52. Highest Bidder
Highest Bidder
SARAFINA
I was upside down as I screamed, hearing gunfire explode from somewhere in the building, sounding all too close. The guard who had me over his shoulder dropped me the second his radio crackled to life, and I cried out as I hit the unforgiving marble floor, hard .
I had to get up, had to move—this might be my only chance to get away, because the words sold to Taggart Caldwell still rang in my ears like a nightmare, and I wasn’t entirely sure this wasn’t another one of them.
The gunfire and screaming continued, but my heels refused to find purchase on the shiny marble floors spanning the wide corridor.
With trembling hands, I quickly wrenched each too-tall stiletto off, not wasting a second, to enjoy the relief as I reached for a nearby door handle.
I dragged myself upright, horrible things appearing and disappearing in front of my eyes every single time I blinked.
I rattled the door, panic clawing at me when I realized it was locked.
The dark, ominous hallway seemed to get bigger and smaller as I stared down the long row of doors, and I could hardly make myself move. This was exactly like my nightmares— I was trapped.
My eyes blew wide as one of those doors burst open, the gunfire inside growing louder as people fled, screaming, covered in splatters of blood. Whatever this place was, I had to get out. Right now.
I frantically stumbled to the next door, covering my head when more shots rang out and glass exploded somewhere nearby. Locked. Each door was spread apart by far too much distance, each of them locked.
There was nobody around me, and I screamed in surprise when someone appeared, seemingly out of thin air and grabbed me. I dizzily looked down, finding a delicate hand, adorned with sharp, red-tipped nails. “Come with me.” Her sultry voice demanded.
I gasped, “Who are you?” She was the most beautiful human I’d ever seen in my life, and she was perfectly terrifying.
“I’m the one who is going to get you out of here.” She yanked me along irreverently.
“WHERE IS SHE?” A voice bellowed, and I froze, but my heart sank, realizing I must be dreaming, probably another hallucination. Carter had no idea where I was, and he wouldn’t come for me anyway. He said he was done with me. For good.
An explosion of gunfire rang out, and then everything stopped all at once. The woman holding me quickened her pace as she all but dragged me down the hallway while I tripped over my long, tight gown, only staying upright because of her grip.
“Seven.” Someone growled. “Get back here with my merchandise.”
“Run.” She let go of me and produced two glimmering gold knives out of thin air—she cast a glance at me from over her shoulder. “Right now!”
But I froze—there he was, at the end of the hallway, Taggart Caldwell .
The room was spinning, and armed guards were closing in from all directions—there was nowhere to go, but she was already moving through the hallway like a shadow.
I blinked, realizing one guard was already keeled over, another went down a second later, and long dark hair slid over the smooth marble behind her as she slid between the next one’s legs, slashing as she went.
She headed straight for Taggart, who was backing away with wide eyes, when several shots rang out and she went down.
The sound of her scream echoed off the walls as she clutched her thigh, a pool of red leaking from her hand.
A beefy guard lumbered over, and whatever he was saying didn’t register to me as I watched him lift his gun to her face with a smile. Oh my God, he was going to kill her point-blank. Whoever she was.
Time seemed to slow, a gift, as I stumbled towards a fallen guard, pulled the gun away wide-eyed as he groaned. I slid my finger over the trigger, lifting the heavy thing into the air, just staring at it for more time than the beautiful shadow could afford, wondering, could I even do it?
Her dark eyes slid to mine, and she nodded just once, in permission, no, pleading . There was no time to think. I couldn’t let her die for me, so I pulled the trigger, and then I pulled it again.
Nothing happened .
I gasped. Where the hell was the safety?
I frantically fumbled, feeling the man’s brutal eyes slide to me as I stumbled back, but that was all the window she needed.
The woman spun, slicing the man’s Achilles, sending him to the floor with a cry before she climbed on top of him with her knife already dripping his own blood.
I looked away, nearly vomiting as wet, awful sounds filled the hallway like echoes from another one of my nightmares.
And speaking of nightmares, “Hello Sarafina.” Fingers gripped my cheeks roughly, forcing my face up to his. “Long time no see.”
“Tag.” I breathed, taking him in—he seemed so much bigger than the last time I’d seen him. Looming over me, he was incredibly intimidating, maybe not as muscular as Carter but nearly as tall, and certainly much bigger than me .
