Page 84 of Savage

A long, tense silence fell, and I held my breath. I wanted to see what was happening, but I tamped down my curiosity, or tried to. We were here for something bigger than whatever problems the man had with me.

Suddenly, the blindfold was removed, and I blinked as my eyes adjusted.

One by one six faces came into view. Some people were instantly recognizable—holy shit, is that the son of the former U.S. president? The Prince of Monaco?—and some I’d never seen in my life, but they were clearly of the utmost importance to be standing in the same room as fuckingroyalty.

And by some crazy-ass coincidence, so now was I.

“This is insane,” Shepard O’Neil Winchester III said, and I couldn’t disagree. The fact I was standing in a room with oneof the most—if notthemost—recognizable faces in America was one hundred percent insanity.

But here I was, and from what I could see, there wasn’t one security guy in?—

My eyes shifted to Lachlan.Hewas the security in here, and likely out there in the real world. All their connections were in house.

“I told you,” King snapped without taking his eyes off me. “Your grievances are noted. But this is my decision.”

“Are you sure it’s the right one,mon cher?” one of the men I didn’t recognize asked. “This is a risky move.”

“Then let’s make sure it’s one that pays off.” King looked to the long-haired guy seated at the end of the table they stood around. His legs were kicked up on top of it like he didn’t have a care in the world. “Cooper is joining us today becauseAlessiowas finally able to work out what the key card is for.”

My interest in the men watching me like hawks was suddenly put on the back burner as what King had said registered. They’d worked out what the key card was for? Where it went? What it opened? This was what I’d been waiting for, the next step toward getting justice for Alex, and the fact they’d brought me in…

I looked to Lachlan, whose eyes were locked on me.

This was all him. I wasn’t sure how I knew, but I did. He’d somehow convinced King to let me be here for this reveal, to let me be involved in this moment, and had we not been standing in a room full of men who looked like they wanted to toss me out on my ass, I might have thrown myself into his arms and never let him go.

“So are you waiting for a drum roll?” Lucien—the only familiar person to me—joked, clapping the Alessio guy on the shoulder. “Or you going to tell us?”

“Actually…” Alessio drew his feet off the table and stood, aiming a remote at the massive TV hanging on the wall. “I’m going to show you instead.”

Lachlan placed a hand on my shoulder and said by my ear, “You okay?”

Unable to contain my excitement, I turned and flashed him a wide smile. “Better than okay. This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for.”

“I know.” Lachlan squeezed me gently and gestured back to the screen. “So take a look.”

Up flashed several different images.

“It’s a shipping warehouse,” Alessio said as he moved toward the TV. “At the Riverside Dock. The company ownership is forged and security around the place is tight, but that key card right there—” He pointed to the card sitting on the table. The one I’d accidentally scooped up in the alley. “That’s our way in.”

King walked closer to the screen, his hands clasped behind his back. “These the best angles you’ve got?”

“With what’s out there, yes. But this is one of the old warehouses. This dock isn’t super active, so security isn’t a top priority down there these days. It’s used by smaller, private boats, and I’m guessing Mick’s are the type to roll in late at night.”

“And how do you propose we get inside if we can’t see the front door—oranydoor, for that matter?”

My eyes shifted to the last person I expected to hear talking about breaking and entering a drug dealer’s warehouse—the Prince of Monaco.

Alessio shrugged. “We need to get a closer look. Look for blind spots. Check out what kind of security Mick has watching this place. If he’s having drugs moved through here, you can bet he’s got some sort of muscle patrolling.”

The way these guys were talking told me that (a) they’d done this before and (b) they had no doubt they could pull off whatever plan they came up with. But there was something I couldn’t seem to work out.

“Whoareyou people?”

Every single person stopped talking and turned in my direction.

Shit. Did I say that out loud?

“We aren’t anyone, remember?” King said. “Your NDA states you have seen and met nobody inside these walls.”

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