Chapter 4
Francesca
Stefan huffed and grumbled under his breath, “For fuck's sake.” Then he led me down the hall. It opened up into a beautiful, homey living room. The couches were nice and expensive looking, but they also looked comfortable.
At least I hoped they were.
Because Stefan was right. I was bone tired. I thought back to how much sleep I'd actually had in the last month or so. And I didn't come up with a very big number. Add on everything that happened today—and tonight—and I might just crash as soon as I sat down.
Stefan's hand grasped mine and pulled me toward the far end of one of the couches. He sat down first and yanked me down beside him.
Just like I thought—it was super comfy. My tired, weary body sank into the soft cushions.
Honestly.
I might fall asleep in ten seconds.
My eyelids briefly fluttered closed for a moment. It was like suddenly my body knew I could relax. I was with Stefan. And his brother. And his best friend. In a highly secure home. Raul and Aldo were nowhere around. And my dad was an hour away.
Not that I freaking cared anymore.
I'd saved him.
Raul had the money.
My eyes popped open.
Wait.
Had Stefan paid for me?
I looked at the fireplace as I bit my lip. I tried my best to go over everything that had gone on after Stefan's winning bid was announced. But it was all a blur.
I'd been so scared when I'd walked out onto the stage. Not knowing who was out there. Or who was going to buy me.
And then when I spotted Stefan, my heart had nearly leapt out of my chest. Because I knew—I just knew—he'd save me.
Even if he hated me for what I'd done. I was almost one hundred percent sure he'd save me.
At least I hoped he would.
The look on his face had made me take a step back. Literally.
Over the weeks that I'd taken care of Stefan, I'd gotten to know all his expressions. But that one had been especially brutal. I could almost feel his shock.
And his hurt.
After that initial surprise, Stefan sat down and began bidding on me. Raul did his best to counter, but in the end, Stefan won. Then he'd stormed up to the stage stairs and hauled me off.
And out the doors.
To his car.
Crap.
Stefan hadn't paid.
Which meant my father's debt was still there.
The other two couples followed us into the living room and sat down on the couch opposite us. Nick started speaking first. “We need a quick debriefing, Stefan.” He looked directly at Stefan with an assessing gaze.
Stefan cleared his throat. “I was there playing cards with Raul and the rest of his idiots. Got as close to him as I possibly could.” His voice lowered.
“Until I'd had enough and got up to leave. And then—” His head jerked toward me.
“She comes out on the stage. Turns out Raul was hosting a virgin auction.”
The looks on Carlo and Nick's faces hardened. “I've heard about those. Never been in attendance for one, however,” Nick said with a sneer. “And then?”
Stefan's hand squeezed mine. “And then I bid a fuck ton of money on Francesca.”
Eve and Giselle peered at each other and shared smiles.
“And then?” Nick prompted Stefan once more. His eyebrows raised.
“And then I got us the fuck out of there. Raul was out for blood. Didn't need to stick around and find out what he thought of me outbidding him.”
Nick nodded and clasped his hands together. “I see. Did anyone follow you?”
A cold chill ran down my spine at Nick's question. I hadn't even considered the fact that someone might have followed us. My heart began thudding, and I sat up straight, pushing away from the couch slightly.
“We're fine.” Stefan's arm slipped around me and pulled me into his body. “I was careful. Nobody followed us.”
I gasped for air as if I'd sprinted here instead of driven.
“Good,” Nick replied and then looked straight at me. “And you joined the auction of your own volition?”
I let out a small laugh. “Not exactly. But also—” I moved my head from side to side, “kind of.”
Nick's eyes narrowed, and he frowned. “Kind of?” He leaned forward. “Explain that, please.”
I took a deep inhale. Even though I didn't want to talk about it, I knew I owed it to him. To them.
But—that didn't mean I was going to give them a full explanation. I still needed to look out for myself.
“My father owes Raul money.”
Stefan's hand nearly crushed mine. He gazed at me. “You're fucking serious? Your dad auctioned you off to pay his debts?” The scowl on Stefan's face scared me a bit.
I shrugged and said, “I mean, kind of. Yeah.” I nodded, thinking of a different way to word the situation to make it sound better. The only problem was that I couldn't. There was no nice way to twist this scenario into something less—terrible.
“And you volunteered for this?” Nick's eyebrows rose. “To have your virginity auctioned off? To pay for your father's debt?”
Hearing the dirty details of my current situation spoken out loud made me cringe.
“Uh, not—really. I was more volun-told what to do.” I sighed and added, “I mean, Raul was going to kill my father.
