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“W-what?” she stuttered, shaking her head. “That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it? She said she couldn’t get past the goons guarding the door. Did they even tell you she’d come?”
She frowned. Was he telling her the truth? Had Emily come to Nico’s and been stopped at the door? Why wouldn’t they have let her in? Why wouldn’t they have even told her Emily had visited? None of this made sense. “She told you that?”
“Yeah, and their concern was for good reason. Your fiancé, Mr. Perfect? Everything he told you was a ruse. He’s not planning to marry you. He’s planning to sell you to the highest bidder in a virgin auction.”
Asia laughed out loud. “That’s ridiculous. Sorry to disappoint you, and that you and your team have gone to so much trouble, but I wasn’t being held there against my will. Now, I can’t say the same for here.”
“Asia—”
She pushed to her feet and stared him down. “Do you hear yourself? That’s insane. Nico has been nothing but good to me.” She held up her hand, showing him the engagement ring Nico had given her. “Do you see that? It means he asked me to marry him. He loves me.”
Dusty whistled. “That’s quite a rock. I bet it’s fake. Just like the ones he’s given all the other women who’ve fallen for his con. He’s probably got a drawer full of them, Asia.”
“What other women? You’re talking nonsense.”
“He’s been pulling this bullshit for a long time. He finds women and woos them, gaining their trust, then they’re auctioned off to the highest bidder.”
“Stop. I don’t want to hear your lies. Nico is a good man, and he loves me.” She limped to the French doors that led to the balcony and stared out at the water, her arms folded. She wouldn’t believe it. “I’m not sure why you’re doing this, but you can assure Carter and Emily I’m fine. I’m a grown woman who can make up her own mind and run her own life. I won’t go back to be a prisoner of my parents in their repressive home. I won’t. This is my chance to be happy. Why are you ruining it for me? Wasn’t breaking my heart enough for you? Do you have to make sure I have no chance with Nico either?”
Dusty strode toward her, dragging his hand through his hair. “Goddamn it, Asia. I’m not trying to hurt you. And I wasn’t trying to hurt you when I left that day. I was doing what I thought was right. That’s what I’m trying to do now. I’m trying to save you from that vile piece of human garbage.” He pointed out toward the sea. “How do you think he pays for all the estates, the penthouses, the yachts, the private jets?”
All Asia’s rage exploded inside her, and she slammed both hands on his chest, shoving him back a step. “No, it’s not true. I won’t believe it. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She stalked away from him, limping across the room, but there wasn’t far she could go.
“Asia, I was at one of those auctions.”
She whirled at his words. “What?”
“I went in undercover with the help of the FBI. I sat there and watched four young women stripped and auctioned off like cattle. Oh, your boy prettied it up. You should see the setup he’s got. Twelve-year-old scotch, the finest cigars, velvet chairs, private rooms. But you can’t make white slavery pretty. It is what it is. He profits off selling girls, girls who have no idea what’s coming.”
The blood drained from her face, but Dusty wouldn’t let up.
“They were taken from an estate in the Bahamas and flown away, one to an Arab Sheik, one to a Russian Oligarch, all to wealthy, sick men who stole them away in the night. I was there to bid on you, to get you out of there. You were supposed to be the last girl offered. You were in the damn brochure they handed out. There were several photos of you, in a red bikini, in a white dress, a closeup of your face, even a list of your attributes and measurements. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing on the pages. But at the last minute, they replaced you with another girl.” He gestured to her foot. “I’m guessing damaged goods don’t bring top dollar. If you couldn’t walk, they’d have to wait until you healed. I think that’s why he flew you down here. Stashing you away until he could get you in the next auction.”
“The next?”
“He does one every month.”
“Every month? And these girls all believe he’s marrying them?” A sick feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. “Do you know how ridiculous that all sounds?”
“I do. Doesn’t mean it’s not true. I saw it, Asia, with my own eyes.”
“Enough,” she snapped, not wanting to hear any of this, but he kept at her.
“Why do you think this guy wouldn’t have sex with you? He needed you to be a virgin.”
She laughed in his face. “You have to be kidding me. You literally wouldn’t have sex with me because of the whole marriage thing, either. Are you in a secret virgin auctioning ring, too?”
Dusty ran his hand through his hair, frustration radiating off him. “Why are you being so damn stubborn? Come on, Asia, you’re not this naïve. You have to start stringing some pieces together.”
“Naïve?Naïve?” Her voice hit decibels she didn’t know she was capable of. “The only naïve thing I did was think you could love me. What a fool I turned out to be? Well, now I have a good man who treats me well, and you’re trying to destroy it.”
He sighed. “Think it through, Asia. The red flags are all in front of you. Why wouldn’t you call your friend? Your brother?”
“I did. I mean, I tried.” She looked at him with an expression intended to let him see how insulting that was.
