I tilt my head at her. Nix said she’s had trauma in her past, but he’s not sure what. And it’s not my place to ask unless she wants to tell me. “So, the auction is going to be somewhere else?” I ask.
She nods and leads me into the kitchen. “Yes. Victor does not want people in our home, especially with everything that is planned for tonight.”
“Phoenix is the same way. We have a home in downtown Savannah we use. Where will it be?”
She grabs two champagne glasses, some champagne, and orange juice. “There’s a house recently built for special occasions like this. It will be there.” She lifts the champagne. “Mimosas?”
“Definitely. How many special occasions are like this auction?” I ask as I take a sip of the mimosa she made me.
She laughs. “It was not built with this in mind, but Connor says he’s going to talk to Phoenix and talk him into letting this place be the southern location for the auctions.”
I smirk. “I’m sure Nix will be fine with that. He wants this to take off.”
Olivia leans in like she’s going to tell me a secret. “Well, between you and me, Connor and his wife throw the best BDSM parties.” She laughs when my eyes widen.
Laughter sounds behind me, and I turn to see Victor and Phoenix walking in. Victor is laughing with his wife. Nix steps behind me and wraps his arms around my waist while Victor does the same to Olivia.
“Don’t let that term fool you,” Victor says. “In this case, it stands for burgers, drinks, and salsa music.”
Nix and I laugh. “I want to go.”
Olivia looks up at her husband. “I’m sure there will be another in a couple of months. We’ll be sure to let you know about it.”
I glance up at Nix, a question in my eyes. He leans down and kisses me on the forehead. “Anything you want, love.” He turns his attention back to Victor. “Shall we discuss the plans for tonight?”
Chapter 34
Phoenix
Victor and I stand at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for McKenzie and Olivia. I inhale slowly, trying to calm my nerves. I never thought I’d have to do this, but here I am. I’ve been trying to get in touch with my father for days now without any word. I shake my head and roll my shoulders. If Kenz ever decides to have kids with me, I will not be like either of my parents.
I adjust the cuff link on my sleeve and take one more last deep breath. “Tonight will go well,” Victor says. I turn my attention to him and nod. “It’s perfectly normal to be nervous, though.”
I snort. “My whole world has changed in the past several months. This is surreal.” He knows I just found out about my mother.
“The man I used to think was a friend turned out to be a complete psychopath, so I do understand some of what you’re going through.” He pats me on the shoulder. “Our friends will be there tonight. One of them has his own private detective firm and his wife works with him. He’s all about doing things the legal way, but he’s had his morals tested lately, so I’m sure he’ll look the other way where all this is concerned.”
I huff. “Obviously I’m not the straight laced guy, so maybe don’t tell him what I do.”
Victor chuckles. “I’m not so straight laced either.” He glances up the stairs, likely thinking of Olivia. He is older than her, but other than that, I don’t know much about their relationship. Heels land on the steps above us, which draw our attention to the two women walking down the stairs.
Olivia is in front, wearing a black lace dress. “Jesus,” Victor says and I smirk, understanding how he feels. It’s one of the reasons I love these auctions. It’s me and Kenz’s time to dress up and wear something we wouldn’t normally wear. Well, her mainly. I always wear suits, but it gives me a chance to match her and wear something a bit more formal. Tonight I’m wearing a red tux with a black vest and tie. The only thing Kenz would tell me was her dress was red and black. She gave me a fabric sample of the color red so I could give it to my tailor to match.
When McKenzie comes into view, I forget how to breathe for several moments. She looks gorgeous wearing a black and red strapless dress. The lacy top giving the illusion it might be see through; it hugs her hips and flares out with black and red roses.The only jewelry she’s wearing is the sterling silver collar I gave her and some diamond hoop earrings.
Her hair hangs in soft curls around her shoulders, but she’s done a braid around the crown of her head. She looks like the fucking queen she is. She stops in front of me, a small smirk on her mouth. “I love the way you look at me,” she whispers. I don’t say anything, instead I wrap my hand around her waist and pull her into me, kissing her hard.
She giggles against my lips and everything in me wants to take her back upstairs and fuck her while she’s still wearing this dress. “You look like a queen. My queen,” I murmur against her lips. Her eyes brighten as her smile widens.
“And you’re my king.” Her eyes cloud over with worry, so I pull her close and hold her for a few minutes before we have to leave. Rex will drive us to the house, while Jason takes Anna to one of Olivia’s and Victor’s other friends that we met yesterday: Caroline and Bass.
They have two young kids and don’t want to come tonight just in case things don’t go exactly as planned. Anna swears she’ll be okay by herself, but I know Rex won’t be able to focus tonight if she isn’t protected.
After Jason drops her off and assures she’ll be safe, he’ll join us at the house. Usually those who are security and working the auction wear blue masks to separate them from the rest of the guests, but tonight they’ll be there with some of the undercover women that were hired posing as their dates to blend in. When the other girls that work the fight club heard what happened to Shay, they were all willing to help bring my bitch of a mother down.
Maybe she didn’t have anything to do with Shay directly, but she empowered Bill so she’s responsible in my eyes. Felix wanted to be involved as well, but he didn’t want to leave Shayalone. So, he stayed back in Savannah to stay with her. Victor opens the door and gestures for us to leave.
I put my hand on Kenz’s lower back and guide her outside to the Hummer Limo that’s waiting. I was worried renting this would result in Rex not being able to drive us, but Victor and his partner have a lot of pull in this town, so it wasn’t an issue. I am surprised to see the three couples waiting around the limo.
