Page 31 of An Enchanted Spring

“Perhaps you’ve forgotten the state of your home, Miss Perkins. I would hate to see something worse happen to you.”

She blanched.

“The money, Miss Perkins. Bring it back to your apartment within the hour. Leave it on the floor, and you and your new boyfriend won’t be hurt this time. We’ll give you three minutes to get out of the apartment before we take it.”

“Leave me out of this,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Not my call to make. On the floor, Miss Perkins,” he repeated in a low voice. “I suggest you revisit your apartment—again—and take a hard look. That will provide a good indicator of your life until I get the money your fiancé owes me.”

Ex-fiancé, she corrected mentally. She sucked in her breath, and he turned on his heel and swiftly exited the coffee shop.

Beverage forgotten, Emma started shaking. Her heart pounding, she tried to see if the man—or Ben—was standing outside the building, but there were so many people on the sidewalk, either could’ve concealed himself easily.

“Excuse me?”

She shrieked, causing people to turn and stare.

An older woman stepped back, affronted. “I just wanted to know if you were in line!” she explained indignantly. With a “hmph,” the woman walked away.

Panicked, Emma fled the shop and ran across the street, almost colliding with an oncoming car. She pushed open the doors to the auction house and sprinted to the reception desk.

“Ma’am?” the security guard asked as he half rose from his chair.

“I have to go to your shipment room,” she gasped out, her heart slamming into her chest as she heard the doors behind her open. She didn’t look back for fear of seeing the man from the coffee shop. “Please, right away, it’s an emergency.”

“I’m sorry, but that room is occupied at the moment. What’s the nature of the emergency?” he asked.

Before she could answer, a hand landed on her arm and she spun around, a scream catching in her throat.

“Ms. Perkins, who was that?” Cian steadied her. “In the shop, the man. Who was it?”

“I have to talk to Aidan right away!”

Cian’s bushy white eyebrows drew together in concern. “About what, lass?”

“The man from the coffee shop.” Aware that she looked like a madwoman, she tried to slow her breathing. “Did you see him?”

“Aye. Tall fellow with the hat. I saw him leave, but I didn’t see him speak with you.” He frowned. “He waited until you were out of my sight. He probably knew I was there with you.” Cian nodded once to the security guard. “Come with me, lass. Aidan will be out in a moment. Until then, you can stay with me, in the car.”

She allowed Cian to escort her back outside. She attempted to see if the man was still watching her from somewhere, but there were just too many people. Cian helped her into the car before getting in the driver’s seat. He locked the doors. “Tell me what happened.”

She related the events to him as he drove them around the block. His kind eyes flicked to hers in the rearview mirror more than once, his concern evident.

“Do ye think he was the man who sacked your apartment?”

“Yes,” she replied without hesitation. “He knew I wasthere this morning. Said I should go there again and take a look at what my future would be like if I didn’t give him that sword Aidan wanted so badly last night.”

Aidan walked out of the building with some packages; Cian pressed a button to open the trunk. A moment later, the trunk slammed shut and the back door opened. “Did you drink your coffee already?” Aidan asked, nodding at her empty hands.

“Emma was approached,” Cian said before Emma could respond. Quickly, Cian filled Aidan in on the events of the last half hour.

Aidan’s jaw hardened. “Are you all right?” he asked her, his voice clipped.

“Yes. I think it’s worse than I thought, though.”

Aidan’s eyes narrowed. “The story you gave to the police officer—you said you didn’t know why he threatened you.”

“No, I said that he’d shown violent tendencies in the past,” she replied wearily, dropping her head into her hands. “He’s tied up in some serious stuff, I think. And now, he’s got people after me!”

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