Chapter 12

TWELVE

Round tables are pushed to the outer walls, just below the windows, and the dining hall's center transforms into an auction house. A middle-aged man with slicked-back hair that I’ve never seen before stands behind a podium at the front of the group. Every businessman sits with a numbered paddle, including Dark. Balancing a tray of drinks on one hand, I pause in front of each of the guests for them to claim their beverage of choice. Jasmin and Dee are nowhere to be found as Darmond’s goons post in front of the exits, as if they’re afraid the poor women they’re about to sell will try to run. Something in my gut tells me that’s happened before.

“Thanks, Hannah,” Dark whispers as he grabs his beer and shoots me the sexiest, panty-melting smile that would have any other woman’s ovaries ovulating double-time. Returning his sentiment with a far more subdued grin of my own, I move on to Elden, my admirer. The man is practically salivating as I lower the tray to eye level for him to nab his beer. He reaches around and caresses my ass. Feigning shyness, I giggle as if he’s being a naughty, naughty man, and I like it, when I’d rather stab him in the neck with a fork.

“Thank you. Don’t be a stranger, now.” Elden removes his expensive import from the tray, and I wink at him before I move on to the last two men, who are less interested in me and far more intrigued with the young, naked redhead being escorted to the center of the room.

With a meaty hand wrapped around her upper arm, Darmond’s buff goon orders the woman to firmly “Stay” before leaving the poor thing as eye candy for the entire group of perverts. The redhead couldn’t be any older than nineteen, possibly not even legal. Not that they care. As I return to the bar, I remain neutral to her presence, and the auctioneer gives an overview of what they’re buying, as if she’s not a living, breathing human but a product.

Disgusting.

“Nina, age eighteen. She has been training with us for three years now. Nina is proficient in oral sex, cleaning, and cooking. She rarely acts out of turn and is most happy when her pussy is serviced.”

Swallowing down the bile rising in my throat, I remain poker-faced as I clench both fists down at my sides. These assholes are getting hard over this girl while all I want to do is throw a blanket over her shoulders, feed her cake, and tell her everything is gonna be okay. After I’m done here, she will be. But the shit she’s already gone through… I can’t imagine. Each time I meet a new one of my sisters, it never ceases to amaze me the horrors they’ve endured, and this poor girl has handled more than most. This is why I came today. She is why I’m here, as is the blonde with the small breasts who comes after her and the Indigenous woman with silky black hair that kisses the top of her ass. As each woman is purchased, she’s immediately claimed by her owner and placed either in his lap or on a satin pillow next to his feet as he awaits the next female to be auctioned.

Dark raises his paddle now and again but always bows out a few bids shy of winning. Mr. Cassiano watches the men from the comfort of his chair, sipping a glass of red, like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

It isn’t until a porcelain-skinned woman with the blondest hair and biggest, bright blue eyes I’ve ever seen enters that I sense a shift in the room. The wolves are ready to pounce as Darmond’s goon deposits her in the center of the auction space, and the auctioneer orders her to make a slow turn. Arms down at her sides, the woman does as she’s told, and her large, perfectly shaped breasts bounce with the movement. She’s stunning. What’s worse, the men know it, as those without a new companion sit forward in their seats, ready to drop fat stacks of cash to take her home.

Even Dark mimics their excitement when he removes his suit jacket and casually drapes it over the back of his chair. Perching on the edge of his seat, he rubs his palms together like he’s ready to win this one. The gray-haired guy beside him, the one he was chatting with at the bar earlier, who’s currently playing nipple touchy with his new purchase, leans over to pat Dark on the shoulder in encouragement.

“This is Ellie, age nineteen.” The auctioneer winks, and I know for certain, along with the rest of the assholes, that she’s underage. “Ellie has been training with us for six years.”

I squeeze my eyes shut at that knowledge as a pained breath stutters out of me. Holy fuck. That is young.

The man continues, “Ellie speaks three languages, is brilliant at math, excels at oral sex, loves to cook and clean, and is a beautiful dancer. She prefers to spend most of her time indoors but enjoys swimming. She loves double penetration and is happy to be shared.”

Alright.

I don’t think I can do this anymore.

This is too fucking much.

She doesn’t love double… ick, I can’t even say the words. They’ve groomed her and turned her into this man-pleasing vessel when she’s a person with likes and dislikes, hopes and dreams, not a fucking product.

Needing a stiff drink to get through the rest of the day, I pour three fingers deep of the strongest, most expensive whiskey I can find in the bottle display and guzzle it down with my back to the auction. My throat burns like battery acid, and I wince as the potent heat pools in my belly.

One more day. Only one more day.

I can do this.

The bids rise for Ellie faster than any of the women before.

“One hundred and fifty thousand. Do I hear two hundred thousand?” the auctioneer calls.

As I turn to face the music again, Ellie stares at her toes, and the men go wild as I wait with bated breath to see who wins.

A nerdy businessman violently stands from his chair. It flies back a few feet before it topples over. “Five hundred thousand dollars.” He thrusts his paddle in the air as the bulge in his pants shows exactly what he wants from this young woman.

