Parisian Affair (47 page)

Ram got to his feet. 'Enough talk, Allegra,'
he said. 'I think I've explained everything to you. A needy duchess
sells jewels that don't belong to her. Jules Levant buys them. I
buy them back after I've inherited his business, then—'

'I'm—I'm sure Jules Levant would be rolling
over in his grave,' Allegra broke in, the drug affecting her,
making thought and speech an effort, 'if he knew what you've done
with his . . . with his legacy.'

'Well, he doesn't know, does he?' Ram said.
'He's dead, and I killed him, so I should know.'

Allegra's eyes widened in horror. 'You—you
actually killed him?' she stuttered.

'He was dying anyway,' Ram said. 'Just like
his old friend downstairs, Solomon Weiss. All I did was help them
along.'

'Mr. Weiss is dead?' She was stunned by the
news. 'But I only saw him—'

'I know you saw him,' Ram said. 'Why do you
think I got rid of him?'

Allegra thought she would faint, but she
fought back the urge.
I can't let him win
, she thought
miserably.
If for no one else but Solomon Weiss, I have to fight
back
.

Ram walked to a console and opened a large
decorative box that sat on it. When he turned back around, a pair
of handcuffs and something similar to them, only larger, dangled
from his hands. He held them up for her to see clearly.

'Wh-what are you doing?' she gasped.

Ram approached the couch, and when she shrank
away from him, he laughed softly. 'These are for your boyfriend,'
he said, quickly encircling Todd's wrists with the handcuffs. He
snapped first one side shut, then the other. Todd didn't react in
any way, but continued breathing shallow, silent breaths.

When what he was doing registered in her
foggy brain, Allegra cried out. 'No! Don't you touch him!' She
stood up on shaky legs and pushed at Ram with all her might, but
she was so weak she succeeded only in falling down against the
coffee table.

'Don't hurt yourself, Allegra,' Ram said
smoothly as he placed the leg irons around Todd's ankles, snapped
them shut, and then locked them.

Allegra placed both hands on the coffee table
and struggled to her feet.

'Now,' Ram said, brushing his hands off,
'your young man won't be going anywhere.'

'Oh, Todd,' she whimpered, sinking down onto
the couch next to him. 'Todd ...'

Ram clenched one of her wrists in his left
hand, then grabbed the other with his right. He pulled on her
forcefully. 'You're coming with me, Allegra,' he said. 'Into my
closet. My little playroom.'

Allegra felt herself being pulled off the
couch, and since she didn't have the strength to fight him off, she
let her body go completely limp, an easy task under the
circumstances.

'You're not being cooperative, Allegra,' Ram
said impatiently, as if he were dealing with a recalcitrant child.
'Stand up.'

Allegra made no effort to get to her feet.
Let the son of a bitch do the work
, she thought.
Whatever
his plans are for me, he's getting no help carrying them
out.

'Stand up now!' Ram said through gritted
teeth.

Still she did not budge to aid him, but let
him pull on her wrists with all his might. Her body slid off the
couch and onto the floor, where she slumped as if she were a broken
doll.

'Goddamn you!' Ram swore. He let go of her
wrists, then slapped her face.

'You—you bastard!' Allegra cried, reaching up
to touch her cheek.

Ram brought his hand back, prepared to strike
her again, but his cell phone began ringing at that moment. 'Fuck,'
he swore under his breath. He went to the console where he'd put
down the cell phone when they'd first arrived. Picking it up, he
flipped it open.

'Yes?' he said, staring across the room at
Allegra as she struggled to get to her feet.

Princess Karima dropped ice cubes into
Marcus's crystal old-fashioned glass, then splashed more Jack
Daniel's over them. 'Water, darling?'

'Not necessary,' Marcus drawled
drunkenly.

She took his drink to him, then made another
for herself before sitting back down. 'Cheers,' she said, lifting
her glass.

'Cheers,' Marcus said before taking a sip
from his. He set the glass down and then looked over at her. 'My
God, Karima,' he said with a chortle, 'we've put the booze away
tonight. I think I'm actually drunk.'

She laughed merrily. 'Me, too,' she said.
'Perhaps we should take a moonlight walk in the garden to sober up
a bit.'

