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He walks to a small fridge, pulling out a bottled water. I take it from him. My hand shakes as I drink.
“Do you work for Jafar?”
I have to know. If this man works for Jafar, then it’s only a matter of time before Jafar walks right through the door to take me back.
“Hell no. That prick hasn’t earned my allegiance yet.”
I let out a breath of relief until the man holds up his phone, where a recent photo of me smiles back.
“I’m guessing this is you, though. What did you do? Steal from him?”
“What? No.”
He stares at me as if he’s trying to decide something.
“Jafar said you took something from him. Said it would be in your purse. Mind if I check?”
I hand my purse over. “I didn’t take anything, so go ahead and look.”
His eyebrows lift, but he takes my purse, looking through it. I know I’m fucked when his gaze narrows. Slowly, he lifts a ring I would recognize anywhere. A ring that usually sits on Jafar’s pinky finger. The infamous padparadscha sapphire attached to a gold band. Even now, the reddish-orange stone glints in the light. Fuck. He set me up.
“It’s not what it looks like.”
“Give me a bit more credit, girl.” But he lifts his phone, dialing. “This is Gene E. She’s here.”
“Gene, please listen to me. He planted that ring just to prove a point.”
Gene sighs. “It doesn’t matter. He said you had something of his and you did. If I let you go, I’d be turning against the new man in charge.”
“I thought you said he hasn’t earned your allegiance.”
“He just did.”
Like a freaking bad dream, two men in black suits enter the store, taking my chances of escaping with them.
“Come with us, Ms. Perrault.”
Gene hands my purse and the ring back to me. I put the ring on my index finger as dread sinks into my bones. There’s a black sedan waiting outside. One goon opens the back door for me, and I slide in. I don’t miss the sound of the door locking as he closes it. Out of curiosity, I try it. Yup. It’s locked.
The car pulls away from the store and we make our way back to the bar, which is painfully close. I didn’t make it very far at all. The car parks in the back, where another man waits to let me in. I follow him down the dark hallway to the office. Jafar is sitting behind the desk, looking quite pleased with himself as I enter. The man who led me to my demise closes the door silently behind him as he leaves.
Jafar holds up a watch. “Five minutes on the dot. Had to admit, you threw me for a loop when Gene took you in. Wasn’t sure what he was going to do.”
I lean against the door. “You made your point. Can I leave now?”
“No. Now get your ass over here so I can punish you.”
11
Ellie
My heart pounds. “I’m not coming over there.”
Because the last time hepunishedme, we ended up kissing, and I came all over his hand. And then I told him I was done playing games. I meant it, too.
“I’m not going to say it again.”
Fuck. I take a step, wincing. My knees throb from where I fell, and he notices.
