Jaya ignored him and turned back to the computer, typing as fast as she could, knowing that she was losing precious seconds. Ivan was just as quick witted as she. The more time he had to work the problem, the less likely she would be able to escape. She glanced up to see him speaking rapidly into his phone, his voice short and clipped. Another glance through the Tiffany’s window showed his men separating, one going left and the other right to cover the other exits. It was a fair bet that he would have more of his men on their way from the high-rise.

“Oh my god, Jaya!” Ndari exclaimed weakly. “Look at your arm.”

Jaya didn’t respond, instead hunching her shoulders over the store computer. She pounded her fist against the counter in frustration. “Come on you piece of shit!” She glanced at the other salesman, the one Ivan hadn’t killed yet. “Tell your boss, that guy Miguel or whatever, that he needs to upgrade your system. This one is slower than a turtle racing to its own death.”

The guy opened his mouth to respond, but when Ivan’s head swiveled toward him, he ducked behind the case of engagement rings and hid. Ndari pulled the scarf from her neck and began wrapping it around Jaya’s arm, tucking the ends in. Jaya ignored her, gritting her teeth against the pain as she continued to work. Seconds later she got what she wanted. A hiss sounded from above them and water began spraying all over the jewellery cases. She laughed out loud at her success, only mildly annoyed at how long it took to hack the system. She cocked her head to the side. Yup, she could hear screams and shouts coming from the other stores. She’d tripped the fire system across the entire building.

“Very clever, Jaya.” Ivan’s deep voice reached through the misty spray.

She glanced up and gave him a cocky grin. “Have a nice life, Ivan. Hopefully we won’t run into each other again.” She turned on her heel and sprinted for the side door that would now grant her access to the inside of the strip mall. She’d tripped the release when she hit the fire alarm. It was a safety precaution so no one would get trapped in a burning building.

“Don’t you touch that fucking door!” Ivan shouted after her. She heard the sound of shattering glass just as she rounded the corner to the back office and assumed he must have finally lost his temper.

She was reaching for the door when she heard Keane yell, “Go with her Princess and don’t you let her out of your sight.”

“Okay, but I refuse to take responsibility when she’s like this. Like a feral cat or something, you just can’t please her. I mean I thought the tiara looked amazing!”

Jaya peeked through the side door and didn’t see any of Ivan’s men running. She hadn’t expected them to be on the inside of the shopping centre anyway. He would have sent them to cover the back entrance, not expecting this escape route. She’d hadn’t seen it on the building blueprints but had been relatively certain it would exist when they’d passed the outdoor shopping centre. She’d helped Katie Pullman, cat burglar extraordinaire, and many others pull off enough heists that she knew how most buildings were set up.

She tried her best to blend in with the crowd, which wouldn’t have been easy, due to Ivan’s insistence on her always wearing traditional sari’s, except everyone around her was soaking wet. No one paid any attention to her, despite her strangely wrapped bleeding arm and the shouting tiara-wearing princess trailing after her.

She stumbled against a good-looking man who was trying to shelter under the awning of an upscale sandwich bistro. Sliding her hand into his jacket, she lowered her lashes and murmured an apology, making sure to thrust her soaking wet cleavage and swath of bared belly out. He was polite enough to glance down at the assets she was so kindly putting on display. He grinned and assured her that he was perfectly fine. He opened his mouth to say something else but Jaya spun away from him, running in the opposite direction, an irate princess hot on her heels.

The lovely high-end stores were now pretty much empty. She would be quickly caught by either Ivan or one of his men if she didn’t leave the vicinity immediately. She took about five more steps when Ndari caught up with her, careful to take hold of her good arm. She was smart enough not to stop Jaya. Instead, she simply held on for the ride and ran with her.

“Where are we off to, my dearest tiara buddy?” Ndari puffed from beside her, nearly losing her footing as the heel of her stiletto skidded along the wet marble floor. Jaya caught her and then, thinking fast, pushed Ndari into another store. Swarovski’s jewellery store. Apparently Tiffany’s had some competition in the shopping complex. Ndari gasped and reached out to grab hold of something. Unfortunately, she took hold of a display case full of diamond bracelets, which went crashing to the floor in a shower of sparkles. Two security guards converged on her while Jaya mouthed ‘sorry’ and began running.

She knew that the main exits were going to be monitored by now, so that left the roof or the parking garage. She decided against the roof since she wouldn’t be able to get off quickly enough. She would have to go to the parking garage. She hurtled toward the stairs leading down, hitting the door so hard it hammered against the wall. There were no sprinklers in the stairwell because the heavy doors were fire resistant. Her waterlogged shoes squished as she ran down the stairs and she had to remind herself to slow down lest she slip on the concrete and hurt herself. Then who would Ivan murder in bloody revenge for hurting her? She snickered hysterically at that thought as she shoved the basement door open and ran into the parking area.

Perfect! There was a nice selection of fancy cars to choose from and no uppity owners to get annoyed with her need to steal one. Though she dearly wanted to go with the aqua blue Lamborghini, she decided perhaps something a little more understated would be more likely to help her escape. So, channeling her ex-employer’s wife, Riley Hart, she set about hot-wiring a cute little Maserati. She didn’t have any practical experience, but after getting to know Katie’s little pack of misfits, she’d decided to learn. It didn’t take her long to get into the car and disable the alarm. Though it did take several precious minutes for her to overcome the electronic operation before she finally got the engine to turn over.

