Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Lily
His gaze has me frozen in place. My muscles won’t move even though I keep telling them to.
I have to go behind that fucking curtain with him.
I have to watch as they sign over the rights to my body.
I could barely see anyone in the crowd as the spotlight directly hit my line of vision.
I can only hope he has his guard down so I can escape.
When he stands up, his head blocking some light, I’m able to see his face and recognize him.
I’ve seen him before… at Selene and Cameron’s wedding and baby shower.
A wave of relief hits me. My family knows where I am and I’m being saved.
I have to get off the stage. There's a man hovering in the wings with a cattle prod, looking like he's going to come shock me at any second, so I force one foot in front of the other, climbing down the stairs, going behind the curtain, and dropping down onto the velvet couch.
Farrah comes into the room and sits beside me, handing me a sweatshirt.
I pull it on over the skimpy lingerie. For the first time, wearing lingerie made me feel dirty.
Back home, I had skimpier ones that I’d wear for my man, and I would be down for anything.
But having my body exposed to all those people by force is outright gross.
It doesn’t help that I heard some commenting dirty things like wanting to fuck my breasts.
And now it feels like wearing it has been ruined forever.
“What's going to happen now?” I ask Farrah in a low voice, not sure who might be on the other side of the curtain listening.
“He's going to come in here, money's going to be wired, and then you're going to have to leave with him.” Farrah takes my hands, holding them tightly as soon as I pull a sweatshirt over my head.
Nico comes in, his gaze roaming over me, making every hair on my arms stand up.
He flashes a smile, showing off that diamond embedded in his tooth.
He sits down behind the desk, pulling out a stack of paperwork from one of the drawers and dropping it down between him and the man who purchased me—Killian Weste.
Cameron calls him a gypsy, but I don’t think gypsy’s wear expensive designer suits.
The only reason I remember his name is because of his bright blue eyes.
They are almost clear. You can’t help but be pulled in, but it also adds to his edgy, rough exterior.
He is head of the Irish gang in the city.
Both Stasia and Selene warned me to stay far away from him.
It seems odd that they chose him to come rescue me.
Killian sits down on the wooden chair across from Nico, pulling over the contract and looking through it.
“She's mine to do with as I please,” Killian says. He flips through more of the pages, skimming through them. “And you don't get any part of her.”
Nico's jaw clenches. “If you know what's good for you, you'll back off the purchase and give her over to me instead. Consider it a good faith gift.”
“And why would I do that?”
“You don't know who I'm working with,” Nico smirks, leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms. “You don't have to know what my connections are. But if you give me what I want, I'll make sure they won't come after you.”
“Please,” Killian scoffs, grabbing a pen and signing his name at the bottom of the contract.
He pulls out his phone and types something on it, and within a couple of minutes, Nico's phone is dinging.
“The money's been sent and we're leaving now. We aren’t going to have any trouble here, are we? It’d be a shame, Romani to Romani.”
The jab seems to irk Nico, but he remains calm. “No trouble. Enjoy her for the both of us.” His glance sends a cold shiver through me.
Killian stands and motions for me to stand. “Let’s go.”
I get to my feet. I don’t care what issue they may have; I just want out of here. I pull back the curtain and step out, standing to the side and letting Killian go first. He leads the way through the crowded room, weaving his way around tables with men still sitting at them.
My heart is hammering in my chest as he leads me back to one of the rooms hidden behind the bar. He opens the door and steps inside, a kitchen laid out around us, but there's nobody working there right now.
I come to a stop, and he leans against the counter, crossing his arms and looking at me. “Did he touch you?”
“Other than cutting my hair off, no.” I tuck my hands in the pockets of my sweatshirt. Right before the auction, someone fixed my hair since he chopped it off, leaving it uneven. I’ve never had my hair this short before.
“Did you hear anything useful?”
Frustrated, I say, “How would I know if anything said would be useful for you?”
“Figured you’d be more than just a pretty face. Some insider information is always good leverage.”
“You’re here to save me. So do your job and take me home,” I say, venom spewing out of my words.
He pushes off the counter, stepping closer to me, his body inches from mine.
His warm breath fans across my face as he looms above, my body feeling weak.
I don’t know what his expectations are or what he really wants from me in this moment.
His icy blue eyes rake up and down my face like he’s looking for something, or maybe he’s deciding what he’s going to do with me first. My skin heats and my heart rate picks up a pace.
“Oh, darling, you didn’t think I was going to buy you and take you back to your family, did you?” He looks at me with fire in his eyes, the corner of his lips turning upward as he leans closer to me, one arm bracing against the wall.
“W-wait. What?” I let out a breath.
His fingers brush down the side of my neck, sending heat flooding through my body and a shiver down my spine. His body presses closer to mine, the air suddenly thick, the scent of his spicy cologne the only thing I can register.
“You’re not going home.” He grips my jaw in his hand, forcing me to look him in the eyes.