Dark stands, too, and sneers at his rival. “One million,” he growls, flashing his number— 323 .

A ripple of unease works its way through me at how convincing my ex is to win. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was just as into this as the rest of the group.

The auctioneer smiles like a villain in a horror movie. “Do I hear two?”

The number grows and grows. One man drops out, then the next. By six million, we’re down to three players—Dark, a younger businessman with a crooked nose, and a guy with chunky glasses and a beer belly.

“Do I hear seven million?” the auctioneer calls.

Emitting a loud, unhappy sigh, crooked nose man retakes his chair, where he slumps as if he lost the magical key to the sex traffickers’ World of Wonder.

A cruel smirk claims Dark’s lips as he nods in appreciation at the guy for bowing out.

It becomes a battle of wills. By ten million, I grow more uncomfortable and tap my foot on the rubber mat behind the bar as my ex continues to bid with a wicked cockiness only Dark can muster. This wasn’t what we discussed. Is he going off-script because of her beauty, or is this part of the script I wasn’t informed of? Where does this leave me if he wins?

By fifteen million, glasses man concedes. “Too rich for my blood,” he announces, and I watch in horror as my ex saunters to the center of the room, kisses the girl on the cheek, secures her by the elbow, and steers her from the makeshift auction space directly over to Darmond, who’s still seated.

“For you,” Dark offers, pushing the blonde forward.

My boss’s eyes widen to the size of the moon as the girl smoothly drops to her knees at his feet. “Max,” he gasps in genuine surprise, shaking his head at Dark’s generosity.

“Consider this a gift,” my ex explains. Not her, a gift. This. An object. A thing.

Darmond scoots forward in his chair and cups the beautiful blonde’s cheek as she kneels on the floor between his parted legs. Ellie leans into his touch as if it’s second nature. All the men watching fall madly in love with her submission while I’m trying not to throw up at how genuine she looks in accepting his affection. Ellie’s lashes flutter before her eyes drop to a soft close as the smallest of smiles warms her porcelain face. She acts as if she’s home, and that’s when I realize most of these girls believe these men are their saviors. That they are on their way up in the world. This is what they trained for—to be bought.

Not questioning Maxim Drake’s motives because, apparently, Darmond knows something I don’t, my boss covets his new prize by ordering his goons to escort Jasmin and Dee back into the room. Opening the fly of his pants, my boss pulls out his hardening cock and snaps his fingers at my coworkers. “Clothes. Off.”

Not missing a beat, the auctioneer carries on with the next commodity as Dark reclaims his seat, fifteen million dollars lighter. I can’t believe he did that. Remind me to ask him why when I get a chance. There must be a reason other than blondes being Darmond’s preference.

Having been our boss’s sexual outlet for the past month, Jasmin removes her clothes without protest as Dee looks to me for help. Knowing I’m of no use to her right now, I shrug and busy myself with another round of drinks for the men.

“You. Eat her pussy, and you, suck my dick,” I overhear as I lift my tray laden with drinks. With a sensual sway of my hips, I round the bar to reenter the auction ring.

“Your wine, sir.” I carefully pluck the glass from the group. One wrong move, and I’ll have a floor covered in broken glass and alcohol. Good thing this isn’t the first time I’ve served drinks to a group of men.

The businessman accepts his merlot with a pleasant smile as he pets the hair of the Indigenous woman curled naked at his feet.

“May I get anything for your companion?” I offer, not wanting to cross any lines.

“No, thank you. That will be all for now.” The man cuffs his hand around the back of his purchase’s neck as I float about the room, delivering each man’s preferred beverage and asking if his companion would like anything. All of them decline the offer.

Passing over the foursome as they’re in the throes of debauchery, I quickly deliver Dark’s drink and move on to Elden, who stands as I approach, takes my tray, deposits it on a table a few steps behind his chair, and retakes his seat, where he pats his lap. “Sit,” he orders.

Wringing my fingers in front of me, I chew the inside of my cheek, worried this is the worst idea yet. Elden hasn’t purchased a woman. Elden was waiting for me to return. With sexual tension thick in the air and the tight state of his pants, that’s all I need to know about his intentions. But I have to sit, even though I don’t want to, because nobody here will come to my rescue. Not even Dark, or he risks blowing his cover.

Smiling as if I’m pleased as punch to be picked, I lower myself onto Elden’s knee, and the man moans, actually moans, as my ass settles on the firmness of his muscled thigh. Like a creeper, he presses his nose to the side of my throat, and I giggle cutely as if I love him sniffing me.

Kill me now.

“You’re gorgeous.” He licks a stripe up my neck to the shell of my ear, where he nibbles there, and I gasp, not from pleasure but discomfort. Though, I do my best to act like I’m interested when I rest my hand on his other thigh and quell the urge to sock him in the dick.

“Fuck,” he groans, removing my hand from his leg to place it over his erection. “I’m gonna have fun with you tonight.”

Like hell, he will.

I say nothing as he manually uses me to rub his cock over his pants.