There wasn't a whole lot of choice in the matter.” I stared at Nick as he glared back.
I wasn't sure if he thought I was trash—or if he felt sorry for me.
It occurred to me for the first time that I actually cared what he thought.
I cared about what everyone in this room thought of me. I just didn't know why.
I hardly knew any of them.
“Fuck,” Carlo muttered to himself. It was the first thing he'd said since he sat down. His hand brushed over his face.
“Raul’s going to want vengeance.” He stared at Stefan for a long moment before glancing at Nick.
“You know what this means.” Carlo's tone was low and rumbly.
And it did something funny to my lower belly.
Which was totally inappropriate because he was Stefan's brother. But that didn’t change the fact that Carlo was freaking hot.
Nick nodded at Carlo, and asked, “Do you want to tell them? Or should I?”
Carlo shook his head and stood. “You fuckin' tell them.” His voice was clipped and short as he started pacing behind the couch.
I wasn't sure what was happening here. But I felt a cold sweat coming on.
“Tell us what?” Stefan asked cautiously.
“Yeah, I know Raul's going to be pissed for a while.
I'll give him a week or two to settle down and then handle it.” Stefan seemed confident with his plan.
Which was good because I had no plan. My plan had been to switch places with my twin sister and have her sleep with whoever bought me.
And that didn't turn out well in the end.
Who was I to judge whether Stefan's plan was good or not?
Carlo let out a loud laugh. “Do you really think Raul's going to just roll over and accept this?” He pointed at me. “You stole his new toy right from under him. In his own playground. He's going to want her back. Now,” Carlo barked and then went back to pacing.
Giselle slid over and sat beside Eve. They both had worried looks on their pretty faces. Knowing that I was the reason for all of this—I let out a sigh, wishing I could just disappear.
“I don't fuckin' care what Raul wants. She's not his toy.” Stefan looked from his brother to Nick. “Raul's not so much as looking at Francesca. Ever again. Do you hear me?”
Nick nodded and steepled his hands in front of his mouth.
“We're not suggesting you give Francesca to Raul.” His hands lowered, and he swallowed.
“But there are certain actions that will need to occur. To make Francesca less—” He looked at me.
His deadly handsome eyes traveled from my face to my chest, and down my stocking covered legs.
“Appealing.” For some reason, I felt his gaze on me like a physical touch. A really, really great physical touch.
When his eyes met mine again, he said, “We need to keep you safe. Are you willing to do whatever we ask in order to do that?”
The way he looked at me—
The way he spoke to me—
My mind and my body were misconstruing things. I knew that. But even so, I knew I'd do whatever the heck Nick asked of me. Gladly.
When I didn't answer, Carlo added, “We've got our asses on the line here, too.”
I peered up to see Carlo leaning against the back of the couch behind Giselle, Eve, and Nick. “This isn't just about you anymore.”
And then I realized the full gravity of what I'd done.
He was right.
Carlo was right.
I'd brought danger to everyone here in this house. I didn't know Raul. But I knew enough.
And from what the men here were saying—he was the kind of guy who wouldn't stop until he had what he wanted.
I stood and Stefan’s jacket fell off my shoulders to the floor. “Then take me back to the city. I'll find somewhere else to stay.”
Stefan grabbed my hand, but I pulled it away. “I'm serious. Take me back to the city. Nobody knows I'm here.”
Stefan rose to his feet and put his arm around me, his hand settling on my hip. “You're scaring her. Don't you think she's been through enough? Christ, Carlo. You're acting like a real piece of shit.”
I leaned on Stefan and looked up at him. “No, he's right. I'm putting you all in danger. You shouldn't have bid on me.” My voice got lost in my dry, closing throat. Just imagining where I'd be right now if Stefan hadn't bid on me—
Gosh.
I could hardly breathe.
“You're not going anywhere,” Stefan said, turning fully to me and grasping my upper arms. “I'll deal with Raul.”
I shook my head and felt tears threatening behind my eyes. Then I started to shake. “No, just take me back to the city. Or let me call for a ride. Carlo's right. I need to get out of here.”
Stefan's arms wrapped around me and pulled me tightly to his warm body. His warm, strong body. “Christ. She's shaking.”
I heard rustling and soft voices talking. But I couldn't hear what they were saying. Before I knew it, Giselle was behind me. “Here, honey. Use this. It's nice and soft.” Then, she draped something over my shoulders. Stefan let go and pulled a blanket around me the rest of the way.