Chapter Three
Jasmine knew she was being followed. Unfortunately, her list of enemies just kept growing and growing, so she wasn’t exactly sure who might be shadowing her through Vegas.
The city had too many lights. Way too many. She stuck to the shadows as best as she could, and she hunched her shoulders each time she heard a voice floating on the wind.
She’d made it at least a mile from the Arrow. In her heels. Damn impressive—especially considering the path she’d taken.
Jasmine wanted to jump toward the main strip, hail a taxi, and get out of there but—
Someone is following me.
At this point in her life, she knew better than to ignore her instincts. And the tenseness at the base of her neck, that too-aware intensity, it told her that she was being followed through those Vegas alleyways.
Was it that bozo who claimed to be a bounty hunter? Like she believed that BS.
Was it Drake’s security guards? Drake?
No, she discarded that idea almost immediately. Drake wouldn’t bother coming after her himself. If he’d had cameras in that room, like the guy claimed, then he would’ve watched them by now and seen that she hadn’t taken anything.
So that left her with option three…the man who’d put her on Drake’s trail…he could be the one in the shadows. She did not want to come face to face with him. Especially since she had to let the guy know that she hadn’t managed to get the information he wanted.
Her back brushed against a brick wall. She strained, trying to listen desperately for a sign of her pursuer. But the fellow was good. She’d give him that. No rustles. No heaving breaths. No—
“Got you, sweetheart.”
The rough words came from her left. Jasmine rushed forward as the dark form of a man pulled away from the shadows.
The bounty hunter. Something was glinting in his right hand. She didn’t know if that glint was from handcuffs or from a knife, and Jasmine wasn’t in the mood to find out.
She kicked off her shoes and sprinted for the safety of that main Vegas strip.
The pavement bit into the bottom of her feet, and she heard the bounty hunter huffing behind her. Ah, now there was the huffing breath. If only he’d given away that sound earlier!
Jasmine jumped from the shadows and ran for the brightly lit street. Horns honked. Cars whizzed past. She only had a few seconds lead on the guy. She raised her hand. “Taxi—”
He grabbed her hand and whirled her around in his arms. Jasmine was pretty sure that she felt the sharp tip of a knife shove into her side.
“You’re not getting away this time.”
Her head turned, and her eyes met his. Even in the darkness, she could see the evil twist of his lips.
“No one’s gonna save you now, sweetheart.”
That was the story of her life. Good thing she’d learned to save herself.
The knife pricked her side. Jasmine gasped.
“This time, you’ll pay.”
***
Jasmine.
Drake saw her, on the side of the street. A taxi was pulling away from the curb, as if she’d just tried to hail it.
She was in a man’s arms. It was too dark for Drake to see the man’s face, but a nearby street lamp spilled light right onto Jasmine’s dark red hair. He saw the back of her head, but he knew it was her. Same dark clothes. Same tempting thief.
He jerked his steering wheel to the side, parking as quickly as he could.
Jasmine and the man were rushing away. The guy glanced back, and Drake caught a glimpse of his face then.