Chapter Eight
Daisy
Myfirst morning back in Sauvage's hotel has me remembering why I love my guys so much.
When I woke up, Shade was gone, but in his place were Mav and Blake, and they spent a good couple of hours making sure I understood exactly how much they missed me.
My body feels deliciously achy as I take a shower and pick out some normal clothes. God, I've missednormal clothesandnormal underwear, I think as I put on some new, soft socks I found in my drawer and take stock of my life as of right now.
Some of my problems have totally evaporated over the past three weeks. With Joe, Joseph, and John all dead, the trifecta of evil that was derailing my life is gone for good. I can allow myself to hope for the future now.
There’s still the stalker, of course, but I haven't heard from him in weeks now. I assume that at some point he'll reappear, but, for the moment, I feel relatively safe. Even if it’s a false sense of security, I’ll take it at this point. In Sauvage’s penthouse, as I look over the city, I finallyrelax in a way that I haven’t since John told me I was being married to Joe back in November.
Sauvage has already told me to take a break for as long as I want, and I was surprised. I’d assumed his regard was contingent on me making the drugs for him, but the guys are right. He seems to genuinely care about me. It’s definitely a fatherly thing though.
But I don’t actually want a break. As soon as I feel up to it, I will get back in the lab. After all, it's what I enjoy doing, and I don't want to fall behind in my production of Envy. We had a deal and I will keep my end.
As far as I know, sales are very good, both in Sauvage's businesses in the US and in Europe, where he has been sending small shipments to test the market.
Shade mentioned that the club should be reopening soon, which means we'll be able to sell it there again. There’s a reopening launch party planned, and I’m looking forward to going back.
I wonder if I'll miss Sauvage's hotel when we leave. I look around at the penthouse bedroom. I do like it here. I enjoy the view over Richmond from the large windows, and the nice bathroom as well, but being with my guys in our own room down in the basement of the club is something I’ve missed more.
I get dressed in some jeans and a black top with a long sweater, throwing on the boots that I bought at the consignment shop with Lu all those months ago. It seems like another life now.
I frown at all the full hangers. I seem to have a lot more clothes than I did before. Many of them are not items that I would ever choose for myself, designer labels that look pretty but would likely feel awful on my body, at least that’s my experience. But I can’t help touching, and, surprisingly,I find the fabrics are all soft and supple, completely the opposite of the nightmare outfits that Joe and Nasty Nurse made me parade around in.
When I emerge into the living room, I'm greeted by Blake and Mav who are on the couch eating waffles. Shade’s back, and he’s currently pacing around the penthouse slowly. There’s a room service trolley with multiple silver domes on it.
My stomach rumbles loudly. I can’t remember when I last ate properly. I didn’t on the plane as my stomach was in knots, and I had zero appetite. In the cells at The Heath, I was given only a pre-packaged sandwich each evening, so it has to have been at least three days since I had a full meal.
I sit down with the guys and I'm handed a plate with a large Belgian waffle on it. It’s hot, syrupy, buttery, and light. I don't even make a pretense of following any table manners at all, stuffing my face like I've never seen food before in my life, much to Mav, Shade, and Blake's amusements.
'Are you guys ready to go?' Shade asks when he’s cleared his plate.
‘Where?’ I ask.
‘I think we should go through my father’s office before Andy gets here.’
‘Just finishing up,’ I say with a nod, my mouth half-full.
'Was your brother almost here when you spoke to him?' Mav asks.
'No, I don't think he'd left Harvard yet. He didn't sound like he was in a car either. I just think that it would be a good idea for us to take a look. If there is anything to find, we’re more likely to before my brother takes over.’
‘Takes over?’ Blake asks. ‘That sounds ominous.’
Shade snorts. 'He'll go straight to the lawyer and sign whatever paperwork he needs to sign to make sure he hascontrol of the businesses. He won't leave that up to chance, and he won't delay.'
We leave the hotel through the tunnels in the basement. I’m a little anxious because the last time I was down here was after the bomb in the club when I thought I was going to die down here, but the guys stick close to me, and it doesn’t take more than a few minutes before we come up through the large crack in the stone wall at the back of an ancient looking Banderville crypt. I resist the urge to vandalize it in some way. It looks like no one’s even tended it in a hundred years.
Mav drives us out of Richmond to the Novelle estate in the truck. It takes about a half an hour before we reach the driveway, and he presses the buzzer at the intercom. The wrought iron gate creaks open slowly.
We creep up the long driveway to the circle at the top. I look up at the house, wondering if I should feel something. After all, I was trapped here under the thumb of Nasty Nurse for weeks, but I feel nothing at all. She's dead, and so is Joe. They can't hurt me now.
The four of us go up the marble steps, and the door opens to a young man dressed like Stevens, who I've never seen before. He looks at us with his nose in the air.
'Are you expected?' he asks.
