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“He’s going to come through,” I told her, even though my own panic was building with every second that passed.

The screen showed the bids accelerating, the numbers leaping higher, faster. My chest tightened with every increase, fury…and fear bubbling under the surface.

Nine million. Ten million.

I leaned back, my jaw clenched.

Thirteen million.

Fourteen.

The countdown clock to the end of the auction was ticking in the corner of the screen, every second dragging out like an eternity. Finally, the bids slowed, hovering just under fifteen million. I sat there, staring at the screen, my hand trembling over the mouse as the final seconds ticked away.

And then it stopped.

Fifteen million.

“Logan. Please. I might as well be dead if something were to happen to you because of me. Don’t click that button,” Sloane begged.

I swallowed, an icy resolve sliding through me.

And then I clicked the button signaling I was making a bid.

Sloane was sobbing next to me when the screen shifted, showing a message that the auction had ended. My chest heaved as I exhaled, not realizing until that moment that I’d been holding my breath.

I’d won.

I glanced at my phone screen desperately. But it was still blank.

A second later, wire instructions popped up on the laptop screen and a five-minute timer began.

“I have to call Everett, Logan. I have to tell him to start the auction over. Please, you don’t understand.”

She tried to grab her phone, but I pushed it out of her reach.

Lincoln was going to come through. He had to.

Fifty seconds left…

“Come on, come on,” I muttered under my breath, my fingers hovering over the keyboard. I had everything ready, but without the funds, it was pointless.

My phone buzzed.

Lincoln.

The message was short and to the point:Done. Wire it.

“Holy shit,” I breathed, my hands moving on autopilot as I entered the transfer details. My fingers flew over the keyboard, sweat slicking my palms. Five seconds. Four. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst. Three. Two.

The confirmation screen popped up.

Transaction complete.

I sat back in the chair, my chest heaving as I stared at the screen. The auction was over. The final bid was mine. She was mine.

She wassafe.

Fifteen fucking million.