Page 83 of Sam's Salvation
Audra kept her gaze on the screen, watching Donny interact with another man she didn’t recognize. “Stay with him, Dean.” She scanned what she could see of the room, looking for Patrick. She didn’t see him, but she couldn’t see everything.
“You got it,” he muttered. Munching on his hors d’oeuvres, he walked around, getting into conversations with several people, but keeping his camera aimed at Donny.
She saw Simon approach and hit the intercom. “That’s Simon. Can you get close enough to hear their conversation?”
Dean excused himself from his current conversation and walked to an empty table nearby, snagging another drink from a server as he went. The last one had ended up on a table still full. They’d all pretended to sip the expensive liquor, getting new drinks on occasion to eliminate suspicion.
“Nice crowd, Simon,” Donny said.
“Thanks. We got… blood.” The audio cut out as Simon turned his head.
“I noticed. Quite a few new faces.”
“We had a good-sized crop of girls this time, thanks to you. I don’t know how you did it with Brogan breathing down your neck.”
Donny scoffed and took a sip of his drink. “Liam’s an idiot who can’t see the forest for the trees. With the cut I get from tonight’s sales, I’ll have the backing to take over. I’ve got the hits lined up on him, his bitch of a mother, and my annoying brother. I just need the cash.”
Simon slapped him on the shoulder. “I still can’t believe you want to take out your own flesh and blood.”
“He’s too far up Siobhan Brogan’s ancient ass. He’d never follow me, and that makes him a liability.” He lifted a shoulder, then raised his drink to his lips. “It’s just business.”
“That answers whether Patrick’s involved.” Audra shook her head.
Someone called Simon’s name.
“If you’ll excuse me?” Simon backed away.
“Of course. We’ll talk again later.” A smirk graced Donny’s face. “I might negotiate a slightly lower fee for one of those girls back there.”
Simon grinned. “Take your pick.”
Dean lifted his drink. “I’m going to be sick.” He took an actual swig of the alcohol, then set the glass down and got up. “Can we bring the cavalry in now?”
“Soon,” Moran said. “Money needs to change hands. Then we’ll call it.”
Dean growled softly.
“Smile,” Max said. “You look like an ogre.”
“Good. Give me a club, and I’ll beat all these sickos.” He huffed a sigh. “Sorry. I’m done now.”
“Who’s Simon talking to?” Sam asked her.
“I don’t know. No one I recognize.”
The meet and greet portion of the evening went on for another twenty minutes before Geoffrey got up in front of everyone with a microphone. Audra listened as he laid out the ground rules for the auction.
“Those of you who’ve been here before know the rules, but we have some new faces tonight, so I’ll lay them out for you. There aren’t many. My lovely ladies here are distributing numbered paddles. Raise it to bid. The women up for auction will appear on this screen.” He pointed up, and a screen dropped down from the ceiling. “All transactions will be done immediately after the close of each round of bidding, and all sales are final. None of the women will be released until the auction is finished. At that point, you may collect your merchandise. We have several rooms beyond the lounge where you may have some time alone with them, or you’re free to leave. The rooms are first come, first served.”
Audra wrinkled her nose and glanced at Agent Dorset. “We need to get people in place now, so we can get in there before any of those girls are harmed.”
Jessica nodded and reached for the phone.
Tuning her out as she circled the wagons and fed the entry team the warehouse layout, Audra paid attention to the auction, taking notes of names Geoffrey mentioned as the men bid and matching them to a paddle number. He was making their job too easy.
It took over an hour for him to go through all thirty-seven women. The moment the last buyer paid, Jessica gave the signal for the team to move in.
Audra pushed the button to communicate with all three men inside. “Get ready.”