and the occasional burst of banter as the men filtered into the foyer. The first one sauntered into the room and came around the table. He looked straight out of an old-time cowboy film, dusty, scuffed hat included. He pulled out the chair next to me and tipped his hat with a flick of a finger. Assessing blue eyes sparkled with mischief from under the brim.

“Is this seat taken, darlin’?”

I twisted the bullet a few more times against the tabletop and slowly took in his worn flannel and Levis before I looked away with a shrug.

“Whatever.”

He pulled the chair out and turned it so he faced me more than the table and crossed his ankle over his knee. I could feel his attention drilling into the side of my face.

“Quit bothering her, Hangman.” A large man stalked into the room and sat down heavily in a chair across from me. “Don’t mind him. He’ll flirt with a fence post.”

“Shut up, Mouse—I would not,” Hangman said good-naturedly.

“Quit lying, I’ve seen you do it,” Mouse insisted.

He winked one large brown eye, but I was still hung up on his name. His ears did kind of stick out, and the way he had his hair buzzed short made the look even more prominent, like he was playing into the name.

“Mouse?” I echoed.

“It’s only cause of the ears,” Mouse said. “I’m not small anywhere else—”

“Now who’s flirting!” Hangman interrupted with a grin.

A surly man with shaggy black hair snuck in and leaned up against the wall behind Mouse. He crossed his arms and glared at me with one dark eye—the other was covered by an eyepatch.

“Didn’t know there’d be a girl here.”

“Maybe Riggs got tired of staring at your ugly mug, Jackal.” The fourth man came in and set his stuff down, then came around to Hangman who stood up and embraced him fondly.