by J. L. Beck
“Xander Rossi…” I hear Blaine chuckle as I take my glass of whiskey into my hands and lean back in my chair. It’s easy to fool people into believing you’re relaxed when you’ve been doing it for years. Charlie, his partner, gives me a nod, his eyes closing in on Mouse, who is fidgeting with the wine glass now.
“Blaine. How are you?” I see the curiosity and desire pool in his gaze when he notices her sitting beside me. I usually don’t have a woman with me when I come to these kinds of events. Matter of fact this might be the first time he’s ever seen me accompanied by a woman.
“Good, very good actually. We’re planning on setting up some new distribution. Your brother still selling, too?”
I swirl the whiskey around in my glass. “Of course. We’re running a fucking empire, Blaine. You don’t just stop whenever you want.”
Blaine nods, his eyes still on Mouse. I’m growing slightly irritated with each passing second. Yes, she’s beautiful and yes, she oozes a naivety most men would love to have but she is mine. All fucking mine, and I’m not sharing her with any of these fuckers.
“I figured, but word on the street is that he got married.”
I nod, taking a drink from my glass. The burn of the whiskey down my throat heats my cold insides. “He did. But he’s still fucking working for me. Why are you so interested in my brother’s work? Afraid he’s going to outsell you?” I smirk, watching as his cheeks heat.
“He fucking wishes he could.”
“Lucky for us, drugs are always in high demand. It’s not like junkies are going stop using tomorrow.” I glare at Blane and the fucker is still eyeing Mouse. My annoyance turns into full-blown rage now.
My grip on the glass tightens. “Is there a reason you’re fucking staring?”
“Of course, not... I was just wondering if maybe you’d consider selling her.” For the second time in one night, I’ve been asked to sell Mouse, and it’s starting to weigh on me. All this time I was worried about Mouse blowing our cover, when it might just be me.
“This one is not for sale,” I grit out.
“She must have a tight as fuck pussy…” He pauses briefly, his eyes flickering with lust. I’m literally a millisecond away from pulling my gun out and putting a bullet in his head. Business partner or not, he’s taking shit too far.
“How about I buy you a new one tonight and you let me have this one? I won’t break her, too badly.” He chuckles as if something he said was amusing.
I blink slowly. Did this fucker really just say what I think he did?
“How about you turn around and walk away before I put a bullet in your brain?”
Blaine laughs, thinking I made a joke. The funny thing is... I don’t joke.
“Okay, I get it. Final offer, take it or leave it. You keep her but you let me join in for a night. Just like the good old days?” Mouse moves around in her seat as if she’s uncomfortable, and when Blaine moves a hand toward her face, I almost growl.
“Come on, Xander… What’s she got that makes you want to keep her? All the girls on that stage tonight are virgins. Surely, she can’t be with you and be as pure as snow.”
“It doesn’t matter what she’s fucking got. I said she’s not for sale. That should be a good enough answer for you, shouldn’t it?”
Blaine grips her by the chin, and Mouse, unexpecting his touch, flinches away. Her movements cause the glass of wine to tip over, spilling across the front of her dress.
Fucking Christ.
“Whoops… I guess you have to take it off now,” Blaine says, winking at Mouse. “Let me know if you need helped out of that dress. I’m pretty good with my hands, and even better with my cock.”
She blinks, her long lashes fanning against her cheeks as she lifts her gaze to mine. I can see she’s afraid. Afraid of the unknown, of what I’m going to do to her, or maybe she’s worried I’ll let this bastard have a taste of her.
But that’s just it; she doesn’t have a fucking thing to worry about. No, because my sweet mouse belongs to me and only me.
“Go get cleaned up in the bathroom,” I order harshly. She shoves from the table, walking on unsteady legs. I worry she may fall flat on her face but the more steps she takes, the more she straightens out.
“Fuck, she has a nice ass.” I look up to find Blaine staring in Mouse’s direction. “I’m sure it’s real tight, too.”
