Page 77 of Deadfall

I looked over Hangman’s shoulder where Riggs had stopped to scowl at us.

“He’s behind me, isn’t he?” Hangman said.

“Yes, he is,” Riggs grumbled. “Get in the car, Hangman.”

“Yes, sir.” Hangman winked and climbed into the waiting SUV.

Riggs scowled at the smile on my face. I immediately wiped it off and glared at him as I went to climb in too. Before I could open the door, Riggs crowded me against the side and planted both hands on either side of the vehicle to box me in.

“If he ever touches you, I’m cutting off his dick,” he growled.

“Why?” I frowned up at him.

Lately Riggs had been finding ways to get in my personal space. He hadn’t touched me yet, and I found it both extremely unnerving and slightly exhilarating—like he was pushing me toward something—testing my boundaries to see what I’d do.

Riggs’ eyes glittered in the dim evening light, but he stayed silent. The tension between us grew oppressive and charged. It made my skin crawl with electricity. I could smell the spice of his aftershave and faint scent of gunpowder. I fought to keep my attention on his eyes, because suddenly I felt compelled to look at his lips.

What the fuck? Why did I want to look at his mouth? I hated him. And he hated me—right?

When he still didn’t answer me, I slowly inched my way out from between his arms, conscious of the bare inch of space I had to move, without touching him. I rounded the other side of the SUV and took a deep breath before I climbed in. I didn’t know what the fuck that was about, and quite frankly, didn’t want to think too hard on it.

I felt eyes on me and looked up to see Hangman with a smirk on his lips and a knowing glint in his eyes. I flipped him off as Riggs climbed into the driver’s seat and with the odd interaction still circulating in my mind, we headed off to the job.

35

EMERSYN

Age 20

“East side, clear,” Hangman drawled over comms.

I briefly watched the team as they advanced along the east side of the building before I returned to my scope. I pulled the trigger and picked off another hostile to finish my sweep so Riggs and the crew could turn the corner and enter the warehouse.

“Door is clear,” I reported.

I watched Riggs advance, knowing he was the figure in the lead with the others behind him. I scanned the yard to make sure I didn’t miss any enemies that might hinder them. Just as I watched the door shut behind the team, I heard a bullet whistle past my head.

Hangman ducked down next to me. “Fuck.”

“Did you know they had overwatch?” I asked.

“Nope,” he remarked. “Fucker must have snuck out there. Our drones didn’t pick anything up earlier.”

He peeked out from behind the boulder we were behind and quickly ducked back in time to avoid another shot.

Hangman spoke into comms. “Contact right, moving to secondary overwatch position.”

“Roger that. Eliminate the threat,” Riggs answered. “Syn, return to the van and hold position.”

Fuck that. I scoffed quietly. I wasn’t going back to the van and when Hangman turned to me, he saw the look on my face and smirked.

“Want to go hunting?” he asked mischievously. “I’ll draw his attention. Go get ‘em.”

We both knew we were playing with fire by switching up Riggs’ orders, but in the heat of the moment, I didn’t give a fuck.

“Cover me,” Hangman said. “Then, when I start firing, you move.”

“Roger that.”