Page 57 of Death and Desire

Chapter Fifteen

James.The shadows shifted, and the man materialized in the dark doorway.

Traitorous bastard.Violet quickly scrambled to her feet, wishing she had something to use as a weapon. “What do you want?”

His low chuckle burrowed beneath her skin.

Keeping her attention focused on the man before her, she glanced around the room. Helplessness gripped her as she took in her surroundings. Thin shafts of sunlight entered from narrow windows. Deep shadows shifted with swirling dust and sand.

Seemingly from out of desert air, four figures emerged, effectively sealing her inside the tomblike chamber. Violet pinned James with a glare, ready to strike with whatever means necessary, but she knew she was outnumbered and completely alone.

Anubis,she called into the deepest reaches of her mind, hoping he could hear.

The tether remained slack, useless. Violet swore.

“If you think my father will pay you a ransom for my return, you are sorely mistaken.” She pivoted, ensuring her vision encompassed the whole chamber.

“Ransom?” James asked, his tone affronted. Hetsked. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve already been compensated handsomely.”

Violet’s mind raced with a hundred unknown possibilities. “I–I don’t understand.”

“Poor sweet girl. You don’t know howvaluableit is, do you?”

“What?” She shook her head to clear her confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“The bauble on your wrist.” He gestured to the gemstone gleaming in a shaft of sunlight.

Her breath caught in her throat. She clasped her hand around her wrist, cradling the jewel. It warmed and pulsed beneath her touch, like a heartbeat.

“Where on earth did you find such a treasure?” he asked, stalking toward her like a predatory cat.

“None of your goddamned business,” Violet hissed.

“Such a temper.” He snatched her wrist and pulled her to him. “Perhaps I should demandyouas part of my payment. Tame that wicked tongue of yours.”

“You’ll have to kill me.” Violet attempted to escape his grip, but it tightened, twisting her skin. “I would rather die than submit to the likes of you.”

“I would relish the challenge.” James’s blue eyes sparkled, darkening as he caressed her jaw.

Sunlight faded as black smoke filled the chamber. Shouts from the hired men echoed through the space as confusion clouded their expressions.

Deep inside her, the bond snapped into place. The comforting presence she’d desperately searched for filled her, expanding until it was infused in every fiber of her being. A gentle caress soothed her mind as the darkness consumed them all.

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