Shock slams into me. “Wait, what?” The blond laughs, and the look in his eyes is anything but kind. “You heard us. They told us you’d gone to use the bathroom, and we were welcome to come get you if we wanted to auction off one more lovely lady.”
They wouldn’t have. No.But here we are, approaching the far entrance of the ballroom, which is near the stage. Blood pounds loudly in my head, and I begin to sweat, nerves overtaking me.
My heart sinks as these assholes drag me all the way down the long hall that runs parallel to the ballroom, the fight having gone out of me when confusion takes its place.
Someone on the other side opens the big door, almost as if they were waiting for us.Shit.Is he right? Was all this planned? My eyes flick anxiously around the room as they lead me over to the stairs. Trying not to make a scene, I hiss, “Put me down.”
“Not a chance,” the dark-haired asshole huffs. “You’ll run.” The grip they each have on my biceps as they hoist me up the stairs seems inescapable. They’re really going to haul me all the way on stage and put me up for auction. I feel everyone’s eyes on me as we ascend the stairs. My stomach lurches and twists into a knot in direct response. I wish I knew some sort of self-defense tactic to get myself free, but dammit, they aren’t even letting my feet touch the ground, and there’s so much commotion and movement in the crowd, I find it hard to concentrate, so I squeeze my eyes shut, nausea at what’s about to happen rolling through me.
We come to a stop at the dead center of the stage, and they finally let me go. I cautiously open my eyes to find that guy, Duke—who I’d have pegged for the head of Bainbridge Hall even if Kingston hadn’t told me who he was—shooting me a wicked grin. “Well, aren’t you a pretty thing?”
Breathing raggedly, I ignore him and let my eyes ping through the crowd from one person to the next until they finally hit on Kingston, who has pushed his way front and center with Cannon at his side. Archer is still nowhere to be found.
Panic rises within me since I can’t tell at first glance what they’re thinking, especially with the masks on. I look from side to side, noticing the other two Bainbridge brothers closing rank on me so I can’t get away. But Kingston and Cannon… they don’t move from their position at the front of the stage. Why don’t they help me? Was this the plan all along, putting me up for auction tonight?
Kingston’s lips are pressed so tightly together, I swear I can see them turning white from here. All of a sudden, he erupts, “What the fuck! She came with us. She’s not for fuckin’ sale.”
Duke shrugs, then shouts, “Opening bid starts at two—”
“Two hundred dollars.”
I blink, recognizing Alec’s nasty voice. My gaze follows the sound of his ugliness, finding him in the back, waving and sneering at me. I shake my head. “N-no.”
“Two twenty-five.” Mason catches me by the shoulder, effectively stopping my movement, and smiles. “What’s the matter, baby? It’s for charity, remember?” He leans close to my ear and murmurs loud enough for the people in the front to hear, “Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle.”
Just then, Archer barrels through the crowd. I stare at him, noting his disheveled clothing, the mangled state of his mask, and some swelling on his lip. He comes to a stop on Kingston’s other side, crossing his arms over his chest before he grits out, “Three hundred.”
I draw in a ragged breath, wondering what the hell happened to him. The glimmer of hope that had sparked at Kingston’s bellow a few moments ago now flares to life with Archer’s bid.
Kingston tips his head toward Archer, and he murmurs something behind his hand just as some asshat toward the left has the balls to shout “Four hundred! How many times do you think she’ll suck my dick in two hours?”
“Five hundred.”Kingston.
I lock eyes with him, but I can’t tell from the relaxed way he’s standing with his hands tucked into his pockets what he’s thinking. And when the hell does this stop? My head whips around, feeling someone at my back. I glance up into the really big dude’s face. Bear, I think Kingston called him. His eyes are kinda mesmerizing in a scary-ass way. He wraps his huge hands around my waist, picks me up, and sets me down. He nods as if he finds me to his liking, then finally grunts, “Yep, you’ll do. Six hundred.”
I heave out a breath.Fuck these motherfuckers.I elbow him in his rock-hard stomach, wait a beat, then glance over my shoulder, but he’s moved away, hands up. The crazy look in his eyes, though, is unnerving. And I wonder if I’ll pay for that later.
“Seven hundred.” Archer bids again, and I can tell he’s trying to regain his calm with slow, careful breaths. My eyes roam over him, looking for further injury, but only am able to for a moment before the next bid comes in.
“Seven fifty.”Fucking Joel.
Kingston immediately barks, “Eight hundred,” shooting a lethal glare in the direction of our three juniors—even Stuart has stopped humping his prize against the wall and has come over to join the fun.
I’m losing track of what’s happening, the bids are coming in so fast now. I look to Cannon, Kingston, and Archer again, pleading with my eyes for them to get me out of this mess. Unless… I don’t want to believe it, but what if they meant for it to go like this? What if those jerks who brought me up here were right? What if Archer’s injury is a cover? Would they be bidding on me if this were some sort of punishment? Do they think it’s funny?
My brain races through every twist and turn, questioning everything. Anxiety like nothing I’ve ever known before rolls through me like a huge tidal wave. I feel my breath getting shallow and way too rapid. I no longer see individuals, only a blur of men in masks. All I hear is buzzing in my head.
“Two thousand,” comes the new high bid from somewhere far away.
“Come on, guys.” Duke sidles up to me again, wrapping one arm around my shoulders and skimming the fingers of his other hand over my collarbone before nudging me forward a step. “She’s worth more than that to you, isn’t she?”
I don’t have to look to know he’s staring right at them—myguys. And just like that, everything clicks back into place. There’s no way they’d do this to me.
“Four thousand.” Cannon’s rough, gritty voice booms out, filling the room and leaving everyone stunned into silence.
My eyes widen as they lock on Cannon, and in that moment, I see the tightness in his jaw and the way he’s barely restraining himself from rushing up here and grabbing me off the stage. They flick to Archer, who has his thumbs hooked behind his suspenders, calmly sliding them up and down. No one else would have a clue, but I see it for what it is—his mind is going a mile a minute, trying to figure out how to extract me from this situation without creating a huge scene. And finally, they shift to Kingston, whose green eyes do nothing to hide how livid this entire clusterfuck is making him, how desperate he is to let these assholes know who is really in control. And it’s really looking at the three of them in this moment that I know deep down—this was not their doing. This has been nearly as much of a nightmare for them as it has been for me.
“Duke, I think it’s gone fuckin’ high enough,” Kingston growls, the irritation and anger in his voice mounting fast.
