Page 75 of The Devil We Know

“I think we’ve seen worse odds,” he replies calmly.

“This is true,” I reply with a nod. “The real question is, do you think they’ll kill us?”

“Nah,” he replies. “They’re too stupid. They’re going to think they will have a big trophy that they can then sell to the highest bidder. Stupidity and greed.”

I nod as I parrot, “Stupidity and greed. Gets them every time.”

“And what are our chances of being located if they take us?”

“Well, Dare has his watch, so there’s that. Then there’s the fact that Antoinette and Carolina will go berserk and likely call in every person they can think of to find us.”

“So good odds,” I say. “Kaian also has instructions to retreat if necessary. He’ll be a good asset for them.”

“That’s a good plan. And where does Seamus stand in all this?”

“Seamus is likely on the fence. I don’t believe he’ll do anything to hurt us, but it’s unlikely he’s going to help us either.”

Tony sighs, shakes his head as he replies, “Well, that’s a fucking shame.”

“To be expected.”

I look around the room again, still unable to locate Darius, and I see that Kaian has moved through a couple of groups now, likely trying to get an idea of where everyone stands. He turns and glances at me, shaking his head subtly, and I nod, acknowledging the sheer clusterfuck this is about to become.

I turn back to Tony and say, “So, I guess we just kill as many of them as we can until they overpower us?”

Tony nods and says nothing further. I look back around the room and see the groups are starting to move closer to us. Our biggest concern is somebody with a gun and a good shot, though it’s a long-standing rule that no guns are allowed in the hall.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that one of the people who left won’t come back with one, given I killed a powerful man in front of an audience. So, I say, “We need to get the fuck off this stage. We’re like sitting ducks up here.”

Tony doesn’t respond. He just walks over to the far side and ducks between the ropes, and I follow suit. The chatter increases, and I hear shouting. I stab two people who get in my way as I make my way to the wall.

A few other men trickle over and are instantly cut down, and then all movement stops. I turn to Tony and ask, “Are you ready?”

He grins at me, holding his hands up with a blade in each one, and I can’t help but chuckle at the gleam in his eye. “You know I’m always ready to fuck around.”

“Have I ever mentioned how glad I am I met you?”

He drops his hands, all humor falling from his face as he glares at me, “Don’t fucking start that shit.”

“What shit?”

“You know,” he replies in disgust. “The end-of-days love fest. Don’t do that shit.”

I laugh, and I feel a little of that mania building up in my chest, so I squash it down. A shadow catches my eye, and I quickly turn, my knife raised, but then Tony grabs onto my hand as he says, “Not him.”

I pull back, staring at the strange man in front of me, and then I laugh even louder when I recognize Darius. “Holy shit, man.”

Dare pops up a bit, and I see he already has blood spatter all over him, and then he replies, “I could get used to it.”

I shake my head, forcing myself not to continue with the inferred love fest. But I kind of want to.

It’s not like I necessarily feel like this is the end, but I know the older I get, the more likely it is my luck will run out.

Dare’s voice pulls me from my thoughts, and I glance at him and ask, “What?”

He looks at me thoughtfully for a moment and then says, “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

I frown. “Tell you what?”

---