Page 96 of Retribution

‘Have your curiosités been assuaged, petite fleur?’

‘For now.’

‘Are we ready to discuss terms? I would like you to make Envy for me. What do you want in return? I’ve already cut the three…how you say…stoogesloose. They are useless to me. I assume you want them out of the deal as well, oui?’

‘No!’ I exclaim, sitting up straight. ‘I don’t want that at all!’

Sauvage raises a brow.

‘You’re not what I thought,’ he mutters. ‘Tell me then. What is it that you want?’

‘I’ll make Envy in that nice lab downstairs, for you and for Mav, Shade, and Blake. They’re my partners.’

‘And you do this out of the goodness of your heart?’

‘Not quite. I need a place to stay. Somewhere to hide.’

‘You are engaged, no?’

I look down at the table and nod.

‘You run from this man?’

I nod again, not even bothering to try to hide it.

‘And your stepfather… He is your guardian. He wants this marriage for you. He is your doting père, no?’

I force myself to meet Sauvage’s eyes. ‘John Novelle makes people see what he wants them to. In reality, he hates me. Always has. He kept me locked away for something I may not have done years ago. He kept me from the people I cared about.Careabout. There’s no love lost between us. He is a liar and a snake and the man he wants me to marry is worse. Keep my presence here a secret except from Mav, Shade, and Blake. Ensure no one else can find me and I’ll make so much Envy for you that you won’t know what to do with it.’

Pierre Sauvage’s eyes gleam as he looks at me. ‘No, you are not what I thought, petite fleur. You are so much more. We havea deal. You will stay at my hotel. You will have everything you need. Food, drink.’ He winks. ‘Your men if you desire.’

I find myself nodding. ‘But they get their money, too. No cutting them out. And they stay safe.’

Sauvage holds out his hand and I take it. He squeezes it a little and my eyes find his. ‘Do not double cross me, chéri. I am a fair man, but I am not weak.’

My eyes narrow. ‘Me neither.’

Sauvage’s phone vibrates on the table, and he looks at it. He rolls his eyes. ‘Speak of le diable. I think your lovers have discovered you are here. They are demanding to meet with me.’

My heart flips. I’m going to see them! All three of them. But just as quickly, my elation turns to dread.

‘How did they know where to find me?’ I whisper. ‘Who else knows?’

Have Joe and Nasty Nurse found me already? I’m out of the chair in an instant, my breathing coming in fits and starts. ‘Is there a way out of here?’

Sauvage stands up, keeping his distance. He remains calm in the face of my panic.

My fingers flex. My body vibrates with the need to run. I can’t breathe.

‘I need to get out of here,’ I stutter, holding my chest where my heart beats erratically.

‘The Bandervilles and the Novelles have no idea where you are, chéri,’ he says slowly.

‘You can’t know that. This was a mistake,’ I mutter to myself.

‘Idoknow that,’ the Frenchman says slowly. ‘I give you my word that no one shall take you from here.’

‘Your word?’ I scoff. ‘What’s that worth?’