Page 221 of Deadfall

“Time to watch the fireworks,” she said gleefully.

Everyone was gathered along the railing of the boat, which had been brought around to the estate side of the island. The skyline behind the house glowed with the first signs of dawn, but the shoreline was still heavily shrouded in mist that slunk along the rocks and twisted through the trees.

On the cliff the manor rose from it all, harsh and foreboding. It reminded me of when Seven and I had first arrived on the island, ready for whatever awaited us in the unknown.

I followed after Knight as we moved through the group and found North. Emersyn stood beside him and she clocked me almost immediately, a small smile tugged on her lips before her attention shifted to Knight.

“All good to go, T,” Knight said.

He handed the detonator to North who immediately held it out to Emersyn. She looked up at him with the barest glint of excitement in her eyes.

“Want to do the honors?” North asked.

“Hell yeah.”

She took the detonator and turned to the house. Her riot of blond hair fought against the braid that tried to hold it, and I couldn’t resist the pull of her. I stepped closer until I was at her other side. Seven materialized from nearby to stand behind us and something in my chest loosened.

Emersyn’s thumb settled on the trigger. I watched her inhale the sea air with a content look of resolution on her face and on the exhale, she pushed the button.

The explosion was immediate and violent. A hum of appreciation went up from everyone along the rail, as a massive fireball exploded into the sky and the concussion swept over us. The fire gave way to the collapse of the structure, which fell against the cliff and brought the whole side of the island down into the surf. We felt the boat shift as whoever was at the helm moved us out of the way of the resulting wake, and a sense of awe passed over the group as debris rained down from the sky.

A hand clamped down on my shoulder. “I think that’s our best work,” Knight said smugly.

“Really? I thought the Warren was pretty spectacular,” I said.

“Hm, you’re right,” Knight mused. “But, that was mostly underground.”

“You and your fireballs,” I shook my head with a grin.

“Got it on the first try this time,” Nyx teased.

“That was not my fault,” Knight looked at me pointedly.

I shook my head. “Don’t look at me—that shit was hot—let me tell you it’s a different kind of rush to head back into a blast zone after a failed detonation.” I shivered. “First and last time I’ll be doing that.”

“Bet your asshole was real tight—” Nyx snickered.

I made a fake punch at Nyx and the guys laughed. It felt good to let go of some of that tension that had been on my shoulders for weeks. They moved off to do their own thing just as arms snaked around my waist from behind.

“Hey, little storm,” I said.

“I’m going to go shower,” she said against my back. “Thought you and Seven could come…help me.”

Heat shot through my veins at the thought, and I extracted myself enough to turn.

“I think we can do that.” I looked at Seven.

He grinned. “We can definitely do that.”

I turned the water on in the small shower and eyed the space skeptically. We were about to get real cozy. Nerves jumped under my skin at the prospect of what that might mean for me and Seven. I heard a giggle and turned in time to watch Seven peel the last of Emersyn’s clothes off.

“Damn,” Seven said. “There’s something so hot about the two of us clothed in our tactical gear and you completely naked.”

I had to agree—it triggered the primal part of me that wanted to capture and keep her. Seven bit his lip as his eyes heated. I fought not to fixate on his mouth as the tension in the small bathroom skyrocketed. Emersyn slipped past both of us and ducked under the spray.

“You two better get undressed if you want to join me,” she said.

We didn’t need to be told twice. Seven and I were a jostle of limbs, and discarded vests, and ammo belts as we tried to quickly undress in a space not meant for two grown men.