by Addy Archer
“I don’t think it’s only one incident.” Rhyes locks eyes with me. “We should be thankful Emmet is a vain man, getting his hair cut every four weeks.”
“And the fact that his barber isn’t scared of Caleb and his son, or he simply trusts Emmet, whatever made him bring this shit to our attention,” Torin mutters.
“Money,” I simply state. “He didn’t have the cash to pay the double protection fee and he didn’t want to accept Caleb’s suggestion to pay his fee by laundering money for him.”
“Motherfucker,” Rhyes growls. “Did you talk to the barber yourself?”
I slowly shake my head. “I had Emmet swing by his barber, Simon, to ask a few direct questions. I also made sure Simon had the money to pay Caleb so he wouldn’t raise any flags. Now, you two dig into this and keep it to yourself. I have a plane to catch.”
Rhyes gathers all the papers and stands. “Lucky fucker.”
“Stay in contact,” Torin says before the both of them head out.
I grab the last couple of things I need and am in the air, heading to California, within the next hour. Benefit of being loaded with money is having a private jet. Emmet made all the arrangements including our stay at a high-class hotel and a bulletproof limo at our disposal. It’s the first thing we need early morning when I pay Stone a visit at his clubhouse.
“You’re kidding me,” Stone says and starts to pace.
I’m as calm as ever when I place my folded hands on the table in front of me. “I’m afraid not. Nario personally called to make sure the invitation to the auction was set and to let me know his brother was missing. He’s been making waves in the underworld for years. Not many want to work with him since those two brothers are wanted fugitives. I’ve reached out to my contact with the US marshals and they let me know about the taskforce they have out looking for him. They are closing in on Nario, hence the reason not many want to work with him and how eager he was to give me the invite to the auction. He wants to get on my good side since it would benefit him.”
“We’re all thankful for your help and I hope you’ll be able to save Winter.”
Winter? I stare at Stone and wait for him to expand.
“Winter, the woman who was transported to be auctioned off. Coral is worried and so are we. You should have seen how badly–”
I hold my hand up to cut him off. “Not interested. All the information I need to buy the correct woman, this Winter, was a full description which I have. I only came here to talk through some of the details I couldn’t mention on the phone. I’ll keep an eye on things and will let you know when the auction has taken place. But for now we’re done here.”
The thirty minutes I spent inside this clubhouse was more than enough. Stone offers me a firm handshake, and I make sure my ass is back in the limo a few minutes later. Now all there’s left is to wait for a phone call, telling me the time and place of the auction.
CHAPTER TWO
– WINTER –
“Everything going as planned?” a man I despise says as he strolls into the room.
Cat, the woman who ripped all the hairs off my body–except for the ones on my head–comes rushing forward. “Yes, Nario. Everything is ready and all the girls are prepped.”
Prepped. And with that she means waxed or maybe the trained part we had to endure for weeks on end to become a personal toy to whomever will buy us at the auction. The mere thought makes me want to hurl and hyperventilate but I need to stay calm.
When they kidnapped me weeks ago I woke up in a cage. Days passed before I was allowed into a room where they chained me to a wall, along with another woman. Then they slowly started to give privileges as soon as you obeyed to their rules.
And if you didn’t? Let’s just say I despise Nario for a reason and one of those reasons is the fact he murdered a woman before our eyes. He did it to make us see what happens to women who don’t obey.
Me and Coral–the woman I shared a room with while we were each chained to the wall–we made a pact; Survive. Live. No regrets. And I also mentioned to Coral I would become a pain in the ass to whomever would buy me. And I fully intend to stick to my vow.
Gosh, I miss her and I probably won’t ever see her again. Coral escaped days ago and they somehow found her and dragged her back. She was punished and due to her misbehavior her training started all over. Meaning she was left behind while I was transported here along with a handful of other women.
“Aren’t you a pretty virgin?” Nario croons, making me wince from repulsion and hate.
