Chapter Seventeen
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Henri
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“AFTER YOU.” VICTOR GRINNED HIS reptilian grin, standing on the threshold of his office.
Not that it could be called a simple office.
Tucked away on the highest floor of this monstrosity of a castle, it flowed out onto a stone deck with the parapet framing all corners with ancient protection. Gargoyles watched with their wings spread. Angels hung, skewered and bleeding, butchered by the swords of sandstone goblins.
“Quite the place you have here.” I strolled into the huge space, my borrowed loafers whispering over dense gold carpet.
Two ornate desks had been pushed together to make one long work area.
Four computer screens on one end, a laptop on the other, and a quill and ink pot in the centre as if honouring the olden days where swan feathers were used to write instead of keyboards.
“Thank you.” Victor accepted my compliment. “I admit, I like it. I spend most of my time up here.” Closing the door, he followed me. “I needed something practical but comfortable.”
“You expect me to believe you forgo the glittering entertainment below?” I waggled my eyebrows, hating myself. “Or do you have your own jewels stashed under your desk? Slaves you don’t share.”
He laughed. “Oh, I make do, don’t you worry.” Brushing past me, he went to his desk and booted up the laptop. “As much as I’d like to indulge and be a man of pleasure and leisure every day, I still have an empire to run.”
“Empire being new slaves?”
He watched me closely before asking, “Tell me, Henri. How much do you know of the trafficking trade?”
Frost coated my insides. “Honestly? Not a lot.”
“Have you ever been on the black web and tried to find your own little plaything? Something French perhaps or Spanish. Maybe a toy from Russia or Brazil?” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Every flavour. Every authenticity. They’re all available...if you know where to look.”
The reckless part of me—the part that would do anything to earn the companionship of my brother and his family—perked up for facts, secrets, and knowledge. The more I knew of Victor’s operation, the more intel I could feed Q when he finally came.
But...the cautious part of me went dangerously still.
I didn’t want to know.
Didn’t want to imagine all the helpless victims being bought and gifted as if they were fucking Pokémon cards.
I also didn’t want to know because I had a feeling that once you knew that sort of thing, it became less...
grotesque. If I ever saw a website listing a girl like Ily with a price tag and a shipping date as if I could order her straight off , it would be yet another nudge that the desires inside me weren’t that bad, after all.
The black urges would get worse, not because I could afford to own a fucking human being but because the world made it seem so comically... normal.
Fuck.
Sourness splashed on my tongue. “You obviously know where to look.” I forced a smirk, choosing to know everything there was to know about Victor so I could end him, all while hoping it wouldn’t end me. “Show me. What sites do you use to buy and sell merchandise? Can I get in on that?”
Victor laughed. “You must have quite a fortune, Ward, if you’ve just spent two million euros on one girl and already looking to buy another.”
“If my two mil had truly bought Ily, then I wouldn’t need another, would I?
” I narrowed my eyes. “I have no idea the going rate for a slave. And...seeing as you’re playing hardball and only giving me a twenty percent stake in her, when I go home, I go back empty-handed.
I’ll need to find another toy to entertain myself with. ”
He nodded as if I spoke perfect sense. “Yes, I suppose you will.”
“Unless...” I cocked my head. “You give me that membership you keep dangling in front of me. Then I could visit her every weekend and behave myself in the interim.”
“Pay me the two million you bid, and perhaps we’ll discuss it.” Tapping the laptop keys for a few seconds, Victor stepped away from the desk. “It’s ready for you.”
Behind him, the floor-to-ceiling bookcases reminded me of the library where Ily and I had made our bargain.
Fire licked through my blood.
My cock twitched.
What happened down in the garden...fuck.
I’d never come that fast or that hard. Never been wholly in the moment without needing to picture other things to climax. All I’d needed was her. And it wasn’t even because I’d hurt her.
She was different.
And different was fucking terrifying.
“What if I gave you another two mil?” The question escaped me before I censored. “Right now?”
“Oh?” His eyebrows soared upright. “What on earth for?”
“I’ll buy a membership, just like I bought her.”
He didn’t move. Didn’t blink.
Shit, wrong move, Ri.
Had I offended him? Shown my true colours?
The urge to ramble crowded my mouth with words.
I swallowed hard, held his stare, and didn’t back down.
Finally, he asked, “You’d pay me two million to become my official guest?”
