Page 14 of The Devil We Know

Declan: Dare I ask what for?

Issa: Well, Jessica needs your plane.

Declan: Okay. It can be ready within an hour. Where’s she going?

Issa: NYC.

Declan: Does she need an escort?

Isa: As much as it pains me to say this, yes.

Declan: Done.

I hand the phone back to Issa and ask, “Who’s going to be my escort?”

Issa replies, “Declan will go with you. I will sacrifice him for a few days to at least get you over there and get you acclimated to the very colorful characters you’re about to come in contact with. You have obviously met Darius and Tony, and Antoinette is super cool; however, she is also somewhat crazy. You’ll like her.”

I sigh again, moving over behind my desk and putting all my papers back neatly before turning off my laptop, disconnecting it, and stuffing it in a bag. I put the strap over my shoulder andwalk back around my desk, falling in step beside Issa as we walk out of the room and down the hallway.

Issa stops a few feet from the elevator, turns to me, and grabs me by my forearms, her eyes meeting mine as she whispers, “You’ll find him.”

I swallow the lump in my throat and then ask, “At what cost?”

She lifts a shoulder dismissively and responds, “It doesn’t fucking matter. You’ll pay it.”

And she’s right.

5

Decisions, Decisions

Jessica

We make it toNew York in record time.

Working in the same industry, I’ve known Declan for many years, but I haven’t spent a lot of time with him. It’s actually a bit annoying how intuitively charming he is in this stressful situation, though I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, given that seems to be how most of these men are.

Back when I had my altercation with Bobby, I learned firsthand how intuitively charming some men can be. WhenMatt showed up to help me manage the situation, he was also like that, though in a much more matter-of-fact manner. Declan is, at baseline, a bit more of a showboater, always the entertainer, and it comes through in a lot of his conversations when he’s trying to distract me.

It’s a short drive from the airport, and thinking we’re going to someone’s home, I’m a bit taken aback when we arrive at what appears to be a giant warehouse.

Upon entering the building, it becomes clear that it is much more than a warehouse, and I find myself gaping when we first walk into the entryway.

I stand there for so long that Declan’s voice startles me, and I glance over at him and say, “What?”

He laughs as he replies, “Impressive, isn’t it?”

I raise my brows and nod. “That’s putting it lightly. This is certainly the nicest warehouse I’ve ever been in.”

Declan motions for me to follow him, and as we’re walking, he adds, “Yeah. These guys have a long history with nasty warehouses, and Darius insisted that this one would be different. Common consensus is that he’s gone completely overboard, but you can’t reason with him.”

“Does everyone live here?”

“No,” he replies as he leads me down a hallway. “They all have separate residences, but they can all live here if they want to. They probably spend more time here than they thought they would, but since Darius has made it so comfortable, they’re probably not mad about that.”

We walk to the end of the hallway where there are two large doors, one of which is propped open, and we stop in the doorway as Declan turns back to me and says, “I did let them know that we’re coming. I figured Darius would want to have a chance to make other plans, do some reconnaissance, and try to get to the bottom of things before we got here.”

“And has he learned anything?” I ask.

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