“Yes!” she shouted, sitting upright in the seat, her arm shaking with weakness. The scarf was soaked through with blood. She put the car in gear and hit the gas, racing forward through the dim tunnel-like underground garage. She was about to reach for the seatbelt when a shadowy figure stepped out in front of the car.

“Fuck!” she shouted slamming her foot down on the brake. She wasn’t used to driving a vehicle of any kind, but especially not standard transmission and she stalled the car. She was thrown into the steering wheel, the impact knocking the breath from her. She pushed herself back and glanced fearfully up, knowing exactly who would be standing in front of her stolen car.

Ivan stood tall and solid, his legs spread, his eyes focused entirely on Jaya through the windshield of the Maserati. He’d discarded his suit jacket. He looked breathtaking, his soaking wet shirt plastered to the muscles of his chest, his dark hair slicked back like he’d run a frustrated hand through the wet mass. His thick eyebrows were lowered as though permanently set in a frown. What stole Jaya’s breath wasn’t the sheer masculine beauty she faced with. It was the empty holster tucked against his side, the gun held in his fist, ready to fire and the look in his eyes that told her that her latest escape attempt would end in severe punishment.

Next to Ivan, held tight with his hand wrapped around her arm was Ndari. His gun was pressed against her temple. Gone was the usual playfulness on Ndari’s face. There was now only terror and the acceptance that a very dangerous man with the intention of murdering her held her. Jaya’s eyes met Ndari’s and tears spilled from her lashes. They both knew Ivan could reach Jaya and get her from the car if he wanted. There was no way she could start the engine again before he was able to get her out and back into his custody. No, this was punishment for her flight. He’d tested her and she’d failed, leaving the moment the cage door opened.

She screamed and reached out for her friend, begging him not to do it. She turned to claw at the door, attempting to get to them, knowing it wouldn’t be in time.

Something banged against the car making Jaya jump. Her eyes flew open and she stared up at the horrific tableau in front of her. Ivan still held Ndari, but he’d dropped his gun hand and slammed it against the hood of the car. His face was ice cold, but his eyes were a raging inferno of anger.

“Get the fuck out,” he snarled.

She reached for the door with shaking hands, pushing it open. She glanced down at the blood that flowed freely from her arm to drip onto the doorframe and the concrete below. As she gripped the door with her good hand and pulled herself out, she wondered exactly how bad she’d cut herself. She’d been too preoccupied with escape to really pay attention before. But now that the garage was beginning to swim around her, she thought perhaps the blood loss was somewhat significant.

Something else caught her attention, something that sparkled for a second in the dim lighting of the underground tunnel. She forced her darkening vision to focus on her left hand as she carefully rounded the car toward Ivan. She was still wearing a beautiful diamond solitaire engagement ring. She let out a weak, bitter laugh. It was perfect. A large, beautifully cut square diamond set in a simple claw with a white gold band. Somehow the ring he’d thrust onto her finger just before she’d unleashed chaos in the jewellery store was exactly the ring she would have chosen.

As soon as she was close enough Ivan gripped her shoulder and dragged her around the front of the car, pushing her back against the hood. He pinned her, his fingers wrapping around her neck. Even in his anger, his grip wasn’t overly tight, his fingers not hurtful. She could feel the tension thrumming from his body, his arm and through to his hand. He fought with himself, struggled to maintain his cool.

“Tell me why,” he snarled.

Jaya blinked up at him, trying to stave off the black fuzziness that ate at the edges of her vision. She licked her lips and shook her head sadly. “I w-was always going to run,” she said quietly. “You knew that, Ivan. A part of you wants to test me, see if I’ll finally stay, but deep down you know I’ll always run. Because you can’t keep something that doesn’t want you unless you keep it locked up.”

His fingers squeezed just a little tighter, a reminder of her fragility. “I know,” he growled, acknowledging the truthfulness of her words. “That wasn’t what I was asking. I want to know why I didn’t shoot her to punish you.” He flicked his gun back toward Ndari who squeaked and jumped back a step. “We both know I would have. There’s no conscience stopping me.”

Jaya studied him, feeling her consciousness begin to slip away. She blinked a few more times, forcing herself back to wakefulness. She glanced at Ndari who was hovering with a look of deep concern on her face. Jaya wanted to tell her to run, to save herself in case Ivan changed his mind and killed her in bloody retaliation for Jaya’s escape attempt. But she needed to stay awake long enough to have this conversation.

“You can’t love me… can you?” The words burst from her lips in a denial, but as soon as she saw rage morph his features for a split second she knew she was correct.

He stood, looming over her, his stormy eyes taking her in her sadly bedraggled state. There was no sympathy evident in his gaze. “Anyone else would be well past dead for the things you have said and done to me.”

Her lips parted as she took in his words. The intensity, the meaning. “You love me,” she whispered.

“Of course,” he snarled. “Only a sadistic fuck like me would fall in love and do what I’ve done to you. Would lock up a woman and throw away the key. Which is exactly what I’m doing, Jaya. This thing between us is forever. Consider it as good as a marriage.”

“Dear god,” she whispered.

She should have run farther, faster. Should’ve just run him over when he stepped in front of the car. Because now he knew her thoughts, her desperate need to escape and return to Father. Now he would never trust her, would watch her every move. It could be months, years even, before another opportunity to leave arose. She was well and truly fucked.

He said something else, his hands tightening on her, but she didn’t hear. She finally allowed herself to succumb to the swirling blackness that had been threatening to swallow her up. It was safer than contemplating a future as Ivan’s wife.