Chapter 38
Koby
The air inside the auction room tastes like cigar smoke, ash, and expensive alcohol. Heavy cologne mixes with the floral perfumes the girls appearing on stage have been bathed in.
It gives me a fucking whiplash and forces flashbacks of Broadway and I sitting at the front of this very room, his fingers squeezing the paddle as he bid on Violet.
Just like then, the place is crowded with self-absorbed men in tailored suits. Each one thinks they’re above the rest. Each one thinks he owns the world while the truth is, he’s just a pawn in a bigger player’s hands.
Ryder walks a step ahead, following the usher who navigates the clustered tables, and I try... I really fucking try not to look for Leilani, but I fail.
I knew I’d fail.
My eyes dart her way and the tightness coiling my gut all day unwinds when I find her.
She’s already watching me.
It takes everything I have not to cross the room, grab her hand and take her as far from here as possible.
We could run. Live in a remote cabin deep in Montana for the rest of our lives. I’d keep her safe. Happy. Mine.
The idea’s been bouncing around my head since I left Noretto’s this morning, but every time I leapt to my feet, I sat back down for two different reasons.
One, if we left, Anton would live, and Leilani would never fully relax. She’d always fear he might find her.
Two, I couldn’t do it to Carter, Ryder, and Broadway. They’re my family. We’re in this together, and I know they’ll protect my girl if the shit hits the fan tonight.
Leilani’s at the front with Blaze and Octavius, shoulders hiked up to her ears, black dress hugging her small frame.
She’s breathing.
She’s upright.
She’s playing her part.
And still, my pulse won’t fucking quit speeding.
She doesn’t acknowledge me, but I see her chin lift higher as she turns back toward the stage.
That’s my girl. Head in the game.
Ryder and I take our seats in the far corner and he immediately pushes the paddles out of our reach. Not that we planned on bidding. He doesn’t even want them close.
A waiter stops by, setting two glasses of amber liquid before us, and moves to the next table without a word. Neither of us moves to grab our drinks. Ryder probably knows I’d bite his head off if he took a sip.
“Sold!” the auctioneer yells, pounding the gavel.
Applause rises, only to cut out when another girl enters the stage. Dressed in a sheer slip, her eyes rimmed red, she’s shaking so hard I almost hear her teeth rattle.
I immediately look at Leilani, checking how she’s coping. I warned her this would happen. When Broadway and I came for Violet, I could barely keep my ass in the seat whenever a scared, trembling girl was hauled on stage.
“Eyes up,” Ryder says. “You’re giving yourself away. You look like you’re about to pull a gun.”
“I might.” I stare back at the stage. “I can’t fucking think when I can’t see her.”
“She’s fine. Blaze is watching her.”
“How’s that supposed to calm me?”
He doesn’t reply.
I’m pretty sure he’s holding an eyeroll in check. Good. There’s a chance I’d break his jaw otherwise.
The distressed girl fetches twenty-five grand, and my stomach lurches when the crowd cheers.
I can’t stop counting seconds. Leilani’s okay, sipping champagne and watching the show, but knowing she’s so close to danger makes my vision blur.
Someone behind me laughs too loud, and Ryder grabs my arm before I turn.
If he tells me to breathe, I’ll fucking kill him.
Another girl sells for thirty grand. The next one barely fetches fifteen. Time crawls and the room shrinks with every clap of applause. If all this isn’t difficult enough, I keep imagining what I’ll do if Octavius touches my girl. If anyone reaches for her. If she so much as flinches.
“It’s taking too long,” I grit out, toying with the crystal tumbler to busy my hands.
“Patience, Koby.”
I can’t be any more patient without tipping into homicidal.
Leilani’s sitting beside a man who’d kill her for fun. She’s half-turned, pretending to watch the auction, but her eyes flick back, searching for me, every few seconds.
Octavius leans in, his lips near her ear. I can’t hear him, but I want to put a bullet between his eyes.
Ryder catches my arm again before I realize I’ve started to rise. “Not yet.”
“He’s touching her,” I whisper-seethe.
“He’s breathing near her. Chill the fuck down. I’ve seen your bruises, Koby. She’s got this.”
I force myself to unclench, but lock right back up when the doors burst open, slapping the wall with an almighty thud.
