Page 81 of The Devil We Know

The door creaks open, and we all crane our heads around to see who’s coming.

Then I roll my eyes as I see Seamus walking into the room. He stops in front of the cage, puts his hands in his pockets and shakes his head as he says, “Was this really your plan, Matt?”

I give him a bland look and reply, “Well, not exactly, but sometimes, we gotta roll with the punches.”

He looks down at me thoughtfully, and then he frowns and asks, “Were you serious about all this Ferro bullshit?”

I nod but say nothing, and after a moment, he continues, “Everyone was of the mind that Lilith was the only one left, and as fucking crazy as she is, no one ever wanted to get involved. But now here you are, a serious threat to everyone.”

“I keep hearing that I’m a threat, which makes me even more confused on why they haven’t just fucking killed me.”

“Because there are still some rather big influences who give a shit about what happens to you. It has to go through the right chain, or it could backfire and blow up in their face.”

I yawn and then say, “Well, isn’t that all good and well.”

“I don’t think you’re taking this seriously,” Seamus replies sternly. “The likelihood you’re going to live through this is nil.”

I level him with a serious look and ask, “Did Jessica make it out?”

He nods. “Yes, your friends came and got her out.”

“Then I don’t fucking care.”

“Then you’re a stupid fucker. So basically, you piss off into the wind, worry her enough to come after you, so she ends up engaged to the enemy. Then you eliminate the enemy, marry her and go through all sorts of public displays, stand up on a stage, and make this big, dramatic statement only to then leave her as a widow?”

Darius and Tony both chuckle, and I glare up at him as I reply, “Well, when you put it like that.”

He shakes his head, and then Darius interrupts, “Are you here for a reason, Seamus, or just to rub his nose in it?”

“I’m just here to see if he has another plan. Because so far, each plan he has had has just led to more fuckery.”

“I don’t see what the fuck you care, considering you’re not going to do anything to help. You’ve made that clear.”

“I was very clear in the first place that there was nothing I could do. I have too many fucking people depending on me to throw it all away on your dumbshit ass.”

“Then get the fuck out of here.”

He continues to stand over me, glaring intently, but then he sighs, his hands coming out of his pockets to rub over his face briskly before he says tiredly, “I have some correspondence going with the outside, so if I hear anything in particular, I’ll try to sneak back over and give you a heads up. But there’s not much else I can do.”

I just roll my eyes, and then Darius says, “Well, we appreciate that. And don’t let Matt fool you. No one understands your position more than he does.”

I glare at him and show him my middle finger, and he blows me a kiss.

Seamus glances at Darius, then Tony, and back at me, and shakes his head as he says, “Fucking boys.”

Without any further comment, Seamus turns and walks back out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

We sit there in silence for a while, all of us caught up in our own thoughts. The silence drags on, so finally, I ask, “What are you guys thinking about?”

Tony immediately answers, “I’m kinda fucking hungry.”

Then Dare adds, “Sparkling water would be refreshing right now.”

I bite back my own laughter and then say, “We really can’t take anything seriously, can we?”

They both answer at once, “Nope.”

I laugh again, and then Tony adds, “I figure if it does turn out that I end up dead, I’d like it to be a surprise and not something I figured would happen.”

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