Page 122 of Deadfall

The word triggered an onslaught of everything I’d fought so hard to escape from with Riggs. Seven cursed under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose like he knew what was about to happen.

“We need to use the party as a distraction to escape,” Griffin elaborated.

“Sure, but first I’m going to kill Octavius,” I said sharply.

G shook his head. “Your safety is our priority.”

It was Riggs all over again. I wasn’t going to let that happen. I’d said never again and I meant it. I surged forward, half out of my chair and slammed my fist down hard enough to rattle the cutlery.

“I don’t give a fuck what your priorities are,” I snarled.

Griffin stood up. “There will be other opportunities—”

I didn’t wait to hear any more, but shoved away from the table and paced the room. My anger was a dark and insidious thing. I’d been under the control of others for too long, and it was time I decided my own fate. I’d fall back on my original plan—they wouldn’t be able to shadow me the entire party and if by some chance they did manage it, I’d split away—

I was so preoccupied with my plans, I almost ran straight into Griffin, who’d stepped into my path. My hands flew out and landed on his chest in surprise.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

The apology caught me completely off guard. “You’re…what?”

“I won’t say it again,” he grumbled.

I didn’t know what to do. I carefully removed my hands from his chest and looked at him cautiously.

“I don’t know what that means,” I replied honestly.

Griffin’s lips twitched, but he still looked irritated. “It means, I may have said ‘no’ too quickly.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Okay.”

“It’s just—” He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “We’ve searched for you for so long, Emersyn. All we want to do now is keep you safe.”

“I’m not fucking fragile,” I scoffed. “I can take care of myself.”

Griffin sighed. “I know. You’re nothing like what we expected to find. You have training, you’re a fierce fighter—”

“Did you expect someone broken?” I asked.

“Three years in the rings—and God knows what before that?” He shrugged. “We prepared for it, but you’ve been shattering those expectations left and right.”

Some of my anger dissolved, but I still was hesitant to trust his word fully. He could say all of this and then still tell me no. I was about to ask him flat out again, when he pulled out one of his smaller knives from his belt. He picked up my hand and wrapped my fingers around the hilt. I looked down at it in surprise.

“I know what it’s like to run someone down. To get so close, only to fail over and over and over again.” There was an underlying fervor in his words that clutched at my own convictions. “So, if this is your chance, I’d be a fool to stand in your way.”

I nodded, strangely choked up, but he wasn’t done.

“One more thing.” He reached behind him, and Seven put something small into his hand. “You communicate. You don’t take any unnecessary risks. And you don’t rile the guards.”

His fingers brushed along my skin as he pushed a stand of hair away and slipped the comms bud gently into my ear. I couldn’t help it, my breath caught, and I watched his eyes dip briefly to my lips.

“Understand?” He murmured.

“Yes, sir.” I meant it mockingly, but when our eyes clashed something heavy settled between us and sent the temperature of the room skyrocketing to suffocating degrees.

“You kill Octavius,” Griffin said. “Then we go home.”

“Home,” I whispered the word, more like a stuttered prayer masked as a question.