With Ties That Bind: Book 2 (The Broken Bonds 5)

As predicted.

I stub my cigarette out in the ashtray and check the time. “Have they all arrived?”

Donovan flips on the tablet and confirms. “Twenty-six chips activated. It’s a full house.”

“I shouldn’t keep my guests waiting, then.”

Sure, I lost a large amount of revenue and a quarter of my merchandise. But some losses are expected when aiming toward long-term growth in an industry. I also vanquished a number of enemies and will soon acquire a new asset.

Doctor Avery Johnson doesn’t know it yet—but she’s a very valuable asset.

We do not halt progress; we embrace it. We keep moving forward in evolution to produce a bigger, better, superior product. Her talents shouldn’t be squandered on the dead. Such a gift should be shared with the living.

Avery needs to be shown just how important she is to me.

Soon.

Very soon.

I stand at the curtain and don my mask. I step through to the stage. Larkin assumed too much; did he believe I’d ever let a narcissistic lawyer run my show?

I snap my fingers, and Donovan brings out the first of the merchandise. She’s lovely. Her hair brushed to a high sheen, accentuating her natural color. Her skin polished to a rosy porcelain. No trashy

bag over her head; she steps onto the stage adorned in elegant, jeweled lingerie, and draped in a sheer, flowing wrap.

She’s a genie freed from her bottle. And her new Master will pay a fortune to capture her.

“Sirs, allow me to demonstrate the real reason you’re here today.” I lift my chin. “Can I have a volunteer?”

I have Donovan escort one of the eager men from the front row onstage. “Excellent.” I prep the syringe, and the man flinches. “Don’t worry. This isn’t for you.”

My lovely creature has been tested twice. She doesn’t even fight when I place the needle to her arm. No, I rather think she enjoys it. The drug strips her of all inhibition, leaving behind the raw truth of her. The whore in her purest form.

As soon as the Trifecta hits her system, she comes to life, an animated doll. I’ve given her a larger dose this time so she’ll wow our investors. And she does. She climbs the man on stage, pawing at his suit and tearing at her lingerie.

A wave of silent awe hushes the crowd as they watch, enraptured, as she pleads for gratification. She whines and grinds against the man until he’s forced to throw her over the table and fuck her.

I wait patiently for him to get his fill. When he does, zipping up his pants, she kneels before him and begs to suck his cock. “I’ll take her,” he says, and a light peal of laughter erupts around the room. “One million.”

I smile. “Do I have any other bids?”

Hands slap down on the chair buttons, an angelic chorus to my ears.

It was an insult to think I would ever allow my girls and my Trifecta to go for anything less than a million. That should’ve tipped them all off that the auction was a farce. Those bottom feeders could never afford the luxury I’m offering the world.

But what do any of them know of luxury? Of dreams?

Before you can achieve your goals, you must first be daring enough to dream them.

That is the legacy of my empire.

And no one, no one stands in my way.