Page 20 of Outcast’s Return

“Good,” he said. “Keep it that way. Jolie’s too smart and talented to get caught up talking to a boy like you. What a waste of time that’d be.”

“You really want me to whoop your ass at two in the morning?”

Clement laughed.

“Good night, Fabien. Don’t eat all our family’s cheese.”

“Good night, Clement.”

He headed out of the kitchen, but at the doorway, he turned and stared back at me. An odd stare. Like another attempt to figure me out. It lasted for only a heartbeat, and then he was gone.

I stood completely still for a minute after Clement left until I was interrupted by Jolie carefully emerging from the cupboard.

Checking her brother was definitely gone, Jolie started to snicker.

“That was freaking close,” she muttered, trying to keep hushed even as she snorted with laughter.

“Yeah. Too fucking close.”

“Do you think he knows?” she asked me.

“No,” I replied. “If he did, I would be long dead.”

Jolie laughed again. Her face lit up.

I knew then that laugh would follow me for years. Maybe even the rest of my life.

6

PRESENT DAY

JOLIE

It happened way too freaking fast, even for me.

I was heading to work, coffee in hand, when men in suits came out of nowhere, grabbed my arms, clamped a hand over my mouth, and dragged me into a waiting black SUV. They had me inside the vehicle within mere seconds, just inches away from the glass front door to the skyscraper where I share an office with my brother. In broad daylight.

I kicked and fought like hell, but the men were professional. No bystanders on the sidewalk had time to react. No one could’ve stopped it. It was, by all metrics, a perfectly executed kidnapping.

I didn’t even have a chance to scream.

Inside the SUV, they slipped a hood over my head and flatly refused to answer any of the million questions that roared from my mouth.

“Who are you guys? Where are you taking me? What the hell is going on?”

Despite their silence, I could take an accurate stab in the dark about what was happening. I’m not an idiot. Who else would dare do this in front of witnesses, cameras, security? The entire operation smelled of a certain secret society.

Fucking Castaways.

My hands shook as the SUV drove fast. I was freaking out, but I’m good at dealing with high-stress situations, and so I didn’t show it.

Why did I let myself get into this mess? Jeez, I should’ve been smarter than this. I should’ve been better prepared. Being an Auclair has meant I’ve been targeted all my life, and instead of being ready, I simply strolled into my own kidnapping with a hot beverage in hand.

Forget everything else; it was simply so... embarrassing.

Forced to sit still and quiet in the SUV, I did what I usually do when freaking out.

I got sassy.