And pure horror shatters me.
“NO!” I yell, dropping to my knees.
On screen, Roman and Val are tied to two chairs in a windowless room, gagged and struggling, bleeding heavily.
My eyes rip to his, my face caving. “Please!” I scream. “Let them go! Don’t hurt them!!”
Andrés chuckles to himself as he tucks the phone back in his pocket.
“I’d love nothing more than to send them on their way, Evelina.” He sighs, and I go still when he pulls a gun out from his jacket pocket. “But that’s going to depend on how convincing you can be.”
He sets the gun on the edge of the stage and shoves it skittering over until it bumps into my pointe shoes.
I quickly snatch up the gun in both hands and level it at him.
Andrés laughs quietly.
“You’re not going to shoot me.”
“The fuck I won’t!” I spit. “Let them go!Now!”
He grins widely. “Oh, Evelina.” He shakes his head. “So innocent. I mean you’re not going to shoot me becauseit’s not loaded.” He sighs. “Do I look stupid? The magazine is back there.” He jerks a thumb over his shoulder. “Seat 5H.”
Andrés gazes unblinkingly at me.
“Here’s what's going to happen, Evelina. I’m going to walk out of here. When I’m gone, andonlywhen I’m gone, you’re going to dance your way off that stage and get those bullets, and then you’re going to go see that boyfriend of yours—he’s still at his office—and you’re going to tellhimto tellyouwho that fucking heir is,” he hisses. “I would beverypersuasive, unless you’d like to buy two fewer Christmas presents this year.”
My world caves in on me.
“Find me that heir, Evelina. Or I’ll make you watch Roman and Val die. You have one hour.”
45
VAUGHN
“There’sthe small matter of compensation.”
My jaw grinds. “For?” I growl thickly.
Xavier d’Auvrelle clears his throat through the phone. “Bertrand, Jean, and Pierre all needed fairly extensive medical assistance after your brutality, Monsieur Bancroft.”
“And I fail to see how that’s my problem,” I say thinly. “Monsieur d’Auvrelle, we have a saying in my country. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.”
Xavier chuckles. “Touché, Vaughn.Touché.Obviously I was hoping for a reaction. But you…surpassed expectations,” he murmurs. “In any case, my people are looking over your proposal now. I don’t foresee us having any issues with what you’ve put forward, though, and I would expect you’ll be hearing from me again shortly.” He clears his throat. “I do hope you’ll pass my sincere apologies to Ms. Nikitin for the…subterfuge?”
As it turns out, Xavier’s “indecent proposal” was a test, meant to measure my drive for success against my merit as a man. ShouldI have agreed to let him touch Evelina—notthat that would have happened in a million years—our proposed deal would have been immediately passed on.
I wasmeantto show my “honor” by refusing. Unfortunately for Xavier, hevastlyunderestimated the fury and wrath that would come alongside that honor.
“I’ll consider it,” I growl quietly.
Xavier chuckles. “Well, hope that you do. And I hope she appreciates the sort of man she’s bound herself to.”
Oh I don’t think she’s under any illusions about who and what I am…
“Again, Vaughn, my apologies for the dramatics. But I’ve always believed that in our world, a man’s heart and honor matter more than his wallet and greed.”
He takes a deep breath.
