17. Chapter Seventeen Nathan

Chapter Seventeen: Nathan

T he leather steering wheel felt cool under my fingers as I navigated the evening traffic, the cityscape a blur of lights and shadows outside the window. Abby sat beside me, her hands folded in her lap, her eyes flickering with thoughts she kept to herself. The silence between us was loaded, a tangible weight that seemed to grow heavier with every mile that brought us closer to my family's home.

"Remember," I started, "tonight we're the picture of happiness. We don't want any slip-ups."

Abby nodded, her gaze locked on the passing streetlights. "And what about Tyler? Do you think they're buying it?"

I tightened my grip on the wheel, the muscles in my jaw tensing. "They don't suspect a thing. As far as they know, Tyler is just another unfortunate soul lost to the streets."

"Good." She paused, her next words hesitant. "And our engagement?"

I shot her a quick glance, feeling an edge of irritation. "I'm working on it, Abby," I snapped more harshly than I intended.

She recoiled slightly, hurt flashing in her eyes before she masked it with a practiced smile. "Of course, Nathan. I trust you."

Guilt gnawed at me, but I pushed it aside. We were nearly there, and I needed to focus. My father, the Serpent, had tightened our circle ever since whispers of betrayal had slithered their way into our midst. Weekly dinners under the guise of familial bonding were his way of keeping his eyes on all of us—a subtle interrogation over rice and steamed fish.

The engine hummed to silence as I parked on the curb, Lily's car already in the driveway with Ma's and Ba's. Stepping out into the evening cool, I straightened my jacket and watched Abby do the same, her graceful movements betraying nothing of the turmoil we'd discussed on the drive here.

"Ready?" I asked, though it was rhetorical. We had to be ready—there was no room for hesitation in this house.

"Always," she replied, a hint of steel underlying her voice.

As we entered through the front door, the familiar aroma of garlic and ginger hit me, the scents weaving through the air like a welcome. Ma and Lily were at the stove, their synchrony in the kitchen a well-rehearsed dance. They turned, offering us smiles that didn't quite reach their eyes.

"Justin's not here yet," Ma mentioned casually, though I sensed her scanning our faces for any signs of discord. "Your father wants to see you in his office."

"Thanks, Ma," I responded, forcing warmth into my voice. I glanced at Abby, giving her a nod before making my way down the hall.

The door to Ba's office was ajar, and I pushed it open without knocking—a privilege of blood. The sight that greeted me was as familiar as the back of my hand: the Serpent hunched over his laptop, fingers stilled mid-type as he acknowledged my entrance.

"Close that, will you?" he gestured towards the door with a tilt of his head, not looking up from the screen.

I obliged, listening to the click of the latch catching. Only then did he close his laptop with a soft snap and gesture to the chair opposite him.

"Sit," he said, his voice low and even. His hands clasped together on the desk, a monolith behind the rich mahogany expanse of his desk.

Taking the seat, I felt the weight of his gaze, sharp and assessing. It was the look of a man who played life like a game of Xiangqi, always several moves ahead.

I couldn't help but wonder if he saw me as an ally on his board or a potential threat to be neutralized.

"Is everything alright, Ba?" I ventured carefully, my mind racing through possibilities, anticipating his next words as if they were the key to a lock I hadn't known existed.

"I have news," he said abruptly, and my pulse quickened. My thoughts darted to Abby, wondering if her secret had been unearthed.

"News?" My voice was steady, but inside I was a taut wire, bracing for the reverberations of whatever he was about to divulge.

"An operative we placed within the FBI has gone dark." His fingers drummed a silent beat on the desk's polished surface. "It's been several days with no contact."

A chill skittered across my skin, though I kept my expression carefully neutral as I processed Ba's words. Abby's new handler had mentioned that Tyler may have been compromised…and this was on the edge of a confirmation it was true.

The question was—why hadn't he told my father about Abby?

"Is there reason to believe he might have been exposed?" I ventured cautiously, probing for signs of any suspicion falling closer to home—closer to Abby.

Ba regarded me with eyes that had seen decades of this clandestine chessboard. "There's always a risk. But so far, nothing concrete has surfaced." His voice was even, but it carried a note of warning that resonated through the room.

"Understood," I replied, already turning over scenarios in my head. There was a delicate balance to maintain, a line to tread carefully. If Ba caught even a whiff of Abby's true allegiance...

"So what do you want me to do about it?" My voice was steady, betraying none of the turmoil beneath.

"Stay vigilant, Nathan," he instructed, leaning back in his chair with a heavy sigh. The weight of leadership seemed to press upon him, etching deeper lines into his weathered face. "The Serpents are still under attack, and now we've lost our eyes and ears within the FBI. Keep your circle tight, trust no one outside it."

I nodded once, sharply, the gravity of the situation settling on my shoulders like a lead weight. With a final glance at Ba, whose expression remained impassive and inscrutable, I rose from the chair, ready to rejoin the others and don the guise of dutiful son once more.

The air in the kitchen was thick with the scent of spices and something savory as Ba and I left his office. My father's words about vigilance clung to me, but as I stepped into the dining area, the knot in my gut loosened just a touch at the sight that greeted me.

Abby was helping with something on the stove, her laughter mingling with Lily's and Ma's over some shared joke or memory. The tension that had built up inside me began to ebb away as I watched her. Abby caught my eye between peals of laughter, her smile radiant and infectious. It tugged one out of me, an unbidden curve of my lips that felt foreign yet right.

For a moment, the weight of our secrets and the danger we courted faded into the background.

I remembered I loved her.

"Who's sitting here?" Ba's voice cut through the warmth, his finger tapping on the back of an empty chair.

I followed his gaze, about to answer, when the front door swung open, carrying with it a brisk October breeze that seemed to sweep the last vestiges of my ease away. Ba stood to his full height, a signal for silence, as Justin crossed the threshold. Close behind him was a young man with red hair, whose presence set every nerve in my body on alert.

As my father moved to take his seat at the head of the table, I couldn't rip my gaze from the newcomer who'd dared to follow Justin home.

Not because I was angry at Justin's companion…but because only a fool would step foot inside this house willingly.

Justin had been an idiot to bring this man.

The air in the dining room grew thick, charged with an unspoken tension that seemed to close around my throat. Ba's face was a mask of composure, his eyes giving nothing away as Ma breezed past him with a warmth that defied the sudden chill.

"Justin, dear," she exclaimed, reaching out to hug him. Lily trailed behind Ma, grinning—and it occurred to me that she knew this man. It ached, knowing my younger siblings had a whole life I wasn't privy to.

"Everyone, this is Derek," Lily chirped, her voice piercing the silence with an ease that made my chest tighten. She locked eyes with Ba like she anticipated conflict, and I saw her eyes narrow the way they always did when she was ready to provoke the most dangerous man in San Francisco. "Derek is Justin's boyfriend."