55
EMERSYN
The words didn’t register at first. I stared at Griffin like he was about to say just kidding, good joke though right? But, his stern face was as expressionless as ever.
“Wait, what?” My voice was nothing more than a whisper. I clutched the sweatshirt hem between my hands as though it was a lifeline. I didn’t know what to latch onto first. “My father is looking for me?”
Griffin nodded. “For almost three years.”
Three years?
My chest constricted. “All this time I thought—” I couldn’t get the words out. I’d been so sure he thought I was dead. But, no—my father was alive. He was alive and he was searching for me. My lungs seized, and I gasped at the implications that were rapidly coming together in my head.
“Oh god—” Oh, this wasn’t good at all.
Seven knelt at my side and put his hands on mine. “Breathe, girl,” he said gently.
Griffin rubbed his jaw. “We suspect Mahoney has been feeding us false information through a mole for several years regarding your location, which is why we didn’t find you sooner. We think he is going to use you as leverage—”
I scoffed. It sounded almost manic. “That’s exactly what he’s going to do.”
I brushed off Seven and stood up. I needed to move. I paced the small space of floor between the door and the chairs. My mind raced with possibilities, and none of them were good. I knew enough about the brothers, but what I didn’t know enough about was where my father fit into all of it.
I stopped once I’d reached the men again. “I think I’m missing something—why would Octavius want to use my father?”
“Your father is a pretty big player in the private military contracting world as well as a huge black market weapons supplier,” Griffin said. “He also plans to go after Albatron once he’s done with Vetticus.”
“He’s been hunting Vetticus?”
“Oh yeah,” Seven chuckled. “We’ve been focused on you for a bit, but I would bet he’s closing in.”
“So, if Octavius knows my father is coming for the family, he would want to use me as leverage so that doesn’t happen,” I mused as I thought out loud.
The guys nodded. I still felt like there was something big missing, but I couldn’t see it yet.
“You said you’re here to take me home,” I said hesitantly. “I’m assuming you have exfil—”
“We’re waiting on my team,” Griffin said, but he seemed unhappy about something.
“What does that mean?” I asked warily.
“It means, we’re stuck until Rune, that’s our tech guy, can get to us,” Seven said.
“I don’t understand—”
“Remember that mole we mentioned?” Seven sighed. “Well, we discovered that piece of information in tandem with your location, so we kind of had to rush things a bit.”
“So, you don’t really have a plan?” I stated dryly.
Seven shrugged.
“Great,” I said breathlessly. “That’s just great.”