Page 107 of Deadfall

My frustration flared again. “Have we crossed that line?” I demanded.

Emersyn scowled, but shook her head. Seven cleared his throat and we both looked over.

“I hate to rush things, but might I draw attention to the fact that we are being watched—” Our eyes flickered up to the drone above us. Most of the drones had been too high to notice, but this one had dropped to hover closer, intent on capturing the action.

“I think we should wrap this up,” Seven said.

Emersyn ran her hands through her hair. I could sense her frustration as I gave her a moment. I checked how much ammo I had left—it wasn’t much.

“I have three rounds left,” Seven answered my unspoken question.

“Alright, I’m hoping Angel took care of the problem we ran into.”

“Do you trust him?” Seven asked.

I grunted something noncommittal.

Emersyn looked between us and then threw up her hands and stormed past.

“Fine, let’s go.”

Seven’s face brightened. “Atta girl.”

Crossing over the threshold of the maze was rather anticlimactic. A loud buzzer sounded across the area, but only Brooks was there to greet us and he didn’t exactly look happy we won. Another scan of the area showed no signs of Angel, which I found slightly concerning.

“Mahoney was called away,” Brooks said shortly. “You’re allowed to keep the Hurricane overnight as your prize. However, she will be collected in the morning.”

“We can return her to the Menagerie,” I stated.

“She’s not going back to the Menagerie,” Brooks replied.

“What does that mean?”

“Mahoney is hosting a birthday party for one of the brothers tomorrow and he requires the Hurricane’s presence.”

Before I could protest, Emersyn surprisingly spoke up. She’d gone eerily still next to me.

“Which brother?” Her words were clipped like each one cost her something big. Brooks turned his attention to her. It was filled with contempt, but he still answered.

“Octavius.”

Emersyn’s breath caught and stuttered. Brooks didn’t seem to notice, but I sure did. I grabbed Emersyn’s arm and steered her back to the manor because she seemed incapable of anything after hearing that name. She didn’t protest, and the three of us walked unmolested to our quarters.

I walked into our room and it immediately felt too small. The scent of mud, wet humans and blood quickly choked the space. Emersyn’s arms were wrapped around herself and I could see the goosebumps, but her eyes were clear and she didn’t look as dazed as she had moments earlier. Something still bothered her though—something that had to do with Octavius.

“Shower is through there,” Seven nodded at the door to the bathroom. “The door locks and towels are on the shelf. We won’t bother you.”

Emersyn looked like she absolutely didn’t believe him, but she nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. Seven pulled his gun from his belt and put it on the table. We were both hyper-aware of what was happening behind the bathroom door. The water switched on.

“You should have seen her,” Seven said quietly, awe in his voice. “The girl has training—lots of it.”

I grunted in reply. I’d already deduced as much. My shoulder throbbed something awful now that the adrenaline was fading. I cut around the piece of metal in my shoulder and yanked it out with a grimace. I tore another strip off my shirt and wrapped it just until I could wash it in the shower. It would definitely need stitches.

“I mean, the way she stayed with me when we were clearing the maze,” Seven continued. “It was second nature. Not to mention her accuracy with the gun—”

“Yeah, how’d that come about?” I asked. “You armed her?”

“Well,” Seven rubbed the back of his neck and dry mud crumbled away. “I kind of got hung up a bit and she had an opportunity to shoot me—”