Page 98 of The Dis-Graced

“Yeah, but with everything going on, I just don’t see sobriety sticking.”

“If you’d like a change of scenery, there’s a little resort in Iceland I can send you to,” Irene says without a hint of compassion.

Devon downcasts his eyes, his features falling.

“Maybe he doesn’t want to just sit in a hotel and rot, Irene,” I say, to which her expression twists into shock.

“You think you can just keep him under lock and key forever? He’s an adult now, and maybe he’d like to make some decisions for himself for a change.”

Irene snickered. “If you had been around for his college years, you’d understand why I’m so eager to keep him…contained.”

“He did some shit when he was a teen still, so what? He was a new adult. Maybe if you’d just give him a chance, he’d show you that he can change. But no, you just keep him locked up.”

“It’s for my own good,” Devon cuts in. “I mean, I lose count of the number of times I think about using a day well before noon.”

I frown, sad for Devon. I’ve heard beating addiction can be tough, but it’s hard for me to comprehend how much it effects some people.

“Ya know what, though?” Devon says. “It’s been better. When I’m busy doing jobs for Dalton, I honestly forget about it and just focus on the task.”

“Well, that’s a start,” I say, offering him a warm smile.

“I want to be better,” he says with such determination it nearly brings a tear to my eye.

Devon’s phone vibrates. He looks down, his eyes widening as he takes in the screen. “It’s Eliza.”

A cold rage flows through my veins. “Eliza? As in Stephanie?”

He gives a shallow nod, eyes fixed on the screen. “She says she’s been out of town. She wants to know how I’m doing. How my sobriety is going.”

Bruiser starts going through his paper files he has laid out. “This is the woman?” he asks, holding up Stephanie’s picture.

“Yeah,” I blurt out.

Devon starts angrily typing into his phone.

“Don’t say anything!” I snap. “She might have information on Evil ALAN. Who knows, she might even have her own copy.”

“She’s right,” Bruiser says. “Say nothing until we think this through.”

“Can you figure out where she is by her phone?” I ask.

Bruiser smirks. “Ma’am, you’ve been watching an awful lot of crime thrillers. The truth is, even if we could, we’d have to get approval.”

“But this is literally world ending!”

“Which is why we’re keeping this quiet. Very few people at the bureau know what’s going on, because the more people that know, the more likely it will be to get out. Drake isn’t the only one who’s been infiltrated. I’m pretty sure most of the people I work with are good, but something this big can explode rather quickly if the wrong people find out.”

“So what do we do?” Devon asks. “If we can’t ask for approval, we’ll never find out where she is.”

Realization clicks in my brain. “She’s feeling you out! Trying to see what you know. You’re the one that picked me up at the police department. Elliot’s probably on pins and needles right now, knowing that I’m going to tell you it wasn’t me, and if I manage to convince you, and you manage to convince Drake, and Drake begins to believe Luke’s innocence, the only other person that could feasibly sell Evil ALAN is Elliot.”

“Logic checks out,” Bruiser says. “They’re going into a high-dollar trade knowing that it could very well backfire on them. They’re trying to cover their asses.”

“Let her think you’re using again! Make it sound like you’re looking for a hit. Then, we meet up with her!”

Fear lights Devon’s eyes. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea….”

“It’s a great idea, and you’re going to do it,” Irene cuts in.