Page 106 of The Devil We Know

Everyone else follows suit, taking off across the room behind her, and then it's just Tony, Declan, and I standing there watching after them.

Declan pats me on the shoulder, giving me a smug look, before he, too, walks off, leaving me with Tony.

Tony rests his arm over my shoulder, maneuvering me with him as he starts to walk across the room, and I fall into step beside him. And then he murmurs near my ear, “Shields or Ferro, makes no fucking difference to me.”

I choke on a low laugh, emotion churning in my chest as I loop my arm under his. I squeeze his shoulder, letting him pull me into his side like we did back when we were kids, and he’d razz me for being a boy scout.

With a final squeeze, he pulls away, shoving me to the side and stalking off without further comment.

But I know what he’s leaving unsaid.

Brothers in life, brothers in death.

43

Finding Hope

Matt

It turns out Antoinette'ssurprise guest happens to be her father, Antonio Rossi, along with an entourage of what appears to be European kingpins.

It's hard to say if they're here under duress or of their own free will, but from what I understand, Antonio Rossi wouldn't give a fuck either way.

I use his arrival as an excuse to hang back, needing a moment to get my bearings and my emotions under control. I'm justwalking up to the group when Antoinette says, “If you fucking call me that again, I will shoot you in the face.”

Having zero context, I raise an eyebrow and ask, “And who are you talking to?”

She glances at me and then points at her father, who puts both hands up in surrender. “My apologies. I had no idea you were so sensitive.”

Within a split second, she's got a knife in her hand, pointing it at him. “Call me sensitive one more time.”

“Antonio," Lilith intercedes. “If you really want to see something happen, tell her to calm down.”

Antonio turns his attention to Lilith cocking his head at her, as he says sarcastically, “Obviously, I'm not the smartest man in the room, but I'm not that stupid, either.”

Lilith opens her mouth to respond, but Antoinette puts her hand up and interrupts, “Don't you two fucking start.”

Lilith rolls her eyes and mutters under her breath, and Antonio does a rather decent job of swatting away an invisible fly.

Antoinette sighs and then continues more calmly, “We don't have the time to even begin to unpack the bullshit that's between you two. And you both already know that’s not why we're here.”

They both remain quiet but nod in acknowledgment of her words. Then she turns back to Antonio and asks, “Have you found out anything?”

“Just what you already know.”

Antoinette squints at him, her body visibly tensing. “And that would be?”

He crosses his arms over his chest and tilts his head at her as he considers his next words. And then he explains, “That the entire warehouse exploded, and there are no known survivors.”

Her jaw clenches as do her fists, and she slams the knife she was still holding down on the table, “Try again.”

Antonio's features soften, and he makes a move to step toward her but then stops short, dropping his hands and looking at her helplessly. “Do you want me to lie?”

She turns away, heavily resting her hands on the bench in front of her, and then she turns and looks at him over her shoulder as she whispers, “I won't believe it until I see proof.”

His eyes widen, and he shakes his head as he replies, “The entire building was practically vaporized. What kind of proof are you hoping for?”

Her jaw clenches, and then she slams her fist down on the workbench viciously. Once. Twice. “He is not dead until I see it with my own fucking eyes.”

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