Page 24 of His Sweet Torment
She blew a kiss at the camera.
“Sappy.”
She laughed and flicked a pillow at Dale. “Shut up. Listen, I have something to tell you but I have to be certain no-one will overhear us. So, let’s go outside. Leave your cell phone in here.”
Dale’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?”
Padme nodded, her smile grim. “Oh yes.Really.”
Dale: Rule one. Don’t use your phone or your computer. Don’t go to an internet café or use a friend’s computer or phone. You don’t know where Ingles has eyes.
Padme handed the stranger’s phone back to her with a smile. “Thank you so much. My husband is on his way. Can I pay you for the time?”
“Oh no, no, it’s fine. Take care.” The woman waved and smiled her goodbye, and Padme grinned.
No husband was on his way. She had to admit, she’d faked the phone call perfectly. It had taken only a minute to punch in the two strings of numbers she’d memorized.
Latitude 0.278230 Longitude 73.432896
The island of Gan, Addu Atoll, The Maldives, Indian Ocean. Enver was in paradise.
Dale: Rule Two. When you find out where he is, do not say it aloud. To anyone. Not even yourself. Do not tell anyone, not even me. Find a way of communicating in silence to Enver via the camera. Do not rush this – it’s vital. Don’t be tempted to run off to the nearest airport. Plan this. It’s been six months, you can wait a little longer – you rush it now, you’ll both end up dead.
“My, Pad, you’ll end up spending all your pay check in here.” Beth smiled at her as she packed another bag full of the books Pad had just bought. “Good choices too, a lot of classics.” She looked through the selection. “Lolita. One of my favorites.”
Padme smiled. “Thought it was time I caught up on my reading. I have a lazy weekend planned with junk food and books.”
Beth chuckled. “That sounds like heaven. Have a good couple of days, sweetheart.”
“See you Monday?”
“Sure thing.”
When Padme exited the shop, Frederick Ingles was waiting outside.
Dale: Rule Three: Don’t piss Frederick off. Go along with what he says, have dinner with him, tell him anything he wants to know but don’t give anything away. Lie. Embellish. Play up your broken heart.
She glared at him, and he smiled, opening the back door of the limousine he was leaning against. “You look hungry, my beautiful Padme. Allow me to buy you dinner.”
She made an act of looking nervous, and glancing around. Frederick pulled his coat aside and showed her his gun, then looked inside the bookstore, making his point. Padme sighed and climbed into the backseat of the car. Frederick got in beside her, too close. Padme heard the locks of the door click shut. Despite herself, she shivered, and wondered if she would be able to fight him off if he tried anything. Seeing her checking out potential escape routes, Frederick reached into his pocket and pulled out a flick-knife. “Try anything, Padme, and I’ll decorate the inside of this car with your blood.”
Annoyed rather than scared, Padme’s eyes narrowed. “Do you get off on threatening people? Women?”
Frederick shrugged. “Yes.”
God.Padme looked away from his penetrating gaze. “What do you want?”
“Storytime. I want to know how you and Enver met…I know you were with him before you were his F.B.I. protection. You were fucking each other in the Four Seasons hotel for two days straight. Did you know he was your protectee?”
Padme hated that she had to share this with this monster. It would sully her memory of that first weekend. She remembered Dale’s warning.Lie. Embellish. “Yes, I knew. I went there to talk about the plan for Monday.”
“And you were seduced by him?”
She turned her usual warm brown eyes on him. Today, they were ice cold. “How do you know I didn’t seduce him?”
Frederick smirked. “I don’t. Bravo.”
“I fucked him. But you already know that.”
