“Take it. Please.”
“Thanks.”
I take the bottle and set it on the floor next to my chair. If it’s a bomb, I want it out in the open where it will kill all of us when it goes off.
Abbot settles back down into his chair.
“I don’t expect you to decide right now. But at least tell me you’ll think about it.”
I tap the bottle with my boot. It doesn’t explode.
“Sure. Why not?”
Abbot flashes me a Mount Rushmore–size smile.
“That’s terrific news.”
He gets a business card from his pocket and hands it to me.
“This has my private number on it. You can call anytime. If you need anything or just want to talk.”
I put the card in an inner pocket of my coat.
It feels like the end of the audience, so I get up. Abbot and Tuatha stand too. It’s handshakes all around, a little awkward and self-conscious, like the end of a mediocre job interview.
“Don’t forget your bottle,” Abbot says.
I pick up the Jack and cradle it in my arms like a newborn.
Tuatha says, “I’ll see him out, Tommy.”
He nods and sits back down.
“It was great meeting you, Stark.”
“Yeah. You too.”
With a light touch on my arm, Tuatha steers me outside. We walk to the far end of the boat.
“Thank you for coming and for listening. I know this kind of thing is hard for you.”
“Let me ask you something straight. Do you trust this guy? He seems too good to be true.”
“I thought so too when we first met. He does work hard to make a good impression, doesn’t he? But over the years I’ve learned that a few people are what they appear to be. Especially the ones with good hearts.”
I look back the way we came.
“But he’d still have a troublemaker killed if he thought it was for the greater good.”
“Of course. Don’t take his good manners for weakness. He is the Augur, after all. But I don’t think you have to worry. I can tell he likes you.”
“Maybe you’re right. I wouldn’t give Gentleman Jack to an enemy.”
Tuatha looks at me more seriously than she ever has before.
“Think about the offer. Really think about it. I think you two could do wonderful things together.”
“Thanks, Ms. Fortune. Take care of yourself.”