He set the box and its grim contents down on the coffee table beside the smashed glass, then sank onto the sofa.
“Start from the beginning,” he said. I nodded, eager to redeem myself.
“My brother was doing some work – I had no idea it was for a mob boss,” I began. “He got it into his head that he could siphon funds off his deals.”
“Smart move,” he muttered.
“Exactly. And sadly, smart enough to get it right for a while. He’d stolen a million dollars by the time they caught him.” I found it hard to believe. My brother had never applied himself to anything with much diligence. Why the hell would he finally choose to get it right with something so insanely dangerous? Prince was looking at me in a way that urged me to continue.
“When they found out, they wanted their money back. The boss – he- he calls himself Razortip – he tracked me down. Told me I had to pay the debt back, or they’d kill him.”
“And they knew you just happened to have a million dollars handy.” His tone was sarcastic.
“No! It was before we met.” He raised an eyebrow, as if he found that unlikely. I guessed it might seem that way. “Actually, it was the night we met. At the club.” The memory of that night came back to me in a rush. How he’d taken me onto the dancefloor. Touched me so intimately within the strange privacy provided by the crush of strangers who were unaware of what we were doing. I almost gave myself to him that night. It was insane. But the insanity that followed had been worse.
“When I got back that night, he’d called. He said he needed a million dollars, or he’d kill my brother.”
“And how did he figure you’d get that right?” Prince asked. I could tell he didn’t believe me.
“He didn’t care. He said I should do whatever I had to do. Sell myself if need be.”
“Well, I guess you did.” His tone was icy, and I sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes moved over my face. “I’m sorry. That was a low blow.”
Despite the apology, he hadn’t made a move to touch me. The distance between us could have spanned a continent.
“You were…” How could I phrase this without making it sound inappropriate? “You made your offer the next day. I’ll admit, it came just when I needed it.” I felt cheap saying it, but it wasn’t fair of him to ignore his part in our transaction. It probably wasn’t wise to raise that point now. “When he found out about us – about the engagement – he sent a demand for an advance.” I glanced down at my hands.
“The hundred grand?” he said. I nodded silently.
“You…you told me it was mine,” I said. “To do with as I pleased. You said I didn’t have to explain anything to you.” I couldn’t help reminding him of this.
“Yes. But not to send to a goddamn drug lord, Sasha!” he barked back. He ran his hand through his hair again. I wanted to smooth it. I wanted to soothe him. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”
I stared at him. He was right. I should have. “I was afraid,” I admitted. “The contract. It said if I was connected to any illegal activity, our arrangement would be terminated.” Even as I said the words, I knew they were wrong. He felt it too. I could see it in his eyes.
“This…arrangementthat we have, is not because of some contract, Sasha…” He stopped. “Or is it?”
I shook my head abruptly. “Oh, my God, no!”What must he think of me?“I would never…” Shit…I couldn’t deny it was how we began. “It started that way but—” I stopped abruptly as my phone vibrated in my pocket. My breath caught in my throat. I’d been feverishly checking every message that had come in since the day before. When I reached for the device, he didn’t stop me.
I glanced at the screen and felt my throat go tight.
“What is it?” he said. “Is it them?”
I nodded, reading the message again.It’s impossible!
He took the phone from me and read it himself, then looked at me. His face had set in stony lines.
“Twenty million dollars,” he said simply. Razortip hadn’t just bumped up the ransom. He’d sent it through the roof. I couldn’t make my mind grasp the enormity of it. I felt my breath burning as I sucked in air.
Emilio! What am I going to do?
Prince was looking at me guardedly. I wanted to reach for his hand and press it to my face. I wanted to tell him this wasn’t the reason for the moments we’d shared. For the things I’d said to him. He’d taken my body, my heart, my soul and made them his.
“Prince, I…” I trailed off.
“How am I supposed to trust you now?” he said softly. It ripped out my heart.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. I’d already said it. I was going to keep saying it.
