Page 1 of What Doesn't Kill Us

Chapter One

Toni

It’sbeenthreemonthssince Dare disappeared on that jet.

We spent the first week chasing down every lead we could come up with, only to end up at a dead end at every turn. We figured most of the leads were complete bullshit and some of them were most likely planted to throw us off, but considering how messed up the entire situation was, not following up wasn’t an option. And so, we ended up spending a considerable amount of time spinning our wheels.

Lilith, of course, was her typical unhinged self and went “end of worlds” on the entire criminal underground, which means I’ve been learning a lot.

First, say no variation of “burn it all” to Lilith or Tony, because they’ll have those torches lit so fast your head will spin. I’ve also learned the quickest way to end a life and the longest way. They’re quite similar, but also very different.

Eventually, we all decide we should attempt a bit of normalcy to get our heads on straight, especially since none of the so-called hot trails ever ended up being hot. Which meant I went back to work. Everyone was perplexed about why I’d bother working, given my access to money literally had no bounds, but whether or not they understand it, this is my normal.

My first few weeks back behind my desk were torture. His absence was so intense that I had moments when I felt like I was caving in on myself. This was also when the past and present would collide, and it would overwhelm my mind with scattered memories that I rarely could make heads or tails of. Obviously, the most recent interactions were solid; however, some of the past moments that would blink in and out of my memory were disconcerting and, sometimes, problematic.

The boys were proving to be incredibly unhelpful in assisting me with sifting through fact and fiction. Tony doesn’t seem to have anything concrete to add about any of it, but Matt’s reactions are suspicious. I’m certain he knows more than he’s letting on, but I also know he’ll never tell me anything more than Dare would’ve instructed him to.

Complicating my inability to settle is the continuous influx of urgent information where I need to switch gears at the drop of a hat. The constant back and forth between accountant Toni and vendetta Toni is exhausting, but I keep doing it in the hopes our luck will change, and we’ll get the hit we’re desperate for.

And that’s how I find myself at my desk late on a Thursday evening, scrolling through some gossip sites to take my mind off my woes. It’s in the middle of said scrolling I pause and then slowly scroll back up. I do a double-take, then a triple-take.

What the actual fuck?

I take a screenshot of the page and forward it to our group message with a couple of question marks and exclamation points, and within seconds, they are pinging me back with the samewhat the fuckI had. Tony pops in, telling us it’s time to rendezvous, and I pack up my shit and head out the door.

According to an international gossip rag, one Darius Hughes is currently in France on the arm of some slender brunette movie star. If that’s the case, more thanhishead is going to roll.

When I get to the warehouse, the three of them are already waiting for me. Tony and Matt seem relaxed, but Lilith is pacing the floor like the raging bitch she is, cursing a blue streak, stomping around, and gesturing wildly with her hands.

She stops pacing when she sees me, then walks over and cups my cheeks as she asks, “Are you okay, Toni?”

I frown at her, shaking her hands loose and walking around her as I reply, “Yeah, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

She snorts from behind me and then follows, so she’s standing beside me as I sit on the stool by the computer bench. She gives me a pinched look and says, “What do you think that picture’s about?”

“How the fuck would I know? You’re better off asking one of these fucking yahoos. They’re friends with him.”

Lilith turns her gaze on Tony and glares at him. “What do you have to say for your friend, Tony?”

Tony gives her an annoyed look as he retorts, “I don’t think there’s much I can say, considering I have no fucking idea what’s going on.”

Lilith narrows her eyes at him and steps closer until she’s right in his face. “I have a really fucking hard time believing that. You all have been bosom buddies since you could barely reach the urinal. There isn’t anything you don’t know about each other.”

“Kind of hard for me to know what’s going on, seeing how I haven’t seen the man in three fucking months. How about you get control of your fucking emotions for a minute and actually think about the big picture here.”

She gasps in outrage, her hand coming up so she’s pointing right in his face as she snarls, “You watch your fucking mouth.”

Tony leans closer and whispers, “Or what?”

I roll my eyes as I stand up and push between them until they both step back. “Break it up, assholes. This isn’t the time for your little pissing contest or mating game or whatever the fuck this is between the two of you.”

“Good call, Antoinette. I’ve been listening to these two snarling at each other for the last twenty minutes, and it’s getting us absolutely fucking nowhere,” Matt says from behind me.

I turn to him. “So, how’re we going to handle this?”

We all look at each other for a few moments as we ponder our options with the limited information we have. We certainly could rush over there with guns blazing, but since it was rather obvious from that picture that Dare was in no great distress, that option seems unnecessary.

I turn to Tony and ask, “Do you think there’s any chance, any chance at all, that Darius has a relationship with whoever this woman is?”

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