'A walk?' he said, looking at her. 'You're
serious?'

'Yes,' she said gaily. 'Let me get our coats.
I'll be right back.' She got up and floated out of the room, her
silk caftan, this one turquoise with several rows of braided trim
made from real gold, lifting like a cloud behind her.

Marcus lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply,
happy that Karima was acting like her old self again. Not a care in
the world.

She returned, wearing her floor-length
Russian-sable greatcoat with its hood. Across one arm, she carried
his cashmere overcoat. 'Here, darling,' she said. 'Up, up. And off
we'll go.'

Marcus rose to his feet and took the coat
from her, then put it on.

'Let's take our drinks,' Karima said, picking
hers up.

'The better to sober us up,' he laughed,
taking his from the table.

They went out through one of the French doors
in the conservatory, crossed the stone terrace, and began walking
down one of the garden paths, their breath visible in the night
air.

'It's beautiful, isn't it, darling?' Princess
Karima said.

'Gorgeous,' Marcus replied.

'Let's go down to the pergola by the pond,'
she said, 'and sit for a while.'

'That's a lovely idea,' Marcus said. He took
a swallow of his drink. 'You always have the best ideas,
Karima.'

They reached the columned pergola and sat
down side by side on a bench. Huge, gnarled wisteria vines, not yet
in leaf, crisscrossed the top of the pergola, casting bizarre
shadows in the moonlight.

'It's so peaceful here,' Marcus said. 'So
quiet and beautiful with the moonlight reflecting off the
pond.'

'Isn't it?' Karima said, swirling the drink
around in her glass.

Behind them, a short, dark figure approached
slowly on silent feet.

'Look, Marcus, darling,' Karima said. 'Is
that one of the swans on the pond?'

'I don't see it,' Marcus replied, squinting
his eyes. Suddenly he felt something cold at the back of his head.
'What—?' he began.

Karima quickly slid away from him and covered
her ears with her hands.

Marcus started to turn to look at her, but
his head froze, his mouth open in a question, his eyes wide with
wonder. The bullet exploded in his brain, killing him instantly. He
didn't even hear the soft thump of the silenced revolver before he
slumped forward, then slid off the bench.

Princess Karima rose to her feet and backed
away without looking at the body. Mimi came from behind the bench,
sliding the revolver into the capacious pocket of the apron she
wore.

'Go,' she said to Princess Karima. 'I'll take
care of this.'

Princess Karima didn't look into the old
woman's tiny, close-set eyes, but nodded, her gaze averted. She
turned and walked back to the mill- house, leaving the scent of
Golconda in her wake.

'
Laheen!
' Ram swore in Arabic. 'Damn
you, Kadar!'

From where she sat on the couch, Allegra
listened, certain that Ram was receiving the bad news that the
emerald was not in the suite at the Ritz. The smartest thing she
could have done, she decided, was take it to Monsieur Lenoir and
have him send it in a diplomatic pouch to New York. He had contacts
at the American embassy, so it had been an easy matter for him to
handle.

Ram glared at her from across the room,
alternately talking and listening, his voice quieter but his face
purple with rage. He abruptly turned his back to her, and she was
glad his hate-filled eyes were no longer upon her.

Todd emitted a barely audible moan, and
Allegra ran her fingers through his raven hair with loving
tenderness. When he moaned again, she gave his shoulders a shake,
but he didn't respond. There was nothing she would like more than
to curl up beside him and sleep off the effects of the drug, but
that was out of the question. She had to fight the urge with every
ounce of strength she had.

She wondered what would happen next, whether
or not Ram would try to sexually assault her. A wave of panic swept
over her, for she didn't think she could fight him off. But there
was one thing she was sure of: he wouldn't kill her, at least not
yet. She was the only person who knew where the emerald was. But if
he found out it was already in New York, what then? What would he
do if he knew the emerald was beyond his grasp?

'
Maah as-salaama
,' she heard Ram say
before he flipped shut his cell phone and turned back around to
face her. His expression was at first solemn. Then abruptly his
lips spread into a smile.

'You are very clever, Allegra,' he said.

'Oh? How so?' she asked, feigning an
expression of innocence.

