Page 107 of Deathless & Divided

Damian stayed still while Lily checked the buttons on his tux. He knew she didn’t need to. This was the third time he’d gone through a fitting with her. The girl was particular, especially where the wedding was concerned. It seemed like planning for the wedding and getting all the last-minute details together had become a sort of stress reliever for Lily. Damian was more than willing to feed into that for her. When she’d come over to his apartment earlier, he did everything she asked just to give her something else to focus on other than the people in the hospital and the Outfit’s mess.

“Dino got a call today,” Lily said quietly.

“Did he?” Damian asked.

“Yes.”

“About what?”

Lily looked up at him through her thick lashes. “Are you telling me you don’t know?”

“Well, I asked didn’t I?”

She continued fussing with his tux, saying nothing more.

“Lily,” Damian said.

“Hmm.”

“Tell me what the phone call was about.”

“Ben.”

Ah.

“I heard,” Damian said.

Lily tapped her fingers on his chest, catching his gaze. “It’s practically unexplainable. The records show his machines were functioning properly and then suddenly …”

“Flat line.”

“Aunt Carmela is in a panic.”

“How long had they been married?” Damian asked, helping her with the knot on his tie.

“Thirty-seven years,” Lily answered.

“A long time.”

“She’s more concerned about the final Will and Testament than his death. She was on the phone with the lawyers according to Theo.”

Damian sighed. “Death brings greed.”

“Something like that.” Lily grew silent as she ran her hands over his tux once more. “They’re opening an investigation into Ben’s death. They’re calling it suspicious.”

He wasn’t worried. Nothing would be found.

“On the hospital’s part?” he asked.

“Apparently.”

“Medical malpractice, maybe.”

Lily nodded. “Maybe. But maybe you should get rid of that lab coat in your garbage can, Damian.”

Damian turned to stone. He’d tossed the lab coat earlier, planning to burn it with some other shit that needed to disappear. Lily showing up at his place unexpectedly when she was supposed to be at Dino’s all day had put a kink in those plans. She’d walked into his apartment with one of those frilly coffee drinks she liked so much and then tossed it into the same garbage can he used to dispose of the coat temporarily.

He hadn’t even realized his mistake.