Chapter 27 #2
She blinks like she’s coming back from somewhere far away, then nods. “Yeah.” Her green eyes look darker than usual. She opens one of the boxes and pulls out a burger, taking a small bite while I grab the other container. Grease and salt hit my tongue; the first real food I’ve had today.
I watch her for a second while she eats. It hits me, kind of randomly, that ever since that night back in Seaside...when she assaulted me while I was half unconscious and nodding out, she hasn’t really touched any drugs aside from the coke when we first got to Moscow.
Huh.
We sit there in silence, chewing, the TV still playing something neither of us is actually watching, the clock quietly ticking down toward seven. I feel like I should assure her about tonight, but I don’t have the energy to even talk.
Somehow, we clean up well. Adriana stands in front of me in the bathroom, gently dabbing makeup along my jaw, covering the purple bruises that refuse to fade.
I sit on the closed toilet lid, watching her while she works.
Her hands are steady, but her eyes aren’t.
They flicker away from mine every few seconds, like she’s trying not to think too hard about what happened earlier.
I study her face, searching. Trying to see how much of her is still in there. I wonder if her soul is starting to do what mine feels like it’s doing—shredding, loosening, slipping away from the body it used to belong to.
“There,” she murmurs, finally stepping back. “That’s the best I can do.”
“It’s fine,” I say, standing.
Her eyes sweep over me, and even though they're dark, I see a flicker of something in them. Something that seems to say, we're in this fucked up shit together.
We look almost normal when we leave.
The event space is attached to one of the city’s luxury hotels, with marble floors that gleam like mirrors and chandeliers the size of small cars.
Money bleeds from every surface in designer suits and shiny dresses.
Adriana walks beside me in a dark green dress that hugs her figure but covers more than anything I’ve seen her wear in months.
Conservative, by comparison. Definitely careful and strategic.
I’m in an all-black suit.
We probably look like we belong here among the venomous fucking snakes. Alexei stands near the entrance speaking with a cluster of men, his salt-and-pepper hair slicked back, his steel-gray eyes finding us almost immediately. He looks us over slowly, then steps closer.
“Behave,” he says calmly. “Mingle. Eat. Have fun tonight. There’s an event later that you cannot miss.”
Before either of us can respond, he turns and disappears back into the crowd. I glance around and immediately notice his men spaced throughout the room, leaning against pillars, pretending to check their phones, and standing at the bar. They’ll be watching us all night.
I nudge Adriana lightly when I feel her go rigid beside me. Her eyes are locked across the room, wide and unblinking. I follow her gaze.
Vlad.
Of goddamn course.
I rest my hand on the small of her back and guide her toward the appetizer and drink tables before she can spiral. “Come on.”
She moves with me, but her shoulders are tight. “He’s going to sell me, isn’t he,” she says quietly, but it’s not framed as a question.
I grab a glass of champagne and hand it to her, then take one for myself. “Not while I have anything to say about it.”
That makes her look at me. “Really?”
I nod once and down the entire glass in a single swallow, setting it aside before the burn even fades. “Really.”
Some of the tension in her shoulders eases, just a little. “Jude,” she says after a moment, voice lower now, “can you make it look like I’m yours?”
I raise a brow.
She swallows. “We don’t have to do anything. Just…make it look like you’re staking a claim to me. Publicly. Maybe he won’t try to sell me if he thinks someone already has...ownership. Alexei knows you don’t feel anything for me like you do about…”
I study her for a second. She knows I don’t want to hear her name. “Yes,” I say easily, stepping closer. I lean down until my mouth brushes her ear. “Play the part, Adriana.”
She stiffens, just for a moment, her eyes going distant like she vanished somewhere inside herself.
I wonder if I said the wrong thing. Then she comes back.
She steps fully into my space, lifts her chin toward me, and I don’t hesitate.
My hand slides lightly to her waist as I kiss her, slow enough to be convincing, controlled enough to stay believable in a room full of predators.
We haven’t kissed in what feels like forever.
When I pull back, a soft smile touches her lips. “Okay, Jude,” she says quietly. “Let’s survive tonight, yeah?”
I nod once. Together, we move deeper into the crowd, toward the dance floor where the wealthy spin beneath golden lights, bathed in money and filthy secrets.
After a while, the alcohol settles in, warming my veins. The music shifts to piano layered over a low bassline, and Adriana’s hand slides into mine. We dance because we’re supposed to. We’ve managed to avoid both Alexei and Vlad so far, which feels like borrowed time more than luck, to be honest.
Adriana’s body stays close to mine, one arm resting lightly over my shoulder, her fingers brushing the back of my neck. For a while, neither of us says anything. Just swaying, blending in with the sea of wealth and quiet corruption surrounding us.
Then she clears her throat. “Can I ask you a favor?”
I nod without looking down yet. “Yeah.”
Her hand tightens slightly on my shoulder. “If they come for me…can you kill me before they take me?”
I still. Completely.
I look down at her, and she’s already watching me, eyes steady, not dramatic or emotional at all. She's completely sure about the questions she just asked.
She tilts her head slightly, her lips brushing my neck as she leans closer so no one else can hear. “I want it to be quick, if you can. If you’d gift me that. I’d rather die before another man hurts me. They've been hurting me since I was ten years old. I'm done.”
A slow breath leaves my chest. “Yes,” I say quietly.
Her eyes water almost instantly, and the small smile she gives me afterward somehow makes it worse. “You would grant me that?” she asks softly. “After everything I did to you?”
I dip my head so my mouth is near her ear. “I told you once I would never hurt people the way you and Nolan hurt me.” I pause. “And I meant it. So yes, I will grant you that.”
A tiny sound escapes her, a breath mixed with a sob, and she lowers her head until her cheek rests against my chest while we continue to sway with the music. “I’m so sorry,” she whispers, so quiet I barely catch it.
My hand moves slowly along her arm. “I know.”
We stay like that until the song ends. Applause rises lightly through the room as the music fades, and then Vlad’s voice cuts through the speakers, announcing that the main event will now be taking place in the private hall behind the ballroom.
“Interested buyers,” he says with a faint laugh. “Please join us with your cards.”
Adriana lifts her head immediately, fear flashing across her face. Before we can even consider staying put, Alexei appears behind us, one hand lightly gesturing toward the hallway.
“Come,” he says. “You should see what tonight’s all about.”
I tighten my grip on Adriana’s hand and guide her forward with me.
The private hall is smaller, colder, and dimmer.
Rows of men are seated before a small stage.
There’s a steady flow of conversation that feels less like a party and more like a transaction already underway.
Women are led out one by one in plain dresses, some trying to keep their faces blank, others already broken enough not to try.
Some are dressed in black dresses, and others, white.
A few in white look like they’re in their early teens. ..
Oh, fuck.
I’ve barely been able to feel fucking anything the past few days, but I feel this.
No, no.
Numbers are called. Paddles lift. Prices climb.
My heart pounds in my chest so hard that I can barely breathe.
I feel Adriana’s nails digging harder into my palm.
Alexei stands near us, watching the bidding like a man admiring art, making sure neither of us moves.
We’re forced to stand there and watch this depravity unfold until the last young woman is auctioned off.
“You two are certainly closer than I thought,” he hums. “So long as you don’t lose your head with this one…she won’t end up like them.” He points to the stage. "Us men need a woman around to fuck."
I glare at him, remaining silent. The hand not holding onto Adriana is clenching because I just want to beat his fucking face in. After Vlad thanks the buyers and tells them that they can claim their purchases in their hotel rooms, Alexei finally steps forward again.
“There’s one more area I want you to see,” he says, his tone eerily casual.