I clear my throat. “I’m going to need assistance getting out of the penthouse.”
“Consider it done. Be ready in an hour.” She hangs up, leaving me with more questions than reassurances. If she’s able to penetrate Jafar’s defenses that easily, she must have had this set up already. She was that sure of me.
The realization doesn’t comfort me, but I doubt anything can at this point. I hurry into my room and pull on a pair of black leggings and a cropped over-sized T-shirt. It’s hardly an outfit built for stealth, but it’s better than the gowns beginning to clutter up my closet. I pull my hair back from my face and lace up my shiny new tennis shoes.
My phone rings, and I hold my breath as I answer. “Yes?”
“Take the elevator down to the parking garage. Level two.”
I don’t question Meg. I rush to the elevator and, sure enough, this time it allows me to go all the way down to the indicated level. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. Like you said—it’s business.”
As much as I want to argue, I make a noncommittal noise instead. Meg is helping me and that’s enough. The reasoning doesn’t matter. The actions do.
The parking garage is dimmer than I remember it, but it’s just as well. A black limousine pulls up and Meg opens the door. There’s nothing in her expression to indicate that, fewer than twelve hours ago, I had my face buried in her pussy and licked her to two outstanding orgasms. We might as well be acquaintances for all the warmth she gives me. “Come along.”
A small voice chooses that moment to point out that I’ve done nothing I can’t take back yet. Getting into that car crosses a line in the sand, and becomes a betrayal that Jafar will not forgive. If I turn around now, no one has to know what I intended.
I climb into the car.
It’s only when the door shuts I realize Meg isn’t alone.
Hades smiles at me, the warmth of the expression pushing me back against the seat. Seeing him in the club was one thing, but at least I had Jafar to dampen his presence. I have nothing to shield me now. The man is attractive in a refined kind of way that comes with age and power, his silvered temples and the deep laugh lines bracketing his mouth and eyes marking him as somewhere close to middle age. The black glasses and perfectly tailored suit only add to the impression of a man used to money and comfortable with power. “You’ve really stirred the hornet’s nest, haven’t you?”
It’s everything I can do not to shrink into myself. There’s nothing overtly threatening about this man. Even his question is dry and filled with the amusement Hades seems to give every word that he doles out.
And yet.
The feeling of a threat remains all the same.
I force myself to lift my chin, to meet his dark gaze. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”
“No, the innocent rarely do.” He shrugs as if it’s of no concern to him, as if his very presence in this car doesn’t represent things I’m afraid to think about.
I glance at Meg. I can’t help it. She’s perched next to Hades in a short black dress, his hand resting on her thigh with the ease of long familiarity. She doesn’t smile or give me any kind of reassurance that I haven’t made a terrible mistake, which only confirms that I have.
Damn it, but I should have known better than to expect this gift to come without strings.
I did know better, but I ignored my instincts, the prize too tempting to resist.
It takes two tries to clear my throat. “What is it you want?”
“It’s not about what I want, sweetheart.” He idly strokes Meg’s leg. “A man’s word is the only thing he has worth anything in this world.”
I raise my brows. “I would think the price of your suit and the luxury in your club seems to suggest otherwise.”
He chuckles, the sound warm enough that I have to fight not to smile with him. “I do regret that you were pulled into this. You seem like a good girl, and my Meg likes you.”
“I do.” Meg traces her fingers over the knuckles of Hades’s hand. “But, like you said, your word has to mean something.”
“Right you are, love.” He shrugs. “You seem scrappy. I’m sure you’ll come out on top of this.”
The car takes a turn and pulls into another parking garage. We’ve barely been driving ten minutes, if that. I glance out the window as we pull to a stop and go still. Ali stands easily with a pair of men, his gaze hungry as it rests on the car, as if he can see me through the tinted windows. I look back at the couple, at Meg. Is there sympathy in her blue eyes? I can’t be sure. “Don’t do this. Please.”