Page 36 of The Demon

“And what was she told?”

“That somebody would come for her.”

“And you got there first. How did that happen?”

“I was tipped off that Eliza Ortega was in Zurich by an informant. Knowing the huge price on her head, I hoped we could gain something from that and here we are, preparing to do a deal with this self-proclaimed Mafia King in exchange for her return.”

My explanation appears to satisfy my father, and he nods.

“I will do more investigations prior to my meeting with Ortega. It’s scheduled for seven pm where we will make the exchange. Make sure she is compliant, drug her if necessary, just make sure she is on that boat at eight pm, ready for the handover.”

“It will be done.”

He waves his hand toward the door, effectively dismissing me, and I hope that he will use the time to discover everything possible about this enigma, the Mafia King.

CHAPTER24

ELIZA

When I wake after a delicious dream, I stare into the eyes of a woman shrouded in black.

I jump up in alarm and say quickly, “What’s going on?”

I glance around, noting that Malik is nowhere to be seen, and she bows before me and whispers, “I have been instructed to help you leave.”

“Leave!” My heart thumps and I imagine the worst as she nods.

“Mr. Karim will be waiting at seven pm. You will leave with him.”

My hearts settles at the mention of Malik and I nod, curious about what happens next.

She steps forward. “My name is Fatima. I’m one of Mr. Karim’s house staff and am here to make your stay comfortable.”

She hands me a silk robe and I blush, due to the fact I’m naked—again and I’m grateful when she turns away to give me my privacy. As I shrug into it, I glance down and stare in shock at the blood staining the bed sheets and am mortified when I realize what it means.

There lies my virginity. Cast aside, and no longer required and given freely to a man who is not my husband–yet anyway. That’s if I believe what he told me, but I can’t be certain of that. I can’t be sure of anything right now, so I surreptitiously fold the sheets over the evidence of my disgrace and follow Fatima to the bathroom.

She is silent and turns on the shower, which provides an instant burst of heat in the room, and as she reaches for my robe, I say with embarrassment, “Um, it’s fine. I can take it from here.”

She says apologetically, “I’m sorry. I am under instruction not to leave your side.”

“What do you mean?”

She shrugs. “Mr. Karim’s orders. Until you are handed to him, you must be guarded and always watched. I’m sorry, Miss. Ortega, I am following my master’s orders.”

The anger inside me bubbles up and I say through gritted teeth, “Then turn around at least; surely I’m allowed a little privacy.”

She nods and turns and as I shrug out of the robe and let it fall to the ground, I see the reflection in the mirror of blood staining my thighs and abdomen. The fact she is staring at me through the mirror tells her all my dirty secrets and my face flames as I step inside the shower and set about removing every trace of my sins, conscious of what she must be thinking?

I soap my body, almost scrubbing it clean and then allow the hot water to cascade down on me, drenching my hair, body and mind. I am such a fool. I have given myself freely to a man who treats me like an object most of the time. He has no regard for my feelings and just does what the hell he likes. The fact we shared an intimacy I wasn’t expecting doesn’t excuse his behavior and I wonder if he was just telling me what he thought I wanted to hear and now, once again, I am being treated like his prisoner.

Fatima is waiting when I step out of the shower with a warm toweling robe that I’m grateful for. As I clean my teeth, she watches me from the corner like a predatory shadow and the fact I can only see her eyes is a little disturbing when she has definitely seen the whole of me.

We are silent and I pretend she isn’t here, and then my curiosity gets the better of me when we wander into the large dressing room.

“Do you work for Mr. Karim’s family?”

She shakes her head. “Just him.”

---