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“Really? Care to prove that?”
I swallow. “How would I prove it to you?”
“Walk out of here.”
“What?”
“Walk out of here. Let’s see how far you get before one of my men brings you back to me.”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to. It’s dark and I don’t know this area very well.”
“Should have thought about that before you went on a date with Al.” He pauses. “That’s what I walked in on, right? A date?”
I nod once. I don’t know why I don’t try to lie. Probably because he’d be able to see right through me.
“I’ll give you a five-minute lead.”
“Jafar—”
“Better run, little mouse. Your time has already started.”
He opens the door, stepping aside. Holy shit. He’s serious. Panic bubbles up in me, but I run, grabbing my purse as I shove past him. I find the back door that Al was talking about and take off down the dark alley. A homeless man leaning against a dumpster laughs when he sees me running.
“Better hurry, girlie. The darkness is going to get you.”
His words make the hairs on the back of my neck stand. He has no idea what I’m running from, but his words are true—the darkness is about to swallow me whole or will if Jafar gets me.
I finally reach the main street and I take a right, running away from the bar. As I run, I pull up my map on my phone, trying to get some sense of direction. Oh crap. I shouldn’t have come this way. My hotel is in the other direction, which means I’m literally running further into the lion’s den. I cross the street, ignoring the honking horns. A cab sits on the side of the street, and I jump in.
The driver glances at me in the mirror. “Where to?”
I rattle off the hotel’s address, and he pulls away from the curb. Relief washes through me. I’m going to do this. I’m going to get away. The man’s phone dings, and he glances down at it. The car slows, pulling to the side. No! This can’t be happening.
“Sorry, lady. This is as far as I can take you.”
“Please,” I beg. “I need to get out of here.”
“Jafar just sent your picture to every person in Manhattan. You’re not getting out of here. Not tonight, at least.”
Hot tears fill my eyes. “How far am I from the hotel?”
“Three miles.”
I know that I’ll never make it. Hell, I’m already winded from running the short distance that I did. But that doesn’t stop me from jumping from the cab and running like the devil is after me. My feet ache in my short heels, but I don’t stop. Not when people are looking at their phones and then looking my way. Maybe I played this wrong. I might have been better off hiding in the shadows with the man by the dumpsters. I could have let the five minutes pass and then been able to leave without drawing so much attention.
Tires squeal in the distance. Is my time up? Are they coming for me? I turn the corner and run into another alley. This one feels even more dangerous. People mill about and look my way as I pass. Someone reaches out, grabbing for my purse. I tug it free, falling. My hands and knees sting from the fall, but I push myself to my feet.
An older man waves at me from one of the back doors of a nearby store. “Hey! Over here!”
Jafar’s words run through my mind. He said everything here belongs to him. Does that include this man’s loyalty?
“Hurry. You don’t have much time.”
Fuck it. I run into the man’s store, gasping loudly as I try to catch my breath. He closes the door, locking it.
“Thank you,” I say.
“No need to thank me. This is no place to be alone at night.”
