9. Dart

9

DART

I don't even know if I can fucking do this for Prez. I was barely able to hold myself back, even when Lorenzo came over. I barely registered what he said, but I knew Prez would kill me if I laid one hand on whoever this perv was who wanted to buy our Meredith.

Our Meredith . This is such a mess already, and we haven't even taken her home yet. Hell, this whole thing isn't even over. We're supposed to wait, but it really doesn't seem like a good idea. I'm already on edge here, and Grizzly's losing it. I don't think I've seen him like this in a long time.

A pang of jealousy runs through me. Grizzly gets first dibs on every woman. With a club whore, that wouldn't matter. It's not like we can't pass them around. But this is different. This is Meredith.

I've seen her looking at me several times over the past few months. I figured she just had some kind of crush on the bad boy, that kind of thing. But Grizzly—if he wants her her, he will have her, regardless of the implications.

I don't know where that leaves me. From the moment I saw her tonight, I knew I couldn't deny whatever it is between us anymore. I've been trying to stay away because of her age and her connection to Harlow. And because she's so damn sweet. Innocent. I don't want to ruin that.

But after what she's been through tonight, I don't know whether I want to claim her as mine like some kind of feral animal or if I want to hold her as she cries and never let go.

"I think the best idea is for us to see if we can get her early," Trap says. I didn't expect him to be the voice of reason here. But maybe it's best for him to do the talking right now. He's obviously higher ranking than I am, and he knows the way Grizzly would want things if he were in his right mind. Who knows, maybe Trap's not affected by Meredith the way we are. And besides, he would be the one to keep more levelheaded.

"Out of everything you've done tonight, that's probably the best fucking thing that's come out of your mouth," Grizzly says. "Now, let's get over to that table and say something before I rip everyone here to shreds."

We all walk over to the dark corner where we're supposed to get the stamp and then go wait to claim. I watch Trap sink his hand deep into his pocket and pull out a couple of hundreds. It's nothing compared to what we bid for Meredith, but maybe it's enough to motivate a little rule breaking from these assholes.

Trap walks up first, the two of us slinking behind. The claims host gestures for Trap to hand over the card. The woman scans the serial number, confirming it belongs to Grizzly. "Serial number of the girl?"

That's when it all gets to me. Rage fills me from top to bottom.

A damn number. That's what these girls are to them. How can they sit here and watch as young women are paraded around, their innocence sold to the highest bidder? Like they're slaves, or just objects? Especially knowing the type of men they go to? Meredith is lucky to be coming with us. She'll be safe, but so many of these others…well, we'd take them if we could. But we have to bide our time here.

"How dare you…"

Grizzly turns his head and lets out a kind of hissing noise at me, slicing his hand across his throat. He wants to get us all the hell out. Meredith is what's important now.

Trap speaks up with the proper number, and the woman he's been talking to marks the stamp on the card. "Do you plan on doing more bidding?" she asks.

How did a woman get involved in this, anyway? Then again, maybe she has no choice. Maybe this whole place is full of people who have no choice.

Grizzly shakes his head, his face turning beet red with anger. I notice his hand clenching hard, his muscles so tight that I'm sure he's going to leave some pretty gnarly nail marks inside his hand.

"No. In fact, we'd like to get out of here as soon as possible. Since we're a direct invite of Lorenzo Romano, I was thinking you could do us a favor here and let the girl out a little early." Trap slips the two hundreds into the woman's hand.

She looks around as if she's checking to see if she's being surveilled in any way. Security is not nearby and the two others at the table are busy with other clients.

"We don't typically do this, but for another hundred, I can help you out. You can meet her around back and I'll have my team get her prepped." Her team?

She's still leaning close to us, waiting for an answer.

"Perfect." Trap stuffs the extra cash into the woman's hand. As he steps back, I wonder if we're all equally pissed off at this. Do all three of us have some kind of feelings for this girl?

Well, that's something we can figure out later.

The woman shakes hands with Trap, sealing the deal, and we're directed to this back entrance. It actually leads from the basement right into an alley. It's a dirty, dingy place, but it'll do. No one else is around, and we can hear some of the noise coming from inside the main part of the club. Yeah, there's no way in hell they would hear the auction going on down below.

Grizzly starts kicking little pieces of dirt and trash, aiming at the empty air. Empty beer cans ping off the dumpster several feet away, yet he still has the energy to keep going. That rage could last for days.

"When Meredith gets here, the two of you better be fucking clear that she'll be on the back of my bike. She's mine tonight. We'll figure out the rest later."

Trap puts his hands up as if in surrender.

I nod and then look away. I don't want to think about being in direct competition with Grizzly right now.

Instead, I watch the door as it opens, two women shoving Meredith out to us. She has clothes on, but barely. A dress—a sparkling, purple one that barely covers anything. I'd be willing to bet that underneath she's still wearing that sweet little outfit they had her wearing on the stage. Her hair is a little more wild than before, possibly from how quickly they had to get her ready.

She looks at us like a deer in headlights as those who brought her out walk away. It takes her a moment to realize who's got her.

She walks up to me and clings to me. I take my cut off and wrap it around her. "Here, sweetheart. It's the best I've got to keep you warm."

Grizzly gives me a death glare, so I step back to get her off of me quickly.

"I knew. I had to believe it. When I saw you in the audience, I just thought…" She can't seem to finish a sentence at all. She's babbling, and I wouldn't be surprised if she goes into shock at some point.

"Let's get out of here, darlin'," Grizzly says, suddenly the poster child for calm and collected. In fact, I see the side of his mouth twitch in almost a smile. I don't think I've seen him even close to that in years.

How can I deny him something like this?

We lead her back to the bikes, hoping that nobody stops us. I don't think any of us can handle talking to a member of the Bratva right now and keep our cover. We'd probably slit their throat.

I watch her climb onto Grizzly's bike and cling to him as we reach our own bikes.

"Don't worry," I tell her. "We'll take you to the clubhouse. It'll be okay. It's just a bit of a ride."

"I don't mind," she says softly. Anything to get my mind off of…" She trails off.

I hope they haven't touched her. I hope they haven't done anything to her that's going to make them regret being alive. It's too much right now to get into a war with the Bratva before we're prepared.

"Send a message to the informant. We need more information. See if he knows how the hell she ended up here." Grizzly gives me a hard look, and before I start my bike, I do what he says.

"We're going to get to the bottom of this, Meredith," Trap says, speaking to her for the first time.

She looks around at us, clearly thinking we're the saviors of her dreams. But all I can think about is the way her hands are sliding over Grizzly's body and how he said that she belongs to him tonight.

I say nothing, and we all take off. I can tell that Grizzly's taking the long way, possibly to make her feel better.

I guess I can't blame him, because tonight I realized I'd do anything to make her feel better too.