My face deadpans, and I’m no longer able to allow him to make comments about Mouse. My blood reaches its boiling point with his last comment, and I can’t stop myself from lashing out. I stand up and step into his personal space, our faces only a few inches apart. He loses his smirk immediately and his body visibly stiffens. Charlie actually takes a step back.
“If you don’t fuck off right fucking now, I will break your neck where you stand. Do you hear me?” I don’t want to cause any more of a scene, so I keep my voice low. It might be dumb of me to fucking take up for Mouse. I know it’s dumb of me, but I won’t let anyone hurt her. The only fucking bastard who gets to taint her soul is me.
“All right, Xander.” Blaine takes another step back, his hands in the air as if he means no harm. Lying piece of shit. He turns around, taking Charlie with him, and I settle back into my seat, knowing this is going to put a target on my back.
Fuck, Mouse, I hope you’re worth it.
“Welcome, welcome, gentlemen…” The announcer's voice bellows through the speakers, and into my ears, and I realize then that Mouse still hasn’t returned from the bathroom and that could mean one of two different things.
She either ran… or…. I can’t even fathom the later, so I’m going to fucking pray she went looking for her sister, because if something happens to her, I will burn down this entire fucking city.
Chapter 15
Ella
I don’t like being here. Not even one bit, and I cannot imagine what my sister is going through right now, if she is even here. I scrub the front of my dress with a wet paper towel, but it doesn’t do any good. It just makes the stain appear darker. I shiver, thinking of the way that Blaine guy looked at me. I dab harder at the soft material. He asked Xander to share me, insisting that they’d done that before.
Will he share me? With him… or with someone else? I gaze at my reflection in the mirror. Am I good enough to keep Xander’s attention? I don’t really know. I’m not nearly as attractive as some of the other women here, and god knows, I’m not even close to being as experienced.
My chest aches at the thought of being tossed aside like garbage by him. He’s all I have right now. He saved me and losing him would kill me. I know it. With one fleeting look at my disheveled reflection, I shake my head. I move toward the door, feeling more down about myself now than I did before I came in.
At least Xander didn’t get mad at me for spilling the wine, so that’s a win, I suppose. I toss the wet paper towel into the trash and head out the door. I know I should keep my gaze to the floor, but I can’t pass up the opportunity to check out my surroundings. I mean, I can’t find my sister if I’m not looking for her. My gaze moves across the room, taking in each and every person.
I almost lower my head and place my eyes on the floor to walk back to the table when I pass a hallway. I stop dead in my tracks and peer down it. I’m not sure what compelled me to stop, but I did. My heart skips a beat and my throat tightens when I catch a glimpse of a set of big blue eyes almost identical to my own. Violet. It’s only for a fraction of a second that I see her, but it’s enough to get my legs moving.
I run down the hallway as fast as my feet will go, pushing someone out of the way without looking or apologizing. I don’t care about anyone or anything. Just getting to my sister before it’s too late.
“Vi!” I call out to her, trying to get her attention. I’m not far behind her, but I’m not close enough to stop the guy with a neck tattoo from dragging her toward the door in front of them.
She is half naked, wearing some type of lingerie… and I cringe seeing the bruising on the s
ide of her face. She turns when she hears my voice but the guy dragging her just picks her up and carries her through the door.
She doesn’t even struggle in his grasp, and I wonder if they’ve drugged her to make her comply. Her eyes are sad, and I’m angry, so damn angry. I’m almost to the door when someone grabs me from behind and slams me against the opposing wall face first. The air is knocked from my lungs, and my face slides against the brick wall. I let out a whimper from the stinging pain of my flesh sliding across brick.
“Not so fucking strong when you’re without that bastard, huh?” I struggle in the man’s grasp, realizing I know that voice from somewhere. I open my mouth to tell him to get off of me when I feel a prick in my arm. In an instant, warmth coats my insides. My skin heats, and I start to feel woozy.
