Page 139 of Deadfall

“I’d prefer not to disclose it over the phone.”

Silence again, then Knight sighed harshly. “Alright, let me give him a call real quick. Either way, I’ll head over there. Text me the address.”

Not even twenty-four hours later, a blacked out SUV pulled into the gravel front drive of the boarding house. Four men got out of the car, but the only one I recognized was Knight. A man about Knight’s age stepped out of the passenger seat and pulled off aviators. He had dark hair streaked with silver, piercing grey eyes, and tattoos peeked from his immaculately tailored dress shirt that he had rolled up his forearms despite the slight chill. He had a presence about him, and I immediately knew this was Theron North. I greeted Knight warmly and then held out my hand to North.

“Gabriel Griffin,” I said. “You must be North.”

“I am—this is Nyx—and Atlas.”

I shook the other two’s hands. It was obvious this was North’s inner circle.

“So, why am I here, Gabriel?” North asked.

I nodded at the house. “There’s something you need to see.”

The minute we stepped through the door, the chill in the air intensified and the tension thickened. The air was suffocating, and I could tell everyone immediately felt the darkness here.

“What is this place?” North asked.

“It was a boarding house for children,” I said simply.

“Children?” Nyx echoed.

I could hear the distaste in the word and saw him and Atlas look at a chain on the wall that ran to the body I’d covered earlier. Atlas cursed as they quickly realized exactly what I meant by boarding house.

“This way.” I led the way upstairs and the men followed. “In here.”

I dragged one of the beds away while they looked around at the room with various looks of disgust on their grim faces. I moved out of the way.

North saw the name on the wall and fell to his knees.

“No,” he gasped.

He reached out his hand to trace the letters. “No, it’s not possible.”

I stepped away to give him a moment and there was a familiar tightening of my chest.

“She’s—dead—”

Well, there was our confirmation. Knight cursed softly. North picked up one of the drawings and ran his thumb over the initials. Whatever he saw in those pictures, made him surge to his feet. He stormed out of the room, and I heard the back door slam a moment later.

Nyx knelt down next to the name. “Fuck,” he muttered. “Fuck, dude—this could mean—”

I could tell he didn’t want to voice the hope out loud that maybe this person was alive.

“Who is she?” I asked.

“Emersyn North is his daughter,” Knight answered.

“The last time we saw her, was what—thirteen years ago?” Atlas ran a hand over his face and shared a deep intense look with Nyx. Whatever had happened thirteen years ago still sat heavy between them.

Knight turned to me. “Alright, we need to put together a plan. If there is even a small chance that she’s still alive, we need to capitalize on it.”

“We’ll head to the safe house,” I said. “The rest of my team will finish up here and we can figure out next steps.”

64

GABRIEL