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There was no clock of any kind, and I wasn’t near any windows so I had no idea how much time had passed. It felt like days, but for all I knew, it could have just been hours.
And then suddenly, the wait was over.
“I just got word. Jalik threw the fight,” one of the creeps said.
The other members of Laxon’s crew crowed in victory. Some of them even made cheap remarks about Jalik ‘going soft.’ It was a comment that almost made me want to scoff.
“Very good. Go collect our winnings, then we’ll contact the Vinduthi about getting his pitiful human woman back,” Laxon said.
I sucked in a breath, hoping his comment wouldn’t draw too much of their attention to me. But they only snickered to themselves, and one of Laxon’s goons went to obey.
As he went, I slowly let out a relieved breath. They weren’t mad or feeling petty right now, and I considered that a win on its own.
A large part of me was thankful. I’d been prepared to put on a brave face if things went south. But as much as I’d talked myself into toughing it out, the reality of what I would have faced sent shivers down my spine.
But Jalik had thrown the match just like Laxon told him to. That in and of itself flabbergasted me.
As much as I cared for Jalik, I was never too sure of what he thought of me. Physically, I knew exactly where we stood. I wanted him and he wanted me. The sex was simple. It was everything else that was complicated.
I wanted more, he just seemed to think of me as a job and a booty call.
And yet, he’d thrown the match. Disregarded his pride and the money the casino would probably make on his win for me. Surely he wouldn’t do something like that for someone he only slept with?
So what exactly did that mean about what he thought about me? I squashed down the surge of hope that he felt the same way I did.
There could be another reason why he threw the match. A more platonic reason. I was a big name at the casino, after all, and it was his job as head of the guards to keep me secure.
I also reminded myself of where I was right now. Jalik may have done as they asked, but I was far from out of danger. Clearly, these men were anything but honorable. They might change their minds about keeping their end of the deal.
And so once again, that feeling of dread returned as I waited to see what they were going to do to me next.
Much later, the goon that Laxon sent to collect the money returned looking ticked. Laxon must have noticed the expression, too. “What happened?”
The other man shook his head. “It didn’t work. They wouldn’t give me the money. Something about the whole thing being invalid.”
“What?” Laxon stood abruptly from his chair. “Invalid? What did they mean by that?”
Invalid. So, their little scheme hadn’t worked out quite as they planned. Abruptly, I realized that probably meant bad news for me. Would they ransom me now? I wasn’t stupid enough to think they’d still hand me over on a technicality.
“Could they somehow have known who you were and simply refused to pay?” another man asked.
“It doesn’t matter why they didn’t give us the money,” Laxon growled out. “What matters now is how we’re going to get our money, anyway.”
All eyes turned to me. I forced myself not to completely wilt under their gaze.
Then, there was a shout outside that was abruptly cut off. Now everyone in the room was on their feet, weapons drawn.
I shrank back in my chair. Were we being attacked? But by who? A rival gang, or maybe…
There was another thud and then the door was kicked in. I wanted to laugh and cry all at once as several Vinduthi charged in.
And at the front of the group was Jalik.
He had a snarl on his face and didn’t even bother to raise his weapon as he rushed the first goon. His opponent didn’t even get the chance to raise his own weapon before Jalik knocked him over the head. He went down hard as a brick.
I watched in awe as Jalik and the other Vinduthi cut through Laxon’s men like butter. Jalik himself fought like I’d never seen him before. In the ring, he almost seemed to toy with his opponents, finding their weaknesses before beating them down.
Not today. Today, Jalik didn’t hesitate, didn’t hold back, and didn’t show mercy. With a speed that made my head spin, he took down twice as many men as his fellow Vinduthi in minutes.