The room freezes. Chairs scrape as men reach for their guns, unsure what the fuck’s happening. I doubt most of them know who’s come in.
Anton looks... he looks like me.
Like he hasn’t slept in days, running on rage, caffeine and the promise of blood.
“Where the fuck is she?!” He steps inside, his white shirt wrinkled, eyes furious, fingers wrapped around a gun pointing forward. “Octavius!”
Octavius turns, rising from his seat, expression flickering between annoyance and alarm.
Ryder’s already clutching his Glock, the other hand bruising my shoulder to keep me in place.
Three other men spill in behind Anton, covering his back, two guns each, scanning the crowd for threats the same way he’s searching for Leilani.
He finally spots her, and the sound that leaves him raises the hairs at the back of my neck.
A feral, broken growl tears from his chest.
“Anton,” Octavius starts. “What are you doing here? How did you—” He pauses when Anton barrels forward, gun squarely aimed between his eyes. “Put the gun down, brother.”
“You fucking liar! You promised you’d keep her safe!”
“Stop right there,” Octavius warns, snapping his fingers. A dozen guns rise, all trained on Anton’s chest.
That stops him advancing.
He’s ten feet from Leilani and I fucking reel at her reaction. Her spine’s rigid, hands trembling in her lap. Blaze is on his feet, gun aimed as he shifts subtly, moving half a step in front of my girl.
“You took her from me!” Anton booms. “You touched her. You hurt her!”
“No, I didn’t,” Octavius spits out. “We’re just having a little night out. No harm has come her way. You need to calm down.”
Leilani scrambles, the neckline of her dress slipping, revealing the love bites she’s concealed.
I know she’s showing them off on purpose, but the pulse at her throat jumps so fast it hurts to look at, even more when I see tears fill her eyes.
The room seems to shift, everyone bracing for what’s coming. In reality, only I’m on the verge of exploding.
An anguished, broken sound spills from Anton’s lips when he takes her in. The black dress. The makeup. The bruises. His perfect little doll.... ruined. Defiled.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, sweet thing. I’ll fix this. I promise,” he chokes out, a look of absolute horror curdling his face. “You—” he stalks closer, straight at his brother.
Octavius lifts a hand, stopping his men from opening fire. “He won’t shoot. Anton, listen to me. I don’t know how you found out we were here, but she’s playing you. She’s fine. She’s not what you think.”
Anton’s whole body vibrates. His aim wavers, doubt creeping in, and I’m this close to pulling the trigger myself.
As if she can hear me, Leilani jumps into action before I can fuck up the entire plan and start a war I’d have no hope of ending.
“Anton,” she yelps, trembling all over, her fingers twisting. “I’m scared.”
Blood freezes in my veins as I watch my hellcat retreat into the helpless little thing that fucker loves.
She looks so small. So fragile...
“Shh, it’s okay, sweetie. I’m here now. You’re safe.” He holds out his free hand. “Come here, petal. Come here.”
Time slows to a fucking crawl when everything happens so fast my brain can barely keep up.
Leilani twitches toward Anton, and Octavius lunges for her, grasping her upper arm. The other’s halfway to his holster.
My heart fucking stops when I realize he’s about to put a gun to her head. Adrenaline rips me out of Ryder’s grasp.
A gunshot tears through the air.
My heart soars.
Leilani screams.
And Octavius Grey falls to the ground, blood seeping from his head.
Gunfire detonates all around us.
Anton’s men shoot anyone who moves... and everyone moves. The noise is deafening. Bullets chew through glass, wood, and flesh as the auction implodes into chaos.
Leilani drops to her knees beside Octavius, and my stomach free-falls. I can’t fucking tell if she’s scared, in shock, panicking, or still playing her role.
Is she still mine, or has Anton got her back?
“Move! Move!” Blaze’s voice cuts through. “Kill them all!”
His men fan out. Carter’s already in the epicenter with Broadway at his side. Arthur and Apollo crash through the main entrance, a dozen of our soldiers forming a rough line.
Time fucking stops and accelerates at the same time. Every second feels like a year, but bullets speed past faster than light.
“Get down!” Ryder yells, yanking me lower.
I wrench free, every nerve ending like a live wire as I dart forward, eyes on Leilani. She’s shaking, hands on the floor, hair falling forward and sticking to her wet cheeks. Anton’s rushing toward her, blood staining his arm and shoulder.
