Page 6 of Bought

The other bidders eventually fell away until it was only the older couple and one other man, and I waited until Andre had nearly called it before I raised a finger, indicating my bid.

The others, liking the competition, began bidding again, but by that stage, I was losing patience. Thoughts of Isabel were encroaching again and even though I knew she was in good hands with Caleb, I needed more of a distraction.

I needed to win the bid on the girl, deal with the formalities, and then leave for my club. Perhaps a couple of hours in the playroom there would be exactly what I needed.

“Five hundred thousand,” I said flatly, overtopping the other bids by at least a couple hundred grand.

There was a shocked silence.

“Finish this, Andre,” I added, just in case I wasn’t clear.

He smiled. “Well, indeed. Going, going, gone. Our lovely Red Riding Hood’s virginity is now sold to Mr. Tennyson Fox.”

I could feel Atlas’s stare and that of the rest of the crowd, could hear the low murmurs of congratulation.

I ignored them, pushing myself out of the armchair.

I’d played my part, I’d rescued the girl, and there’d be formalities to deal with, but once they were done, I could get out of here.

And lose myself in other, better, ways.

3

Zara

I sat in the darkness of the alcove, my heart beating far too fast.

As they’d promised, he’d come through. He’d bought me, but God…. he’d paid five hundred thousand. Five hundred thousand.

I swallowed, my mouth dry, trying to summon up my usual cynicism for what rich men chose to spend their money on, but I couldn’t quite manage it.

The Hamiltons’ contact had promised me that I’d keep all the winning bid, that it would be mine — in addition to a bonus — as long as I fulfilled the terms of the contract they’d made me sign. As long as I found the evidence they wanted.

Except right now my brain couldn’t focus on things like evidence. It was fixated on the money and how I could get out of Manhattan now, get out of the country entirely. Go to wherever I wanted…

There had been a travel magazine I’d had as a kid, with pictures of far-off places, and when my deadbeat dad got home from work, drunk and pissed as he always was, breaking glasses against the walls and shattering plates, I’d stay in my room, listening to music on my headphones and leafing through that magazine. Imagining myself going to some of those places. Imagining myself living there. I’d particularly loved a picture of Santorini, all white roofs, bright sun, and blue, blue water. A paradise compared to home, the tiny, dark apartment Dad and I lived in, with the shitty wallpaper and the central heating that never worked. The view of the gray wall of another building. The ever-present threat of Dad’s violence.

I’d never forgotten that picture and as soon as I was able, I’d put a couple of dollars every week into my travel fund. It wasn’t much at first, not until I’d started working for Donny, and then I’d managed to amass a good amount of cash.

Cash that Donny had stolen when he’d evicted me from the apartment, yet denied he’d stolen. Yet another reason why this job was so important to me. I had no way of recouping that loss without working my ass off for another five years, but now I’d just earned five hundred thousand dollars straight up. Once the money was in my account, I was going to get myself a first-class ticket to Santorini and expense be damned.

Don’t get ahead of yourself. You won’t get a red cent if you don’t do what you promised.

Of course. My Hamilton contact had been quite clear. I had to find evidence of a murder Fox had committed, a murder no one else knew about.

Sir George Wyndham, the old man who’d adopted him, had supposedly died of natural causes, but the Hamiltons had gotten a tip-off that Fox had murdered him and taken his money instead.

I didn’t care whether Fox was a murderer or not, though it seemed like the kind of thing a man like him would do. What all men like him did. Taking advantage where they could to get ahead. And maybe I wasn’t different — after all, I wanted money. Then again, I’d never hurt anyone to get it.

All I had to do tonight was make sure Fox took me back to his home and hopefully at some point, I could search his house and see what I could find.

What if he wants what he paid for?

An inexplicable shiver worked its way down my spine as Andre came to help me out of my seat.

Standing on that dais and letting fall my cloak had been easy. Showing the crowd my naked body had been easy. Acting shy and innocent, drawing them in, letting them see what they wanted to see, that too, had been easy.

But I’d made a mistake. I hadn’t meant to look at him, a part of me suspecting those icy blue eyes would see right through me, yet I hadn’t been able to stop myself.