Page 31 of Retribution

I hadn’t anticipated that Joe would have someone there,but I should have. He craves control over her, and he wants her within his reach. It kills me that now she is and all it took was for him to have a short conversation with my father. It was that easy for him to take over her life.

I’m starting to realize why she put so much effort into figuring out the formula for Envy and making sure she was in on the cash. Money was her only way out, and now even that might not be enough.

‘We should have left when we had the chance,’ Mav says quietly, as if he can hear my thoughts.

He’s just staring out of the window. Has been since Daisy hung up mid-conversation.

‘Find out what you can about the nurse,’ I mutter to Blake, not even looking at him.

‘Already been looking.’

‘Anything?’

‘Only that she used to work in some facility for kids and teens that was shut down after allegations of patient abuse.’

‘Jesus. We need to get Daisy out of there.’

‘She has a class tomorrow on her old Lit timetable, the one my father still has. He made a deal with her that she could still come to school until the end of the year. She’ll be here. We just need to intercept her and get her away from whoever’s with her.’

I pace some more and then I pick up my phone, calling Daisy’s best friend.

She answers almost immediately. ‘Trying different numbers now? I told you I don’t deal with your brand of drama, Teddy bear. I’m a badass bitch and I don’t need your jealous alpha bullshit. Not even for your ruby red Miata, jackass. Leave me alone, or I’ll come make you.’

‘It’s Shade,’ I say with a frown, wondering who she thinks she’s talking to.

‘Oh.’ She’s quiet for a second and then mumblessomething about putting my number in her phone so she knows when not to pick up.

‘This about the package I left downstairs?’

‘What package?’

She huffs and I get a mental image of her rolling her eyes like I’m wasting her time.

‘The thing you asked me for before the holidays. One of your boys took it from me at the door.’ She lets out a loud sigh.

‘It’s not about the package, but thanks. Did you read what was in it?’

I can literally feel her long-suffering expression on the other end of the line. ‘Nope. Not my circus, not my monkeys, Novelle. Look, if this isn’t about the package, then what are you calling me for? I thought we had a deal that youwouldn’t.In fact, this better be good. I told you not to contact me and yet here you are, messaging me. Calling me like we’re besties. What the fuck, Novelle?’

‘You free tomorrow? Daisy will be on campus.’

‘What time?’ She sounds like she’s got her game face on, now.

‘Her old Lit class was at ten. They don’t know she changed majors, remember?’

‘I remember. What do you need from me?’

‘Pretend you’re in her classes. Her friend from English Lit. Get her away from whoever they send with her.’

‘Way ahead of you, Novelle. Think it’ll be Nurse Nasty with her?’ she asks derisively.

So she already knows about the nurse. I suppose Daisy will have been in contact with her now she has a new phone.

‘I don’t know, but there’s no way they’ll let her go anywhere alone.’

‘Daisy put on the chat that the nurse was talking to Joe about not wanting to shadow her all day, so maybe Joe willsend someone else,’ Mav interjects from his place by the window.

‘I’ll be there,’ Lu says. ‘It works out, actually. Pretend you don’t know me if you see me, Novelle. Daisy’s Simp One. Daisy’s Simp Two. Later.’