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A man appears on the stage, “We’ll get started in a few minutes. One of our women is having a medical emergency so we’re attending to that.”
Mia comes in and brings me a whiskey.
When she sees my face, she puts the glass on the desk in front of me, “What happened?”
I shake my head, “I don’t know. One of the women is having a medical emergency.”
While I’m thinking about it, I don’t voice my concerns that it’s Jade. I know Mia already knows that’s my concern.
She pulls up a chair beside me and sits down. Mia lays her head against my arm, “She’s going to be okay, Hunter. I can’t wait to get to know her better.”
I snort, “If I ever let her out of the fucking house again.”
“You need to teach her self-defense or let me teach her. Every woman should know how to fend off an attacker. I know that wouldn’t have prevented what her father did. But think about it.”
I know Mia is right. Jade will need to learn how to defend herself. As much as I plan to not let her out of my sight for the foreseeable future, eventually, I’ll have no choice. If she’s ever going to be alone with our child, I need her to be able to protect him or her. If the baby is still alive. I keep coming back to that. I’ve known about the baby for twenty-four hours, and already losing the him or her is a devastating thought.
The man comes back on the stage, “Let’s get started. We have one less woman up for auction tonight. Our medical emergency didn’t make it.”
Mia takes my hand, “It’s not her. It’s not her.”
I’m holding my breath more than I’m not. I watch woman after woman get auctioned off. No Jade. The more women sold, the more convinced I am that she’s dead.
In one day, I’ve lost everything.
Trevor is walking, the camera shakes, and he stands in front of a bathroom mirror, “I’m sorry man. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“She’s not there. She’s dead and she took my baby with her.”
Mia kneels in front of me, “I’m so sorry, Hunter.”
Then she starts screaming for Max. He comes in, and she looks up at him, “She died.”
“Fuck! What the hell happened?”
I can’t speak. I can’t even fucking breathe.
“There was a medical emergency. Then they said that person died so there’d be one less woman being auctioned. She never made it onto the stage. Trevor went to the bathroom and said he was sorry. The camera went black.”
Silently, I rise out of the chair and walk to the living room. At this moment, I’m relieved for the full bar but not for the reasons you might expect. I start picking up bottles and smashing them against the wall. I do not fucking care about the damage. If I cut myself, I don’t fucking care about that, either. My heart is ripping out of my chest. I lost her once for a goddamn decade. I lived an empty existence. I can’t do it. After I smash the third bottle, Max, Mia, and Dr. Ellie come out.
Max says, “Hunter stop!”
I don’t stop. I can’t stop.
When I throw the full bottle of tequila at the wall, Max comes up behind me and puts his arms around me and pulls me away from the broken glass.
I fall to the floor, with tears on my face, “I can’t do this again. They’re gone. Put a bullet in my brain, Max. Don’t make me live without them.”
Someone starts kicking the outside of the door and I hear Trevor yell, “Open the damn door.”
Mia appears relieved and opens the door, while I sit here feeling like I’m dying. Trevor stands there with Jade in his arms. Max lets me go and I jump up and go to her and take her in my arms.
“She’s alive,” Max says.
Trevor shakes his head, “They had a VIP auction. I had to pay more to get into it. They thought I was sketchy, so I had to take my shirt off to prove I wasn’t wearing a wire.”
Immediately, I take Jade into the room the doctor set up for her. When I lay her down on the bed she cries, “Please don’t leave me.”
