Page 27

Then there are the fresh gaping red welts that are oozing, having only just occurred. There are bruises scattered amongst the wounds in all colours; black, blue, purple, yellow. It’s hard to tell where an old wound ends and a new one begins.

My eyes widen and my heart aches, as I realise for the first time how hard Lilly’s life must truly be. I think all the girls—myself included—thought that because she was The Sheriff’s personal whore, he would take care of her more than he does the rest of us.

That as she belonged to him—his property—he’d take better care of her. Maybe even have some form of affection towards her. How fucking wrong we were.

In the cold light of day, it’s clear those thoughts were nothing but wishful thinking. Lilly may have made us believe she was in a better situation, but nothing could be further from the truth, and her body is a testament to that.

Once Lilly is kneeling in a submissive position, her hands behind her back, her tits sticking out as she arches her back, whilst keeping her eyes firmly on the ground, The Sheriff finally looks away from her and meets my gaze.

“Sit,” he snaps, pointing to the chair on my side of his desk.

I slide into the seat, keeping my back straight to try and hide my nerves. “Did Lilly tell you anything about the auction?” he asks, his gaze flicking over to the girl on her knees beside him.

My mind whirls quickly as I try to think back over everything Lilly has told me. She didn’t mention that anything she was telling me should be a secret, but I can’t risk it. “No, Sir.”

His brow furrows, like he’s not sure he believes me, but he continues anyway. “I have certain expectations of all my Lots, but you, in particular, will be held to a higher standard.”

I keep silent, though it appears he’s waiting for me to say something. When I don’t, he continues. “After thatunpleasantness last week, their debts have now passed over to you, along with any of their obligations. Are you aware of this?”

This time, he waits for me to respond. “Not really…Sir,” I add on, trying to keep him in a good mood.

He rolls his eyes, his voice taking on a harsher tone. “You cost me a lot of money, and now it’s your responsibility to earn it back. Your job tonight will be to entice as many bidders as possible. I will put an undisclosed reserve on you, so not even the bidders will know what you have to achieve. If they don’t meet my reserve, you will remain with me.”

His eyes shine at the last part, and my stomach sinks as he continues. “Believe me, you don’t want to remain here with me. Therefore, I expect you to do everything in your power to make as much money as you can. You will do whatever it takes to attract their attention. Is that understood?”

I nod my head. “Yes, Sir.” I pause, taking in a shallow breath, before I ask, “How much do I need to make?”

“Your undisclosed reserve is a quarter of a million pounds, along with some other stipulations the buyer will have to agree to,” he replies, his eyes widening as he smiles maniacally.

I try to hold my tongue, but I can’t help the words that tumble out. “I will never make that kind of money.” There’s a helplessness to my voice I hate, but I know it’s true.

Lilly told me that a few months ago, they auctioned off a ten-year-old virgin, who was so beautiful. She had such an innocent face; blonde hair, blue eyes. The epitome of innocence, just waiting to be corrupted, and she only made two-hundred thousand. I’ve never heard of someone my age, with no real unique selling point, ever making that much.

The Sheriff lets out a dramatic sigh. “It’s a tough one for me. Obviously, I want you to make the money for me, but I also want to keep you. I want to force you to pay off your debt in so manyother ways. Not that I need a new pet,” he adds on, tapping the top of Lilly’s head in the most degrading way.

“I will do everything I can to make the money,” I say, though I’m not sure if I’m saying it more to myself than him.

The thought of leaving, of being bought by someone unknown, scares the shit out of me. I’ve come to learn in this life that the grass is most definitely not always greener on the other side of the fence. Though, I’m also very fucking aware that if I stay here, The Sheriff will put me through hell to make his money back.

“Good. Before you go, I have one more thing to ask you,” he says, and as his gaze locks with mine, my heart stutters. He looks serious, and that worries me.

“Okay,” I mutter, though it’s clear by the way he glares at me, he didn’t ask for a response.

“How do you know the Doughty family?”

As soon as the words leave his lips, the world around me freezes. It’s like everything is moving in slow motion, and I feel trapped. My heart stutters and I hold my breath as all the nerve endings in my body start to tingle.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Lilly’s head flick up to meet mine, her eyes widening before she quickly looks back down again. I do my best to keep my reactions under control, but he’s caught me off-guard, and the slight tilt of his lip tells me he caught me.

“Erm…” I mutter, trying to stall him as my brain whirls, attempting to come up with a good response. “Desmond Doughty owned my original debt. I went to the same school as his kids, so I knew about him. When I needed the money, I went to him.”

I can hear the slight tremble in my voice, and The Sheriff narrows his gaze at me, assessing me like he doesn’t quitebelieve what I’m saying. “If I were to tell you that they have shown an interest in purchasing you, would that surprise you?”

His eyes never leave mine, and I know I need to be careful with what I say. “I thought Desmond was dead?” I ask.

“He is. It’s his children that have expressed an interest. Specifically, the woman who married his youngest son,” he replies cryptically.

I try to work out what he’s not saying. He’s clearly talking about Bree and Liam, though I have no idea why they’d be showing an interest in me. I try to ignore the sinking feeling in my chest when it occurs to me The Sheriff isn’t talking about Evan. For just a moment, when he said the Doughtys were enquiring after me, that tiny ray of hope went straight to thoughts of him.