Page 19 of Darkest Kiss

I force myself to be still until Noemi is brought onto the stage. She's in a group of three girls, all with the same wide eyes and see-through white dresses. They are made up like slutty dolls, their hair brushed and curled at the ends, their blush belying their frightened pallor.

As soon as bidding on Noemi begins, I make an aggressive bid. "Five hundred thousand."

A balding man in a dark blue suit glares at me and says, "Five-fifty."

"Six hundred," I fire back. Like fuck I'm going to let this guy win. He looks like he'd be perfectly at home preparing your taxes. The fact that he's here probably means he's into some deeply fucked up shit.

"Seven hundred."

"One million dollars."

His cheeks redden. "Million and a quarter."

"Two million." I narrow my eyes on his face, trying to let him know that he won't bid against me again if he knows what's good for him. Two million is a rounding error. I've spent more on a car I don't drive. The look on his face tells me he can't say the same.

Two million is nothing to save Noemi, but this guy is really starting to piss me off.

He purses his lips and waves at Leo, indicating that he gives up.

"Sold!" Leo says, grinning. "That was a surprise."

Noemi is wheeled away, her eyes darting back and forth over the crowd. I force myself to be still for a minute, then stand up and head to the back where the girls are kept.

Two armed guards meet me. "Stop. No sampling the merchandise."

I nearly flinch at Noemi being referred to as merchandise, but I raise my hands. "Just direct me to the guy in charge of taking payments."

The guards exchange glances. "The auction already took your info. You just have to wire the money to the number you were given when you signed up."

I text Ransom the wiring instructions. He’ll move the two million out of one of my brokerage accounts. Inside forty seconds, Ransom sends back a thumbs-up.

Ransom likes moving my money around. He says it's the closest thing he has to a hobby.

"All right." I look at the guards. "Now let me have my girl."

One of the guards tilts his head, listening to his earpiece. His eyes come back to me, narrowed in suspicion. "Mr. Rendon? Funny thing. Mr. Vitelli says the mayor doesn't remember vouching for an Adam Rendon."

The other guard's hand drifts toward his waistband.

“Sorry, what was your name?” I drawl. This motherfucker is about to add his name to my list of guys to capture at the end of this little game.

“Brent, sir.” He makes a faint tasting-a-lemon face. “I need to straighten this matter out before we go to the next step.”

“Brent. Brent.” Gotta remember his name. I keep my face bored. Inside, I’m on high alert. "Call the mayor back and tell him the man he doesn't remember just spent two million dollars in his name. See how fast he remembers."

“Yeah.” There’s a long beat while guard relays it through the earpiece. I count seven of my own heartbeats. Then a crackle. The guard steps back, tension seeping from his posture. “Sorry, Mr. Rendon. Evidently Mayor Pendleton was mistaken.”

It’s hard to keep the smug smile off my face. I've burned Pendleton's name down to the studs to keep my cover. Ransom is going to be furious that I’ve expended a favor. But fuck it. Worth it.

After getting an okay from another man, the guards step back and let me into the room where all the girls are kept.

The room is small and dim, designed for efficiency rather than comfort. A man with a clipboard stands near the door, and three girls are lined up against the wall in their wheeled boxes, still upright, still restrained.

Noemi’s the one in the middle. Her dark hair has been brushed and pinned, her mouth painted red, the white lace dress they put her in so sheer it might as well not exist. Her brown eyes are moving, tracking, taking in the room. Even dosed out of her mind on Gloss, she’s cataloging exits.

That's my girl.

I cross to her and reach up, touching her cheek with two fingers. Her eyes find my face and something shifts in them. Not fear.