Chairs and tables topple, liquor spills, men shout above the roar and I can’t tell who’s firing at whom.
I promised.
I fucking promised I’d keep her safe.
I promised she wouldn’t get hurt.
One of the endless cavalcade of bullets narrowly misses my head.
I dart behind the nearest column, my boots skidding through a bloody river.
I duck, then fire two rounds toward Anton’s men.
One goes down and I take aim at the man himself, then dart back when another bullet almost removes my right arm.
Blaze and Carter bark out orders, their voices clear, but the words not registering. I break from cover, sprinting between overturned tables.
Someone screams behind me. Someone falls in front of me. A bullet grazes my sleeve and burns the skin beneath as my shoulder hits another column. I peek around, gun raised, waiting for a window, for a clear shot I’ve been praying for.
My breath’s knocked clean out of my lungs.
Anton’s got his hand on Leilani’s wrist. He’s touching my girl, his lips moving as he pulls her toward his embrace.
No.
No, no, no.
“Leilani!” I yell, breaking into a sprint.
I jump over the dead bodies littering the floor, gun raised, but I can’t get a bead on him.
She’s in between us.
A human shield.
I can’t pull the trigger without risking her.
“Leilani!”
She flinches. Tears stain her face, but her eyes snap to mine and that blank look clears. Her left hand moves down her thigh and pulls the knife free.
She winds her elbow back, driving the knife between Anton’s ribs.
“Oh, fuck—” Ryder snaps behind me.
We both come to a screeching halt ten feet from them as the silver blade comes up red.
Anton jerks, grunting. “Leilani... sweetheart, you’re confused, stop, petal, it’s me, it’s—”
She stabs him again, both hands grasping the handle, a raw scream tearing out of her.
He shoves her off, but she’s not done. She lunges at him, his back hitting the ground as Leilani straddles his legs.
The knife comes back down with a whoosh.
Everyone stops. The absence of pinging bullets rings in my ears, interrupted by Leilani’s raw screams and the wet sound of her knife plunging into Anton’s flesh.
Again.
And again.
And again.
My chest constricts. She’s in a frenzy, stabbing the man with so much ferocity, so much raw anger and pain it guts me.
I’m about to move when Ryder’s fingers close around my bicep. “Don’t. Let her have this. She’s safe.”
I stare at her, shaking, sobbing, stabbing with all the trauma and grief he carved into her. Every thrust of the knife is a release. Another ounce of the pain he put her through dissolving.
Every man in the room stares, watching my violent, bloodied girl take back control of her life.
I’m so fucking proud there’s no room in my heart for more.
“I hate you! I hate you!” she screams, driving the blade into his heart one last time.
She rears back, chest heaving, hands falling to her sides and I bolt to her, sliding to my knees.
“Leilani.” I reach my fingers around her slick, shaking hand. “Baby, look at me. It’s me. It’s over. He’s gone.”
She blinks up at me, blood streaking her face, neck, chest. “Koby...” She collapses into me, shaking, crying, red fingers staining my shirt. “I didn’t... He—”
“I know.” I kiss her temple, wrapping both arms around her, and pull her into my chest. “He’s gone. He can’t hurt you again.”
Her sobs turn soundless, just ragged breaths, tremors, and fragments of words that break against my throat.
“Breathe,” I whisper, and cradle her tighter, fisting the back of her dress as I kiss her head over and over again. “Breathe, baby. It’s over. He’s gone, hellcat. I’ve got you.”
She pushes a few calming breaths past her lips, then inches away. Her eyes are unfocused like she’s still somewhere else.
I press my forehead to hers, angling myself to shield her from the dead bodies all around.
“You’re okay. You’re safe now.”
The room’s no longer silent, but the gunfire hasn’t recommenced. It’s been replaced by a low hum of groans, boots, and orders. I glance around, watching Blaze’s and Carter’s men hold a few daredevils at gunpoint.
Ryder kneels beside us, scanning the room, gun in hand. “We’re clear. Get her out of here, Koby.” He grasps my shoulder, squeezing twice. “We’ve got it from here.”
I can barely hear him.
My world’s shrunk to Leilani’s heart beating against my ribs and her warm shallow breaths on my neck.