Carson’s groan almost cancels out the blistering roar that crackles through the feed.
Quinn’s shout jars us apart as the lights blink on. I pull my dress up and secure the strap over my shoulder. Then I press my mouth against his ear. “Quinn’s going to kill you.”
Before I can move away, he holds me there. “I know. And I’m sorry, but that was the sexiest lap dance ever, and I couldn’t help myself.”
I cut my eyes at him as I slip off his lap and adjust my dress. God knows this means nothing in the grand scheme of things. I’ve had to accept circumstances I never wanted to before. One of them being that our bodies react to stimuli even when our brains protest. I know this because Wells forced my body to deceive me despite my own will.
But my sympathy for Carson’s precarious situation dissolved the moment his tongue pushed inside my mouth and his fingers stole a cheap grope. If I tell that to Quinn… Well, Carson would pretty much be a dead man walking.
Gannet situates himself as the women toddle off to clean up. A disgusted feeling assaults my stomach, but luckily my attention is diverted as Larkin’s voice sounds out loud and clear.
“And now, gentlemen, the main attraction.” The lights dim again, and one center spotlight winks on to showcase the platform. “All sales are finalized at the end of the auction. No returns, no trades. Let the bidding begin.”
A large monitor descends from the ceiling above the stage, and I stumble back against the couch. Carson helps me find my seat. My heart lurches and threatens to burst through my chest wall at the sight of a young woman appearing on the screen.
She only wears a black bra and underwear. A black bag covers her head. But I recognize the fresh mark on her upper thigh immediately. She’s been branded by the Alpha.
My breath halts. My back goes taut. The man holding her arm dons a black ski mask. He yanks the bag from her head and lifts her chin, showing her off for the men in this room. My fingers ache as they dig into the velvet.
This is why we’re here. This is why we’re sacrificing everything.
16
Bombshell
Quinn
My blood boils, my knuckles along my right hand sting with fresh scrapes. I sink my hands under the cool stream and splash my face. The bite of cold water defuses some of the heat simmering beneath my skin.
“Are you ready yet?”
I glance in the mirror. Colton stands behind me in the bathroom, arms crossed, eyes assessing. “Almost,” I grit out.
He and Jefferson wrestled me out of the conference room before I could threaten that fucking shit Carson. Seeing Avery gyrating on top of him…his hands touching her…her mouth on his… My vision flares red.
I lost my shit and took my frustration out on a wall. Larkin now has a couple holes in the drywall of his conference room. It’s fucking stupid, I know. This is the op; this is the job. And I’m a grown fucking man who knows the difference, but that doesn’t stop the seething anger from raging anew.
I slam down the tap and let the water drip from my face.
“I get it,” Colton says. “If it was Sadie in there, I’d probably have Carson’s prick on a platter before morning.” He takes a step closer. “But he was doing his job, keeping Avery safe, by any means necessary. And Avery’s suffered enough. She’s been through enough. She doesn’t need anyone else making what she had to do tonight any harder on her.”
Fucking hell. I glare at him in the mirror. I’m not hearing this from Rope Boy right now. “My patience is through.” I turn and head toward the door. “I’m not discussing my relationship with Avery with you.”
“Yeah, not now,” he says. “But maybe you should later.”
I stop. Stand at the door, fists clenched.
“Who else do you have to talk to?” he asks. “Really talk to. Who will understand what Avery’s been through, how that effects the both of you.”
I swipe my hands over my face. As much as I loathe the guy, he makes a valid point. “But this isn’t happening now.” I look over at him.
He nods. “Let’s get her out of this safely, then. So it will happen.”
With that said, we head back into the surveillance hub. Sadie is seated before the monitor, her eyes fixed on a screen within the screen. “They’ve brought out the first girl.?
?
And like that, my focus is where it needs to be. I pull up my chair beside hers. “Do we know how many girls yet?”