I have no clue how they found out but they labeled me a virgin the second I woke up from the drug haze they put me in when they kidnapped me. I hate to think of the fact a doctor examined me while I was unconscious. It’s best to push those things to the back of my mind otherwise I’ll crawl into a ball and become a weeping mess.
I’ve learned to harden up and survive my whole life. My parents died when I was young and I was sent to my aunt to live with her. My aunt lived in a rough neighborhood, with her job as a waitress she couldn’t afford much. But she was loving, did what she could to take care of me, and made me attend self-defense classes. It’s because of her I became a strong and confident woman. I even joined a gym and enjoyed kickboxing classes.
Back then I didn’t know it would come in handy when my aunt died from cancer. I lost the house due to the many medical bills I was having a hard time paying for with the three jobs I had. And living on the streets requires sleeping with one eye open and throwing punches when necessary.
And I can still kick my own ass for trusting a cop, since he was the one asking questions when he found me in an alley. I thought he was being nice offering me a ride to a shelter but all I remembered was getting in his car and waking up in a cage. And that’s how I landed my waxed ass here to this moment in my screwed-up life.
“You’re going to make me a lot of money,” Nario says and lets his gaze wonder over my naked body.
Hate. Repulsion. Disgust. I hold no fear for this man. There’s nothing I can do to get out of this situation. I can’t attack. I can’t kill him. How badly I would like to poke his eyes out and rip his throat right open with my bare hands. Every attempt would be useless. There are three guards manning the door, other women standing on freaking soapboxes scattered all over the room, and then there’s Nario himself and Cat.
Too much manpower for a mere woman like me. It’s also why I vowed to myself I would endure and wait for an opportunity. And my opportunity to strike back will come. The one who will buy me will be one man, right? One man instead of many. Maybe he will take pity on me and set me free. My very own knight in shining armor. Maybe an undercover cop will buy me, who knows.
Ugh. A cop–fake one or not–is what landed me here on this soapbox in the first place. I could really use a nice, real cop now to save me for the sake of balance. Abide my chance. That’s what I’m doing, and my chance to get out of this hell will come. I refuse to give up; I can survive anything life throws at me. My past proves the hits I took and have overcome.
“Nario,” a businessman–who looks slightly familiar–says as he comes to a stand next to him. “What beautiful specimens have you gathered this time.”
“Mr. B. Are you purchasing this time?” Nario asks.
The businessman’s eyes trail over my body. “Another trade perhaps.”
“You know the rules, a sale tops a trade.” Nario doesn’t look pleased and stalks away.
A trade? A sale tops a trade? Wait a minute, does this mean these men buy women and then swap them when they get tired of them? Now fear does spike my veins. This sounds like a well-oiled process and not a spur of the moment, snatch a few women off the streets and knock them around to force them to obey and make a few bucks to sell them.
I should have known, but maybe the reality of it all is just hitting me harder now that I’m standing in front of buyers. Oh, yuck. Old men who will probably shove me into a dungeon, chain me to a bed, and won’t ever let me leave. Unless the
y grow tired and want a trade.
“Such a nice rack,” Mr. B. mutters and reaches out, snatching my nipple between his thumb and forefinger and lets his nail dig into my skin.
Pain flares hot and it takes everything in me to stay focused and not throat-punch this asshole. Tears are stinging my eyes but I’m not letting this man have the satisfaction of seeing what he’s doing to me.
I grind my teeth while Mr. B. looks unpleased, as if the sadist wants me to cry out in pain. He lets go of my nipple and heads for my other breast. I’m debating throat punching him–screw the consequences–but right when I’m bracing for impact, a rough hand wraps around Mr. B’s wrist and with it halts his movements.
Mr. B. rips his hand away and there are now two men standing in front of me, facing each other. And while they’re both dressed in a suit, the one who stopped Mr. B from touching me looks as if he was born to wear one.
Okay, that might not make a lot of sense but the way his massive muscles are wrapped with the fine fabric of what looks like high-class material . . . it’s as if the man is worthy of the clothes instead of the clothes worthy of the man. And to compare . . . Mr. B. looks like he sewed the suit himself.
