Page 12 of Broken Princess

“Just six more days until the buyers arrive. Maybe even less, now that Q is thinking about bringing the auction forward.”

My chest tightened, and my eyes shot up again. “What? Why would it be brought forward?”

“Well, you saw that auditorium when we came in, right?” he asked, cocking a brow.

“Yes.”

“That’s where the auction will be held. There are a thousand seats in there, and the initial announcement of your sale has generated so much interest in the last few hours that we’ve sold seven hundred tickets already. Ten grand a pop.” He paused and tilted his head to one side, lips still twisted in a cruel smirk. “That’s seven million dollars we’ve made already, purely from men who want a chance to bid on you.”

"How nice for you and Q,” I said, tongue dripping with sarcasm.

“Yes. Anyway, at this rate, every ticket will be sold by tomorrow, so we might as well hold the auction a few days early. We’ll see, though. There are a few details that need to be ironed out before we set the official time and date.”

I pictured myself standing in a cage under a spotlight, naked and trembling as two thousand terrible eyes stared in my direction. “How much are you going to get for me?” I asked in a hollow voice.

“I have no idea,” Jamie said, brows dipping in a frown. “Probably around a hundred million. Maybe more.”

“And what are you going to do with all that dirty money?”

He bristled. “That’s none of your concern.”

“Isn’t it? You’re making it off my back, aren’t you?”

“Doesn’t mean it’s any of your business.”

I sighed and looked down at my lap. “I just don’t understand how you can do this,” I said, slowly shaking my head. “You’ve always been so nice to me. To everyone. I wouldn’t have suspected you in a million years.”

Jamie scoffed. “It was my job to be nice to you,” he said. “I’ll admit, though… I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for you.”

“Somehow I doubt that, considering what you’re doing to me,” I muttered.

“No, really. You can be a brat sometimes, but you’re a sweet girl deep down. Plus you’re just so fuckable.”

Bile rose in my throat. “I’m more than fuckable,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “I’m a person, not a sex doll.”

“That’s not true anymore, and you know it,” he replied, tilting my chin upward with two fingers. “The sooner you accept it, the better.”

I swallowed hard. “Please, Jamie,” I said, voice quavering. “I know this isn’t you. Someone must be forcing you to do this.”

He shrugged. “Well, yeah, everyone has a boss. But that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy my work.”

“You can’t really be happy seeing me sold off to some awful man, can you? You know what will happen to me once the buyer takes me. I’ll be beaten and tortured. Raped and killed.”

“I know.”

“Is that what you want?”

His face softened slightly. “It’s not up to me, is it?”

“It could be. You said you’ve always had a soft spot for me. Prove it,” I said, folding my arms.

He let out a short, amused snort. “And how would you suggest I do that?”

“You can stop this from happening. You can get me out of here,” I said, eyes pleadingly wide.

“Yes, I probably could,” he mused, forehead creasing.

“Then do it,” I said, clinging desperately to the thread of hope he’d just given me. “Help me.”