Another woman is sold as I fall into myself, disassociating from what I’m doing in favor of peace. I play Hannah, the submissive employee, and make sexy little noises when he gropes my breast and continues to stroke his member with my hand. It’s average as wetness blooms through the fabric, coating my palm with precum.

“I can’t wait to fuck you,” Elden moans at my throat, on the cusp of making a sticky mess in his slacks.

Someone roughly clears their throat, and I glance over my shoulder, expecting to see a pissed-off Dark about to cause a scene. Instead, I find my boss standing beside our chair, and he looks like he’s about to commit murder.

“Hannah, you may go.” Darmond dismisses me with the swish of his hand, and I do just that. Head hanging low as if I’ve been scolded, I retrieve my discarded tray and scurry to my place behind the bar, secretly grateful for the interference.

I wash my hands in the sink and scrub them until they almost bleed as Darmond puts Elden in his place. “Did you buy her?” he seethes.

Elden says nothing.

“I didn’t think so. Hannah is under my employ. She does what I tell her to do. She acts in my best interest. Did we broker a deal?”

Still, Elden remains quiet.

“No. Of course, we haven’t.” My boss snaps his fingers. “Fred, take thirty million from Elden’s safe,” he orders the auctioneer.

Without speaking, the man behind the podium scribbles something on a ledger and puts on a spectacle when he slams a stamp down on whatever he’s written. “Done.” The auctioneer’s voice booms through the room.

Elden’s mouth gapes from his seat. “That’s bullshit—thirty million.” His voice cracks.

“You know the rules. You brought the money. You signed the agreement. You were invited to my private event and treated my employee like she was yours. Hannah is not yours. But…” Darmond pauses for effect and taps a ringed finger to the center of his lips. “I suppose, for your donation to our special charity, I cannot, in good faith, leave you without something in return.” Once more, my boss snaps his fingers. “Dee. Come,” he commands like she’s a dog.

Still naked, Dee rises from her spot on the floor next to Mr. Cassiano’s chair and approaches the men. My boss points to Elden’s lap. “He’s now your master.”

Surprised by the news, Dee squawks in outrage, and I flinch prematurely, knowing exactly what’s going to happen. Quick as a snake strike, Darmond backhands her across the face, and the entire room reverberates with the violence. My teeth clench as I watch her absorb the hit, head flinging to the side, as water wells in her eyes and her skin turns crimson, already starting to swell.

“Keep your bitch in order,” he snaps at Elden. “By any means necessary.” Then the powerful man turns to stalk off and immediately connects eyes with me behind the bar. His nostrils flare in annoyance as his gaze swings from me to the doorway, where we both look to find a red-faced Romeo.

Darmond says nothing as he glares at his chef. The tension ratchets up a handful of notches before my boss’s dark gaze shifts back to me, narrows, and a cunning smile pulls at the corners of his lips.

My breath falters as fear seizes in my chest. This cannot be good.

Blinking once to break his intense stare, my boss sweeps his gaze across the room of men. By some miracle handed down by Mother Earth, he stops on Dark. “You.” He lifts his chin at my ex-husband. “What was mine is now yours. You can thank Elden for buying the gift for you.” He turns to face the auctioneer. “Make it happen.”

More writing and stamping follows. Then the deal is done. I’m sold.

Dark doesn’t seem the least bit fazed as he inclines his head in appreciation at Elden and my boss. “She’s no Ellie, but thanks for the gift.”

Pleased with the ass-kissing compliment, my boss looks at the blonde sitting pretty at the base of his chair beside Jasmin. “Enjoy her,” he comments to Dark as he retakes his seat. With a sweep of his hand, Darmond gestures to the auctioneer to get on with it, and they do, picking right back up where they left off.

Romeo approaches me behind the bar as I rinse more empties in the sink, not sure if I’m supposed to keep working or sit by Dark. “Hannah, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” I smile tightly and set a wine glass on the rack to dry.

“Mr. Drake is a cruel man,” Romeo announces, more to himself than me.

Dark would be the man to build his empire on the facade of brutality. His dark hair, gray eyes, muscular build, and tattoos make him the perfect fit for that narrative. It’s smart. Damn smart. The weaker men will fear him, and the stronger men want to be him. Dark is nothing if not brilliant. Trust me, I didn’t fall in love with him all those years ago just because of his looks. It’s what’s inside that made me fall hard. It’s a shame all those years were a waste. Well, not a waste. We got two amazing sons out of it, and now we have Lily, and I can’t imagine a life without her in it.

I hum in response to Romeo’s comment.

He moves in closer. “Hannah.”

“It’s fine.” I jerk away when he brushes the back of my arm.

“It’s not. You should know what you’re walking into.”

Frowning, I glance at him over my shoulder. “Will it change anything?”

“No.”

“Then I don’t want to know.” Because it won’t matter anyhow. The man they know is not the man I know.

“Hannah.” The chef touches my shoulder. This time, I don’t pull away.

“Let it go, Romeo. It’s done.”

A string of Spanish expletives trails the chef back into the kitchen as he leaves me to deal with my fate.

I’m now the property of Maxim Drake and shit’s about to get realer than real.

Dark is my owner.

I’m never gonna live this down.