The Devil We Know (Ends World #5)

45. A Case of the Darius’

45

A Case of the Darius’

Matt

“This isn't going to work,” Antoinette sputters.

I try to hide my smile and fail. I look over at Tony, who has the same amused expression, and then he meets my gaze with a shrug, laughing loudly. “This is fucking wild.”

“Do you feel different?” I ask seriously. "Because I think I feel different."

“Yeah,” Tony replies. “It's like just pretending to be him makes me feel invincible.”

“You two fucking cut that out,” Antoinette exclaims.

We both attempt to put on a serious face, though I see Tony's lips twitching in time with mine. Then Kaian says from behind me, “I always knew it must feel good to be The Beast. And this just proves it.”

He shoves something in front of my face, and then I'm staring at my own reflection.

Or rather, Darius' reflection.

I smile broadly and then laugh loudly. I turn to Kaian, laughing again, to find I'm just staring at another version of Darius.

“I don't know,” Declan replies from my other side. “I was definitely better looking before.”

Camilla laughs as she says, “Well, you look pretty similar to the old man. I certainly had to put in less work changing you over.”

“This is fucking crazy,” Carolina murmurs.

Jessica walks over, stops directly in front of me, and leans in as she peers into my eyes. “Obviously you're not built the same, and you don’t sound the same, but this is amazing.”

And she is absolutely correct.

None of us are built like Darius, but Camilla managed to make all four of us look like him at a glance. Even given a hard stare in the face, most people wouldn't be the wiser.

“You do good work, Cami.”

She smiles at me. “Why thank you.”

“Who are you going to be today?” Tony asks.

She shakes her head, a serious expression on her face. “I'm going to be me today.”

Antoinette frowns and asks, “Why is that?”

“I want them to see which Irish lass is sending them to hell.”

She walks over to Tony, glancing at his face briefly, and then to Kaian, where she pauses and leans in close with a grin. “I see you in there.”

Kaian glares at her and steps back. “Fucking cut it out, Cami.”

Her smile broadens, and she laughs. “Make me.”

Declan jabs me with his elbow, and when I meet his gaze, he wags his eyebrows at me and whispers, “What's going on over there?”

I whisper back, “I don't know, but it looks entertaining.”

Cami moves closer to Kaian, her lips moving, but I can't make out her words. Kaian’s glare sharpens, and he leans in so his face is directly in hers as he says clearly, “Not if you were the last fucking woman on Earth.”

A gasp from near the workstation draws my attention, and I turn to Carolina and Antoinette, who are leaning against the workbench. Antoinette presses her hand over her chest, shock and awe on her features, as she mutters, “Enemy to lovers.”

Carolina rests her hand on Antoinette's arm as she leans in and says, “Maybe another hate with benefits to lovers.”

“You two fucking cut that out,” Kaian snarls. "Your romancey trope shit has no business here."

“Oh, we've heard that one before,” Antoinette quips. “And even though it does feel weird seeing Darius angry flirting with another woman, I'm fucking here for it.”

“I'm not flirting,” Kaian snarls.

Antoinette's smile only broadens, and Carolina does an excited little jig as she sing-songs, “Heard that one before, too.”

Kaian turns bewildered eyes on me. "Are they for fucking real?"

I smile and nod. “Yes. And I hate to break it to you, but they’re usually spot-on.”

Camilla doesn’t say anything. She just stands there, smiling up at him. He glances down at her, baring his teeth, a little growl of frustration brewing in his chest, and I sigh, moving to step between them.

I put my hand on his shoulder, turning him around as we walk a few feet away. He glares over his shoulder in her direction, and I slap him on the back. “Is there a reason you have a problem with her?”

He throws one last glare in her direction and then turns his focus to me as he replies, “Just that she has the ability to literally be anyone at any time.”

“So? Why does that bother you?”

He gives me an incredulous look, shaking his head. “She's basically a walking, talking weapon, Matt. Look what she's done to us. She's created four new Beasts.”

I laugh. “Isn't it great?”

He shakes his head, his eyebrows raising as he exclaims, “No. It's fucking crazy.”

“So, what are you afraid of?”

“What isn't there to be afraid of?”

I pause for a moment, and then I say, “Well, if she's on your side, it's perfect. So maybe you should try to be a little more friendly with her.”

“I want nothing to do with her.”

“I hate to break it to you, but this intense reaction is usually indicative of something else going on.”

He puts his finger right in my face as he says, “Don't you fucking say it.”

I laugh again and then say, “Obviously, I don't have to say it.” I pat him on the shoulder, giving him a sympathetic look as I refrain from saying all the things I want to say. Because any one of us here knows that regardless of how we may feel about a situation, by the time we even realize it's happening, it's out of our hands.

The door at the other end of the room opens, and I look over to see a whole mess of people filing into the room.

Lilith is the first one to reach us, Issa and Marieka following closely behind. “Everything's in place.”

Any humor that was left in the room immediately vanishes.

Antoinette steps forward. “Good. Will it be a synchronous assault?”

Nodding, Lilith replies, “Yes. It means some of the European assaults will take place in daylight, but it was more important that we're in the dark here. Issa and Marieka will stay here and run communications, so we’ll have tabs on all locations.”

She looks at me and blinks, then does the same with Kaian, Declan, and Tony, and then she frowns. “Well, that's fucking wild.”

Antoinette chuckles. “Right? I don't know what I was expecting, but for some reason, this was not it.”

“They're going to shit their pants.”

“I kind of feel like the boogeyman,” Kaian says. “I just don't want to go around scaring people all day.”

“If that's the case, I can take Dare’s face off of you,” Camilla replies flippantly.

He glares at her again and opens his mouth to reply, but I hit him with my elbow, turning his attention back to me. “No flirting, right?”

He rolls his eyes but manages to remain silent, and then Antoinette, Carolina, and Jessica all move closer to us. We naturally shift, so our circle narrows, with a group of extras hanging out in the wings.

“Does everyone understand the mission?” I ask seriously.

“Save Dare,” Antoinette replies.

I sigh and shake my head. “No. Finding and freeing Dare is obviously a part of the mission, but that is not the actual mission.”

Antoinette gives me a sulky look but, after a beat, manages to nod. I take a minute to look at each person in the room, earning a nod from each of them before nodding myself. “Good. Let’s go in there and finish this.”

Antoinette looks at Kaian, and then at me, quickly moving to Declan before zeroing in on Tony. “You wanna do the honors for old time's sake?”

He smiles wickedly, pulling two blades from where he has them hidden on his person. He spins them on his palms before gripping the handles. “Are we ready for this?”

We all reply in the affirmative, and the tension in the air sizzles, the ominous buzz of excitement like an old friend.

He waits for everyone to quiet, that wicked grin turning menacing as he says clearly, “It's fuck around time.”