“Sir, we’re trying to locate her now. We thought she was in her dorm room. We saw her going inside after class, and then…”
“You lost her?” I yell into the phone, cutting him off. “Are you telling me you lost her?”
“Sir, she was in her dorm; her schedule stated that she would be there for the night. The guys on duty just left for a few minutes to grab some food…”
“Are you fucking kidding me? They went to get food? They don’t get paid to eat. They can do that after their fucking shift is over.” I’m livid. My body is shaking with rage and fear for what might have happened to her.
“Sir, I assure you, we’re working on it now.”
“That’s not good enough,” I snarl. “You should never have lost her in the first place.”
Rogan is quiet on the other end of the line. He knows he’s in deep shit.
I press my fingers against my eyes, my mind racing. “Is her phone there?” I ask.
“Yes, sir. There was…uh…a struggle,” he says nervously.
“Rogan, you better fucking find her,” I growl, then hang up.
I can’t believe this is happening. How the hell did my father find out about her? How did he know to use her against me?
***
Over the next two days, I’m in a living hell as I try to piece the puzzle together and find out where she is. I’ve barely slept, I can’t eat, I’m completely losing my mind. And poor Jess calls me every hour, begging for an update, and I have nothing to tell her except that I’m still looking.
I’m about ready to put a ridiculously high price on my father’s head just so that I can find out where he is when, finally, I get word of an event he's attending. The type of event only the worst kind of people go to, so it’s no surprise that he’ll be there. And while I hope the event itself has nothing to do with Georgie’s disappearance, I at least have confirmation that my father will be there, and I can confront him.
I have a direction to move in, and with that, my focus becomes razor-sharp.
It’s past midnight when I step into the underground venue hidden beneath a warehouse out in the desert. Thick smoke billows from my left as an older man puffs on a cigar. Men stand around holding whiskey tumblers and mumbling to each other.
Deep bass rumbles through the air while red lighting casts an ominous glow over the crowd. I push through the sea of bodies, searching for my father.
The auction hasn’t started yet. But it will soon, so he should be here.
There’s no way to know what will be on auction tonight. It could be anything—art, property, weapons, businesses…and even people. And the bid doesn’t have to be money. You can offer anything, as long as the owner of the item wants what you’re offering, the trade can be made.
That means you don’t have to be rich to win. You just have to own something that another man desires. Because of that, the scum of scum come to events like these, all hoping that maybe whatever precious treasure they have might be traded for something even better.
I hate this part of the underworld, this grimy filth. Rich and poor mixed together, bound by their immorality.
I grimace as I push past a tall, skeletal-looking man with greased-back hair. He smiles, one of his teeth shining gold as the light catches it. He’s the auctioneer. Everyone knows him, although I’d be happy to remove him from the face of the earth.
I’ve only ever been to one of his auctions, apart from this one, and it was an accident. I didn’t know what I was walking into when I accepted the invitation. It didn’t take me long to realize that it wasn’t my scene, and once I caught on, I left.
Being back here now is only out of sheer desperation to reach my father. If I had any other options, I would’ve taken them.
I make my way around the room, searching for him, but also plotting the layout and who is in attendance. I don’t want any surprises. I like to be aware of everything going on around me.
I stop and chat with a few men that I know, small talk, not people I particularly like, and seeing them here has me making a mental note not to do business with them in the future.
The auction is about to start when my eyes fall onto Ali Koskos, standing quietly near the front of the room, close to the auctioneer's stage.
My heart pulls tight in my chest, and my jaw clenches.Thatis no coincidence. But where the hell is my father?
I excuse myself from the conversation and move closer to Ali as the auctioneer takes the stage and starts welcoming everyone, but I keep my distance. At some point, my father will arrive, and I imagine he’ll be here to speak to Ali. I’d rather eavesdrop than make myself known yet.
Bright lights shine onto the stage. The crowd turns to face the auctioneer, the music drops lower, and a hushed, excited silence falls over the room as he announces the first item.
