"Worth every cent. I'll pay."
I ground my teeth together under the mask, but I stepped up beside him, forcing my gaze toward Becca instead. My attitude changed drastically toward her since witnessing what she's gone through with Hector. My stomach burned when I saw the condition she was in.
Her dress tugged low, her arms trembling as masked hands slid away when Hector demanded space. She met my eyes for the briefest second, silently pleading for help. Of course she doesn't know who I am, but her eyes said everything.
I stepped closer, and pointed with casual detachment, like other buyers did. "And I'll take her. The blue-eyed one."
Hector's grin spread wider. "Wonderful, another prize. Broken, but she was also trained to obey and take much abuse. We even conditioned her to deal with cutting. She only goes to someone who is into knife play. She's five hundred thousand firm."
I nodded once, my voice flat under the mask.
"I love cutting. Let's call it a done deal."
The crowd jeered, some men shouting why they weren't able to buy the girls, but Hector raised his hand and silenced them.
"First come, first served. None of you stepped up and claimed these two treasures. There are plenty of othersto buy, so please look around. Feel free to sample any of the girls on the platform. These two are spoken for," he said, pointing to Becca and Kitlyn. "My word is final, gentlemen. Step away from the product. Hands off now."
Hector ordered the guards to remove the girls from the stage. They looked disheveled and dazed. Thank God we found them. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if we hadn't shown up in time.
My pulse roared in my ears as the guards obeyed. They moved the girls, separating them from the others, preparing them for the next phase. Jacob shot me a look from behind his mask, warning me to hold steady and wait.
Hector ordered the orchestra to stop playing, snapping his fingers until the ballroom went quiet.
Guards shoved the men back, clearing a path for us.
He removed his mask before stepping down from the stage, his voice confident and authoritative.
"Gentlemen," he said, looking at me and Jacob with dollar signs in his eyes. "You have excellent taste. The green-eyed beauty and the blue-eyed flame. Come, we'll talk."
Two guards followed close behind, rifles hung over their shoulders, their eyes beady, but alert. We followed through a velvet-draped corridor into a gentlemen's sitting room reeking of cigars and whiskey. A table waited, laid out with contracts and champagne like this was a real business transaction.
"Seven hundred thousand for yours," he said, nodding toward Jacob. "Five hundred thousand for the other," he drawled, nodding at me. "Cash only. My treasures don'twalk out of here until paid in full. Feel free to remove your masks. I won't bite."
Jacob lounged back in his chair, calm and confident, his wolf mask clinging to his face.
"Half now, half on delivery. The mask stays. I won't risk my identity."
Hector threw his head back and laughed. "Suit yourself, but do I look like a street peddler? Payment in full tonight, or no merch." He pinned his eyes on me. "What about you? I'm sure you don't want to have your identity leaked, and I get it. You gonna try to nickel and dime me too?"
I leaned forward, my voice icy. "We all work in high places, so discretion is a requirement. I don't know about him," I said, nodding toward Jacob, but I'd like to inspect the product before I dish out three quarters of a mill. No one drops that kind of money and goes in blind."
Jacob interjected.
"I agree. Cash tonight, in full after inspection."
Suspicion flickered in Hector's eyes. "You doubt me?"
Jacob's tone was smooth as silk. "Not at all. But I think I can speak for the both of us," he said, pointing to me; "for that kind of money, I think a simple request of cleaning them up and us getting a little taste is more than fair. You know, wash the sweat from their bodies. I'd like to taste fresh pussy if you don't mind."
Nodding, I went along with the ruse.
I was surprised he didn't demand that we remove our masks after we refused. I sat here looking like a demon, and Jacob's wolf had a permanent snarl on its face.
If this weren't so serious, I would have busted out laughing at the absurdity of it all.
Hector's grin spread, smug and diabolical. "Very well."
He snapped an order to the guards.
