Page 121 of The Devil We Know

His gaze moves back to Seamus, and then he says, almost sadly, “Well, at least I saved him from being blown to smithereens.”

“No one wants to be smithereens,” Camilla jokes.

Ivan frowns at her but says nothing, and so I add, “And you've also gained something to run to in the future.”

“What do you mean?” he asks.

“You risk your own life to save someone you had no personal relationship with. We won't be forgetting that.”

He gives me a closed-mouth smile and then nods.

Camilla sighs as she turns to me. “How do you think Jessica's going to take it?”

“It's hard to say. At first, she probably won't be too bothered, but it's likely the more time goes on, the more affected she'll be by it.”

“If you don't need me for whatever you're doing,” Ivans says and sighs. “I’d like to get him out of here.”

“Please do. It's best if we have a body. And since the majority of people won't know who you are, it's safer if you exit the building as well.”

“Quickest, likely safest route is to head straight down the hallway and then keep to the right up the stairs. Once you’re at ground level, the back exit is right there.” Camilla hands him a set of keys, which he pockets, and then she steps in close, her expression serious as she whispers, “There’s a windward blue ’69 GTO parked in the alleyway to the left of that door. If you hurt my car, I will hurt you.”

Ivan’s eyes widen comically, but before he can reply, she smacks him on the arm and laughs. He looks at me, and I shrug, not having the first clue how to explain her and not really caring to try.

It doesn’t take long for Camilla to locate some large garbage bags, and then we help Ivan remove Seamus from the box, no easy task given his state. Once we secure him properly, Ivan hefts him into a fireman’s carry and walks toward the door. He stops in the doorway, turning back to me with a sad look. “I’ll make sure he’s tended to properly until you can come for him.”

“Thank you,” I answer honestly. “We appreciate you.”

He frowns slightly, opening his mouth as if he’s going to say something further, but then he closes it. He gives me a curt nod, turning and heading back through the door, disappearing into the darkness.

Camilla walks over to me, stopping beside me and looking down the hallway. “I suppose we should get back to it.”

I nod, motioning for her to proceed me. We hustle down the hallway, continuing downward, since typically, that’s where all the bad shit goes down, and soon, we end up in another cavernous room.

Camilla stops short, raising her hand to indicate that I should wait. She cocks her head, obviously listening for something, so I do the same. At first, there’s nothing but silence. But then, voices and heavy footfalls get increasingly closer.

Camilla grabs me, swinging me around and pushing me off to the side, just as a man flies by, quickly followed by a horde of men running by, obviously intent on the hunt.

I step back from the wall, moving so she’s standing in front me. “For fuck’s sake, Cami. Do you have to be so rough?”

She doesn’t say a word. She just stands there, staring wide-eyed at something over my shoulder. A shiver runs down my spine, and I whisper, “Someone’s behind me?”

She nods minutely. “Run.”

I don’t bother looking behind me to see what she’s talking about. I grab onto her wrist, yanking her through the doorway, and we take off at a sprint, the ominous thunder of shoes on concrete driving us blindly.

Camilla looks over at me as we run, shouting, “We need to get to the dock exit.”

I don’t reply. Instead, I change gears as we slow, intent on them following us. Needing them to take the bait.

50

We All Fall Down

Jessica

“Fucking stop it.”

Startled, I stop moving down the hallway, turning to face Carolina as I say, “Excuse me?”

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