Auctioned

by Cara Dee

  Gray turned his head and rested his cheek on his knee, facing the door so he could see Darius and Jonas the moment they appeared.

  Philip, seated on that side of Gray, looked down at him in amusement. “Is the toy sleepy?”

  I’m gonna cut you first. I’m gonna stab you in the fucking throat.

  Darius had warned Gray that it took more strength to cut through flesh than what the movies depicted.

  “I wanted to buy you, I’ll have you know,” Philip went on. His British accent, Gray noticed, wasn’t as pronounced when he thought of it. Maybe he lived in the US. “I always liked the boys who looked like they played college football.”

  No wonder he’d bought Cole, then.

  Gray tightened his grip on the edge of his sweatpants.

  Philip finished his beer and gave a dismissive wave. “Probably for the best Mr. B purchased you, though. I have enough work with my own heathen.” He chuckled at something. “The way I made him scream last night… At long last, I should say. He’s been hard to break.” He winked at Gray. “The walls here must be truly soundproof. I’m surprised no one noticed.”

  Gray only offered a flat stare, and it didn’t last long. He caught movement in the hallway and spotted Darius and Jonas walking toward them briskly. Gray sucked in a breath and felt a rush of adrenaline.

  This is it, this is it. This is war.

  “I’m back, gentlemen.” Darius closed the door to the dungeon, something they hadn’t done before, and smiled stiffly. To Gray, he nodded subtly as he gripped Jonas’s neck. But rather than crossing the dungeon to where the others were waiting, they made a beeline for the two guards occupying a couch in the back.

  “Yay, let the boys play for us!” Vanya clapped.

  There would be no more playing. The game was over. Gray pulled up his sweats around his knees and gripped the two blades.

  “No, he’s mine,” Jonas growled. “You will never rape me again, you fucking animal!”

  Gray swiftly hauled out his knives, and he rammed the first one into Philip’s neck. The man’s eyes bulged out in shock, blood gushing around the blade that was now stuck. Gray shot up and witnessed the exact moment Jonas drove a knife into Benny’s stomach. Darius worked faster and had already left the other guard in a heap on the floor.

  It took a couple heartbeats for the dungeon to erupt into chaos.

  With no time to waste, Gray faced the remaining men, and he saw Vanya and his panicked gaze. More than that, he was reaching for something, something he kept under that goddamn silk robe of his. I don’t fucking think so. Gray didn’t blink; he flew at the kid and unleashed the blinding rage he’d kept buried.

  “I dare you!” Gray sent them tumbling back, the chair tipping over, and Vanya’s scream pierced his eardrums. “I told you. I told you. I’m gonna end you all!” They hit the floor, and Gray got a grip on Vanya’s throat. He pushed the little sadist down and opened his robe.

  “Mom!” Vanya screamed. “Kill him! Ow!”

  Gray grunted at the knee he got in his gut, and his hand shook. Fuck. Get it together. He saw the gun sticking up from Vanya’s white silk pants, and he grabbed it with a trembling hand and pushed it away from them.

  “Someone, get in here!” another man yelled.

  “Can’t breathe—” Vanya choked out.

  Gray let out a growl at the pain and hauled the kid off the floor, only to slam him up against the nearest wall. He took in the fear in Vanya’s eyes and smiled for the first time without wanting to hurl.

  “You will die,” Vanya rasped. “You won’t get away.”

  Gray rammed his forehead forward, creating a perfect crunch at the impact with Vanya’s nose. After that, the kid was a sobbing mess, and Gray let go of him. For now. Fucking bargaining chip… As he backed away, he caught Darius grabbing Lee and Oscar’s owner. It was a euphoric and beastly sight. A man who deserved to die. The same look of fear, the bulging eyes, face growing red, panic taking over.

  Darius got his arm around the man’s neck and twisted it hard, and though Gray couldn’t hear it, he could practically feel the snap as the buyer’s neck broke.

  Gray looked around them and ran a hand through his hair. His body was buzzing, his hands wouldn’t fucking stop shaking, and he waited for the anxiety to bubble up. His skin itched with the drying blood, but there was more than that. Foreign emotions were surging inside him, and he could only describe them as inhuman. His conscience had checked out.

