Saven Disclosure (The Saven Series Book 2) (17 page)

“Mr. Manly. It’s so good of you to join us.” Jarod’s eyes widen to saucers, and at first, I’m unsure why. Then it hits me. The VP called him by his real name.

“We have a deal. You can’t hurt him.” The words spill out of my mouth with panic-filled urgency.

“My dear, we made no such deal. I said I wouldn’t subject him to this program.” He whirls his hand in the air. “But I never made any promises not to return him to the penitentiary he escaped from. You should brush up on your negotiation skills.”

“I need him. If you want me to successfully deliver your demands, then he’s a non-negotiable part of that bargain. I didn’t have to be specific. It was more than implied.”

The VP chuckles, and I seriously wonder if he has a split personality. Or some type of brain malfunction. “Nice recovery. Nonetheless, I wasn’t going to send him to the penitentiary. I was simply toying with you.”

This guy is a total nut-job. And he’s planning on taking control of the country. Scary.

“What deal?” Jarod looks me squarely in the eyes. So I tell him. He doesn’t look overly pleased, but his demeanor tells me he understands it was the best way out of a bad situation.

“I will require the same of you, Jarod, or Watson, or whatever the hell you call yourself these days. Naturally.” The VP pretends to examine his nails. “Unless you have any issue with that?” He looks up at Jarod, eyes glittering in silent challenge.

“No issue.” Jarod is gruff but acquiescent.

“Good. It’s imperative that the rebels don’t discover what we are doing here, so I expect both of you to keep what you’ve learned today to yourselves.” Jarod and I glance sideways at each other with matching aggrieved expressions. “I assume you’ll need to tell them something, so inform them this is a nuclear armory and that we are recruiting the stars to make weapons. That should keep them off the beaten track for a while anyway.”

I tear my gaze from Jarod and eyeball the VP. “That should work.”

“Great. Well then, I think our business is concluded.” He stands, the chair screeching across the tiled floor in the process. “You may take your sister with you, and I’ll sort out her paperwork tomorrow. Please inform Ella that she’s now gainfully employed as my housekeeper. She will report to my residence at eight a.m. sharp Monday morning.”

My jaw opens and closes like a fish out of water. The desire to beat my knuckles into my head resurrects with considerable urgency. I’ve just sold my soul to the devil, but at least I’m getting Ella out of here. Mission accomplished.

“Oh, and Sadie?” he asks, stopping at the door. He pivots around so he’s facing me dead on, his malicious glare piercing me skin-deep. “Don’t even think about double-crossing me or your sister will pay the price.”

Jarod leaves us at the king’s apartment block before tearing off up the road. It’s ten p.m. and there’s a litany of missed calls from Haydn. He was probably totally freaking out, and he’s going to be pissed as hell, but I don’t care. My sister is out of that godforsaken place.

Ella is safe.

For now.

Haydn lunges for me the second I step foot in the apartment, grabbing me into his arms. “Stars. I’ve been so worried.” My eyes spot Neve and Alex loitering anxiously in the background. “Where were you?” He holds me at arm’s length now as relief gives way to mounting anger. “I went to Government Buildings looking for you, and the place was secured for the night. What’s going on?” He looks up, finally noticing Ella.

Shrugging out of Haydn’s embrace, I loop my arm in my sister’s as my booted foot closes the front door. “This is my sister, Ella. She’s going to be living with us.” Temporarily, but I don’t want to get into that. I’ve done plenty of thinking on the drive back, and one of the first things I’m doing to reclaim my independence is getting my own place.

“Do you want to explain?” Haydn pins me with “the look.” He hasn’t even acknowledged Ella.

“The VP located Ella today, and he asked me to go with him to Sector Twenty to organize her release. It only happened late in the day, and there wasn’t time to contact you. I didn’t think it’d take so long. Sorry.” I flutter my eyelids, hoping to deflect from the blatant lie. It was the only way I could think to explain it. I abhor lying to him, to Logan, but I have no choice.

Tension slips off his shoulders as he steps toward Ella. “It’s nice to meet you.” He extends his hand while I make quick introductions all round.

“I have dinner for you, Sadie, but I didn’t realize you’d have company. I can make you a sandwich?” he suggests to Ella.

“That would be great. I’m starved.” She throws me a quizzical look.

“Later,” I mouth.

After we’ve eaten, I show Ella to one of the spare guest bedrooms while Haydn runs her a bath. Walking back into the living room, I falter mid-step. Neve is straddling Alex on the couch, and they are practically eating each other alive. She moans indiscreetly as his hands creep up her skirt. I cough loudly. Alex moves his head to the side, but Neve grasps his face sternly, meshing their mouths together. “Okay. Don’t mind me then.”

Neve drives Alex down on the couch, flattening her body against his, not caring that she has an audience.

“No, really, don’t mind me.” Honestly, it’s borderline obscene.

Alex breaks the embrace, forcefully removing Neve from his lap and sliding her into a more appropriate position beside him. Neve smooths a hand over her skirt as she straightens up on the couch. “Sorry, Sadie. My bad,” Alex says, attempting to untangle his blond hair, which is now sticking up all over the place. Not sure why he’s apologizing when Neve was clearly the instigator. She beams widely, without a sliver of remorse, and I can’t help but grin back.

“What’d I miss?” Haydn asks, coming into the room.

“Nothing,” Neve pipes up quickly. “We were leaving.” She peers intently at Alex, and he stands up, lacing his fingers in hers. “I’m glad you’re okay, Sadie.” She pulls me into a one-armed hug. “We’ll see you Sunday.”

