Page 155 of Deadfall

He was here, and I was home.

73

THERON

There was so much more I needed to say, but for now I just wanted to hold her, look at her, revel in the fact that she was alive—she was here. There was a watery look of hope in her eyes as she gave me a tentative smile, and the thought that I’d never see her again and the fear of the last three years assaulted me anew. I pulled her head into my chest and kissed her hair. I closed my eyes to savor this moment a little bit longer.

I knew we had an audience though, so after another greedy minute, I opened my eyes and nodded at Nyx who disappeared back into the house. I didn’t want to let Emersyn go, but I needed to handle the situation actively happening before we could move forward.

“Are you okay, baby?” I asked her.

She pulled back slowly, but it was obvious neither of us wanted to let go, so I held her hand and looked at her in concern.

“Yeah, I’m good,” she said.

I nodded, and my attention shifted and hardened as I looked over her head at Albatron’s man who stood at the SUV. His face was expressionless behind the aviators, but he inclined his head respectfully when he caught my eye.

I heard Nyx clear his throat and turned to see him descend the steps with Albatron.

Albatron’s attention jumped immediately to the man near the SUV who nodded again, and something loosened in Albatron’s shoulders. I didn’t have time to analyze that before he stopped in front of me and adjusted his cuff links.

“Well, this all worked out rather nicely, didn’t it?” It wasn’t really a question.

Albatron looked around at all my men that surrounded us. Hands on weapons, stances tight and tense, ready to take him down the moment I gave them the nod.

“Get out,” I snarled.

Albatron’s smirk faded as he held my gaze and inclined his head without breaking the contact. His stare said a thousand things I didn’t have time to think about right now. There was still too much anger. Everything was still too raw. Albatron went to walk past us but stopped at my shoulder. I could feel Nyx and Atlas shift closer.

“My quarrel isn’t with you, North,” Albatron said quietly. “It never was.”

I was nearly consumed with the urge to kill him. I could barely keep my breathing steady enough to speak. The tension between us was obvious in the way everyone seemed to hold their breath, as they waited to see what I’d do.

I leaned closer. “If I ever see you again,” I said, my words clear. “I’m going to kill you.”

Albatron’s eyes darkened, sharp and deadly, like a pool of water at night, a reflection as endless as the abyss.

“We’ll see.”

The violence oozed from me and collided roughly with his cool nonchalance. His attention ever so briefly flickered over to Emersyn, and when he gave the barest wink to her, I felt my control slip.

Luckily the driver of the SUV stepped between us, and subtly ushered Albatron into the backseat before he slammed the door. He climbed into the driver’s seat and with a squeal of rubber, the vehicle made its way back toward the gate.

The moment the vehicle pulled away, the door of the house flew open and Kaelin descended. She drank in the sight of me and Emersyn, and I saw the unshed tears that glistened in her eyes.

“This is Kaelin,” I said.

Kaelin took Emersyn’s hands in hers and an absolutely beautiful smile lit up her face. She looked like she couldn’t believe my daughter was here any more than I could.

“You both must be exhausted,” she looked over at Griffin. He definitely looked a little rough around the edges. “Let’s get you settled in some rooms so you can clean up.”

I didn’t want to let Emersyn go, but Kaelin gently extracted her and led her into the house. Nyx came up and put a hand on my shoulder.

“You good, T?”

I nodded, unable to speak. Nyx quickly ordered everyone back to their duties, and then he and Atlas followed me into the house. I stood in the entryway and experienced a brief moment of disorientation at what to do next. I’d been fighting for so long—searching for so many years—

But, Albatron was out there, and so was Mahoney.