Thea won’t look at me. She’s tapping her fingers on her leg, as though this is an inconvenience for her at this point.
“Do we have one hundred forty?” The announcer looks at me.
I don’t bid.
Graves glances at me with the current high bid and smiles. He points at me, and I take that as him realizing I know he’s counting on me to pay.
“Going once, twice?—”
I raise my hand, glaring at the announcer while Thea looks everywhere but at me.
“I have one hundred forty. Do I have one forty-five? Going once, twice, sold. Seven-fifty-five exit to the left. Six-eighty-two is next …”
I tune out the rest of what the announcer says as a guard escorts Thea offstage. I waste no time, following them out as he guides her to a room.
“Thea,” I whisper once we’re in the hall.
She ignores me.
The guard turns around toward me, and I nearly growl at him. He keys into a room, but I stop him. “There’s no need. Take her cuffs. We’re leaving.”
He nods and bends down, unlocking her cuffs at her feet, scoops up the chains, then stands to unlock her wrists. He moves down the hallway and disappears through another door, leaving us both standing in the hall, silent.
Thea stares ahead at the wall, and I shift. “We need to go.”
She ignores me, crossing her arms.
“Thea. We need to leave.”
Another door with an escorted girl opens, and she’s shut inside.
Thea stares after the guard walking away, and when she turns back, a tear falls from her lashes. “You promised,” she whispers.
I open my mouth, then shut it, opting to grab her arms instead. “We’re leaving.”
“Well, you paid for me, so I guess I’m at your service.”
“Thea,” I growl. “Let’s go.” I pull her toward me, and she bumps into me with a thump. Her red lingerie grazes my suit, and her eyes flick upward, sharp and … judgmental.
I drag her. Did she really think I was going to leave her for another man to use?
She doesn’t fight me, but she doesn’t make it easy as I tug her along the hallway and key into the elevator. We ride in silence until we hit the parking garage. My driver was summoned the moment Thea stepped on stage, so he waits with the limo door open.
“Sir, how was your evening?”
Thea issues him a fake smile and shucks off my grip before she dives into the car.
I nod at him and follow her. What do I say? How do I make this right?
I look at her, seated beside me, and suddenly I’m angry she’s angry. How can she not want to be with me?
Our driver takes off, and as soon as the car lurches forward, she reaches out to stabilize herself, except she notices the tiny jar of dandelions in the illuminated beverage station. I placed them in the cup holder—what’s meant for thousand-dollar glasses of wine has a jar full of weeds in them. For her.
Always for her.
She freezes, staring at the jar. More tears swell and drop from her eyes.Hell, I hate it. “Why did you bid on me, Slade? There are so many girls locked in that prison who need a reprieve from the assault and demand on their bodies, and you couldn’t give that to them, could you?”
There isn’t a right answer. Could I? Yes. Did every fiber of my being rebel against letting anything happen to the woman?—