I only see the side profile of Mr. High-Class, but the man has dark brown, almost black hair, thick and longer on top and neatly groomed. He has a scruffy mustache while he also has a short beard. His beard is more brownish while his hair is darker and yet his sideburns are showing a hint of salt and pepper. And . . . why am I fussing so much about a man’s appearance while I’m standing here naked?
“Now, now, gentlemen. What seems to be the problem?” Nario tries to interrupt the stare down but is unsuccessful.
The man with the thick dark hair rumbles in a harsh and dominating voice, “He was touching what I’m buying.”
“She isn’t yours,” Mr. B sneers. “Nario, I mentioned–”
Nario holds up his hand to stop Mr. B. “You said trade. Sounds like a buyer just staked claim, therefore she is in fact his. But let me show you another one that might please you.” Nario glances at the man with the thick dark hair and hands him a card. “Cat will give you further instructions, pleasure doing business.”
The man gives him a nod as Nario takes Mr. B. away to another woman standing on a soapbox across the room.
“Eyes here.” The harsh snap of words make me collide with cold dominating eyes, sending a shiver up my spine.
My breath catches from the intensity and somehow the way he keeps staring at me makes the rest of the room fall away. It’s the magnitude of his mere presence. His thick neck is showing a hint of the muscled power this man is packing.
His arm rises and he offers me his hand, palm up. “Step down.”
I narrow my eyes and a surge of anger demands me to rebel. I must have lost my sanity but I did make myself promise to become a pain in the ass to whomever bought me, and clearly it’s this man in front of me.
“No,” I whisper hiss.
One of his bristled eyebrows slowly tips up. His voice is a soft caress, only meant for my ears when he says, “Coral would be devastated if I didn’t save you from this auction.”
Coral. The other woman who was held captive with me. My eyes widen while my heart skips a beat. Did he really just say that?
“I did,” the man rumbles, making me aware I said the words out loud.
I let my fingers slide over his and step down. He towers over me as he shrugs out of his jacket, showing off his bulky muscles wrapped with a crisp white shirt. He holds his jacket out for me and I quickly turn to help him put it on me to cover my nakedness.
“Thank you,” I croak, emotions suddenly filling me with the mention of my friend’s name, and his kindness by handing me his jacket.
I might have spoken too soon when his fingers wrap around the base of my neck. A rough grip with his large hand, pushing me forward as he guides us toward the exit. Cat is suddenly scurrying our way, pointing at a door while the man simply ignores her and takes me with him. As if I have a choice with the way his fingers are digging into my skin.
We’re standing in a tiny space with just enough room for a desk and one chair. Cat stalks around it and takes out her phone. “Did you receive a card for the product?”
The product. That would be me.
The man hands her the card Nario gave him and Cat shoots him a seductive smile. She types something on her phone and turns it to show the man. He releases me to grab his own phone and lets his thumbs slide over the screen.
Cat keeps her eyes locked on her own phone before she glances up. “Thank you. Nice doing business with you.” She hands him a file she made appear out of nowhere. “She has a clean bill of health. All the details of her background are mentioned in here too. A virgin no less. Please read the first page in the file and call if there are any difficulties.”
The man nods–takes the file–and turns on his heels, grabbing hold of my neck once more to take me with him. A long hallway leads to an underground parking garage. He guides me to a large black limousine where a man jumps out to open the door.
His fingers tighten around my neck and two harsh words are thrown at me, “Get in.”
The hand is gone and when I slide over the leather seat, the man gets in behind me. A few breaths later the limo starts to move. I let my gaze travel over the inside of the limousine but there isn’t anything noticeable. The man completely ignores me and is reading the papers in the file Cat gave him. My file.
“Are you taking me to Coral? Where is she? Is she safe?” I ramble.
“Stop yapping. I’m trying to read.”
Did he really just say that? “Rude.”