  “Get the gun, knucklehead.”

  Gray snapped out of his haze and blew out a shaky breath. Gun, gun—there. On the floor. The one Vanya had tried to use. Gray picked it up.

  Hiding in a corner next to a couch was one of the guys from the staff. Shaking in fear. Jonas was trying to calm him down. It’s gonna be all right. We’re getting out of here. We’re going home.

  Gray swallowed hard and flicked a glance at Philip. Dead with his eyes open. Then Benny. Was he dead? Gray walked over and kneeled by his head—oh shit. He wasn’t dead at all, though he certainly would be soon.

  “Didn’t I tell you?” Gray whispered. He eyed Benny’s body. Jonas had stabbed him in multiple places. Darius must’ve taken his gun already, because his holster was empty. “You don’t survive this. I only wish I could drag it out, because you deserve to suffer.”

  Benny’s gaze was unfocused, and every time he tried to say something, he coughed up blood.

  “Gray. We have to move on.”

  Gray gave Benny’s cheek a smack and stood up to face Darius, who was tucking his tie into his pocket. Shit, he’d already restrained Vanya to the X-cross and taped his mouth. The psycho was barely moving, probably out of fear. Barbed wire circled the wood.

  “Where do we go now?” Gray asked. “You said we have to set up a safe area and bring people there.”

  “Safe area?” Jonas questioned. He remained on the floor with the other guy. He’d stopped crying but was still upset.

  Darius replied while folding up the sleeves of his button-down. “Since we’re working with moving targets who don’t know what’s going on yet, we can’t secure one deck and move on to the next.” He nodded at the frightened boy. “We’re gonna round up the staff in your quarters now, then go to the bridge. Jonas, you will stay there with them while Gray and I take care of the rest.”

  “I can do more than that.” Jonas frowned.

  Darius shook his head. “You’ll have plenty to do, and we’ll make sure you boys have means to defend yourselves if someone tries to enter.”

  “Anyone with the code can do that,” Gray pointed out.

  “The guards don’t have it. Only Ms. Valerie and the crew,” Jonas mumbled. “Okay, I’ll keep watch. What about Ms. Valerie’s son?”

  “We can’t bring him.” It was the one thing Darius was grim about. “Gray and I will come back for him later.”

  Then they better hope no one came in here and rescued him first. Gray understood, though. Vanya wouldn’t cooperate for shit, and they’d get themselves killed if they had to lug him around all while facing gunshots from others.

  Fifteen

  According to Jonas, there were only two other guards on duty right now, so after closing the door to the dungeon, they made their way down the hall that led to the aft of the yacht.

  Gray felt naked, wanting to keep his gun aimed in case they ran into a guard. But Darius reminded him they were more likely to cause destruction if they waved their guns around for no reason. And to the guards and the others on the boat, it was still “no reason.” For all they knew, Darius was Gray’s owner and everything was peachy.

  Darius’s line of thinking gave Jonas an idea.

  “Stay back when we get to our quarters,” he murmured as they passed the central den. Gray studiously faced forward. He didn’t want to see the space where he’d lost his freedom for money. And he’d been one of the lucky ones… Jesus Christ, stay focused. He tuned in to what Jonas was saying. “…won’t bat an eye if I tell them Ms. Valerie wants to see the
m.”

  Darius acknowledged him with a nod and stopped as they reached a staircase. He peered up and down the stairs, then gestured for them to follow him up. Gray grew antsier and antsier, and he glanced over his shoulder. The boy clinging to Jonas was about to cry again—shit. Gray stumbled, having walked straight into Darius.

  “Just the man I was looking for,” Darius said, and a beat later, a guard appeared around the corner.

  Holy shit, Gray’s heart was pounding.

  “What can I do for you, sir?” The guard acted completely normal, though he took on a mildly curious expression at the sight of Jonas and the other guy. Gray and the blood he was covered in, however, got a smirk and a once-over.

  Die.

  “Right here—I have a problem.” Darius coaxed the guard down a few steps on the stairs so they were out of sight. And before Gray could even blink, Darius had his tie around the guard’s neck, and he was choking the fucker out.

