Page 53 of Night Fall
“Then there isn’t a reason for me to be angry.”
Greg grabbed several dirty dishes and brought them to the sink. Erik followed suit, grabbing the remaining items and bringing them to Greg, who smiled in thanks.
“You don’t want to know what happened? You don’t … need me to tell you?”
“No.”
For the second time in less than five minutes, Greg had shocked him.
“You’ve always been brooding. Quiet. Stoic, even, but now you’re unsure,” Greg said, and Erik averted his gaze. “I don’t mean that in an embarrassing way. I just mean that it’s clear to me you’ve been through a lot, and it isn’t just that you’ve been missing for so many years.”
Greg turned away from the sink and leaned back against it. “I know trying to get your bearings after so long is going to be difficult, and I’m certain you weren’t being fed expensive cheese and wine during your time with Constance. You’ve gone through enough, and honestly, I’m just happy to have you back.”
Greg looked toward the door and Erik followed his line of sight, watching Mya talk to Daniella, Luke, and Johanna. She was smiling, laughing, and it filled his heart with joy.
“I haven’t seen her like that since before you … since you’ve been gone. She'll laugh, and she’ll smile, but it’s—”
“Weighed down,” Erik answered, remembering the smile she gave him at the church before they’d spoken.
Greg looked at him then, his gaze hard. “You took that smile off her face when you left, and you’ve brought it back now that you’re here. I need you to fight for her, Erik, for the both of you, because you deserve it.” He crossed his arms and glared at him. “If you leave again, you better stay gone or else I will kill you myself.”
Erik’s gaze never wavered from Greg’s as he said, “I’d do it myself if I left her.”
“Then we have an understanding. Come here.” Greg stepped forward and gave him a hug with a pat on his back.
Erik returned the embrace and couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you.”
“Of course. And I called some friends who wanted to see you.”
Erik tilted his head to the side, “Who—”
“Well, if you’re not a sight for sore eyes.”
He turned to see Lily coming through the door. She had a huge smile on her face that crinkled her eyelids, and he laughed while he gave her a tight hug. She gave his arms a squeeze, then stepped back and rested her hands on the shoulders of a woman who had appeared beside her. “Erik, I’d like to introduce you to my wife, Oaklynn.”
Oaklynn was short—likely under five feet tall—with long reddish-brown hair and brown eyes. She reminded Erik of a firecracker, and he knew immediately that she was Lily’s perfect match.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, holding out her hand, which Erik shook.
“You as well.”
Greg gave Lily and Oaklynn a hug in greeting as well. “Technically they’re not supposed to be here since Lily is still part of The Council, and that makes it a conflict of interest but—”
“We couldn’t stay away once we found out you were alive,” Oaklynn said with a smile.
“You’ve been missed, Erik,” Lily said, her expression softening as her eyes began to glisten.
Daniella poked her head around the door frame, and Greg clapped his hand on Erik’s shoulder. “Well, now that we’re all here it’s time for us to get started.”
Erik shared everything he knew thus far, including that Constance’s army had found him at Mya’s house earlier that day.
“Have they ever found you so easily before?” Merida asked, one of Greg’s seconds-in-command.
“Yes, but I thought it was something I had done. Clothing, where I was staying wasn’t secure enough, and so on,” Erik said.
Mya laced her fingers through his. “But that wasn’t the case with my house. We burned the church, got rid of anything Erik had before except for the clothes he has on now, and if they had some sort of tracking device on those—”
“Then they would have grabbed him then, not waited for you to come along,” Greg finished.
