The woman regarded me questioningly.

I gave her a little smile and held out my wrists to Kaidan. He began to tie them, never letting his eyes veer up to my face.

The flight attendant’s nervousness lightened as she passed us to deliver Pharzuph’s drink. She returned to the galley to finish her preflight prep. When Kaidan was done, Pharzuph sauntered up and tossed back the last of his drink. He ran his eyes over me like I was a pest about to be exterminated.

The plane’s engines fired up, gently rumbling the cabin and surrounding us in white noise.

Pharzuph walked to the front to chat with the pilot in the cockpit. Then he stopped by the galley to return his glass to the flight attendant. I couldn’t see her, but I had a perfect view of him inching closer, giving her a flirtatious smile as he said something that made her laugh. He reached out, maybe at her waist level, and his smile disappeared, his expression changing to a heated look of lust. When he spoke again, a blast of swirling red aura filled the space between them, coming from the woman. I dropped my eyes, feeling ill. Apparently the flight attendant wasn’t just there to serve us drinks. The horror of it washed over me in sickening waves. Pharzuph was going to work right here in this small cabin space. Right in front of Kaidan and me.

A revolting thought occurred to me. Would he expect Kaidan to work? There were no other women in sight. No, this woman was for Pharzuph’s pleasure only. She had to be.

The pilot announced it was time for everyone to take their seats. Pharzuph grinned and left the galley. As he made his way to the back of the plane, he stopped next to Kaidan and said, “You can have her after me. Or you could join us if you like.”

Oh. My. Gosh.

Kaidan gave no reaction except a nod. “Thank you. Perhaps after you. I didn’t sleep last night, so I might rest a bit first.”

It could have been my imagination, but I swore Pharzuph stiffened at little at Kaidan’s lack of interest. Then his lips rose in a quick grin and he patted Kai’s shoulder. “Rest up then. The Neph girl shouldn’t be any trouble.” He gave me a warning glance, and I dropped my eyes again.

My body was working against me. I felt light-headed and nauseous. What if Pharzuph pushed Kaidan to be with that woman? Kai would refuse. Our plan would be ruined.

And then I relaxed. Because just above Kaidan in the overhead compartment was my bag inside his bag with the Sword of Righteousness. Pharzuph had no idea it was on this plane. I would kill him if he pushed Kaidan to work. I might even enjoy it.

Of course then we’d have a dead body and a freaked-out flight attendant on our hands when we landed, but we could deal with that. I leaned back and closed my eyes.

Kaidan came over and buckled me. I kind of hoped he’d squeeze my hand, but he kept up the act, seeming repulsed by me. I felt sicker by the minute.

The flight attendant exited the galley and pulled down a jump seat next to the door across from me. She sat and buckled, a shimmer of red still present at the base of her aura. The entire takeoff process was uncomfortable with the woman staring between the seats at Pharzuph behind us. He had to be making eyes at her or something because she lit up like a red Christmas tree and rubbed her knees together, biting her bottom lip.

Please, God, let this flight go by quickly.

When we leveled out and the flight attendant stood to return to the galley, Kaidan got up and opened a wall panel, pushing buttons until a movie screen came down from the ceiling panel between us. I watched as he pulled out a pair of headphones from the armrest of his seat. He shot me a very quick glance. I angled myself enough to open my armrest and take out the headphones. It was difficult, but I got them unraveled, plugged in, and on my ears just as the woman was coming down the aisle.

Her flurry of lust disappeared when she approached me, looking at my bound hands.

“Anything to drink or eat, miss? We have turkey paninis and—”

“Nothing for her,” Pharzuph said, sounding too close.

The woman looked up, surprised, then back down at me. “No beverage?”

The Dukes thought I was a lush, so I needed to act the part. “Rum and Coke?”

“She’s underage,” Pharzuph said from his lounging position behind me.

“Oh.” She looked at me with a touch of exasperation. “How about a soda?”

I shook my head. “Nothing for me, thank you.”

“Okay, sweetie.” She definitely didn’t know what to think about me and my predicament. I wondered how old she was. Younger than Patti. Maybe thirty.

She served Kaidan and Pharzuph their meal. Kaidan ate fast and looked as sick as I felt. He stood and pulled a small pillow from the overhead bin and sat again. The movie credits began just as a peal of feminine laughter sounded from behind us, followed by flirty bantering . . . a minute later, a quiet moan. With as much discretion as possible I reached over and turned up the volume in my headphones as high as it would go.

I dared a glance at Kaidan, who was leaning against the window with his pillow. I knew he was pretending to sleep because his mouth was closed. His lips always parted the tiniest bit when he slept.

I stared at the movie in a tense daze, not daring to turn my head. The skin at my wrists burned. Time passed too slowly. When I finally felt our descent, I let my muscles slightly relax for the first time. Kaidan hadn’t moved the entire trip. The flight attendant took her jump seat, staring blankly ahead and looking pale, her aura a blend of residual lust and fuzzy dark grays. I didn’t want to pick apart her emotions.

Kaidan stared out his window as we hit the pavement in Vegas. The flight attendant rushed from the plane the moment the door opened.

I remained sitting as Kai stood and pulled out his bag. Pharzuph walked up from the back with his hands casually in his pockets, a neutral expression on his face.

“A car should be waiting for us,” Pharzuph said to Kaidan. “Cover the girl.”

Kaidan took a navy blanket from the overhead bin and put it around my shoulders, wrapping me enough to hide my hands. Then he put an arm around me and forcefully led me from the plane, down the stairs, into the waiting car and the sweltering dry heat of a Vegas evening.

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

SIN CITY

It was six p.m. when I got my first glimpse of the infamous Vegas Strip. Tall buildings and hotels crammed together in a tight cluster amid the arid landscape. I ignored my cravings at the sight of people walking the streets openly with alcohol, some carrying full cases of beer. I kept myself numb to the barrage of signs that advertised women for sale. Pharzuph chuckled from the driver’s seat.

“It never gets old.”

As we pulled up to The Venetian Hotel, Pharzuph turned to Kai, who sat next to me in the backseat. “Untie her, but hold her hand and don’t let her out of your sight until you get to the room.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kaidan untied me, and I rubbed my wrists. He pulled me from the car, taking my hand securely in his while he held his duffel bag in the other. A valet took the black sedan, and the three of us made our way inside the hotel. Though Kaidan came across as cold, his hand was warm and I was glad to be touching him.

Pharzuph bypassed a long line of people waiting to check in at the giant, fancy lobby. He smiled warmly, and nobody complained. It was amazing to watch his willful influence in action. The check-in clerk was blushing and laughing as she placed the key cards in his waiting hand.