Page 27 of Trial of Deceit

“Your move,” he said, waving the cigar at her before moving it to his mouth.

Her jaw clenched as she looked at the glass.Charlie’s eyes were still fear-stricken, but there was a mix of confusion, too.

More tears streamed down Ashari’s face as she considered her options.“If I tell you, will you let her go?She’s innocent.”

“Do you look like you’re in a position to negotiate?”Jediah asked, and Ashari glared.Jediahclickedhis tongue at the top of his mouth before he pressed the intercom.“Kill her.”

Abangrang out.Ashari screamed as she looked toward the room, glimpsing the bow at the top of Charlie’s head as her body fell.Blood splatter trailed down the glass.

“A shame,” Jediah said over Ashari’s loud sobs.“How will you sleep tonight knowing you killed your friend?”

She glared through tears.Her hands were balled so tightly, her nails dug into her skin.“Good ’cause I’m gonna kill you next.”

“There she is.”Jediah smirked, then placed his cigar on the top of the intercom.He took long steps toward her while a door opened.Ashari didn’t look at who entered the room.She couldn’t take her eyes off Jediah as he stooped before her.“I’m unkillable, AshariPayne,” Jediah stated smugly.

Ashari spat on him.She smirked while the big blob trailed down Jediah’s cheek.His eyes narrowed while he wiped it away with the back of his hand.She opened her mouth to hurl more curses at him, but he gripped her by the chin, making her lips pucker.Jediah slipped his thumb between Ashari’s lips, forcing her clenched teeth apart until her lips slackened.Ashari fought against him, but he held her steady and spat into her mouth.

Disgust coursed through Ashari’s veins as a faint taste of tobacco soaked into her tongue while Jediah released her face.Ashari was about to spit out their mix, but a cloth got placed over her mouth from behind.

Ashari flailed against the chair as someone muscular held her tight.A strong chemical aroma drifted up through her nose.Despite knowing she shouldn’t breathe in, Ashari’s desperate body swallowed a large gulp of chloroform.It burned her throat as it went down.Her body was weakening, but she didn’t peel her eyes off the malice in Jediah’s eyes until they fluttered closed.

Ashari awoke with a start.Memories rushed to her as she lay in bed.A pain shot across her chest at the thought of Charlie.She’d hoped it was another nightmare, but the crusts of dried tears on her cheeks told another story.

She couldn’t loiter on it for long.Something else was more important.When did she get home?

She grabbed her gun off the nightstand along with her phone.She checked the chamber before sneaking out of the room with her gun drawn.Ashari was on high alert while moving around the dark apartment, but nothing was amiss.

“What are you playing at, Jediah?”she asked, expecting his taunting voice to drift in from somewhere.

When silence answered, she became satisfied that she was alone.Ashari searched the house for bugs before dialing Romar while running to her room.She peeked through the window, observing the quiet street, and pressed the phone against her ear while it rang.There was the nondescript car that Sanjae stayed in while Jaia would be—

Ashari froze as the call was answered.

Jaia.

So much had happened within the last few hours, she’d almost forgotten she’d killed one of her bodyguards.

“Ash!”came the yell from the other end of the phone.

Snapping back to reality, Ashari’s grip tightened around the phone while anger surged through her.She sat on the edge of her bed while placing the gun beside her.“My cover is blown.Jed knows I’m Senior’s daughter.”

“Need to get you out of there immediately,” Romar rushed out, and Ashari shook her head.

“No.I can’t leave,” Ashari replied, her mind drifting to the gun that was removed from her safe and placed on the bedside table while she slept.She shuddered at the thought that Jediah had access to her private space.“Jed has a strange attraction to me, more than we anticipated, and he’s taking this for a game.I think I can use this to my advantage.”

“Are you sick in your head?!”Romar hissed while shuffling about.He paused suddenly, and his next words were gentler.“Ash… I know this means everything to you, but you need to know when to give up.I love you too much to lose you.”

“I love you too, but Jed needs to go to prison.Especially now.”

“What do you mean?”he asked, and she closed her eyes to quell tears.

“Just come over, Romar.We need to discuss how we’re going to move on.Don’t bring Lyssa.”She hung up.

While she waited, she searched the apartment again for hidden bugs.There were none, which she expected.What was Jediah playing at?Not being able to read him was frustrating.

Why didn’t he kill her?He had so many chances to.

The question bothered her until she heard a shuffling from the living room.She exited the bedroom as Romar slipped through the faux wall that connected her apartment to the empty one next door.She sat on the sofa, grim, as Romar pushed the wall back in place before sitting beside her.He tossed an arm over her shoulder and listened as she recounted the events of the night before.

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