“Yes,” Kane confirms. “They’ll be waiting to usher the girls out of there and to a secure location as though they’re taking them to their bonding villas. Rook and I will be waiting to back you up when the guys start to realize they’re missing.”
And where are you staging?I mentally question.
Just outside the observation room you’ll be in,Rook answers.Kane and I did some recon yesterday after everyone retreatedto their villas. There is a supply and linen closet right across the hall.
All right, boys,I reply, fixing my sleeves, and entering through the garden entrance of the mansion to be escorted upstairs.It’s almost showtime.
Romy
“You look good. Damn good,” Hillary encourages as I stand in front of one of the full-length mirrors with hair and makeup to the nines—that she convinced me to do in anticipation of a night with Cal—six-inch heels my mother insisted on, and the skimpiest piece of fabric I’ve ever considered using for clothing.
All the calm I felt before is gone, and seeing myself like this, I can’t imagine it’s got any chance of coming back.
My stomach flips, and my legs start to shake as I spin around and head back to my makeup chair, unable to look at myself in this condition anymore. It’d be one thing if I were getting all dolled up to surprise Cal in my bedroom or something, but the idea of parading my ass in front of a hundred vampires in the next ten minutes while they compete to win me brings on a whole different vibe entirely.
I look down at my number—yes, my freaking lot number just like some head of cattle—and force the threat of puke back down my throat.
Ten.
A number that means in no uncertain terms that I’ll be among the first group to take the stage. Hillary is sporting fifty-seven, and if they hadn’t assigned them to us twenty minutes ago with very explicit instructions that we’re not to switch, I’d be begging her to do just that.
“Ladies!” one of the ogres yells from the far side of the room. “This is your five-minute warning! Group one will be lining up in five minutes!”
A ripple of cheers, excitement, and a world-class heavy sigh from me fill the room with an increase in noise and pressure.
Hillary puts a hand to my shoulder and shakes, noticing how wigged out I’m getting. “Hey, it’s good to be early! That means you can go out there and get the hard part over with. I’m going to be sitting back here waiting for my turn and wondering if all the good vampires have already made their bid.”
I worry my lip but, at her clear need for something positive from me, do my best to rally. “Don’t think like that. I know they said the men only get one bid in this round, but that means they’ll be careful. Considerate. It’s why we had the mixer last night, so they’d have more than just us in lingerie to go on.”
I nearly laugh, the idea of me trying to calm a woman’s nerves about her upcoming sale is so fucking ridiculous.
But I need her on my side. I need her willing to listen to me, so that when I have to get her and everyone else to safety to the south like Cal said, she’ll go. I need her to help me convince the others, and I really, really just need a friend.
This is, without a doubt, the most intense thing I’ve ever been through in my life, and I’ve never had a girlfriend like Hillary tocount on before now. Since my parents sheltered me so much, all the girls at school learned not to bother.
Spinning in my chair, I pull Hillary down into hers and grab her hands with mine, looking her deep in the eyes. “Anything that happens today, we’re going to get through it. We’re going to come out stronger and better on the other side, and no matter how I have to make it happen, I’m going to make sure we keep in touch. You’ve been a great confidante and friend to me here. I hope you feel the same about me.”
“Of course, I do,” she agrees easily. “We’ll be friends for life.”
I nod, considering what else I might be able to say to ready her for what’s about to come, but the moment is cut short expeditiously.
“Ladies! The time to line up is now! I need numbers one through ten immediately!”
“Give ’em hell,” Hillary says with a smile and one last squeeze of her hands.
I nod and stand, running to line up when the ogre’s impatience grows. “Come, come. Hurry, ladies!”
Abigail is two spots ahead of me, labeled with the number eight, and she bounces on her toes with excitement.
I take a deep breath as the door at the front of the line opens and they start escorting us in, closing my eyes and reaching out to Cal one last time.
Here goes nothing. I’m on my way in.
I’m waiting, my love. Be confident. Be ready. Remember what I told you earlier, and I’ll handle the rest, okay?
Okay,I agree.I love you, Cal.
And I, you, Romy. To the ends of the earth and back again.
