Chained To The Devil novel Chapter 33

I enter my father’s office. He doesn’t even bother to look up.

“Maria told me you wanted to see me.”

“You’re still calling her Maria? Do I need to remind you after all these years that she’s nothing more than an employee?”

“What do you want me to call her?”

“By her last name.”

“She’ll always be Maria to me. That’s not going to change. You’re wasting your time.”

“I don’t want to argue with you today.”

Just say you need me and prefer not to piss me off so I can be fully functional.

“If I brought your sweet Maria back, it wasn’t to please you—it was to remind you of your duties to me and the gang.”

I frown.

“What are you trying to say?”

“With each of your failures, that poor Maria will suffer the consequences.”

My blood boils. I clench my fists tightly, jaw locked.

He’s reminding me that he holds the power. If I disappoint him, he won’t hesitate to take it out on me. He can allow me to be with her, or take her away from me at any moment.

“You’re not allowed to touch Maria.”

He lets out a mocking laugh.

“I think I’m the boss here.”

“I’ll do good work as long as you ensure her safety!”

“Watch your tone when you’re in my office. Don’t forget I can kill you both in one minute.”

I look away to avoid losing control.

“I’m glad we found common ground. This week, you go back to work as usual.”

“Your activities outside the gang should bring me a lot. I suggest you follow my instructions.”

“I know what I have to do.”

I was about to leave when he said:

“I suppose if I ask you what that public confrontation with Alexander meant, you won’t answer me, right?”

I remain impassive.

“I don’t give a damn as long as you manage to get me the information I’m looking for—without crossing the line with Alexander.”

Crossing the line with Alexander? For Khalid, that means “sleeping with Alexander.”

I’ll never sleep with that man. Never.

“Did you deliver the weapons to Mark?”

I try to hide my stress.

“Not yet.”

“What are you waiting for? Why is it taking so long?”

“I’ll deliver them in the next few days. I don’t want to draw attention.”

“Speed it up! People will start looking at us because I’ll have burned off half your face!”

“Can I go?”

“I wanted to talk to you about Hakim.”

At those words, it feels like my heart stops and I’m about to collapse.

I hope Hakim didn’t tell my father he suspected a man was hiding in my bathroom last night. Khalid will destroy me.

“You remember I asked you to sleep with him? Forget everything I said about that.”

I open my eyes wide.

“You changed your mind? Why?”

“I thought you’d be happy to hear that.”

“Of course I am.”

It’s not like I was going to obey that order, but, strangely, he changed his mind. He must have something worse planned.

“Why did you change your mind? Hakim didn’t take it badly?”

“I realized that act wouldn’t benefit you. And to answer your second question, Hakim is under my command and respects me as his boss.”

Impossible. He’s lying. Hakim wouldn’t have given up so easily unless my father offered him something better than sleeping with me.

“Fine. Better that we’re on the same page, right?”

He nods, and I give a fake smile.

“I don’t want to see you getting close to any man in the gang.”

It sounds like both an order and a threat. He needs to think I believe his lies, so he doesn’t get suspicious. I’ll investigate on my own.

Before leaving, I turned back to him.

“I need a day off tomorrow. Is that possible?”

“Why? Do you have something planned?”

“I have to go back to the prison to pick up my paycheck.”

“I get that you wanted to screw him, but since I was there, you held back.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

He smirks while I boil inside.

“What’s wrong? Did I hit a nerve?”

“Drive and don’t talk to me. I’m already being too nice by coming with you to do your bullshit.”

“You’re here to get your weapons back. This isn’t charity.”

I can’t stand this guy anymore.

“Your weapons? You mean my weapons that you stole, right?”

“If you had been more careful, I wouldn’t have been able to take them.”

“So now it’s my fault?”

“If I open my mouth and tell your father how I got the weapons, you’ll be the one who gets in trouble, not me.”

Idiot.

He gives me a dirty look and winks.

“Don’t forget I’m the one calling the shots, and at any moment, I can order your precious weapons to be thrown in the water.”

Asshole.

I turn my head to look at the landscape. He’s proud of having the last word. Fine, if that amuses him.

Easy to laugh when it’s not your life on the line.

BAR – 6:46 PM

Alexander parks in the lot outside the bar. I open the door and grab my gym bag.

He looks me up and down, raising an eyebrow.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“You planning to get the attention of every guy in there dressed like that?”

I’m wearing a big hoodie, black pants, and black sneakers. Not exactly sexy.

“And what’s with the gym bag?”

I’m supposed to head to a new gym, not spend the day with you.

“I’ll be back. Go inside the bar and I’ll meet you there,” I say to cut short his remarks.

He looks at me indifferently. I don’t give him time to respond before I walk away.

I head to a secluded spot behind the bar in an alleyway. I undress while opening my gym bag and slip on a tight black top with a plunging neckline, and black pants that show off my ass. I put on a pair of black high heels. I let my hair down. I take a small mirror and a lipstick out of my bag.