“I’ve been looking forward to today for quite some time.” His charming smile was like a Venus flytrap, hiding what he really was. “Years, actually.”
“Why are you doing this?” I pleaded. “This is insane.”
“Because I can.” Taggart hauled me away roughly, and when I looked over my shoulder, the woman he’d called Seven was already gone.
The dark marble shimmered with reflective pools of blood everywhere I looked, but she’d disappeared into thin air.
“Don’t pretend you haven’t had this coming for a long while now.
” Taggart added, sliding his arm around my waist.
I struggled to keep up with his long legs as he hauled me through a door, basically dragging me behind him.
“Get your fucking hands off her!” A man bellowed—it was Carter.
He was on his knees, hands cuffed behind his back.
“I’m going to take you apart, piece by fucking piece.
” Carter raged darkly, violently thrashing against his restraints—his voice didn’t even sound like his at all.
Was I hallucinating? There was a circle of bodies all around him.
“I’m going to kill you so slowly you’re going to beg for me to end it. ”
“Not if you’re dead.” Taggart nodded, and a guard irreverently pressed a gun to Carter’s temple.
“No, please!” I screamed, jerking to a halt as Taggart yanked me back, shoving something hard and unforgiving into my ribs—Carter’s eyes flared and he went deathly still .
“Don’t kill him yet,” Taggart droned. “I want to make sure my new wife has incentive to be compliant.” Wife? A hot tear streaked down my face, and I refused to let any others escape.
Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.
I had to be dreaming. Taggart was always in my nightmares, along with my dead mother. Just another dream.
“Let me go, or else!” I screamed, and the room was rippling as I desperately tried to break free from Taggart’s grip, but I couldn’t.
“Or else, huh?” Taggart chuckled, but something flashed in his eyes, because we both knew what I had done in that car all those years ago. “Naw, I’ve waited long enough. I think I’ll keep you, it’s about damn time anyway.”
“I fucking dare you to try.” I cried. “I will never marry you.”
There were some snickers in the room. “Maybe you bit off more than you could chew. Are you going to let her get away again?” Someone teased. “Maybe we need to get someone else to handle her this time.” Another voice chimed in, and people laughed as Taggart grew more agitated by the second.
I braced as Taggart’s hand lifted?—
“Don’t you lay a fucking finger on her.” Carter growled. “Why don’t you come over here and see what happens when you pick on someone your own size—or can’t you count in inches—I bet you can’t, can you?” Taggart paused as Carter fought the only way he could, verbally .
“What’s the matter? Mommy never teach you math, cause you could only count to one?
Can’t solve problems with your skinny little pencil dick?
” Carter definitely had Tag’s attention now .
“I bet fun-sized isn’t so fun, you single-inch-worm piece of shit.
” Carter mused cockily while Tag’s outraged breaths came faster by the second.
“Come over here, you coward—yeah, that’s right, come over here and hit me. I fucking dare you.” Taggart swung, and I screamed as Carter’s head snapped to the side with a sickening crunch, but Carter spat blood on the ground, laughing as he grew more condescending by the second.
“Wow, I’ve had bee stings that stung worse than that.
You hit like a wet noodle, but I bet you’re too busy sucking your own little cocktail-weenie to learn how to throw a proper punch, huh?
Or can you even find that pathetic little tic-tac?
I bet you can’t, can you? Yeah, look at him— you can always tell .
” Tag hit him hard , and I stifled a sob, suddenly realizing what Carter was doing—and Carter didn’t look at me once as I silently backed away, tears streaming down my face.
“What’s the matter, you cocksucker, overcompensating for your little cornichon down there?
” Carter gave Tag a shit-eating grin, and I could hardly see as Tag hit him again and I silently sobbed—heart breaking with every single step I took, wondering why he was sacrificing himself for me if he didn’t even love me anymore.
Tag had Carter by the collar. “We’ll see how fun-sized she thinks I am when I’m halfway down her throat.” Taggart hissed and hit Carter again and again and again .
Carter’s insults were coming slower by the second as he spat a mouthful of blood and panted, “You sure about that? It seems like you might have a sweet-tooth of your own—did you gobble down your own Rollos, or did you get jipped and the sleeve only came with one nugget to start with?”
Tag roared, and Carter rocked back, only upright because of the men holding him, as he sagged between their grip.
Taggart finally paused, panting to catch his own breath as he turned— looking for me.