Page 19 of Retribution
They stand stoic and still as statues, like they’ll be pushed if they move even an inch.
‘She’ll be wondering where we are, and we can’t even message her to tell her why we aren’t there.’
Mav’s jaw works, but he doesn’t turn toward me.
Shade, on the other hand, shifts closer. He doesn’t turn to look at me, but he does speak. ‘Stop making a big deal of this or he’ll make us wait longer just because he can,’ he says very quietly, his lips barely moving. ‘If you want to get out of here before my father locks her up in the tower, smile andfucking relax.’
I clench my teeth together and try very hard to look like I’m not about to lose my shit, but I’m not Daisy. I’m not able to pretend I’m not angry the way she can. I suck at it. I’d rather crack a skull than a smile.
We sit there in silence for another ten minutes at least, my body practically vibrating with the need to get up and move around, even if it’s to pace the hallways the way Shade usually does when he’s upset.
But my friend is right. If Sauvage knows we’re in a hurry, he’ll have us wait longer just to make sure we remember that it’s him who calls the shots here.
As I look around at the hired guns who are standing around, I wonder, not for the first time, if it was Sauvage’s guys who wanted me lured to the prison when I went to see my father. The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced there was a reason he wanted to see me because it sure as shit wasn’t tosee me. What did he get for making me come to him? A few packs of cigarettes? A coveted job in the cafeteria?
The door at the end of the corridor opens, putting an end to thoughts of my dad for now, and one of Sauvage’s guys motions for us to get up.
‘Mr. Sauvage is ready for you.’
About fucking time!
Shade goes first as our unofficial leader, Mav second, and I bring up the rear, watching our backs. Just in case.
Sauvage knows that without us there is no product, but I wouldn’t put it past him to give us a little taste of what he’ll do to us if we don’t keep the supply flowing. That has to be why we wereencouragedto get into the black van that pulled up to us on the street outside of the hospital and brought us to see him. Everyone knows about thegas leakat the club and the fire at Richmond U. Did he know the truth before Shade called him? Probably. The French fuck always knows what’s going on in his patch.
We walk inside to find the man himself sitting at a large ebony desk. A flat screened monitor sits in one corner along with a keyboard and a trackpad, but not much else. The office has a leather couch on one side with a small coffee table that matches the desk, and dark wallpaper with a swirling geometric design that makes my lip quirk up just a little.
Daisy would love looking at it the way she does my tattoo.
‘Bonjour, my friends. Please, sit,’ Sauvage purrs, sitting back in his leather chair and steepling his fingers Mr. Burns-style.
His dark hair is short, graying just a little at his temples. His pinstripe suit is crisp and tailored to showcase his broad shoulders. He might seem like a pencil pusher by day, but at night, I heard he’s been known to fight in the cage at his underground club in the city. He’s no slouch, and his every movement is purposeful, like a panther.
We each take one of the three leather chairs in front of his desk. All of us look him in his piercing, dark eyes, not showing him anything less than strength.
After a moment, he sighs. ‘My operations. They run smoothly. I like this. It’s important. A well-oiled machine. You understand this,oui?’
We all give a curt nod, but it’s Shade who has Sauvage’s attention now.
‘Problems… like the ones that seem to follow you. They’re not smooth. They create problems for me.’
Shade opens his mouth to speak, but Sauvage puts up a hand for quiet.
‘When my son came to me last year, telling me that he had agreed to…how do you say…take the fallfor the allegations that were brought against you and your friends, I was dubious. I wondered if threeboyswould be able to pay the price we agreed. To be honest, you did me a favor in some ways. I wanted to send my boy to school in Switzerland, not Richmond, but he wanted to be here. With his friends. Hisexpulsionfrom this backwater was heureuxserendipitous. He is now in Genève where he belongs. However…’
Sauvage sits back, taking in a long breath. ‘I was right to be dubious. Ever since this arrangement began, there have been delays and excuses, problems andmoney lost.’
His eyes find Mav and then mine, and then he brings his fist down hard on the desk.
Not one of us jumps, and he seems satisfied when we don’t quail in front of him.
‘Thisgas leaklie,’ he chuckles, moving on, ‘an ingenious story, but a lie nonetheless. It has destroyed your ability to make my payments, non?’
‘We’ll find another lab,’ Shade says stiffly, though we’ve been talking about it for days and still have no idea where we’ll be able to make Envy.
Sauvage makes a sound between a scoff and a snort. ‘Oui, where? Where is this speciallaboratoirethat does not exist?’
‘We—’
