“Can I ask you one last personal question?”
“Sure thing, darling.”
She bites on her strawberry, but starts coughing when I fire my question. “Who was your first? If your boyfriend couldn’t stand up to Camden.”
Maybe there was some town hunk who finally put the bully in his place?
Panic flashes in her eyes as she tears off a napkin and wipes her mouth, and sinking realization hits me.
No.
Oh my God!
“Was it—” Before I can ask whether it was her bully, the music stops, and people halt their dancing as a loud drumbeat reverberates through the space.
On cue, everyone’s attention shoots to the second floor, where another set of double doors opens and five men walk out, all wearing black suits that seem tailored to their muscular physiques, while golden phantom masks cover their faces.
Power.
That’s the first thing that comes to mind when looking at them as they start to descend the stairs one by one, their movements so fluid they remind me of panthers prowling through the tropical rainforests.
“The owners are here,” someone whispers from behind me as people make room for them to pass. They barely spare anyone a glance, heading into some unknown direction behind the bar, while everyone just stares.
However, my gaze connects with one of them for a brief second, and the air hitches in my throat while thousands of goose bumps pop all over my skin.
Because those blue eyes?
I’d recognize them anywhere, and no mask could hide them from me.
A long time ago, my kindergarten teacher had a favorite saying that was repeated to me so many times it might as well have been engraved in my brain.
Free cheese lies only in the mousetrap.
Levi brought me here tonight, and naive me thought he wanted to do the right thing when I should have known better.
Men like him?
They don’t forgive or forget, and the kind of resentment he harbors for Rush won’t just go away.
“Come here.” He fists my hair and drags me somewhere while my skin burns as all-consuming pain envelops me, and my head hurts so much. “Look at your reflection.” I focus on the mirror in front of me, a gasp slipping past my lips at the sight, only for my anguished scream to fill the space when he presses the knife to my face, digging into my cheek until he draws blood. “Your beauty attracts men. I shall destroy it so it only belongs to me.”
Yes, I know what it is like to be on the receiving end of a man’s rage.
The hunter brought me to his hunting ground.
And I have to play by his rules if I want to survive tonight.
Levi
Wyatt places his hand on the automatic key, and the door to our office, located behind the bar in the dark corner where no one has access but us, opens, and we enter one by one.
The meeting room has a round table, a small bar, and ten TV screens that show live footage of everything that happens insidethe club. Even though our security team surveils all videos on their own, we prefer to have easy access as well.
Several laptops and tablets, along with a change of clothes.
“Auction starts in an hour, so why don’t you tell us why you’re here?” Kane breaks the silence, going to the bar and snatching a whiskey bottle. Shaking it in the air, everyone raises their hands. “We prefer to make an impression and actually stay to watch people fret.” He grabs the tray holding five spotless glasses and puts them on the table. “Not sure when I signed up to be everyone’s server, but please, gentlemen, by all fucking means, sit.”
Von chuckles and opens the fridge, taking out the ice and dropping several cubes into each glass as we take our assigned seats, facing each other. Kane pours generous amounts of whiskey before passing out the glasses to everyone. “Are you going to answer my question?” He addresses the fifth guy, and he finally signs his reply.
