Page 117 of Devil's Claim

I turned around on purpose, moving toward the table of delicious-looking treats and snagged one.

While I heard some noise, I refused to turn around, although if I had, they’d see my lips were twitching uncontrollably.

Less than two minutes later, I heard the whooshing sound of the door and closed my eyes.

Genevieve’s squeal echoed.

And her words brought a huge smile to my face.

“You just earned yourself a raise.”

I spun around, blowing in my folded fingers and rubbing my jacket. “Why, yes. Yes, I did.”

CHAPTER 29

Christine

“What do you mean you can’t get it off?” I asked. The sound was a cross between a shrill whistle and a wounded animal. Even twenty minutes later, I was still shaking from anger.

How dare those bastards act that way? Holier than thou pricks. Who the hell did they think they were?

My stomach was still in knots and every few seconds I glanced out the front window. I don’t know why, but a strange sense of foreboding had remained with me.

Genevieve fell into a fit of giggles. “It means your finger is swollen, likely from that amazing performance you gave. No big deal. We’ll get it off later.”

“Don’t you have any dish soap or Vaseline?” I tugged on the ring myself, groaning since I could tell my finger wasn’t going to cooperate.

“Does it look like I do?”

“What about the caterers?”

“Oh, they didn’t hang around,” she admitted. “I think they had a feeling there was going to be a gunfight.” Her laugh brought a frown to my face. She stood back and shook her head. “Stop stressing.”

“I’m not stressing!” I rolled my eyes. “Okay, maybe a little, but it’s about anger. Rage. It’s not good for a woman to be enraged.” I threw a quick look at Benito. He was biting back a smile.

“You and me. Those sons of bitches. They waited until the last minute after plying me with bullshit. Jago isn’t going to be happy. By the way. If I ever need anyone to spout off a load of crap, I’m calling you. We’re adding it to your job description. The ring will come off. You just need to relax. Besides, you’ve earned the right to wear it after tonight.”

“No, I did not, Genevieve. I did what anyone else would do. A decent thing. I’d thought about choking them to death, but didn’t think that would be the best thing to do before we opened. Imagine the rumors.”

From behind us, Emiliano laughed while my boss grinned. “At least they’d know if they crossed a line, there’d be hell to pay. That’s where you’re wrong about the decent thing. Very few people ever step up to do the right thing.”

“You and Jago did with the diamonds you rescued.”

“There’s a bit of a difference there. We didn’t know they existed until we were on the ship.”

“Still. No difference.”

“I’m going to lock these in the safe. Time for a well-deserved drink.” She pulled the tray, taking it to the back to put into the master safe.

Meanwhile, I tugged on the ring again. The damn thing wasn’t budging. This certainly hadn’t turned out to be the night I’d expected.

One of the two soldiers remaining outside suddenly entered. I caught movement and turned toward both him and Emiliano. The look on their faces forced my stomach into flip-flops. Emiliano immediately closed and locked the door, flipping off the lights while the other soldier headed toward me, immediately grabbing my arm and holding me against his chest.

“What’s happening?” I asked, hating the panic in my voice. My instincts were raw. Something was terribly wrong.

“We’re getting you out of here, ma’am.”

“Emiliano. What is it?” Genevieve returned from the back, a weapon in both hands. “Oh, fuck. Did the bastards set us up?”

---