It takes everything I have not to cross the room, grab her hand and take her as far from here as possible.
We could run. Live in a remote cabin deep in Montana for the rest of our lives. I’d keep her safe. Happy. Mine.
The idea’s been bouncing around my head since I left Noretto’s this morning, but every time I leapt to my feet, I sat back down for two different reasons.
One, if we left, Anton would live, and Leilani would never fully relax. She’d always fear he might find her.
Two, I couldn’t do it to Carter, Ryder, and Broadway. They’re my family. We’re in this together, and I know they’ll protect my girl if the shit hits the fan tonight.
Leilani’s at the front with Blaze and Octavius, shoulders hiked up to her ears, black dress hugging her small frame.
She’s breathing.
She’s upright.
She’s playing her part.
And still, my pulse won’t fucking quit speeding.
She doesn’t acknowledge me, but I see her chin lift higher as she turns back toward the stage.
That’s my girl. Head in the game.
Ryder and I take our seats in the far corner and he immediately pushes the paddles out of our reach. Not that we planned on bidding. He doesn’t even want them close.
A waiter stops by, setting two glasses of amber liquid before us, and moves to the next table without a word. Neither of us moves to grab our drinks. Ryder probably knows I’d bite his head off if he took a sip.
“Sold!” the auctioneer yells, pounding the gavel.
Applause rises, only to cut out when another girl enters the stage. Dressed in a sheer slip, her eyes rimmed red, she’s shaking so hard I almost hear her teeth rattle.
I immediately look at Leilani, checking how she’s coping. I warned her this would happen. When Broadway and I came for Violet, I could barely keep my ass in the seat whenever a scared, trembling girl was hauled on stage.
“Eyes up,” Ryder says. “You’re giving yourself away. You look like you’re about to pull a gun.”
“I might.” I stare back at the stage. “I can’t fucking think when I can’t see her.”
“She’s fine. Blaze is watching her.”
“How’s that supposed to calm me?”
He doesn’t reply.
I’m pretty sure he’s holding an eyeroll in check. Good. There’s a chance I’d break his jaw otherwise.
The distressed girl fetches twenty-five grand, and my stomach lurches when the crowd cheers. I can’t stop counting seconds. Leilani’s okay, sipping champagne and watching the show, but knowing she’s so close to danger makes my vision blur. Someone behind me laughs too loud, and Ryder grabs my arm before I turn.
If he tells me to breathe, I’ll fucking kill him.
Another girl sells for thirty grand. The next one barely fetches fifteen. Time crawls and the room shrinks with every clap of applause. If all this isn’t difficult enough, I keep imagining what I’ll do if Octavius touches my girl. Ifanyonereaches for her. If she so much as flinches.
“It’s taking too long,” I grit out, toying with the crystal tumbler to busy my hands.
“Patience, Koby.”
I can’t be any more patient without tipping into homicidal.
Leilani’s sitting beside a man who’d kill her for fun. She’s half-turned, pretending to watch the auction, but her eyes flick back, searching for me, every few seconds.