His eyes slide from the papers to me and they narrow. And even in the muted light it’s a bright and clear warning shooting at me not to defy or mess with this man. He throws the file and papers he was holding on the seat across from him and lets his hand slide to his ankle. His fingers fumble until I see a bright flash of metal.
I swallow hard and try to find all my strength to stay strong and snap, “Put that knife away, it’s only for show, because no sane person buys something only to dispose himself of it. And you don’t strike me as an idiot.”
Okay, the idiot part shouldn’t have left my lips and the way his eyes are now pinning me in place? I’m pretty sure my soul was just sold to the devil when this man bought me.
“Turn. Around.” His voice is colder than the artic and another shiver runs up my spine.
Dammit. My body never reacts to men and this one managed to rile me up twice already.
“Now,” he snaps so low and harsh it actually makes me jump, as if he was screaming the word right in my face.
I ball my hands into fists. Damn this man.
“You could try to ask me nicely. Please goes a long way,” I hiss and before he can move or say something, I shift my body and give him my back.
He roughly yanks the jacket he put on me down to bare my shoulder blade.
“Nice and please goes a long way because it takes effort. Getting to the point is a shortcut. Time is money and business is never pleasure. So, when I say something, I expect people to listen or face the consequences.”
His weird statement is flowing through my brain when his rough hand holds my shoulder in place and I feel his knife slicing through my skin with my next breath. Fuck. That hurts. What the hell is he doing?
“Hold still,” he snaps. “There. Done.”
He shoves his jacket back over my shoulder. My heart is racing and my shoulder is hurting. Turning, I scurry as far away from him as the limousine allows me.
He’s holding something between his thumb and forefinger. “GPS tracker.”
Pushing a button he lets the window slide down and throws the tracker out of the window.
“Who are you?” I whisper, not understanding one bit why this man bought me.
He mentioned my friend Coral, and just pulled a freaking GPS tracker out of my damn body. Is he some kind of undercover agent or something?
“I am Bruno Riccimenti, capo dei capi, boss of bosses, mafia head, extremely powerful, and the one who now owns you.”
Owns me? I’m so confused. How can he mention Coral while buying me. Not a savior; a mafia boss. One with a huge ego wrapped in an asshole package.
“Full of yourself, right,” I hiss underneath my breath, mainly to myself but his hand flashes out and instantly wraps around my neck, pulling me close to his face.
“A smart mouth will get you six feet under. Do. Not. Disrespect me, understood?”
He’s full of himself, that, “I understand.” Voicing the rest of my sentence out loud doesn’t classify as agreeing with him. I mentally add to rectify my lady-balls shrinking.
I wanted to be a pain in the ass to whomever would buy me, dammit. But I’m also not stupid, I know when a man has reached his limits. Not to mention, he’s still holding the knife.
“Bruno,” he grunts and makes the knife disappear as quickly as he pulled it from his ankle.
“Winter,” I reply, since he was nice enough to repeat his name in a matter of getting acquainted, I’m returning the favor. See? I can be nice.
Bruno leans forward and grabs a bag to hold out to me. “Clothes. Put them on. We will arrive at the hotel in less than twenty minutes.”
Hotel? “What? No dragging me into a basement and chaining me to the bed?”
The corner of his mouth twitches for the first time. Maybe it was my imagination since his lips are now pressed back into a tight line when he says, “My mansion is located in another state. We’re taking my jet in a few days. For now we’re staying at a hotel.”
“Are you taking me to Coral? Did you buy her too? What are you going to do with me?” I hold his stare and refuse to back down. Deciding to throw his words back at him, I add, “Just get to the point since business is never pleasure.”
Again with the lip twitch. So, I didn’t imagine it the first time.
But a cold look slides over his face along with a sinister smile when he says, “Coral escaped with the help of bikers. Those bikers have contacts which led to your situation being brought to my attention. And to get to the point, no. I am not taking you to Coral. And you’ll find out soon enough what I have planned for you.”