Page 38 of Capturing Victory

He glanced down at her and lifted one thick eyebrow. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. That one look told her that he didn’t care. His men were going with them and they were going armed to the teeth, no negotiation. She had no idea if the precaution was for her safety or to prevent her escape. She really hoped it was the former. She decided to just ignore the weapons overkill and try to enjoy her day. Though she didn’t know how Ivan was planning on taking her shopping without drawing a whole lot of notice.

She soon discovered that it wouldn’t be a problem. Ivan had no intention of frequenting the type of places where an armed escort of five men would draw notice. Instead he took Jaya and Ndari to only the most upscale stores in the high-end sections of Jakarta. While Ndari had a blast, spending Ivan’s money like it was water, Jaya was disappointed. She wanted to see more of Jakarta. Not just the rich-rinsed, sanitised parts of the city. Store after store happily paraded their wares in front of Jaya, Ndari and their bodyguards.

It became quickly apparent that Jaya’s plan to cause a scene and get herself lost in a crowd of marketplace shoppers wasn’t going to happen. But she was highly intelligent and resourceful, she assessed the situation and came up with a new plan.

“I’d like to go to that jewelry store over there,” she said, pressing her finger against the tinted window of the car they were in. They’d just finished shopping in a clothing store a street over. She would have liked the chance to wander the streets, looking at the different shops, but Ivan flat out refused to allow their party to do anything but drive from store to store.

“Ohmygodyes!” Ndari squealed as she leaned over Jaya to get a better look at the Tiffany and Co. jewellery store. “I definitely need a replacement tiara for the one that got stolen that time the cat burglar didn’t listen to instructions correctly.”

“And what do you need, Jaya?”

She swivelled her head to look at Ivan who was sitting across from her. His eyes were intent on her face and the tone of his voice was speculative. She lowered her lashes and glanced at his jacket and the bulge beneath where his gun was. He’d put his suit jacket on, covering his broad shoulders and the holster and weapon beneath while patiently escorting the women on their shopping spree. He looked relaxed, at ease, in the back of the car, but she knew he was ready for anything, including any move she might make to flee.

“I like to look at pretty things,” she told him, trying not to betray the excitement in her voice. “I rarely went out when I lived on my own. I would shop online and almost never spent money on frivolous items. I upgraded my computer systems, shopped for necessary items like clothes and food, and I bought state-of-the-art tech equipment, but almost never found the time to shop for girly stuff. I find… I like to look at pretty and expensive things. Who knows, maybe I’ll find something absurdly overpriced to spend your fortune on. Perhaps you’ll decide I’m not worth the effort of keeping around.”

“Hmm, I doubt it,” he said, his eyes lingering on her face. He turned to address the driver. “Pull over up here, we’re going to Tiffany’s.”

Ndari breezed into the store as though she’d been born and raised in a Tiffany’s. She snapped her fingers at one of the sales assistants and asked where they kept the tiaras. Keane found the security officer, had a brief chat and shortly thereafter helped the man clear the store of any other customers. Ivan took Jaya by the arm and steered her toward a case. She took one look, shook her head and backed up, completely forgetting her plan for a moment. She hadn’t been trying to get him into a jewellery store so they could peruse engagement rings together. He gave her another gentle tug forward.

“Just have a look,” he murmured for her ears alone.

She narrowed her eyes at him as she took a step toward the counter, glancing around them to make sure the exchange wasn’t witnessed. A salesperson hovered nearby but the icy persona Ivan projected stopped him from approaching. Smart decision.

“What part of ourrelationshipmakes you think we’re ready for engagement rings?” Jaya hissed sarcastically tugging on her arm. “The part where you lock me up in cages or dungeons on a regular basis, put electrocution bracelets on my wrists and tracking chips in my back?” She glanced around again to make sure no one was looking at them. “Oh, I know! It must be the part where you keep threatening me and calling it love or whatever twisted emotion your hideous brain thinks this is.”

His already cold grey gaze turned glacial and she shivered in his hold, wishing she’d kept her mouth shut. But Jaya had never been one to keep her mouth shut. Mostly because she lived a solitary life and hadn’t learned the value of keeping silent around dangerous international arms dealers. And this one was beginning to look seriously pissed off. Well, if he didn’t like this part of the Jaya show, he was definitely not going to like act two.

He leaned closer, until his lips brushed the tip of her ear. She noticed he did that when he was mad and really wanted her to hear the terrible thing he was about to say. She flinched, but his grip on her arm became tighter and he pulled her closer into his chest. “Perhaps, it is the part of our relationship where I refuse to let you go.” He turned her in his arms until she was standing directly in front of the counter gazing down at row after row of indecently expensive sparkly diamond rings. “Ever.” He tapped the glass hard with his left index finger. “Pick something, Jaya.”

