I go through the basement and use the keypad to exit into the tunnels. I checked the tide times on the way here, so I know the passages to the warehouse district will be clear for the next three hours or so. More than enough time to get in, watch, and get out.
I get to the concrete steps that lead up, where I took Daisy up to the street after the bomb in the club. My heart hammers in my chest and I try not to think about it, knowing that I’ll probably have a nightmare tonight if I let my head linger on the memories of that day.
In the derelict warehouse above, I find that the Garretts have already arrived. There are four guys I’ve never met before, but I’ve seen one or two around. They’re loitering by the wall, like they’re just here to kill time. Lu Garrett is amongst them.
‘Novelle,’ she says by way of greeting. ‘Cousins, Novelle. Novelle, cousins.’
We all nod to each other, and she checks her watch.
‘Five minutes late,’ she mutters and then gives me a narrow-eyed look. ‘Hope you haven’t wasted our time.’
My phone buzzes and I check it quickly. Daisy has a meeting with Detective Anders tomorrow. I quickly message Robert Burrows, my lawyer, directly, to ask him to meet her there before I glance up at Lu.
‘Pete and Rob will be here. Be happy,’ I tell her, putting my phone away. ‘This way, you get to actually participate. You’re welcome.’
She snorts. ‘You mean take all the risk. Whatever. Daisybear is worth it.’
We hear a car engine and the Garretts take their places just inside the door while I stay in plain view.
It rolls open and Pete enters first. When he sees me, a look of resignation passes over his face, but his steps don’t falter. I begrudgingly give him a tiny iota of respect for not being a coward. The Garretts wait until they’re both inside and the door slams shut behind them.
‘What the fuck!’ Rob shouts as he’s taken in a sure grip by two of Lu’s cousins and his arms are wrenched behind his back.
Pete doesn’t say a word and doesn’t struggle.
‘Shade. What is this?’ Rob snarls.
I step forward. ‘This is your punishment for what you tried to do to Daisy in the game room on Halloween.
‘What? I didn’t do shit! It was all Marcus!’
‘Shut the fuck up, Rob!’ I growl. ‘We saw the tape. We know what you did. Did you really think there wouldn’t be hell to pay?’
‘What-What are you going to do?’ he stammers, finally looking scared.
‘Me?’ I ask innocently? ‘Nothing. It’s the Garretts you need to worry about. They’ll be… well, I don’t know either actually.’ I give him a thumbs up. ‘It’s gonna be a surprise for the both of us.’
‘First things first,’ Lu says, casually sliding on some brass knuckles that look like they were made specifically for her small hands. ‘You’re Pete, right?’
Pete nods jerkily.
‘Great! I’m told that you’ve already suffered a little and you were kind of justthere. Now, you may not have hurt my friend, but you didn’t help her either, so you’ll be getting a beating today.’
Her right hook is swift and it’s clearly not the first time she’s handled her own dirty work.
Pete yowls as his head snaps to the side and then she hits him again in the stomach. He doubles over with a groan, and she lifts his head up by his hair. ‘These are my two cousins. They’ll be finishing up and then abandoning you in the woods later. They might leave you a compass since you haven’t tried to resist.’
The two guys holding Pete drag him to the wall and begin pummeling the shit out of him.
Lu turns to Rob who’s still struggling in the other two’s grips.
‘Fuck you!’ he snarls at her. ‘Do you know who my father is?’
‘I do, actually,’ she chirps. ‘Hi. My name is Lu Garrett. Your dear old dad does a lot of side business with my PopPop. He’s pretty pissed that you’ve made an enemy of us, so, as long as we don’t accidently kill you today, I don’t think he’s gonna care, Robert. In fact, he only askedrespectfullythat we don’t disfigure your face or fuck up your junk so bad that you can’t make an heir.’
Her eyes move over him and clearly find him wanting. ‘You not being able to procreate doesn’t seem like a bad thing, though. We’ll see.’
She claps her hands together and gives a little jump. ‘Ever been waterboarded?’
