“$3,000,000.”
There was hushed silence across the room, and I looked back to Ethan, even though I knew it wasn’t his voice, to see if maybe someone had bid while he pretended not to care. But the look of rage in his eyes told me that was not the case. So, I turned again to see a woman dressed in a three-piece white suit, red Christian Louboutin pumps, and large black Christian Dior sunglasses over her face, holding up a paddle. Her dark hair, with a single streak of gray in the front, stopped just below her shoulders. Everyone stared like she had paused the room with a remote control. Even though they didn’t know who she was, they felt who she was.
“$5,000,000,” Ethan’s voice broke through the silence.
She titled her head and smiled. “5,500,000.”
“6,000,000.”
“6,500,000,” she said back.
Ethan rose from his chair. “7 million dollars.”
“7.5,” the woman replied, crossing one leg over the other.
“Ma’am,” Ethan said as he walked across the small aisle toward her. “My wife and I are having a little spat. And I would not like to spend so much today. Will you do me a favor a bow out?”
“No.” She replied easily.
“$50,000,000.” Ethan raised his paddle.
Ugh. Fuck, now people would be talking about us wasting so much money.
“55 million dollars,” the woman retorted, rising from her chair. “Sorry, Mr. Callahan. My husband and I’ve taken a real interest in your wife. So, unfortunately, it is you who will have to bow out.”
“My father taught me a Callahan always gets his way.” Ethan’s voice was icy.
“And here I thought a Callahan only ever got a bullet.” She smirked.
Shit, this was spiraling. I moved to the podium to speak when Ethan pulled out a gun. Which made Dino and every other guard do the same.
“You would know, wouldn’t you Mother?”
She took off her glasses to gasps in the room, but I was more concerned about the red light that wa
s shining at his temple and the other on me.
“Did you really think we’d let you both do this?” she asked.
“Ethan!” I screamed, trying to move, but it was too late.
BANG.
The sound sent a shiver down my spine.
“Ethan!”
ETHAN
“Ethan!” Calliope screamed, jolting up from bed, eyes wide and crazed, looking to the left and the right of the room before turning back to stare at me, lying in bed beside her.
“Oh, God. It was just a dream.” She exhaled with a hand over her heart. “A fucking dream.”
“Dreams are good things. Nightmares are bad things. So, was it a good thing that happened, or do you mean it was just a nightmare?” I replied.
Her head whipped back to me, glaring. And instead of using her words, she took the pillow from behind her and threw it at my face. Catching it, I put it back where it belonged beside me. She ran her hands through her hair, thinking for a long moment, taking a deep breath.
Closing the book, I put it on the nightstand. “What happened in this nightmare of yours?”