Page 44 of Private Exhibit (Gentleman Hackers #4)

DEVON COULDN'T believe it. He was going to live! And not just live. He was going to be one hundred percent, completely cured.

There was still a lot of work to do. They'd only gotten through a fraction of his nerves—the ones that fed all his most vital functions—but the repairs held, which meant they could keep going. They could fix the rest of his nervous system. It would be fully intact. The attacks would end for good.

And Andy loved him!

Those hadn't been mere words. Devon had felt the full truth of Andy's declaration coming straight from the depths of his soul.

Andy loved him. He really meant it.

Devon had been so close to giving up. He'd been right on the verge of completely letting go, ready to let himself die so it could all be over.

But he couldn't miss out on this. He finally had the one thing he'd always wanted more than anything else in the world.

Devon spent several more days in the hospital while Dr. Crawford helped him learn how to protect his mind from the telepathic plane.

They couldn't close it off completely—not when he still needed more work to be done—but at least Devon would be able to shut out all the chaos.

He'd be able to close the door on the voices, only letting them in when and if he chose.

Maybe, someday, he'd be able to use it to do some good.

Pay it forward for all the people who had saved his life over the years.

He could do like Andy and help ghosts transition.

Or maybe he could do something like Dr. Crawford's mother did, hearing people's suffering and stopping crimes before they were over.

For now, though, Devon just wanted a chance to live his life. To enjoy the world. Just having possibilities was enough. He'd never had that before.

And he had plenty of time now to make a decision or change his mind.

Once he felt confident in Dr. Crawford's lessons, and Andy was doubly sure he was stable enough to be discharged, Devon finally got to go home.

He was still confined to a wheelchair, the bulk of his motor and sensory nerves still waiting in line to get fixed, but it would happen.

Devon could get out of the hospital, and Andy could continue the treatments at home.

But there was one thing Andy insisted on before they left. He had Dr. Crawford go back in and repair Devon's optic nerves, claiming Devon wasn't allowed to have an attack that rendered him temporarily blind. Not even for a second.

Devon couldn't make sense of it, other than the fact that Andy knew he liked watching him. But to have Dr. Crawford do it instead of doing it himself? When Devon asked Andy about that, Andy said he didn't want to risk Devon reading his thoughts while he was in there. It would spoil the surprise.

But what surprise?

Andy made a call as the car pulled up to his building and turned into the underground garage. “Are we ready?”

“ Ready ,” Oliver's voice came through over the speakerphone.

“What's going on?” Devon asked.

Andy grinned at him. “You'll see.”

The man didn't say another word the whole way inside. Devon could do nothing but sit patiently in the chair while Andy rolled him onto the elevator and then to the apartment door. Andy paused there, fiddling with his keys.

Devon used the hesitation to experiment with lowering his wards.

He did it slowly, bracing himself for noise, but nothing came.

No assault of hundreds of voices. No particular screams. No swarm of ghosts.

It was so different from the hospital or even out on the streets, where the very air seemed a swirl of chaos.

Devon heaved a sigh of relief, letting the wards drop entirely.

Holding them up still took effort, though he was assured that would get easier in time.

For now, it was nice to simply relax and just be .

Andy unlocked the door and pushed Devon inside.

“Welcome home, sweet boy,” Andy murmured.

Devon gasped. “Oh my gods.” Everywhere he looked—all over the floor since there was so little furniture—the apartment was filled with plants.

Rubber trees, arrowhead, pothos, peace lilies, snake plants, and so much more. So many shades of green in every direction. Not to mention flower arrangements in every color imaginable.

“Oh my gods,” Devon repeated in a whisper.

“Is it too much?”

Devon shook his head. “It's perfect. Oh my gods. Andy!”

“Oliver and I are going to take care of them for you,” Andy said. “But once you're more mobile, you can put them wherever you want. If you don't like them, we'll get some others. Or get more. Anything you want, sweetheart. I want this place to feel like home.”

Whoa , a voice cut in. Did I miss something or did there used to be an apartment here?

Andy chuckled.

Devon looked around and spotted a ghost standing just behind them. He gasped. Holy shit . Andy hadn't been kidding. Junior looked just like him, only a younger version.

Hi , Junior said, walking up to him. I'm Andy Junior. I was gonna introduce myself in the hospital, but you had enough going on. Trust me. Been there.

Devon winced.

Hey, it's fine. Junior flashed him a smile. I just wanted to say I'm glad you're gonna make it. You make my dad happy, and that's all I care about. He paused. Just don't expect me to call you my stepdad. Not sure I'll ever be able to run with that.

