Finished (Auctioned)

“Then why isn’t Darius waking up?” Gray blurted out, and his heart started hammering.

Lia refocused on Darius again and put on her stethoscope. And the little thing, whatever the fuck it was called, was placed on Darius’s back, under his shirt.

“I think it’s due to blood loss,” she murmured pensively. “He’s stable, though. We just have to be patient—but I’ll examine and redress his wounds.” She eased back again and glanced at the others. “Did anyone else get injured by a gun or any sharp objects?”

“Mostly superficial shit,” Ryan mumbled. His eyes were closed again, and his brows were pinched. “I think Elliott was grazed once or twice. Can I have painkillers? My head is pounding.”

“To be expected, along with nausea and, judging by the contents of that compound, general irritation pretty much everywhere.” Lia produced bandages and sterile gauze pads from her bag. “I’ll find the painkillers after I’ve finished here.”

Two

It took over an hour for Darius to show the first sign of consciousness. First, a slight groan of pain, then a frown, and shortly after, he gave Gray’s hand a small squeeze.

By then, everyone else was awake, and Lia and her protective father had left.

Dante said he felt all right enough to go get their vehicle on the other side of the ridge, where they’d parked earlier, and Gray agreed to let him go so long as they stayed in touch over their line of communication.

Reese and Tariq had taken charge otherwise, with help from Niko, and they’d separated Alicia, AJ, Alfred, and the fourth motherfucker in the compound again. They’d gathered that the gas Alicia had released had been a final resort on a timer, an insurance policy for her and AJ. In case they weren’t able to eliminate Alfred and the other associates and buyers—once Darius and their crew were already dead—the gas would put them down temporarily, effectively wiping out the resistance. Because it was easier to kill people when they didn’t fight back. But Alicia hadn’t managed to kill Darius and his men, much less Alfred and his associates; she’d been restrained instead.

Niko came up every now and then to offer reports from Reese’s and Tariq’s interrogations. At this point, Gray only cared about Darius, but the other guys wanted to know. Especially River, who said he’d been close to cracking Alfred before everyone had passed out.

Gray found the energy to focus on only one other thing. He’d made sure to give them all shit for not having their masks nearby—like Tariq. He’d regained consciousness without help because he’d put on his mask before falling to the floor.

Darius and Dante had decent excuses; their masks had apparently been damaged in the mayhem earlier. But Ryan? And River? And Elliott? They’d put the masks away once they didn’t think they’d need them anymore. River’s mask was still in the fucking truck. Elliott’s was somewhere in the showroom, and he hadn’t found it.

The three men sat next to one another now, slouched against the wall, nursing headaches out of this world.

“Quit lookin’ at me like I look at my wife when she’s fucked up,” Ryan bitched.

“This isn’t one of your kinky games, Ryan,” Gray replied irritably. “You could’ve fucking died down there.”

River made a face. “In my defense, Reese is my defense. It ain’t my job to worry about my safety.”

“Dude, you’re a grown-ass man,” Gray retorted. “Do you hear yourself?”

Darius let out a grunt, and Gray immediately pushed the others out of his mind. Since Lia left, Gray hadn’t released Darius’s hand.

“Baby, can you hear me?” He brought Darius’s hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles.

“Mmpf.” Darius winced and kept his eyes closed, which was probably for the best. “D’everyone make it?”

“Everyone’s fine,” Gray promised. God, it was so goddamn good to hear his voice, no matter how hoarse and drowsy. “We’re still at the compound. The operation hasn’t been compromised.” He had a feeling that was what Darius would want to know first.

Gray was right.

Darius seemed to relax, and he exhaled.

Gray had so much more to say, and not all of it would come out kindly. He was gonna pace himself—a bit, at least—but sooner rather than later, he would demand answers. And one of the most pressing matters was the entire reason they evidently needed hostages. Why not just kill Alicia and the others and be done with it?

He’d figured out some of it earlier, when they’d gotten the twenty-two innocent people out of there. Reese had muttered about finding “the rest of them.” Which implied they knew how many victims there would be, but when Gray had asked, Reese had become tight-lipped.

Darius cleared his throat and coughed a little. “I could go for a smoke.”

“No, you can’t. Don’t say silly things.” Gray combed his fingers through Darius’s hair.

Darius’s forehead creased. “Haven’t I suffered enough?”