Page 146 of The Devil We Know

Ryan glares at Tony, which only makes Tony laugh even louder. “So, I take it you were together when this all came to light.”

Rubbing his hands over his face, Ryan sighs, then gives Tony a bland look. “Yes, I guess you could say that.”

Tony looks at Agatha, a particularly smug look on his face. “And what abo—”

She puts her hand up, her face twisting angrily as she snarls, “Don’t even fucking start with me, Tony. I can fuck anyone I want whenever I want, and there’s no one on this fucking planet who can tell me any different.”

Tony starts to say something further but then snaps his mouth shut and nods. Declan laughs, reaching out and punching him on the arm. “I guess she told you.”

Tony scowls and then shrugs. He is not one to take much personally, and most certainly not hard facts from someone he actually respects. “She made a good point, Dec. I’m not foolish enough to argue with that.”

Agatha continues to glare at Tony, but then her features relax, and she almost smiles. Tony sighs, relaxing back in his chair. “In all seriousness, Aggie, who brought you the documents?”

She shakes her head, her shoulders lifting slightly as she responds, “I have no idea. They were delivered by courier, and I was unable to locate their absolute origin.”

“What do you mean you can’t locate where they came from?”

“I’ve searched, snooped, and even gotten outright belligerent, and there’s no trail at all.”

“And you’re sure they’re legal? You’re absolutely certain this is the brainchild and property of Darius?”

“Yes,” she replies firmly. “I checked and tripled checked. It’s all legit.”

Declan nudges me with his knee, drawing my attention to him. He’s staring at me hard, his eyes gleaming a bit madly, and I shake my head. “No, Declan. Just fucking no.”

“Come on, Matt,” Declan croons. “Don’t be like that.”

“Absolutely not. I’m not playing this ‘might be’ bullshit again.”

Declan’s eyes move to Tony, the look on his face pleading. “What about you, Tony? I know you’re game.”

Tony gives Declan an assessing look as he thinks over his response. Then, after a few beats, he says, “Sure, I’ll bite.”

“So, you think it could be him?”

Tony sighs, his head moving side to side. “Never say never is a motto that has always served me well.”

I roll my eyes, annoyance bubbling up inside me at the implication that these two buffoons feel Darius may still be alive and is just hiding from us.

Thankfully, Agatha changes the subject, “How’d Jessica take losing her father?”

I make a face, unsure how to answer the question. Finally, I respond, “That is yet to be determined. I feel it will be something that comes up over time rather than the initial reaction. They had a very complicated relationship, and at the end of the day, he stepped up in a big way. And paid the ultimate price.”

“And where does that leave the Irish?”

“Also, yet to be determined.”

Her eyes widen almost comically. “So, it’s just in limbo? Out in the wild for anyone to steal?”

“No,” I reply with a laugh. “On paper, it belongs to Jessica and me, but the idea that we will take it over is absurd. We’re takingour time vetting people and will make sure the right person is put in charge before we piss off into the wind.”

Declan snorts. “You mean before you piss off to LA to take on an even bigger, uglier endeavor.”

“Well, yes. Basically.”

“I heard about your sudden change in job description from Jayme. You have this big PR management move that’s going to cripple some big names in the industry?”

“That’s about right.”

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