“What am I looking at?”
“Claim auction paperwork. Tonight’s lineup.” He leans back a fraction. “One in particular may interest you. It did me.”
I scan the form, trying to focus on the words, but my attention keeps snagging on his expression, the edges of his mouth going tight like he’s holding back a grin.
He’s enjoying this too much. Which means I’m about to hate it.
Names blur past until one catches me off-guard.
Sloane Maddox
Net. Nemozhet byt.No. It can’t be.
She wouldn’t come here. There’s no way. How would she even know about the club? It’s secret unless someone is personally invited or knows another member. Who the hell does she know?
I scan the rest of the application, and when I hit the photo, my rage climbs fast.
She’s wearing that dress. The one from the night I saved her from that svolich. The dress that drove me out of my mind. It still does. I think about it more than I should, think aboutpeeling it off her and all the dirty things I want to do to her, and I hate myself for every second of it.
Aleksei’s mouth curves. “It seems your homeless girl decided to join the claim.”
Why would you do this?
“Gde ona?” My throat grows tighter.Where is she?
Aleksei peers at another monitor, fingers moving as he pulls up a live feed from backstage. Women in masks and sheer gowns wait in a room, but I don’t care about any of them. I only need to see her.
When the camera angle shifts and he zooms in, that’s when I find her.
She sits on the far edge of a row of chairs, hands locked together in her lap so tightly her knuckles are white. The mask covers half her face, but I’d recognize the line of that jaw anywhere. I’d know every inch of her in a dark room. She keeps rubbing her thumb over the same spot on her wrist like she’s trying to calm herself.
Shto ti delayesh zdes, detka?What are you doing here, baby?
“I would hurry if I were you,” Aleksei says, like this is all a fucking joke. “She’s about to go up.”
My fist hits the desk, and I lean in until my face is inches from his. “We need to shut it down.”
He lifts a brow. “You know the rules as well as I do. We don’t stop an auction once the lineup is announced. Not for anyone.”
“This isn’t anyone,” I snap. “This is…”
Mine.
I bite the word back before it can slip out. I don’t need to hand my brother any more ammunition than he already has.
“Blyat!” I slam my fist into the concrete wall beside the monitors.
Pain shoots up my arm, but it barely registers. Not compared to the hit that goes straight through my chest at the thought of someone else putting their hands on her.
I won’t let it happen.
“You still have a chance to claim her for yourself.” He flicks a hand in the air. “And we both know you want to. So go ahead. Act like you saved her, then keep her all for yourself.”
He’s right, and I hate him for it.
But I’m not wasting time arguing. I need to get to her before she’s handed off to the winner. Because if I’m too late, I’ll have to do something a lot more drastic to make sure she comes home with me.
The door bangs open as I storm out, my footsteps pounding down the corridor. The music swells the second I hit the main floor, lights flashing over masked faces and bare skin.
