Page 20 of His Sweet Torment
Frederick smiled but it did not reach his eyes. “Make sure you’re there, Padme.” He reached out and stroked a finger down her cheek. “So beautiful. I can see why he loved you.”
Loved.God, the pain was almost overwhelming. Padme watched Frederick Ingles walk out of the store and head down to the coffeeshop. What the hell did he want? To torment her before he killed her? To tell her Enver was dead?
Bastard. Padme pulled her cell phone from her pocket and called Dale. He warned her against keeping the meeting. “Please, Pad, don’t go.”
“I can’t,” she says, “I have to – I’m scared he’ll do something to someone I love.”
She heard Dale hiss down the phone in frustration. “God, Pad, look, I’m coming by. Don’t worry, I won’t make myself obvious unless you need me. I’ll check out who he’s got watching you.”
Padme felt her shoulders slump in relief. “Thanks, D, I appreciate it.”
Ten minutes later, she said goodbye to Beth and walked slowly to the coffeehouse, her heart thumping. She saw him sitting at a table outside and cautiously approached him. Frederick Ingles looked up and smiled, rising to draw out a chair for her.
“Thank you,” she said stiffly, leaning her cane against the table. Frederick frowned at it.
“You are still in pain from the shooting.”
She nodded. “Yes, from when I was shot by your stooge.”
Frederick half-smiled. “Brian Dedalus did not work for me, Padme. I did not order your shooting.”
“Just Enver’s?”
“No. I would not have been stupid enough to pull a stunt like that. And if I had wanted you dead, beautiful one, I would have done it myself.”
He met her gaze with dead eyes, and she shivered. This man was a true psychopath. “What about Chaley? Why did you kill her?”
Frederick shrugged. “To send a message. And, of course, because it was fun.”
Anger flashed through her. “Youbastard. She was only a kid, and you butchered her forfun? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“My dear Padme, under the table, I have a .22 with a silencer in my left hand, and it is aimed at your belly right now so I wouldn’t make me angry. I would hate to add to your pain.” Frederick gave her the smile of a besotted lover.
He is insane.Padme closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. “What do you want from me, Ingles? If you’ve come to ask me where Enver is, you’re out of luck. I don’t know. I’ve been trying to find him for six months.”
“Ah, but you don’t have the resources I do. No, Padme, I just want to know about every single second you spent in Toscano’s company. Every single detail,” he leered now, “Even down to how he fucked you, how his cock felt in your cunt…”
“Stop.” Padme felt sick, but she raised her chin and stared back at him. “And if I don’t tell you?”
“Then there will be a bullet for every single person you know and love. Your friend Severin – I hear she is the woman you consider your mother. The chef, Malhotra…both her, her lovely sister and their husbands. Your friends at the F.B.I. Your partner. And then, of course, you, beautiful Padme. No quick bullet for you, but a long, slow death at the end of my knife.”
Padme felt as if she were having an out-of-body experience. “Why haven’t you killed me yet?”
“Because I want Toscano.” Frederick dropped all pretense of friendliness. “Make no mistake, Ms. Kaur, when I find him, I will end him. And then I will come back for you. It’s simple, the more you tell me, the longer you live.”
“But you’ll kill me anyway.”
“Yes. Like I said, it’ll be fun.” He drained his coffee and stood, and she saw him tuck his weapon back into his waistband. He was elegantly dressed, expensively too.If you saw him, you might even think he was handsome and desirable,Padme thought,but underneath that mask, he is pure evil. He looked down at her then suddenly bent his head and kissed her roughly on the mouth. She jerked away from him, sickened. Ingles laughed. “Yes, it will be fun, darling one. I might even fuck you before I kill you. I’ll be in touch.”
And he was gone.
Padme was trembling violently, unable to move from her seat. She wanted to scream and cry at the humiliation of it all, the horror, but she was frozen. She felt arms wrap around her and Dale’s warm, comforting presence. “Come on, sweetheart. I’m going to take you home now.”
She couldn’t remember the journey back to her apartment. Dale tucked her into the couch then brought a blanket to wrap around her. Making her some hot tea, he waited while she told him everything Ingles had said to her. Dale stood, angry, and paced the room.
“Fucker.Cocksucking motherfucker,”he said, and Padme nodded.
“He exudes evil,” she said softly. “I’ve been around some bad people, but nothing like him. He’s not even human.”
