Page 21 of Darkest Kiss

"Fuck," I mutter.

I tuck the kit into my jacket and pick her up properly, one arm under her knees, her head against my chest. She's warm and completely still. Underneath everything they put on her, she smells like her apartment, and that gets me right in the guts.

Brent is still talking as I walk out.

The guards step aside. Through the curtain, Leo Vitelli is introducing the next lot. I don't look at the stage. My eyes are fixed on the exit.

Outside, Hale is already at the door. Ransom falls into step beside me without a word. He looks at my expression, casts a glance at Noemi, and then wisely doesn't ask.

We get her into the car, sitting on my lap. I hold her close and try not to press my nose against her hair and inhale her while she’s passed out. Half a block out, I say, “The people running the auction? The ones managing the Gloss. I want them caught and held. Fuck it, I want everyone involved killed or captured." I look down at Noemi. She's still out. Her face in the cold air is pale and still and she looks nothing like herself. "If anything happens to her because of what they gave her, they'll wish I'd stopped there."

Ransom bobs his head. “Done.”

Hale is already on his phone.

Two blocks away I realize my hands have finally stopped shaking.

Chapter Six

Noemi

Iwake up in a darkened bedroom with a gasp. Looking around, my heart pounds. Where am I? Have I been dreaming?

But no. I can't move, not even to wiggle a toe, so it follows that I haven't been hallucinating. I'm still under the drugged spell of Gloss.

And that horrifying auction? It was all too real.

I look around, trying desperately to seek any clues. The Gloss, plus my overwhelming panic, were too much for me back at the auction. The man who bought me, a giant with white blond hair and ghostly green eyes, told me his name.

Rian.

And then my memory grows foggy.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see that the bedroom I'm in is well-appointed, expensive dark sheets, stylish wood furniture, and huge windows with drapes drawn over them. Light is pouring in from a faint crack beneath the blinds.

So it's the morning, then. Have I slept? Or is my concept of time corrupted by the drugs that my captors repeatedly injected me with?

The door opens softly and my new captor, Rian, makes an appearance. His hair looks as though his hands have plowed through it again and again, standing up on end. There are dark circles under his eyes.

This man is definitely worried about something. As a semi-professional worrier, I recognize the signs.

He has blond eyebrows, chilling green eyes, a hawkish nose, and stunningly full lips. If I'd merely seen him on the street, I'd be attracted to this Viking god of a man.

He reminds me of my follower. But that would be crazy. No one with luck like I have has a man who’s basically her stalker show up and save her when she’s been kidnapped.

So what is this man doing? Buying girls at an auction?

His eyes travel up my body, lighting up when they see me staring back at him. "You're awake."

I blink at him. If he expects some witty comeback, he's not going to get it. I can't. And even if I could, I probably wouldn't.

He's terrifying.

Rian ambles to my bedside and sits down, his hip and thigh brushing against my body. If I were able to, I would hiss. But I can't, so I look away.

"Noemi." He reaches up to my face and brushes a wisp of dark hair back, tucking it behind my ear. "I need to ask you some questions."

My eyes dart back to his face. For such a large, imposing figure, he's being quite soft with me just now.