Page 43 of Outcast’s Return

“Thanks again,” I say softly. “You are a lifesaver.”

He nods, eyes still deep in thought.

“Let me know how it goes,” he replies.

I leave the coffee shop still anxious, but more energized than ever. Nothing – not even my new housemate – can ruin this for me.

14

FABIEN

Clement’s waiting for me, standing next to the host station in a nice, tailored suit. He’s booked an exclusive restaurant downtown for lunch.

“You like to flaunt your wealth,” I remark to my friend with a raised eyebrow as I enter the restaurant.

“And you actually turned up,” he replies. “I thought you might be too busy brooding in a dark gallery somewhere.”

“I’ve already got my hour of required gallery brooding in early this morning. This place seems casual.”

Clement cracks a grin at my tease.

“You know me, Fabien,” he says, glancing around at the fancy joint, “I wouldn’t be caught dead in a sports bar.”

We pat each other on the back and are led by the host to our table.

Clement is tall and imposing. He’s got that Auclair jet-black hair and sharp jaw. He’s lean. Under his crisp, tailored European suit is an array of tattoos covering his body. I’ve seen them all – a wolf’s face outline on his right bicep, the C for Castaways between his shoulder blades. Clement is a predator wrapped in fine clothing.

I’ve witnessed him grow up from the cheeky boy who once stood on a library table and called out a bully into a relentless, dominant, confident man who always gets what he wants.

It’s always good to catch up, even when I am hiding the deadliest secret from him.

“How’s Elise?” I ask as we take our seats.

Elise is Clement’s wife. They met in unusual circumstances. As his final initiation test, the Castaways tasked Clement to track down a receptionist at the luxury gym he likes to frequent. A receptionist who had rebuked him in the past. Clement, being Clement, couldn’t help but become obsessed with her, and Elise fell in love with him.

They had a rival. Silas Anguish. Leopold Anguish’s nephew. He was also tasked by the Castaways with the same mission. Things turned ugly. There was a fight. Life moved on. Elise and Clement are married. And the cheeky boy has found his love.

“She’s good,” Clement replies. “The new gym she manages now is going from strength to strength. You should make it down there sometime.”

“I will.”

“And what about you, Fabien? Any women on the horizon for the man who’s sworn off the fairer sex?”

He’s mocking me, but I still shift in my seat.

“You know my deal, Clement.”

“What? That you’re still abstaining from sex? Just for your career? You do know you can have a successful career and love at the same time, brother.”

He is right. I’ve been abstaining from sex ever since Jolie’s email all those years ago. Clement thinks it was some wild decision I conjured up one day to help me improve my focus. He doesn’t know the real reason I’ve sworn off women. Little does he suspect it stems from hate and humiliation toward his very own sister.

“This is the way I do things, Clement.”

“But why?” he asks.

“Do I have to explain every decision I make?”

“It would be a good start,” Clement says. “It’ll make it easier for Baptiste and me to understand what goes on in your smart brain sometimes. You’ve always been very good at shielding yourself, even from us.”