  Gray jumped into action instinctively and covered the mouth and nose of the guard. If it didn’t speed things up, at least it would muffle any noises. Darius clearly didn’t need any help handling the man’s violent thrashing. He stood rock solid, even as the guard tried to kick himself free.

  “Shh, it’s okay.” Jonas had to comfort the other guy. “Just follow my lead, all right? We’re going home, Rob.”

  “You can’t use that name,” the guy—Rob—whispered in panic. “We don’t have names.”

  Gray cursed at what he’d overheard, and anger took over for a moment when he slammed his elbow against the guard’s temple. And it fucking worked. The last strength to struggle ran out of him like water, and Darius snorted in amusement.

  “All right, cover for me,” he murmured. “We need to hide him.”

  Gray went ahead to make sure the coast was clear, and he nodded as all he saw was an empty hall—in both directions. Then he jerked back a step and went a little wide-eyed. Darius wasn’t fucking around, was he? He grunted and hauled the guard over his shoulder. If he thought the body was unbearably heavy, it didn’t show.

  In a supply closet across the hall, Gray helped him dispose of the guard, and Darius earned himself another gun.

  He tucked it into his pants at the base of his spine. “Okay, that’s four guards down. One more to go who’s working right now. Be on the lookout, boys.”

  Boys… Gray let Jonas and Rob go before him this time so he could cover their backs. He didn’t know why, but he wanted to be Darius’s equal for this. The others could be the “boys,” and Gray would just be Gray. Even though he was the same age as them.

  The path to the staff’s quarters was short and uneventful, only serving to build more tension in Gray’s body. He never stopped looking over his shoulder; he just waited for shit to hit the fan.

  Gray and Darius stayed in the background as Jonas opened the door to their room. He spoke in the monotone voice Gray recognized from when Jonas had brought Darius sunscreen.

  “Ms. Valerie” wanted to see everyone right away outside the pilothouse, and it was as painful as it was comical how quickly the guys got ready. The small cabin had bunk beds taking up each wall, and it took the five guys less than a minute to put on new underwear and smooth down their hair. No room for modesty or privacy when they didn’t even have their freedom. Yet.

  “Where’s Owen?” Jonas asked.

  “Pool deck, I think,” another one answered.

  Gray exchanged a look with Darius. They’d have to go up there and find the boy.

  Maybe the guys had been pushed down and abused to the point where they’d stopped being curious, maybe they’d been instructed never to question anything…maybe a combination of both. Either way, they didn’t look remotely interested in knowing why Darius and Gray were out in the hallway, and other than offering Darius a slightly more polite expression, nothing gave away their thoughts. Jonas and Darius took the lead, and Gray stayed back once again.

  This time, Gray didn’t care about pretenses. He had a firm grip on the gun sticking out of his pocket, and he was ready to use it.

  The peace and quiet was starting to seriously bother him. Granted, he knew several people were recuperating from being sick all morning, but this was crazy. It seemed the entire deck was empty.

  “Hey,” Gray whispered. At anyone, he reckoned. “Do you know if there’s anything going on by the pool?”

  There was only silence until Jonas gave them an expectant look and murmured, “It’s okay. You can speak to him.”

  That caused more confusion between the boys than anything else. Christ, Darius was right. How on earth would anyone go back to any semblance of normal after something like this?

  “Um, Owen’s probably serving,” one boy replied quietly. “Nikolaj and I helped Federico make soup for those who’ve been sick. I don’t know if there’s anything else.”

  Okay. Okay. That made sense. Gray released a breath and glanced over his shoulder. They were almost at the front of the yacht again, and now he only hoped none of the doors they’d passed opened just yet.

  “What is going on?” one boy asked under his breath. The first one to show any curiosity.

  “I’ll tell you soon,” Jonas whispered back.

  “Hey, where do you boys think—sir? What’s going on here?”

  Gray’s heart jumped up into his throat at the sound of the man’s voice behind him, and he instinctively drew the Glock as he spun around. Shit, shit, shit. This wasn’t the close-range Darius had told him about. The guard was at least forty feet away, and Gray wasn’t sure he could aim that well.