No, no, no, I am so close to getting Violet; this can’t be happening. I struggle against his hold, but my strength is withering away by the second.
“If he wants you so badly, I guess he’ll have to pay for you again.”
I put the puzzle pieces together.
“Benny, what did you…?” The words come out slow, very slow. I’m turned around, coming face to face with my captor.
“Trust me, you don’t want to go with Ivan, he is a crazy Russian. He’ll just kill you without any of the fun.” Benny smirks and pushes me toward another door.
I want to resist but my body and my brain are not on speaking terms right now. I can barely stand on my own, let alone make an attempt to run away or stop the asshole who has ahold of me.
My eyes droop, and I feel like I’m watching everything happen right before my eyes, yet there is nothing I can do.
Benny opens another door and shoves me inside. The motion sends me falling to the floor on my knees. I know I land harshly against the tile, but I feel no pain, nothing at all actually. There are people moving about in the room, minding their own business.
“Put her in the lineup,” Benny orders, walking away from me like I’m a piece of trash. I open my mouth to scream at him, but my tongue feels impossibly heavy. I slap a hand against the floor to get his attention, but he doesn’t even turn around. Instead, another man grabs me. His touch is rough, almost bruising, as he rips my dress from my body, leaving me in nothing more than my red thong and matching bra.
I know I should be screaming by now, but I can’t bring myself to actually do so. I shiver, feeling the need to wrap my arms around my midsection and cover myself.
“Beautiful,” I hear someone whisper into the hollow of my ear.
There are other women in this same room. My eyes glaze over each of them as they push us all into a single formed line. No one fights or cries. They merely conform just as I am.
“All right, ladies, let’s make some big money tonight,” someone hollers off to the right. I hear loud, booming voices, but I’m not sure what is going on. My knees buckle, and I sway unsteadily on my feet.
I have to lean against the wall behind me to keep myself from falling again. I close my eyes for a moment, trying to clear my head but that just makes it worse. A few moments later, the guy who took my dress off is back. I try and move away from him, but my legs won’t work.
What is wrong with me?
With his hand on my arm, he makes me walk to a curtain. I see lights off in the distance. They’re blinding, and I shake my head, wanting to tell them man no.
“All you’ve got to do is walk out there and stand next to the auctioneer. Got it, sugar?”
Without waiting for my answer, he pulls the curtain to the side and gives me a nudge. My chest heaves, and my body tingles as I barely make it across the stage. I can feel my body swaying like a leaf in the summer breeze.
When I make it to the center of the stage, I peer out onto the crowd. Men. All men. Their eyes took in every single inch of my flesh. The stage light is directly in my eyes, making it hard to see farther than the first row but that is all it takes to make bile rise up in my throat. I squint my eyes, attempting to look farther out onto the crowd. I can feel tears in my eyes.
Xander. His name goes off inside my head like a fire alarm. He’ll save me, right?
“This lady in red is a very special treat. I bet you she tastes as good as she looks.” The man chuckles, his eyes gleaming with lust. “We’ll start the bidding at one hundred thousand.”
“Five hundred thousand,” a man’s voice bellows through the room. A voice that is not Xander’s. Panic fills my belly. Inside, I’m scared to death, but on the outside, I’m numb, completely numb.
“One million.” A deeper, darker voice fills the room. Xander. My knight. My dark as sin hero. I want to run to him but when I take a step forward, the auctioneer grabs onto my arm, keeping me in place.
“One point five million.” The crowd has turned completely silent, all chatter ceases at the bidding war Xander and this other guy have.
“Two million.” I can feel the anger in his words. Is he really going to spend two million dollars for me? The amount seems utterly ridiculous. I couldn’t dream of ever having such a large sum at my disposal.
“Do I have two point five million?” the auctioneer prods.
“Why the hell not? Let’s go with three million.” The unknown man’s laughter fills the room.
