AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“She ran!” Edgar bellows, his face stern. “She ran through the open door and our guards did their jobs. Did I not warn you?”
I watch in horror as the guards get closer to the woman, each of them with their gun raised as though her pitiful crawling figure is a danger to them.
Then, one of the guards extends his gun arm, presses his barrel against the back of her head, and pulls the trigger.
The shot echoes through the lawn outside and into the inn, reverberating through the walls until I feel like they will come crashing down on us.
Maddie slouches against my side, momentarily forgetting our feud, and I wrap an arm around her waist to keep her standing.
She already angered the Cartel once, so I don’t want her to make another scene. Especially since we’ve just seen what happens when you piss them off.
They kill you in cold blood.
15
Luka
The bidding board is still in the lounge Sunday evening, but there is one notable difference: Number Five has been crossed out with a thin black line.
The change is slight, but it hangs like a dark cloud over the entire room. At least for me. Many of the other bidders don’t seem as bothered. Fox-Face is still chatting with the brown-skinned woman he has almost exclusively set his sights on, and the man in the maroon mask keeps making eyes at Eve, winking at her whenever she happens to look his way.
I can see in her face that she is trying not to cry. Ever since the woman was killed this morning, she has been on the verge of tears, and I want nothing more than to take her back to my room and wrap her in my arms.
There is just another night of bidding that stands in my way.
Just like the two days before, the man in the maroon mask has already bid on Eve, marking his interest in her. Tonight, he has started with three thousand dollars, following the same trend as the last two nights of increasing the bidding.
One by one, the women in red dresses are handed out to the highest bidder. Some of the women who aren’t bid on receive death glares from Edgar and then fall back in line looking terrified.
Eve told me any woman not bid on at the end of the week will be murdered. As scared as they all are, a few of them must be relieved that Number Five was killed.
Less competition.
Eve tries not to look at me as it gets closer and closer to her turn, but there is little point in trying not to show our interest in one another. I’ve bid on her the past two nights. Everyone here knows she is the woman of my choice. Still, I do my best to follow her lead and look ambivalent, at least.
When Eve steps forward, the man in the maroon mask wastes no time making his interest known. He walks through the crowd, eyes pinned on her. And for the first time, I notice his limp.
It isn’t obvious, but his right leg stutters slightly with each step.
I study him, trying to understand why this matters.
His suit today is the same shade as his mask. The jacket has a shimmer to it that catches the light with black silk lapels. The pants are a similar material, though in a darker shade.
Everything about him screamsshowman. He isn’t someone afraid of being recognized, which is why I’m surprised when I realize how long it has taken me to recognize him.
I know who the man in the maroon mask is.
His name is Joel Foli.
Known for his extravagant clothes and a limp in his right leg from a much-publicized motorcycle crash a few years before, Joel Foli is an infamous hacker. He is a hot commodity in the criminal underworld, receiving offers from every crime ring in the city, including my own family.
If anyone needs to crack security codes or steal credit card information without being caught, Joel Foli is the guy to call.
He is expensive, though, which means I have even more reason to fear him in this auction. His finances could rival or exceed mine.
My only hope is that, unlike me, Joel won’t be willing to give up everything to save Eve.
“Five thousand dollars,” Edgar calls, nodding when I raise my hand and then turning to Joel, assuming he’ll increase the bid. He does.