  “Whoa, what the—” The guard pushed open his suit jacket, revealing a holster, and Gray didn’t think.

  He fired. With his fucking eyes closed. Amidst a burst of shock from the staff guys, from shrieks to cries, the sharp sound from the gunshot caused Gray to stumble back and flinch. His ears popped and started ringing loudly, and he ducked as someone pushed past him.

  Another shot was fired. Gray sucked in a breath and forced his eyes to open, and it was Darius—of fucking course—who stood next to him with his gun raised. Way down the hall, the guard had dropped to the ground, and blood was pooling around his head, turning the beige carpet red.

  Holy fuck.

  “Everyone on the boat heard that. Let’s go.” Darius grabbed Gray’s arm and shoved him forward. “You okay?”

  Gray jerked a nod, his ears still ringing. He hadn’t expected it to be so loud, nor had he anticipated the force traveling up his arm from firing a gun. “I fucked up,” he said, and he hated himself for it. So far, he hadn’t been of any use at all. “I’ll do better.” He locked and unlocked his jaw to release the pressure in his ears.

  “I don’t see how that could’ve ended any differently.” Darius gave Gray’s neck a quick squeeze, then let go to usher forward two staff boys who were close to hysterics. “We’re almost there, but we gotta hurry.”

  He was right. The jig was up, and there would be no more sneaking around now that the first shot had been fired. Jonas could comfort his friends later; right now, they had to get to the pilothouse. So Gray helped Darius move the boys toward the end of the hallway, all while looking behind him even more often.

  Darius stopped short right before the corner and cursed. Was someone coming? There was another set of stairs, Gray knew. The bridge was up there. Before he could ask, Darius pushed away from the wall, raised his gun, and rounded the corner. It was instantly followed by two shots and two thumps.

  Gray strained to hear past the chaos and thought he heard tumbling, as if someone was falling down the stairs.

  “Okay, let’s go.” Darius had lost the last shred of patience in his voice, and he crossed the hall, ushered everyone up the last set of stairs, and punched in the code to enter the pilothouse. Once the door was open, he gave the area a quick scan. “Get in, boys. Jonas, you’re in charge.” He stepped aside so everyone could get inside, and he held out an extra gun to Jonas. “You only give this to someone you can count o
n.” Next, he nodded at Gray. “Knucklehead, give him the wire.”

  So much for needing to have his knuckles taped. It hadn’t helped much on the bull either.

  Gray retrieved it from his pocket and handed it over to Jonas. Being in the middle of the hallway gave him a full view of two bodies in the stairwell.

  In the meantime, Darius extended his tie too, as well as a knife. “We’ll be back soon, and only open that door if you hear a double-tap knocking. We clear?”

  Jonas nodded jerkily, nervous but ready to fight for his life. It was a look Gray would forever recognize after this.

  If they survived.

  Gray had no recollection of the bottom deck of the yacht. It was narrower and more cramped, but no less upscale. The guards had two cabins, one down here, which turned out to be empty. Gray and Darius had picked up speed and were running down the hall, up the stairs, and kept running until Gray was shoved back.

  “Quiet.” Darius took a breath and put himself between Gray and the corner, where they heard voices.

  “It’s hard when we don’t know who to look for,” someone said with a sneer in his tone. There was an accent too—vaguely Latin American. “I never trusted that piece of shit from Texas, though. He’s been hanging around the kitchen. Were you there when his luggage went through inspection? He brought enough equipment to kill all the slaves four times over.”

  Oh God. Gray pressed himself to the wall and forced himself to breathe steadily. The Texan, or Mr. K, was Milo’s buyer. Nothing slashed through Gray as painfully as knowing that sweet kid had ended up with one of the worst men on board. Gray could still hear Milo’s sobbing pleas and see how he shook in terror.

  “I don’t think so,” another man replied. “At drinks the other day…he bragged too much about how cruel he is. The most vicious son of a bitch won’t say a word. I bet it’s the one in Twelve. Mr. B.”

  Gray raised a brow at Darius, who didn’t move a single muscle. He was too focused—

  “Guys!” That was someone else, someone farther away. “Valerie needs help!”