Ella and I stay up until four a.m. chatting and catching up. I fill her in on everything except the specifics of the deal I’ve made with the rebels and the VP. Though I’m sorely tempted to share the burden, the less she knows, the better. She’s not overly thrilled at the prospect of working for him, but she understands that we can’t do anything to annoy him lest he reneges on the agreement. As far as she’s concerned, that’s the deal I had to make to extract her from Sector Twenty.

While I don’t want her unduly worried, I warn her that he can’t be trusted and to be extra vigilant.

She fills me in on her time in Sector Twenty, and I share what I know. While she’s had her own suspicions about the government’s motivations, she’s still gobsmacked after I tell her the truth and how that’s now Daveed’s fate. “What was Holt like?” I ask, curious about her assigned alien mate.

“He was … okay. I mean”—she pauses, looping her fingers through her hair—“I was totally freaked out at first. I had no clue what to expect going into Sector Twenty, though there were plenty of rumors doing the rounds. But nothing prepared me for the shock of being told I was being matched with an alien and being sent to one of the new underwater cities. Of course, the way it was presented was akin to winning the lottery, but you know me”—she winks—“I’ve never trusted those slimy fuckers in government, so I was immediately suspicious.” She tucks her knees in flush to her chest. Anger flashes past her face. “Holt brought me to one of those clubs, and I’ve never been more sickened. That’s when I knew something definitely wasn’t right.” She leans her chin atop her knees.

“Was he putting you under any pressure?”

She shakes her head. “No, but I think it was only a matter of time. He never forced the issue, but he made it clear he was more than ready.” She wrinkles her nose. “I didn’t even want to kiss him,” she admits. “Not that he wasn’t hot, because he was, but he wasn’t
my
choice. I didn’t get a say in the matter and that … yeah, that cranked my stubbornness to the max.”

I fail to hide my amusement. Ella’s stubbornness is legendary. She swats me good-humoredly, and I cackle.

The laughter quickly dies out. “I saw one of the girls. You know, after,” she says softly. Sitting upright, she levels a somber look at me. “She was one of my neighbors. Although, I didn’t know her all that well—she had already been there a good few weeks by the time I arrived—I could detect the difference. Like, overnight, she became this lifeless shell. Before, she always had a warm smile for everyone. But that changed in the blink of an eye.” She shudders. “When she looked at me, she had this glazed film shuttering her eyes, as if she couldn’t see me though I was standing right in front of her. And her whole demeanor changed. She was sullen and quiet and devoid of personality. Her vivaciousness had been extinguished, like someone snuffed out her light.”

“I saw a similar group during the tour. It turned my stomach.” I dig my nails into the fleshy skin at my thighs. “It’s reprehensible.”

“I was so scared,” she whispers, twining her fingers in mine. “But I knew you would come for me. I knew you wouldn’t let me down.”

I press my forehead to hers. “I’m sorry it took me so long. I should’ve known Mom wouldn’t tell me anything.”

Ella eases back. “You went to the apartment?”

“Yeah. Fat lot of good it did me.” I tell her the whole sorry tale.

Her eyes shine defiantly. “Screw her, Sadie. She was a crappy mom.”

“I know.” I look away, swallowing the customary anguished lump. “But she’s the only one we have. The only link to Dad.”

She tilts my chin up with her finger. “We have each other. That’s all we need.”

I don’t fall asleep for ages. My brain hurts from the tornado-like storm brewing in my head. I’m starting to lose track of all the secrets and lies, and that worries me enormously. When I finally succumb to unconsciousness, I’m trapped in a fretful dream.

I’m lost in a gigantic concrete maze, surrounded by skyscraper-tall walls. I attempt to climb my way to freedom, but my feet can’t find any grips, and I slide, down, down, down, my fingernails desperately scraping the wall as I fall. Standing in the center of the maze, with broken bloodied hands, I’m frantically trying to locate the way out, spinning around and around so fast I’m dizzy. I sprint down path after path, but every turn is the wrong turn, and soon they all blur together and I can’t distinguish one path from another. Every route I take, I hit an obstacle, or a dead-end, and I always end up back in the same place.

Curled in a ball on the ground, I’m sobbing to myself, when ominous shadows darken the ground around me. Terrified, I open my eyes slowly. Familiar faces crowd me, crouching menacingly, chanting demands and issuing threats that grow louder and louder and more and more insistent. I’m pulled this way and that and I scream.

One voice, and one demand, surges above the others. Over and over the words are repeated until they are surely imprinted on my brain.
“Don’t double-cross me, Sadie, or your sister will pay the price.”

I jolt awake, struggling to breathe. My pajamas are stuck to my back, and my heart is doing weird little jumps. You’d think I would be well accustomed to nightmares by now, but this latest addition has me freaked out more than I’d care to admit. The underlying message isn’t lost on me either.

Slowly, I get myself under control and eventually drift back to sleep.

Ella wakes me a few hours later, informing me that Haydn has breakfast ready. Peeling off my damp clothing, I grab a quick shower. As the warm water pummels my tired limbs, I start making plans.

Now more than ever, I need to take charge of this situation. If I don’t own it, then I’ll be forever a pawn, dragged in opposing directions, running aimlessly down dead ends.

I’m finished with people controlling me. And I know exactly what I need to do.

Saturday passes by rather uneventfully. I spend a few hours training with Haydn while my dumbfounded sister watches from the sidelines. Afterward, we pick up some clothing and cosmetics for Ella in the nearby mall before heading back to the apartment for dinner and a movie. Logan calls when I’m tucked up in bed, and I update him on Ella. While he seems genuinely relieved, he is closed off and guarded when I ask about the progress of the Saven-Amaretti discussions.