Page 172 of Deadfall

Nyx pointed the spatula at me. “Good. You’re next then!” He proclaimed. “Lach, help me clean up this mess—Lach?”

Lachlan had disappeared.

“Son of a bitch!” Nyx exclaimed.

Atlas sighed, but it was impossible not to see the fond amusement in his eyes as they tracked Nyx through the kitchen. His attention briefly settled on my father as they traded silent communication.

Atlas nodded. “Yeah, I’ll order a few pizzas.”

In order not to be caught on cleaning duty with Nyx, I disappeared upstairs to shower. I also needed a break because this was the most people I’d been around in awhile, and it was a little bit overwhelming, even if I had to admit I enjoyed the ones I’d met so far.

I thought I recognized Nyx and Atlas from the clearing with Vetticus, but there had been a lot going on and I couldn’t be sure. If so, they’d been by my father’s side for the long haul, and it was obvious they were close because of it. They’d gone through hell that night too, and in a weird way I felt connected to them through that.

Sometimes I caught them staring at me like my father did, like they were shocked I was actually here, and I realized I just might have acquired two more father-figures that I hadn’t been anticipating. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but I also wasn’t upset about it either.

82

EMERSYN

That night I climbed into bed with Fang and got hit with such an intense wave of deja vu it extended into my dreams. I was back at the cabin with Sacha, and the longing for that place slammed into me. It wasn’t long before Sacha warped into my father—

Don’t look back.

Don’t leave me.

Why did you leave me?

I surged up in bed. Tears ran down my cheeks and anxiety had my chest in a vise. Fang lifted his head and blinked sleepily. He was used to my nightmares. He licked my hand before he buried himself deeper in the covers and went back to sleep. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore, so I climbed out of bed and peeked out into the dark hallway. The house was silent, although it breathed like there were people around every corner. It felt alive, even at this hour.

I hesitated in front of Griffin’s door. The bizarre urge to knock made my fist clench at my side.

“Coming to visit me?” A voice rumbled in the dark, and I whirled around.

Griffin materialized in the deep shadows of a small sitting area across from the bedroom doors where he’d obviously been the entire time.

“Not like you to get startled—must have been thinking about something…deep,” he said.

Amusement dripped from his words, and I glared at him.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” I said. “I was just going to see if you wanted to check on Seven.”

Yeah, that was a nice excuse. I was proud of that one.

“Sure,” he said.

Griffin rose from the shadows. He looked like he belonged to them as they swirled and wrapped around him, loath to give him up. He approached, and the darkness followed him. The amusement I’d heard in his tone glinted in his eyes, but it dissolved into concern as he got closer. He brought his hand up and smudged at my cheek.

“Are you alright?”

I sighed and turned away. “You can’t kill my nightmares,” I muttered.

He followed after me down the stairs. I could feel the intensity of him at my back.

“You sure about that?” He asked. “I have some things we could try.”

That made my skin heat at the underlying innuendo in his voice. I was sure if I stopped, he’d be able to hear my thrashing heart. I changed the subject.

“Were you sleeping out here?”