'You have hidden the emerald somewhere,' he
replied, slowly crossing the room in her direction. 'You haven't
placed it in the safe or elsewhere in your suite at the Ritz. My
man has turned your rooms upside down and inside out.'

'I'm not a complete fool,' she said
defiantly.

'No,' he said, now standing over her, 'I'll
give you credit for that.' He paused, looking down at her upturned
face. 'But you're very foolish nevertheless.' He reached over and
grabbed her hair with a hand, pulling on it with fierce power.

Allegra cried out. 'No! Stop it. You're
hurting me.'

'I've only begun to hurt you,' he replied,
giving the length of hair in his hand a jerk. 'You don't yet know
what pain is. But you're going to find out before I'm through with
you.'

Allegra's skull burned as if set on fire, but
the pain signaled to her that her body was more capable of fighting
back than she'd thought.

'Now, get up,' Ram snapped. 'You're coming
with me, and if not willingly, then I'll drag you by your
hair.'

'If—if you'll let go, I'll—I'll get up,'
Allegra replied, barely able to get the words out with the pain
streaking through her skull.

Ram loosened his grip, and Allegra pushed
herself up off the couch. When she did so, her small beaded handbag
slid off the couch and landed on the rug. She looked down at it,
hesitated a moment, then bent to pick it up.

'I don't think you'll need your purse,
Allegra,' Ram said with a smile.

Allegra smiled brightly, holding the evening
bag in one hand. 'A lady never knows, does she, Ram?'

He took her free hand in one of his. 'Come
with me,' he said. 'We're going to have a little fun. Then you're
going to tell me where you've hidden the emerald.'

Allegra let him lead her toward the closet
under the bedroom loft.

Ram stopped at the closet door, opened it,
then reached around and switched on a light. He stepped back and
propelled her forward into the room, and Allegra's gaze swept about
it. For a moment, she thought she would be sick. Bile rose in her
throat, its taste sour and bitter, but she fought it down. The bed,
a twin-size covered in a black spread, was equipped with chains and
ropes that were secured at both the head- and footboards. From the
ceiling more chains dangled, at the ends of which were large,
padded handcuffs. On the walls hung scary-looking belts, whips,
cat-o'-nine-tails, and various masks and hoods.

The bile had receded, but Allegra felt her
knees weaken and her stomach churn. A powerful chill ran up her
spine and neck to the top of her skull, and she broke out into a
cold sweat. She had never been as terrified in her life.

'It's soundproofed,' Ram said from behind
her, his breath on her neck, 'so no one will hear us playing,
Allegra.' His powerful arms encircled her, and he squeezed her
tightly.

She began to tremble, uncontrollably, and
tears gathered in her eyes, threatening to spill down her cheeks,
but she clutched her purse to her and pushed down her fear.

'Why, you're shaking, Allegra,' Ram said in a
mocking voice. 'And I thought you were such a courageous young
lady. Like all Americans. Fearless and brave.'

Allegra turned in his arms to face Ram and
pressed herself against him. 'I was shaking with anticipation,' she
said in a whisper. 'This room is so exciting, so . . . erotic.'

Ram looked momentarily surprised, not certain
whether he should believe her or not. 'I'm glad you appreciate it,'
he said. 'That will make everything so much easier for us
both.'

His breath was on her face, and she could
smell the heat his body emanated. He shoved himself against her
hard, and she could feel his engorged manhood. Ram's lips parted
slightly, and he bent his face to hers, intent upon kissing
her.

In one swift motion Allegra whipped her
clutch bag upward and swung it as hard as she could against his
skull. There was a resounding thud, and beads flew in all
directions from the impact.

Ram suddenly released her, his hands flying
to his head. '
Laheen
!' he cried out. 'Damn you!'

Allegra quickly backed away from him, almost
falling onto the bed when she did so. As she righted herself, her
hands scrabbled to open the handbag. She pulled out the revolver
and pointed it at Ram, whose hands still partially covered his face
as he clutched his skull.

'You whore!' he spat venomously, finally
removing his hands and glaring at her. Then he saw the revolver she
held aimed at him.

Allegra's hand trembled, and she dropped her
handbag in order to use both hands to hold the gun. It still shook
in her grip, but she kept it leveled on him.