Page 86 of The Dis-Graced

I don’t know much about Devon other than he has sobriety issues, and that I only learned after I offered him a drink. Of course, there were rumors of his troubled youth, but the Dallangers are so private, I had no idea the extent of his issues. For all I know, he could be the culprit.

Jones looks Devon up and down, then rises from his seat. “Mr. Dallanger, I expected your brother.”

Devon casts the detective a cold, hard gaze. “Ms. Anders will be leaving with me.”

Jones spikes a brow. “Are you sure about that?”

“Unless you plan on arresting her, quite sure.” He sets his gaze on me. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

He holds out his hand, and I’m not sure whether or not I should take it.

Seeing him here, I don’t think he’s stolen it. If he had, he’d probably be in hiding. It’s entirely possible Drake sent him, but I can’t think of a good reason why he would. Maybe after our night, how things were left, he didn’t feel like he could face me. But then again, if I’m being accused of stealing and trying to sell intellectual property, it would have to be by Drake. Though that’s completely ridiculous considering he’s been watching my every move, and I don’t know the first thing about how to even download whatever code ALAN is made from.

But you weren’t the only one brought in for questioning. Luke was too.

A sickening feeling churns in my gut. Is it possible Luke sold Drake out? From what I’ve been told, knowledge of ALAN is pretty limited, so if someone was trying to sell any part of ALAN to Alistair Whent, they would have to have access to him. My brother had access to him.

But this might have nothing to do with ALAN.

Fat chance of that. I’m a journalist, and my senses are keen. Someone is selling Dallanger IP, and if I’m at all connected, it probably has something to do with ALAN. My best bet is to go with Devon and hope I’m not making a mistake.

I take Devon’s hand, and we exit the room and make our way through a maze of corridors until we reach the exit, being watched by everyone we pass.

When we finally emerge outside of the precinct, I turn to Devon and ask, “What the hell is going on?”

“We need to get you somewhere safe,” he says in a hushed whisper.

He ushers me to a car, looking around to make sure we haven’t caught the attention of any observant onlookers. He opens the door, and I duck to get inside, startled by what awaits me.

“Hello, Grace.”

Oh, fuck!

Chapter 28

Drake

I enter the office an hour late after a night of little sleep, or rather, no sleep. Edna has already laid a stack of newspapers on my desk, but I have a feeling I’m not going to get around to them today.

I haven’t had time to empty my inbox, nor have I been able to take a look at my schedule. I’m lucky I don’t have any meetings this morning, the last thing I need is to piss off a client.

I guess I don’t have to worry about Luke being angry at me for banging his sister. I chuckle, but I’m far from merry. Things are unraveling in a way that is both fast and terrifying. I’m dealing with both betrayal and killer AI tech that is bent on the destruction of humanity. Yeah, banging Gracey is literally the last thing I should be worried about.

And yet, you seem to be thinking about it every chance you get.

I scold myself for my mental misstep. Some doors will remain forever closed.

My phone buzzes.

“Yes, Edna,” I say into the intercom.

“Alistair Whent is here to see you.”

“Send him in.”

He’s a man of many looks. Bleached blond hair in August, dark and disheveled in winter. Alistair Whent can pull off almost any style effortlessly. He travels the world as though he’s on permanent vacation, but the reality of it is he in incredibly business savvy, and it’s probably an equal part business and pleasure

The door opens, and Alistair enters in a suit, clean shaven, and dapper as hell, while I’m here looking like I haven’t slept in a week.