Chapter 60
CHAPTER 60
NORTH CAROLINA
B ryson was furious, kneeling at Elena’s feet. With prying eyes everywhere, he followed her dutifully until finally she brought him to a secluded corner.
“What the hell, El, Sota was supposed to come, not you,” he said through gritted teeth. “What if someone recognizes you?”
Horror crashed into him. “What if Dad came?”
She sipped her drink casually, and when she spoke, her lips barely moved.
“I’m Kate today, and I was fourteen when I left. No one is going to recognize me. Especially with my new haircut.”
She fanned her hair, punctuating the point. Bryson watched her. Her eyes surveying the crowd like a hunter. He also noticed the garter above her knee, where he was sure she kept a knife or a small gun.
“Did my little surveillance escapade help?” she asked, eyes still on the crowd.
“Very much,” he said.
She seemed lost for a moment, tallying the guests.
Bryson suddenly realized who she was looking for. Why she was here .
“They aren’t here,” he said.
She sipped again. “I know.”
“Maybe next time I get sold into bondage, you can use it as a cover to kill some people,” Bryson said bitterly.
He was angry she would risk her safety. He and Kaydon had gone to great lengths to get her out of the family. It also hurt him that his sister didn’t trust that he would take care of things while she was away. Of course he and Kaydon had ended every fucker in that room with her.
It had taken a little time, but they had gotten it done.
“You need to leave,” he said, noticing one of his father’s men in the crowd.
She put on a fake pout. “But I’m having so much fun.”
“You are not supposed to be here,” Bryson ground out.
“Well, I’m here now. It will look weird if I leave. Especially after winning you. The evening’s biggest prize. Do you know how much your opening bid is?”
Bryson shuddered. He didn’t want to know.
Elena bent down, pretending to fix her shoe. At eye level, she assessed him.
“You don’t want me to bid on you?”
Bryson sighed. “It’s a long story, but we are going to Mexico.”
Her eyes found his. She had a ferocity to her. A fierceness that wasn’t there when he last saw her.
“Over my dead body. One call to Sota, and I’ll be the highest bidder, Bryce, I guarantee it.”
Bryson went cold at her statement. What power his sister had found. When he saw her last, she was a small girl, still reeling from the things that she never should have had to endure.
She frowned. “Don’t look at me like that. I can take care of myself. It’s you who needs help right now. ”
No matter how grown up she looked, Bryson couldn’t see her as anything other than his baby sister.
He growled, “That is what I am trying to tell you. We already picked our buyer. It will be safer for us, safer for you. It’s a good home. Win-win.”
She narrowed her eyes, no doubt wondering what he wasn’t telling her. But he was more practiced than her, and his face gave nothing away. There was no way in hell he was going to drag Adria into this.
“That’s what you want?” she asked, and he nodded. “Where is this place?”
He shook his head. “I don’t need you keeping track of me.”
She stood, pulling his leash.
Hard.
“Tell me or no deal, I’ll call Sota and bid you up.”
He ground his teeth together. It wouldn’t matter who was the highest bidder. It was a silent auction. Elena thought like everyone else; they assumed Adria would go for the highest bidder. But still, he reasoned, it would be better if she didn’t make a name for herself.
“I don’t know where,” he said.
“Then how do you know it’s safe?”
“We just do.”
She mulled that over for a moment. “Why do they want you?”
He shrugged. “We have a reputation.”
“As what?”
Loretta’s understudy Frances moved in on them, Dianne in toe.
“And how are we enjoying our time?” she asked.
Bryson had never met the women, but Eric had painstakingly shown them pictures of key people. One of which was the person he was supposed to be leashed to right now .
He felt uncomfortable as Elena made a show of looking him up and down.
She answered, “I find him average at best. A little too skinny for my buyer’s taste.”
Bryson tasted blood as he bit his tongue.
“I am sorry to hear that. Perhaps you would like to exchange prizes with Dianne. She has the larger of the three. Maybe he is more your buyer’s taste?”
Frances had a salesperson smile plastered on her dumb face. Dianne looked confused and lost, Kaydon, at her feet, looked miserable. The five of them were quite a group. Seth, in the distance, appeared more at home.
Before Bryson met Seth, he thought most submissives were weak. But in fact, Seth was one of the strongest people he knew. His total submission was a gift to anyone who received it, but cross him or someone he cared about and God help them.
He or Kaydon would probably just kill the person. Seth, on the other hand, would concoct a revenge plot that would send your soul to hell along with everyone you loved. He was dangerous. But looking at him now, you would have never guessed it. With his blond locks, graceful movements, and fuck-me lips, Seth seemed almost harmless. Bryson always marveled at his ability to adapt.
Taking in the room, Bryson saw Adria. She wore a tight black bodysuit; the back side rode up just enough to reveal her full ass. Perhaps purposely she had worn his favorite thigh-high boots, leaving him hoping that she would drag him away into some dark corner. Which, he was unhappily sure she wouldn’t.
Bryson could still feel her breath on his. Could feel the tremble in her body as he leaned in and kissed her cheek. He wanted to kiss her mouth, but the air was so thick with tension, he knew if he had taken that step, they wouldn’t have left that room in time .
When Adria found his gaze, Bryson looked away. He had gone against their previously agreed-upon plan. She would wonder why. He would need to talk to her before the bidding ended. But for now, Elena was his priority. Bryson needed to convince her to leave. To go home before the dinner started. The longer she stayed, the more opportunities there were for his father’s men to recognize her.
Looking up, he watched Elena shake Dianne’s hand with a commanding presence.
As Dianne, Elena and Francis spoke above them, he inched closer to Kaydon.
“I tried to tell you,” Kaydon mouthed.
Bryson shook his head.
Another pair of heavy footsteps shuffled into the scene. Fear gripped him, as his father’s man, Rolland, joined the group.
Rolland, who, only had eyes for Elena said, “I don’t believe we have met.”
He extended his hand to Elena. and Bryson’s apprehension intensified, his senses on high alert. This is exactly what he was nervous about. Rolland wasn’t on staff during the incident. However, that did not mean he wouldn’t see the resemblance. He could figure it out. Elena could let something slip.
“Kate,” Elena said, extending her hand.
Kaydon had a murderous look on his face, and Bryson’s attention was divided.
“Calm down,” he mouthed.
Rage and heat radiated from Kaydon at Rolland’s proximity. It was evident that he hadn’t forgotten their last encounter. Bryson couldn’t shake the memories either. Seth under Rolland’s gun would be an image he would carry with him forever, but now was not the time.
The seconds stretched into eternity as Rolland leaned in, touching Elena’s arm, his movements agonizingly slow. Bryson’s eyes darted around, desperately searching for Eric.
Rolland whispered something into Elena’s ear, and she smiled and nodded.
“Really? And why is that?”
Her voice was higher, sweeter.
“You’ll have to trust me on this one, hon,” Rolland said, sticking a toothpick into his mouth.