“Five million,” Xander counters not even a second later. There is no hesitation to his voice, and though he might be paying for my body, I know it will actually be me paying him later on.
“Six million, anyone?” the auctioneers prods once more, and the entire room remains silent. “Going once…”
My stomach clenches into a tight knot.
“Going twice…”
I can feel Xander’s eyes on me even though I can’t see him.
“Sold. For five million dollars to the man at table six.”
The auctioneer ushers me to the other side of the stage, where yet another man is waiting for me. He grabs me by the elbow and walks me down a single flight of stairs. My legs feel like rubber, and my head is spinning. I feel sick to my stomach, and I wonder what’s going to happen next? I screwed up with my sister, and now Xander’s going to hate me for making a scene, the one thing I wasn’t supposed to do.
“Five million, that’s a pretty penny. We don’t have many girls who bring that kind of money.”
He leads me into another room that holds nothing but a chair. He pushes me down into it, my pantie-covered bottom slamming into the cold metal. The room is mostly dark, minus a small overhead light. I can barely make out the man’s dark features.
“As soon as your buyer pays, he’ll come back here and pick you up.” He turns and heads back out the door, leaving me sitting there as if I’m waiting for the bus or something. The door shuts and the click of the lock being turned fills the room.
I feel afraid again, my emotions heightened by ten. Tears fall from my eyes, sliding down my cheeks. I can’t lift my hands to wipe them away though. Nothing on my body wants to work.
I feel like such a failure… I couldn’t save my sister. She was right there, and I couldn’t get to her. Now she is gone again, and it’s all my fault. How am I going to find her now? Xander will never help me again after what’s happened tonight.
Time seems to pass slowly, and I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting here crying my eyes out, wallowing in my own misery, until I hear voices in front of the door. The lock turns, and the door pushes open. Light streams into the room, hurting my eyes.
I avert my eyes to the floor. I don’t have to look up to know who it is that walked in. Seconds later, I feel something being draped over my body before two strong arms wrap around me and lift me up.
I slam my eyes shut as Xander walks me out of there. I don’t want to see anyone looking at me, and I’m not ready to see the anger in Xander’s eyes. Instead, I lean my head against his shoulder and concentrate on his unique scent. Everything spins around me, and I know I need to tell Xander who did this before I end up passing out. I look up at his face. He’s so handsome… like an
angel who lost his wings. A dark angel.
“Be… Bennn…” My voice is so small he can’t understand me, but he knows I’m trying to say something. I can tell from the wrinkle in his forehead.
He leans into my face. “How did this happen, Mouse? Tell me, and I'll kill them right now. Who did this to you?”
Warm tears cascade down my cheeks, “Benn…neee…” I focus all my energy into each syllable. I know the moment Xander realizes what I'm saying because his dark eyes fill with murder. The darkness lingers, and I wonder how deep it truly goes.
“Benny?” he questions softly, and I use all my remaining strength to nod my head.
I feel myself fading fast, my body softening in his arms.
“Sorry.” The word comes out messy, but I hope he understands them and understands how sorry I really am. I screwed it all up and made him spend a crap ton of money.
“You were worth every penny, Mouse,” he murmurs into my hair, and my eyes close one last time, the sound of his heartbeat lulling me off into the darkness.
***
I blink my eyes open very slowly, trying to make sense of where I am and what happened. My mind feels like it went through a blender. The room is dark, but the door is open and light filters in through the slit in the door.
I press my hands down and realize I’m in a bed, but I don’t know the room I’m in. I jerk into a sitting position and the room spins around me like I'm on a never-ending carousel ride. I groan, holding a hand to my head, but the noise makes the continual pounding harder.
The shadow of a large figure appears in the doorway.
“How are you feeling?” Damon’s thick voice fills the room.
Why is Damon here? Confused, I try to make sense of all the jumbled thoughts running rampant in my mind.