Page 27 of Sawyer’s Mistake

Alix looked down sadly. “I lived with them for three months before they did the same thing to me.”

Saoirse gasped, horrified.

Alix’s voice shook. “When I first arrived on the yacht, I was panicked, of course. I was used to spending my days looking behind me, wondering when the Remur would catch up with me. The first few days on the yacht were unreal, in a way. At first, I was terrified. My body didn’t remember how to … not be scared all the time. But the relief when I finally understood the Remur weren’t coming, that was the real drug.”

Meir looked at Alix with distrust. “You didn’t notice anything strange while you were there?”

Alix seemed embarrassed. “I didn’t know they were offering people to the Remur, if that’s what you’re asking,” she began, looking up and straight into Meir’s eyes. “But I see now that I also didn’t want to know. A young couple arrived a few weeks after I did. They spent the night with us, but they were gone by morning. Paul told us they’d woken up early and left. It seemed strange to me then, that somebody would choose to leave such safety behind, but I chose not to question it. I was complicit in the crime. We all were.”

“And then it was your turn,” Meir pushed.

Alix nodded. “Miranda found out what I used to do and didn’t like it. So I became the next gift. It was just a case of being au mauvais endroit au mauvais moment.”

“Did they explain anything else? Do you know how long they’d been doing this?”

Alix laughed quietly. “Oh yes, they wanted me to know all the details. As if knowing would make the situation more bearable. It started soon after the invasion. A group of them traveled from Paris. They chose the yacht as a safehouse, which was a pretty good idea, but they still needed to get off the yacht to go hunting for food, medicines, and materials. And that’s when the Remur started killing their people, leaving their corpses to rot in nearby fields. The Remur were coming closer and closer to the yacht, and it was only a matter of time until they found the survivors. That’s when Paul and Miranda had the idea of leaving an offering for them. Back then they didn’t know the Remur were only interested in women, so they left a couple. They knocked them out and tied them down and waited for the Remur to get there. The Remur took them, and that’s how they started developing their … system.”

“Oh God.” Saoirse put a hand up to her mouth. For an instant, she thought she might be sick. She couldn’t go back to the yacht, no matter what. These people had developed a system to barter with the aliens. She couldn’t imagine such evil.

“We have to go back and find them,” Sawyer said. His tone left no doubt that when he said find, he meant kill.

Saoirse shot Eva an alarmed look.

“We don’t have time for revenge, Jake,” Eva spat out.

“Revenge?” Jake repeated, his mouth a grim line. There was no trace of his usual easy smile. “I could dig their hearts out with a fork and it wouldn’t be punishment enough for what they tried to do to Saoirse, Eva.” Eva went pale. Storme took a step forward, a clear warning in his eyes. Sawyer lowered his voice. “This isn’t about revenge.”

“What is it about then, Jake, tell us. Because I don’t think Saoirse is on board with this plan, and if she’s not on board, I’m not on board.”

Sawyer looked at Alix and Saoirse.

“You both know they’re going to keep on killing. We need to go back and stop them.”

Storme nodded. “Enough discussion. Votes in favor of going to Cambrai, raise your hands.” His hand went up first, followed by Sawyer’s and Prado’s. The rest of the GEOX team raised their hands as well. Alix was the last one to do so. Only Saoirse kept her hands stubbornly clasped in front of her.

“It’s decided then. We’ll prepare today and leave tomorrow,” Storme said.

Chapter 13

Jake

Sawyer shook his head in disbelief. She hadn’t raised her hand. After everything those monsters had done to her, she still refused to back his plan. Didn’t she understand the danger Paul, Miranda, and Amélie represented? He made up his mind to talk to her.

He waited until people retired for the night. One of the advantages of sleeping in an abandoned furniture factory was the number of soft surfaces available to lie on. Storme and Eva were the first to retire. They’d taken a room on the first floor. In unspoken agreement, the rest of the teams settled in rooms on the ground or second floor.

A little past ten, Alix walked by, heading up to the room she was sharing with Saoirse. She didn’t even look his way. Prado and Kopf went up shortly after. Meir was the last one to walk by Sawyer as he sat in the makeshift living room.

“Your wrist hurting?” Meir asked. His dark eyes never missed anything.

Like a bitch.

“Not as much as before,” he said. Which was also true.

Meir nodded. “If you need something for the pain, Zander’s taking first watch. You should get some sleep.”

“I will. Thanks, Meir.”

He looked out the window at the van. The light was still on. Since Meir wasn’t that careless, that meant Saoirse was still in the lab. He looked at his watch. It was shortly before midnight.