“Is it a lifetime membership?”
“It is.”
“Then yes.”
“Interesting.” He tapped a finger against his lips.
Looking me up and down, he frowned. “I find myself wondering if you want the utopia I offer or just a single slave currently trapped within it. Because...I must warn you, Henri. If you’re doing this because you feel a warped sense of responsibility—because you baited and trapped Ily on my behalf—those sorts of possessive feelings will only bring you grief.
I’ve told you this. I’ve warned you not to covet.
We don’t do monogamy in this world. We are promiscuous.
We are indulgent. Flesh is flesh. A hole is a hole.
And if you can’t tell the difference between an obedient slave and a silly little girl you think you have a crush on, then... my answer is no.”
Ice replaced my organs.
Crush?
I didn’t have a crush.
What a ridiculous notion.
Scrambling to stay in character, I asked, “And if it’s because I can see for myself how much I fit in here? How much freedom I’ll find within your demented castle...what then?”
“Well...” He shrugged. “That does change things.”
“Fine.” I nodded with finality. “I’ll transfer four million and—”
“Not so fast.” Running a hand through his impeccable hair, Victor took his time studying me.
“I’ll give you a week. How about that? That’s more than generous.
I’m a businessman, so money talks with me, but I’m ultimately a connoisseur of pleasure.
Tonight, we will play some games, watch some entertainment, and fuck whoever we want.
Then, in a few days, I’ll make my decision on how you can become a member. ”
I didn’t miss the open door he’d just given me.
The unsaid welcome that I could become a member—through action or cash. Either way, I could figure out a way to stay, which would give me more time to get the location to Q without having to leave Ily on her own.
“Deal.” I strode to him and held out my hand.
“I look forward to seeing how you react tonight, my new friend.” Shaking my hand, Victor let me go and waved at the laptop. “It’s encrypted to the highest level. All transactions are untraceable. The bank account number is written on the Post-it right there.”
Fishing my useless phone from my pocket, I held it up. “All my banking details are on here. Wouldn’t it be easier to turn off your signal scrambler and let me make the payment from my own device?”
His eyes narrowed infinitesimally. “I’m afraid not. My guests are all aware that staying in my residence means forfeiting their devices and connections. Nothing can be sent in or out unless it’s on my servers.”
Interesting.
My mind immediately launched into a covert mission on how I could break into his office and send GPS coordinates to Q.
“But what if those who come to stay need to remain in touch with the outside world?” I asked, playing dumb.
“That’s the price of paradise.” Victor stepped away. “Only you can decide if you’re willing to pay it.” Moving toward the tan leather couch, he sprawled out and tapped his finger against the arm. “In your own time, Henri.”
Unable to hide my scowl, I grabbed the desk chair, sat down, and placed my fingers on the laptop keys.
Thank fuck Q had transferred thirty million into my personal account.
I didn’t have to worry about software recording my every keystroke or seeing the Mercer last name.
For all my online stuff, I still went by Ward.
Logging into my banking, I copied the number Victor had scribbled down, then pressed PAY NOW.
I probably had all kinds of alerts on me thanks to a huge deposit followed by a substantial withdrawal. The tax man would think I’d won the lottery and gone on a spending spree.
I felt no guilt whatsoever as Q’s money vanished into Victor’s account, and the laptop automatically locked me out.
Looking at Victor across the office, I stood. “It’s done.”
“Excellent.” He rose elegantly from the couch and strolled to the exit.
“I’ll wait until its deposited and then we’ll celebrate.
Lunch will be served in an hour. You’re welcome to do whatever you wish.
Join us or not, your decision.” He grinned as I stepped past him into the arrow-slitted corridor.
“Enjoy yourself, Ward. Pleasure doing business with you. Ta-ra.”
He shut the door in my face.
* * * * *
I stood beneath the icy pinpricks of my second shower of the day.
Unlike my last shower, I didn’t grab Ily’s underwear and masturbate. I wasn’t jittery with nerves about going downstairs and acting my ass off. I wasn’t twisted up with fears that I wouldn’t have to act at all. That I’d fall and fall and become one of them.
All I felt was sick.
Violently, viciously sick.
My back convulsed as I bent forward and retched. Nothing came up. I hadn’t eaten since lunchtime yesterday, yet it didn’t stop acidic bile burning the back of my throat as my body retched again and again, making me claw at the tiles.