Page 81 of Exile

She's perfect, just the way she is.

I can't wait to splatter his blood all over his office floor.

"Avery is with me tonight," I advise, tapping my fingers on the desk over my invisible schedule. "Theo tomorrow night. Then you'll have your turn again."

"No surprise there," he replies unbothered. "Try not to break her. We need to stay focused."

"You don't give me enough credit."

Damon laughs. "Don't I?"

Before I can respond, the library door opens and I glance over as Avery and Theo enter hand in hand. She gives me a warm smile, tucking a piece of paper into her pocket.

"My list is nearly done," she exclaims. "Theo's too."

"Good girl," I wink, beaming when she blushes.

Theo rounds the table behind me, using the opportunity to smack me up the back of the head.

"Ow, what was that for asswipe?"

"No reason. I just felt like it," he says calmly. "Damon," he greets.

"Theo. Always a displeasure."

Avery groans into her hands. "Stop beating each other up."

"I'm innocent," I gasp. "Control your boyfriend, Little Killer."

"Yeah, Aves. Control me," Theo responds.

She rubs her temple, turning her attention to Damon. "Want to take a trip to the morgue?"

"Well now, that's just mean," I grumble. "You know how I feel about morgue sex."

"You're only saying that because it's apparently Avery's favorite place to fuck," Damon says coolly.

"I didn't see you complaining," she shoots back playfully. "Besides I'm not the one who likes to chase through the dark hallways."

Damon smirks. "Fond memories."

Laughing, Avery relaxes, glancing between the three of us. "So, what now?"

"Now that you are both here, I do have an update," Damon tells us. "I did some digging into the board to see what we could find in the hopes that the investigation does the same."

"Oh?" I ask, interested. "Tell me you found something juicy."

Damon raises an eyebrow at me. "If by juicy you mean Rian Thatcher having connections to a board member, then yes."

"What?" Avery gasps. "Who?"

"Henry Thatcher. One of father's old friends. Rian's parental information was excluded from his transfer file. It didn't raise any red flags because it's not uncommon for patients to have missing details or have been through the foster system. But it's now apparent that he was planted here after Hallman's death to spy on us."

"We suspected this," Theo says. "I'm not surprised."

Damon nods. "Neither am I. Hopefully, the agency connects the dots and looks into why a board member's son was placed into Lilydale."

"Besides you," Avery points out. "Surely, two instances are grounds for review."