I don’t hear anything the auctioneer says as he showcases her to the crowd. The yells and hollers, the lewd shouts from the men in the audience all melt away as I lose myself staring at her. She looks in my direction, and I swear when our eyes meet that she sees into my soul. It’s only when I hear Cash’s frantically hissed words as he slaps my hand down that I realize what I’ve done.
“What the fuck, dude? That money’s for the weapons.”
I scan the crowd, willing no one to outbid me. Things’ll get messy if I have to rescue her another way. Because I ain’t leaving her here with these sick assholes. The auctioneer drags out the finish, giving time for someone else, anyone else to win. No one wants it to go to me. “Going once, going twice…”
“We can’t let someone fucking rape her, Cash,” I whisper back through the side of my mouth, my eyes never leaving her.
“Sold, to the Road Renegades,” the auctioneer’s voice rings out as he slams his gavel down, sealing the deal. There’s a murmur that goes around the crowd, a mixture of surprise, judgment, and resentment.
“Ace is gonna fucking kill us,” Cash moans, dragging a hand down his face.
The woman is whisked offstage, ready to be taken to the holding area for collection. Cash sighs and stands up. “Come on then,” he says exasperatedly.
I blink up at him, confused, as if emerging from a dream. “They haven’t sold the guns yet.”
A furrow forms on Cash’s brow, and he looks confused and concerned. “How do you think we’re supposed to pay for them when you just blew all our money on some woman?” It’s only then that I fully comprehend that I’ve just blown nearly thirty grand. “I hope she’s worth rescuing, Gage.”
Shit. He’s right, Ace is going to blow his top when he hears I spent all our money. But I can’t feel guilty for doing the right thing. God knows what sort of monster would buy a woman’s virginity, what they’d do with her. “It’s the right thing to do,” I insist.
Cash nods, understanding. “I know, man, but I have a feeling you’ve brought a whole heap of trouble to our doorstep.”
We realize just how much trouble we’re in when we go to collect our prize. Again, I struggle to focus and take my eyes off her when I see her, huddled in a corner, her hands chained. I want to scoop her up in my arms and tell her that everything’sgonna be okay, that I won’t let anyone hurt her. I’m surprised by the overwhelming protective instincts she’s ignited in me.
“Twenty-four hours, that’s all you get her for, then you gotta bring her back to us,” the auctioneer explains. “If you kill her, you gotta pay double.” I’d like to wrap my hands around his throat and kill him just for that.
“What if we want to keep her?” I ask. There’s no way I’m letting her come back only to be sold again and again.
The auctioneer shakes his head, his double chin wobbling. “Ain’t happenin’. This one’s not for sale, the boss wants a go on her once she’s broken in.”
“Name your price,” I insist. “If you don’t mind if we kill her or not, then surely it’s no different from keeping her.”
“She ain’t for sale,” the man replies tersely. “The boss understands that accidents happen and that you might get carried away and kill her by mistake, but if you keep her, she’s worth good money. And, as I said, the boss wants her.”
I feel sickened by his callous words, imagining the kind of horrors she might have been subjected to tonight, that someone could use her and ‘accidentally’ kill her without a care. There is no way I’m bringing her back to face being raped, abused, and used until someone eventually murders her for their sick amusement.
“Understood,” Cash interjects, placing a hand on my chest to hold me back. We’re close enough that he knows I was about to blow.
The auctioneer looks between us with his pale, piggy eyes. “Be sure that you do, Renegades, because if she ain’t returnedto us, dead or alive, within twenty-four hours, we’ll see it as a declaration of war.”
Shit. The situation is so much worse than I thought.
“Understood,” Cash repeats calmly, trying to defuse the situation before it can erupt.
“I hope you came in a car tonight, this one’s likely to cause you to crash if you try to take her on a bike. For a small fee, I’m sure we could offer you boys a room where you can have your fun with her here instead.”
The muscle in Cash’s jaw tenses, a sure sign he’d like to punch the auctioneer square in the face right now. “We brought the cage tonight.”
I walk over to the woman, approaching her slowly as if she’s a wounded animal.
“Careful, she’s a biter,” the auctioneer grumbles, holding up his bandaged hand. I feel a small swell of pride for this fragile young woman who was brave enough to fight back.
Ignoring him, I move closer to her. She hugs her legs tighter to herself, as if willing herself to disappear. She’s trembling with fear and cold. I reach out and she recoils in terror. In her eyes, I’m the monster that would buy a woman and do the kinds of depraved things the auctioneer so casually described. She doesn’t know me, doesn’t know my motivation.
“It’s okay,” I soothe, keeping my voice as slow and gentle as possible so as not to startle her. “I’m not gonna hurt you. Here, you must be cold,” I say, shrugging off my leather jacket and holding it out to her. “My name’s Gage, what’s yours?”
She looks up at me warily, distrustful. I can see her wrestling with herself over what to do. Evidently, her desire to be warm and covered outweighs her suspicion of me, as she accepts it, snatching it out of my hand, and hurriedly puts it on.
“I’m Naomi,” she says flatly.