Jaya began sweating almost as soon as the rings came out. Not because of the symbolism, she could pretend the ring meant nothing to her. And since she was going to be long gone before it ever touched her hand, choosing one didn’t really matter. Not because of the price tags on most of the beautiful solitaire diamonds; she could afford any one or all the rings herself if she wanted them. Hell, she should choose them all just to spite Ivan and his evil plans. No, she was freaking out because she was about to throw her plan into action and she was completely terrified. She was losing focus, constantly glancing at Ivan while he was encouraging the salesperson to bring out more rings for her to try on.

The salesman made the mistake of mentioning that it was store policy to bring out only one ring at a time. Ivan lifted an eyebrow and said in an arrogant drawl, “Change the policy. I want to see all the rings. If you have a problem with that then I’d be happy to speak to the owner. Though I promise you, if Miguel is forced to speak to me at this time of night in Brazil, he’ll have your head.”

The man swallowed audibly and stammered something unintelligible while reaching hesitantly for another tray of rings. Ivan reached for the ring on the counter and pulled Jaya’s hand forward, pushing it gently on the third finger of her left hand. She glanced down at it. A shudder rippled through her frame as she stared at the huge gaudy diamond, set in a gold band and surrounded by two rows of tiny diamonds. She didn’t even have a chance to reject it before Ivan was pulling it from her finger and tossing it back on the counter.

“Next,” he said coldly.

“Jaya!”

She twisted around and glanced toward the back of the store where Ndari was trying on tiaras. Despite the anxiety flooding her system she couldn’t help but laugh at the woman. She’d shoved her head scarf back onto her shoulders and was now wearing a ridiculous amount of diamonds perched on her shiny sable head. It looked pretty funny with her rocker T-shirt and jeans.

“Gorgeous,” Jaya announced.

“Get your depressive ass over here and try on some crowns,” Ndari shouted turning back to the alarmed looking salesperson. “I think we will require a matching set. Or perhaps a best friend set. You know, like those friend bracelets where each friend gets half a heart and then we’re friends forever. Only with tiaras instead of bracelets. And not half a tiara, because I’m not willing to compromise and give up half my crown since I am, in fact, a real-life princess.”

Jaya burst out laughing and tugged at the hand that Ivan still had firmly in his grasp. He’d pushed another ring onto her finger. She didn’t even glance at him. Instead she said pleadingly, “Just for a minute, Ivan. I really think I want an indecently expensive best friend tiara.”

Something about the happiness shining in her gaze and her spontaneous smile must have swayed him. As though he knew he’d finally done something right in engaging a companion of an appropriate age and temperament. He nodded indulgently and released her hand, allowing her to cross the store. She held her breath half expecting him to follow her, the possessiveness he felt over her and his wariness of taking her out in public urging him to keep close, but he continued to linger over the engagement rings only his eyes following her as she crossed to stand at Ndari’s side.

She let out a slow breath and barely noticed as the other woman perched a jewel encrusted tiara on her head, chattering away while fluffing Jaya’s hair around her shoulders. “Absolutely perfect! Just look at you.” She spun Jaya around, nearly knocking her into the glass case until she was facing a long-suffering salesman who was helpfully holding up a mirror. “It’s not exactly the same as my tiara, but I think the sapphires in this one really bring out your skin tone.”

Ordinarily, Jaya would be enjoying herself while choosing outrageously priced, useless jewellery and sparring with Ndari but she had other things on her mind. Like calculating the exact distances between the security gates when she brought them down. She was nervous and unhappy and torn about the decision she felt she had to make. A part of her didn’t want to leave Ivan. Okay, a big part of her. But she knew she had to. She’d been trained for half her life to believe he was an evil villain and he’d done very little to prove otherwise. She believed he was becoming attached to her, and his attachment was intoxicating, but she owed her loyalty to someone else. With that last thought, she set her plan into motion.

She yanked the tiara from her head and said to the salesman, “I don’t like it, show me another.” When he reached for it she tossed it just out of his reach. His eyes popped wide in horror as the precious item sailed past his outstretched hand and hit the floor. Jaya barely stopped an eye roll from slowing her down. The jewelry was hardier than the glass cases they were showcased in. Which she fully intended to utilize to her benefit. The second he bent over she grabbed Ndari and yanked her around the counter with her, shoving her down. Then, before anyone could stop her, as all eyes in the store were now on her, she grabbed one of the smaller earring cases, picked it up and slammed it into the big display case, shattering the glass.

“Holy mother of all that is not good!” Ndari gasped, jumping back from the flying glass and covering her face.

Jaya let go of Ndari’s wrist, her eyes glued to Ivan as he lunged toward her, his face twisted in fury. He was too late. Security gates all around the store fell into place cutting them off. He was locked in the front of the store with a salesman and a security guard while Keane was locked in a separate section with another security guard. Jaya, Ndari and the other salesperson was at the back of the store behind the heaviest gate, locked in with the computer system, exactly where she’d been hoping to be.

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