Ari’s heart pounded in her chest as Jenn grinned at them. Wow. Okay, there was no denying the chemistry between them. “Water,” Ari replied.
Back at the table, the tension did not dissipate. It just got worse. She could tell by the closed look on Jai’s face that he was angry at himself and possibly at her. They were supposed to be on a job, after all. A mass of nerves, Ari gulped down two glasses of water before she realized what a bad idea that was. After holding in the need to pee until she was in pain, Ari finally sighed to catch Jai’s attention.
I need to go to the bathroom.
He frowned and glanced around them before he looked back at her face. Seeing the discomfort in her eyes, he nodded reluctantly. Be quick. I don’t like the idea of you wandering alone.
I have Ms. Maggie, she assured him.
Ari gazed at her flushed face in the mirror, glad to have the bathroom to herself. She’d locked the main door and would probably hear a pounding on it any minute, but she needed just a moment alone to gather her wits. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, green pushing at blue pushing at amber as they fought for some kind of exact coloring.
“I am so unprofessional,” she muttered, goosebumps exploding across her arms at the memory of dancing in Jai’s arms. “Oh, God.”
Flames exploded behind her, sending Ari careening into the mirror in shock. Acid burned in the back of her throat from fear as her father, the White King, stepped out of the peripatos. She blinked, not sure the vision behind her was real, that it wasn't her wicked imagination playing tricks on her. His implacable eyes met hers in the mirror and reality slammed into her with the force of a shotgun bullet. No, not here. She glanced quickly at the locked door. Ms. Maggie’s energy slipped out of the room and Ari frowned. The ifrit had left her alone with him? Shock rushed through her as she calculated whether she could make it out of the room before he got to her.
And then the memory of burying Derek caused anger to override her fear. Ari turned to face the huge jinn with fury blazing in her eyes. “You bastard.”
“Actually, I have a father. I just don’t like him very much.” He strode toward her, his black hand-sewn leather trousers hugging his powerful legs. He wore nothing on his torso except for a gold torque around his neck and a long, billowing blue silk robe. His face was expressionless, his eyes a deep, black abyss. “Look at all that anger. I wondered if you cared. There was no response to my message.”
Fighting down the ugly darkness in her chest that screamed to rise and take over, Ari clenched her fists, refusing to back down as he approached her. He killed her dad. He deserved to pay. Her neck craned back to look at him and she fought the urge to command him to his knees, the Red King’s threat buzzing in her blood-rushed deafened ears. At the thought of her uncle, Ari felt anxiety. He had promised to put an enchantment of protection around her. How had the White King found her? The angry question spilled from her dry lips.
“Easily. There isn't an enchantment around you.”
More confusion. More worry. “But the Red—” she cut off, not wanting to give the White King any information, no matter how insignificant.
Her father cocked his head to the side, his face still blankly cold, his eyes terrifyingly flat. “Did you suppose my brother would aid you?” he shook his head. “Not if Azazil forbade him to. And I imagine my father did.”
“That makes no sense.” Azazil wanted to keep her away from the White King!
The White King shrugged. “The sultan may not like the idea of you in my hands, but he certainly likes the idea of boredom even less. I’ll tell you this again and perhaps this time you will listen, daughter. My father likes to be entertained. First and foremost.”
Not wanting to be manipulated by him, Ari tried to shut his words out. But hadn’t the Red King and Jai also said as much. She couldn’t trust Azazil. Did that mean she really couldn’t trust her uncle? Hearing her father’s sigh of disgust, Ari glanced up in a sudden rage, kindle sparking between her fingertips as she fought her instinct to overpower him, to abuse him and hurt him and make him pay for what he had done. He didn’t even care that he had taken a life. It was all a game to him. To all of them!
Studying her calmly, watching the play of emotions ricochet around her face, the White King nodded gently as he prowled around her. “I am impressed with your control. That you have not yet retaliated for the death of Derek is… well… if I’m honest, it’s problematic. But impressive. You’re your father’s daughter.”