Page 83 of Retribution

I guess I am hysterical after all.

‘It’s just. I thought it would be so much worse, you know? I’vehadso much worse. Literally this morning. And that stick is really scary with all the clicking. But, like, it’s not much worse than a,’ I laugh harder as I babble, ‘a bee sting. I mean, is itbroken?’

‘What the fuck is this? Who is this bitch?’ one of the other men in the room murmurs.

Mr. In-charge presses his ear again. ‘Yes, Monsieur. It’s definitely working. I’ll…try again.’

I tilt my head. Did I hear him right? Monsieur? Who else would be called monsieur if not a French man? This guy in front of me clearly isn’t French. Maybe I am in the right place after all.

‘Look, sweetheart, either you start telling us the truth or I’m going to turn this to the highest setting and?—’

‘I’m sorry,’ I say, looking up at him, ‘but it’s just not very scary anymore.’

His eyes narrow and he zaps me again, letting the current run through me for much longer than he did before.

When he finally steps back, I level him with an annoyed expression.

‘Could you stop that? It’s leaving little burn marks, you know? I’d rather not be covered in them. It’ll make it hard for me to sleep later when my skin is sore. Do you mind?’

He looks up at the blinking light.

‘Look, bitch, we captured you because you’re?—’

‘You didn’t capture me,’ I interrupt. ‘I wanted to find you. At least, I did if the man behind the camera up there is Pierre Sauvage. Shade told me one of his guys was camped outside the club, and that he had shown an interest in me, so I thought that was a good way of getting to see him.’

I look up at the camera.

‘If you are Monsieur Sauvage, I have some terms, but I can make Envy for you,’ I say clearly.

Mr. In-charge snorts. ‘This is bullshit. How did you even?—’

He touches his ear. ‘Yes. Right away, sir.’

He looks at me and shakes his head. ‘Get her up.’

The zip ties locking me to the chair are cut and I’m hauled to my feet. My left leg gives out immediately. It’s aching badly, I realize, and I hadn’t felt it with everything else going on.

Mr. In-charge catches me before I fall down.

‘Thanks,’ I murmur, giving him an open smile that seems to surprise him.

He shakes his head as if he needs to clear it and the three men walk me out of the room.

‘Are we in a hotel?’ I ask.

He looks at me sharply.

I sniff. ‘It smells of laundry out here. And I heard a big kitchen earlier.’

They take me into an elevator that doesn’t go anywhere until Mr. In-charge uses a special keycard like the ones in the lab on campus. We rise for a good few seconds before the doors open onto a wide corridor with a wooden floor lined with indoor plants.

It’s warmer up here, and I realize I’d been shivering down in the basement. I’m taken to a door and Mr. In-charge opens it with a smirk.

‘This is one of Mr. Sauvage’s private rooms.’

He pushes me in when I hesitate and enters after me. He closes the door behind him and stands there watching me.

I look around the room. There’s no one else here, but the room is a bedroom. An odd one. There’s a large four-poster bed with a cage under it.