Page 138 of The Devil We Know

Come back

The music fades away, quickly replaced by the buzzing of a crowd overwhelmed by emotion.

He stands, pulling the microphone from the stand as he steps to the edge of the stage, right in front of where Matt, Jessica, Tony, and Carolina have been watching the show.

He reaches down to each of them, speaking quietly to them before stepping back. He looks out over the audience, taking it all in one last time, the smile on his face sad yet also content.

He raises a hand to the crowd, and they settle, allowing him to speak. “I’m truly blessed to have had this career, to have all of you and so many more supporting me, regardless of my antics or how I may handle life in general. I will never forget all that you’ve given me.”

Choking up, he lowers the mic, his eyes looking to the heavens as he takes a deep breath. Then he continues, “I won’t say this isn’t goodbye because, well, we all know we have no fucking ideawhat will happen in the future. Be kind, take care of those you love, and never forget that time truly waits for no one. So, grab it by the balls and make it your bitch. I love you.”

With those parting words, Declan turns away from the chanting crowd, setting the mic on the stool as he walks by.

Snagging my hand, he leads me off the stage.

And he doesn’t look back.

56

You’ve Got Mail

Matt

I knew going intoit that Declan's farewell concert would be an emotional rollercoaster. But even knowing this didn't properly prepare me for how much it would affect me.

By the time we make it backstage, I've managed to get control of myself to the point that I no longer fear I'm going to lose it at any second.

I've spent the last month keeping myself busy, tying up the loose ends of the criminal organizations we managed todismantle. Once that was complete, I began implementing plans to prevent them from ever rising to power again. Having this daunting task to focus on kept most of the gut-wrenching emotion at bay, but I knew at some point, I wouldn't be able to hide from it anymore.

We’ve all worked tirelessly to ensure there’s no chance that our life's work and the death of Darius and Antoinette won't have been for nothing. This means I've had to come up with an intricate and detailed accounting, which consists of one of the wealthiest people in the world being fictional, with an entire conglomerate of shell companies that have to look real beneath him.

Or, in this case, her.

I have created and utilized every LLC, foundation, corporation—if it could possibly be a moneymaker, I've brought it into the mix.

Luckily, I understand what it takes to keep the government off your back, and I sleep easily at night, knowing my less-than-scrupulous activities are being done for the greater good.

It also helps that the considerable fortunes that we have managed to reap from our work can easily be funneled back into this new business venture.

Along with this came a flurry of interested parties wanting to get in on expanding our initial plan to build and maintain housing and other life-building services for those less fortunate and disadvantaged.

One such man, Albert Power, from the Power PR Management Firm, reached out specifically because one of his employees had had a violent run-in with a sports figure they manage.

While our first instinct is to go out there and rid the world of such men, working out some subtleties to remove the woman from the situation while also not having to completely change her current life was a challenge we happily took on.

Though I got the impression Albert was hoping we would stick with our typical Plan A procedure, he accepted that the best plan was to make this woman unattainable to the player and set up appropriate roadblocks to keep it that way.

With that being the first mission we’d taken on, we're just now feeling comfortable letting loose of the reins we’ve been holding so tightly to for so long and handing them over to the people we trust most.

So, this concert wasn't just a big announcement for Declan; it was a big announcement for all of us.

I enter Declan's dressing area, mildly surprised by how spacious it is, given this was an impromptu event.

I stick to the wall, watching everyone mill around, taking a few final moments to feel the impact of Declan's words spoken only a few short minutes ago.

Slowly, everyone begins to breathe more easily, smiles shine more brightly, and laughter echoes freely.

I wait until Declan is alone and then make my way over there.

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