Page 29

“I don’t want to hear any excuses. You will go on and lead a better life. Do whatever you need to do to get out of here, and never look back,” she states firmly, squeezing my cheeks tightly.

“Only after I’ve made sure you and all the girls are safe. I couldn’t ever move on with my life knowing so many are suffering at the hands of The Aristocracy,” I growl, hating that fucking name on my tongue.

Ever since Lilly told me about The Aristocracy, I’ve been plotting their downfall. Even though they’re made up of so many secret strands, it would probably take me a lifetime to dismantle them, I’d never stop trying.

Lilly’s eyes widen as her smile grows. “Me and my guys will help take them down—particularly The Duke, The Duchess, and The Sheriff. We will free as many as we can, but I want to know that you will move on from this. Don’t let this experience define who you will become.”

Even though Lilly’s a little younger than me, the way she speaks tells of the hard life she’s lived. How she’s had to grow up well before her time. She never got to have a childhood like I did. Her innocence was stolen from her at a young age. Thanks to her guys, she knows what love is, but otherwise, she’s had no proper life experience. Yet the way she cares for me, and holds me, it’s like she’s my family.

“We will both be free of this life, one day,” I state, meaning every word.

“Just promise me, if Evan is the one rescuing you, give him a chance. Don’t shut him out because of this.” She doesn’t elaborate, but she doesn’t need to.

“I don’t think I’m ready for anyone to see my scars, or the broken shell I’ve become,” I mutter, averting my gaze.

She tilts my chin, forcing me to look at her. “It sounds to me like he’s always been able to see the real you. I doubt a bit of damaged packaging will stop him from loving the gift inside. I think he will take one look at the broken woman in front of him and see the girl he once loved.”

Tears fill my eyes as my heart aches. “I can’t hope for that. It’s too much.” The words hurt as a sob racks my body, no matter how much I try to push it away.

Lilly rubs her hands up and down my arms reassuringly as she whispers soothing words, but I’m so lost in the memories, I can’t even tell what she’s saying.

Everything after that moment seems to pass by in a blur. I manage to gain back some semblance of control over my emotions, and Lilly touches up my make-up to hide the blotchy evidence of my tears.

After a while, she leaves me alone with my thoughts, in the small back room, as she goes to check on the other Lots. I’m not even sure how long she’s gone for. I just sit there, lost in my own head.

It’s not until one of the guards comes to get me that I realise the auction viewing is starting. I’m herded into the main backroom, along with several other girls, all dressed in lingerie similar to mine. Though I’m the only one who has been given a dress to wear over the top.

Lilly is there, fussing around everyone to make sure they’re as comfortable as they can be. She’s reassuring everyone, giving words of advice to help us before we’re thrust into the limelight.

Before I even know what’s happening, the guards begin pushing us all forward, until we’re all lining up on the stage. There’s a thick velvet curtain separating us from the crowd, and Lilly is manhandling each of us, getting us into position.

She drags me to the end of the row and begins smoothing out my dress. “Smile, Tee. Remember, this could be your ticket out of here.”

Before I have a chance to reply, she runs off stage just in time. There’s a loud noise from the speaker system, and the curtain in front of us drops. The room comes into view, only for bright spotlights to hit us with such force, I see white spots in front of my vision.

I blink rapidly, trying to gain back some of my vision. As the world around me starts to come back into focus, and I try to pay attention to what's going on, that’s when it happens. My world tilts on its axis.

There, sat in the centre of the front row, is the boy I once loved—Evan Doughty. Only now he’s all man, and the glare of daggers he’s shooting my way tells me everything I need to know. He’s not here to save me, he’s here to punish me.

“Will you stop fucking jittering,” Dec hisses in my ear, as he clamps his hand down on my thigh, pinning my leg to the chair.

I slide my eyes over to his, making it very fucking clear he needs to remove his hand before I break all his bones. He just rolls his eyes at me and grumbles.

Fuck, I thought I was a moody asshole, but this guy might be even worse than me. He’s not at all what I expected when Kian told me I’d be working with his best friend.

I’ve heard of Declan before, as he used to run Father’s nightclub, Shades. But it was one of the few ventures we own that didn’t require any input from the family. I never looked intoit too much, as it’s not like I was so short on work I had to find more shit to do.

Now it’s clear Father didn’t need any help, as he had Declan running it for him. It’s also a little ironic that this brooding asshole is the person who managed to convince Desmond fucking Doughty to make his club legal, abolishing most of the illegal shit that used to happen there.

“What do you want to drink?” Dec asks, as he raises his hand in the air to summon a waitress to our table.

“Whiskey,” I grunt, keeping my eyes fixed on the stage.

I’ve done a thorough sweep of the room, and there’s nothing out of the ordinary. It’s a seedy underground sex club, set out like a nightclub. The stage in front of us takes up most of the room, with a large purple velvet curtain sectioning it off.

Directly opposite the stage, next to the entrance to the room, is the well-stocked bar, complete with bar stools. Around the outside of the room are large booths, separated by partitions to offer a little more lighting. Each table has a very small, dim lamp, offering just a little bit of uplighting.

Towards the bar end of the room are more tables. These are smaller with wooden chairs around them, and they’re a lot more cramped together than the private booths. The area in front of the stage looks like it is normally a dance floor of sorts, given the slightly raised wooden flooring. Only now there are several rows of chairs, all set up facing the stage, waiting for the show to start.