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She huffs out a laugh. “You think I’m the one being manipulated? Please. You’re the one who looks relieved to spread your legs at the end of every day.”
Her words hit me like a physical slap, and I rear back from the blow. “Excuse me?”
Maddie smiles, happy to see her words found their mark, and then shrugs. “I’d almost think you like being Luka’s slave.”
I don’t know what to say or how to defend myself. I can’t tell Maddie that Luka is my husband. It is too risky, especially since she is clearly upset with me. There is no telling who she would tell the information in order to help herself.
In the end, it doesn’t matter because Fox-Face draws closer to us and begins openly enjoying the sight of Maddie mopping the floors. I slowly slip away, dusting down the length of the buffet and then moving towards the hallway so I can have a second away from everyone’s eyes.
Before I step into the hallway, I turn and see Luka at the far end of the room. He is standing next to one of the female bidders, arms crossed over his chest, eyes on a blonde woman who is on her hands and knees in front of the fireplace.
My heart squeezes with jealousy.
I know it isn’t fair. Luka doesn’t want to be here anymore than I do. However, even the thought that he would look at another woman the way I only want him to look at me leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
Suddenly, I’m even more eager to get away from the others.
* * *
Edgar finds me soon after I step outside and instructs me to clean a nearby bathroom if I have nothing better to do with my time.
The bathroom is small—just a few paces wide in each direction—and noticeably spotless, but that is fine with me. I set to work pretending to clean the already clean room, glad for a few minutes alone. I’m so deep in thought that I don’t hear anyone walk into the room. I only look up when the door closes.
It is the man in the maroon mask.
He is smiling, his teeth glimmering in the single light above the vanity. He looks like a wolf before pouncing on his prey. I stand tall and press myself flat against the wall.
“Would you believe me if I said I was surprised to find you in here?” he asks, tilting his head to the side.
I want to speak. To say something light and breezy—anything to let him know he isn’t scaring me.
Except, he is.
My throat is suddenly so dry, and I can’t formulate any words. All I can focus on is the thrum of my heart in my chest and my desperate desire to slow it down.
He licks his bottom lip and then turns towards the toilet. I’m certain he isn’t doing what I think he is doing until he lifts the lid and unzips his pants.
I grimace and face the wall while the sound of his urine hitting the water fills the small room.
“Feel free to look,” he says over his shoulder. “Take a little peek at what lies in your future.”
A shiver rolls down my spine.
When he finishes, I finally manage a haggard breath, hoping I’ve just endured the worst of this encounter.
He moves to the sink to wash his hands, and for the first time, I notice his limp. It is slight enough that he can usually play it off, but in the enclosed space, he doesn’t have as much room to move and maneuver.
“One of these nights, the man in the dark mask is going to run out of money, and I’m going to win you,” he says. He dries his hands and crosses his arms over his chest, staring down at me. “I don’t want you to think I don’t have money. I do—plenty of it. I am just not willing to throw so much away on a woman who might not be worth it.”
My instinct is to be insulted, but then I remember that I want this man to think I’m not worth it. He has been Luka’s stiffest competition every night so far, and he apparently has plans to continue that trend.
“Though,” he says, bobbing his head back and forth. “The fact that he is willing to spend so much on you two nights in a row means the first night must have been good for him.”
He takes a step towards me, and I want to evaporate. I want to disappear into the wall and escape this moment. But there is nowhere to go.
The only way out of the room is past him, and he doesn’t seem willing to let me through right now.
“What say you?” he asks. “Did you show him a good time?”