Devon blinked. “Stepdad?”

“Getting a little ahead of yourself there, kid,” Andy said with a laugh.

Don't tell me you hadn't thought about it , Junior teased back.

Andy blushed. He actually blushed!

Oh my gods , Devon thought. This was too much.

Oh! Junior exclaimed. Gotta go.

“You just got here,” Andy pointed out. “Where are you going?”

To see Jess. Duh. Later! Junior vanished.

“Jun–” Andy began, then sighed. “That boy.”

“I think he's in love,” Devon blurted out.

“What?”

“Totally,” Oliver agreed.

“I–” Andy grumbled and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I'm so not ready for this.”

Devon laughed.

Andy took Devon away to give him a proper bath and change him into something clean and comfortable, then parked him at his computer while he went to make arrangements for dinner.

Devon had some use of his right arm, so he slowly logged into the Gentleman Hackers chatroom while he glanced across the table at Oliver.

“I heard you, you know,” Devon said. “When I was in the hospital.”

Oliver's eyes went wide. “Shit. You did?”

Devon nodded. “And I understand,” he rushed to assure his friend. “You did what you needed to do in order to move on. But if you still want help tracking down what happened to Dannika, I'm here.”

Oliver blinked rapidly. “Thanks,” he whispered, smiling shyly before ducking back behind his computers.

Devon finished logging in, and the main chat box immediately exploded with activity.

Phantom : Voy(ag)eur's back!!!

BabyDoll : YAY!!! About time. We missed you!

Incubus : He's here! He's here! Yay! Thank gods. It hasn't been the same in here without you.

Limbo : I'll second that.

Devon swallowed hard as a wave of emotion crashed over him. They'd actually missed him? He couldn't help grinning as tears collected on his eyelashes.

Then he heard five distinct keystrokes, and a private chat window popped up.

Rogue : Hi.

Devon grinned and carefully typed a response.

Voy(ag)eur : Hi.

Then another private chat window popped up.

Grim : Good to see you in here again. How's your head? Not too overwhelming, I hope?

Devon was about to type a response when he paused, realizing what lay under Grim 's message.

Holy shit. Was it coincidence or fate?

Voy(ag)eur : It was you!

Grim : It was.

Voy(ag)eur : Why didn't you ever tell me? How did you even find out about me?

Grim seemed to type hesitantly for several minutes before a response finally came through.

Grim : You had a tendency, back then, to mentally reply to the people whose cries you heard.

I don't think you even realized you were doing it.

But I heard it, and I tracked you down. I found you in the hospital, and convinced your doctor to tell me all about your case.

When they explained that your mental abilities were compounding an already fatal medical condition, I volunteered to help.

Voy(ag)eur : But why? I was nobody to you.

Grim : Let's just say…I know all too well how traumatic it can be, having other people inside you.

Devon stilled, staring at the words. Somehow, he knew Grim wasn't talking about a telepathic kind of invasion. Oh gods .

Grim : Besides, you were only a child. You didn't deserve to suffer like that.

I tried to keep tabs on you afterwards, mostly out of mere curiosity.

But when I caught wind of you in the digital world, years later, and realized it was you, I was intrigued.

And you were good, so of course I had to have you on my team.

Voy(ag)eur : Yet you still never said anything.

Grim : Privacy is vital. I don't trust anyone.

Devon sat back. Oh . He paused, shaking his head, thinking of the special assignments Oliver had mentioned. And there was something Andy had told him about the mysterious phone call Oliver made right before a mage showed up to take the block off Devon's mind.

That was all Grim .

Voy(ag)eur : You trust Oliver.

Grim : I trust his need for revenge. It's not the same thing. And I trusted his concern for you, enough so that I allowed him the ability to call me without ever actually having access to my number.

Devon's eyes went wide.

Voy(ag)eur : Wait. You can do that?

Grim : Oh, the things I could teach you. You and the rest of these guys are some of the best of the best, but I still have plenty of tricks up my sleeve. Maybe, in time, I'll show you a few.

Devon found himself grinning. He actually had the time to look forward to things like that now. Plans were actually possible. Hopes and dreams could finally come true.

Voy(ag)eur : I'd like that.

Grim : Let's just see how things go. But for now…

Voy(ag)eur : Yes?

Grim : I'm glad to have you home.

Devon grinned. Home . He stared at the screen, then looked all around.

He finally felt like he belonged.