Page 44 of Sweet Deception (Irish Kings #4)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

With trembling hands, I smooth down my evening gown, my grandmother’s cross concealed beneath the fabric. Standing among the other women and girls set to be auctioned off tonight is surreal.

We’re corralled in what appears to be an executive conference room, but there are no chairs or tables in sight.

It’s basically a zoo enclosure, with throngs of anxious women milling about with varying degrees of fear behind their expertly dolled-up faces.

The marble floor amplifies the click of high heels and nervous whispers.

The experience was a whirlwind, but I made it.

I couldn’t interrupt the transport, but setbacks and all, I managed to sneak into this auction.

Truthfully, though, my nerves are fried, and my mind keeps returning to Darren.

I tried to confide in him. To trust him. But we were out of time, and doing things the Kings way might’ve gotten these women killed. I owe it to Lucy, Maya, and everyone here to at least attempt to prioritize their lives.

After using Piro to get off the estate—I told the gate guard I’d been cleared to leave the premises because my cat needed a vet—I found a taxi and traveled straight to Mrs. Guseva’s for money, clothes, a ride, and a good scolding.

Whether I survive the mission or not, leaving Piro with her makes the most sense.

I could hardly leave my kitty with the Kings, betray them, and then swing back to grab him and expect to escape without a bullet to the brain.

Mrs. Guseva and I came up with a great way to sneak me into the summit. She posed as a vendor delivering luxury tea and accessories to the event, and I pulled the same trick I did at the wedding.

Infiltrate as a member of the waitstaff, find the women, then change into this dress to camouflage myself among the abducted.

I keep my eyes downcast yet alert.

I’m trying not to panic, but I still haven’t seen Lucy anywhere.

It’s difficult to assess how much the women know about where they are.

Some still seem to think they’re at a modeling summit, which must mean not everyone here was kidnapped and thrown into the back of a blackout van the way Lucy was. Maybe that’s why they’re keeping her separate from this group.

On the far wall, lit by three small, postmodern, asymmetrical lighting elements, grand double doors stand locked and ominous. A sign posted beside them reads Viewing Room in a regal, serifed font.

Every so often, the doors swing open from the other side, and I’m able to glimpse women standing on short blocks while men in expensive suits circle them from below, examining their bodies like merchandise.

It sickens me, but I can’t allow myself to be distracted.

Just as I told Darren in my goodbye note, I’ve got a promise to keep.

I told Maya, “ Whatever it takes ,” and I’ll keep that promise.

I just hope I don’t wind up dead before I get the chance.

I’ve hidden an assortment of weapons under my fit-and-flare metallic gown with the cascading ruffle.

I brought pepper spray, a long-range Taser, a few trap-setting items, and covert bugging equipment.

Infecting all the tech in this place with a virus would seriously slow things down.

But before I do anything, I need to find Lucy.

Seriously. Where is she?

The double doors to the Private Viewing Room open. But instead of another woman going in, a sharp-featured man in a tailored black suit emerges, narrowing his eyes at the lot of us. “Line up! Single file. Now.”

I fall in line near the back, my panic level ratcheting up.

The man in the suit approaches, beady-eyed and calculating, slinking down the line with military precision. Two armed guards flank him, hands on their weapons.

“Name,” he demands of each woman. “Registration number.”

My pulse quickens as he works his way to me.

This would be a perfect moment to conveniently slip away into a bathroom, but there are none. This room has no exit that’s not heavily guarded. No windows.

Nothing.

I did not think this through.

When the man reaches me, I give him a random name and number. Unfortunately for me, this is the kind of man who can smell horse shit from three states away. He squints like he can see straight through me.

He taps the screen in his hand, frowns, then taps again.

The guards over his shoulders shift, hands tightening on their weapons.

“Sir?” One of the guards steps forward.

“She’s not here,” the man with the tablet says with deadly focus. “No registration. No intake photos. No buyer preview data.”

He snatches my chin between his rough fingers, forcing me to meet his eyes.

He sneers. “In fact, she doesn’t exist at all.”

That’s when I notice someone floating toward us in my periphery.

Bozhe moy , it’s the master villainess herself.

Sophia Kovaleva. The woman who uses her mob connections to pass for a modeling agency director when she’s really a kidnapping, murdering, human-trafficking bitch.

She glides over, all bright eyes and bleached teeth, her stilettos clicking against marble. Her perfectly painted bloodred lips curve up into a cruel smile as she inspects my face.

“And what have we here?”

“A stray.” The tablet man jerks my chin left then right.

“How very interesting.” Sophia turns to the nearest guard.

“I came with Emily.” Someone in this place has to have that name, right? “She said this could be our big break.”

The once-over Kovaleva graces me with has me longing for an immediate shower. “Take her out back and handle it. Quietly.”

The two gun wielding guards wrap their meaty hands around my biceps and drag me toward a pair of doors that don’t lead to the viewing room floor.

I draw on the precision and poise earned from years of ballet training to slow my respiration and concentrate.

How do I get out of this now?

I know some self-defense, but two against one? I could pepper spray or tase them if I could just get under my dress, but it’s a little complicated when they’ve got my arms pinned up like this.

Bozhe moy , my deep breathing won’t help me now.

Is it finally my time to die?

I yank on my arms as panic begins to flood in.

All this time, I thought the worst thing that could happen in a situation like this was losing the girls. But if I forfeit my life, we’re all doomed.

The guards drag me away from all the festivities, down an emergency staircase, and out into a back alley.

They toss me at the brick wall.

My palms scrape against it. Better than my face, I guess.

Then, just as I whirl around and find myself staring into the barrels of their guns, a boom shakes the world around us.

The close-range explosion sends bricks flying off the south wall of the building.

I drop to my knees, coughing through the smoke.

Ears ringing. Vision swaying. Dizziness consumes me.

Coughing and sputtering involuntarily, I roll over onto my side as a wall of gray smoke cloaks the three of us.

I can’t breathe well, and my world’s still spinning, but with the guards temporarily distracted, I reach for the Taser strapped to my thigh.

That’s when two shots ring out and the guards drop right at my feet. A second later, Darren emerges through the haze like some kind of superhero. Holy shit, it’s really him…

Am I dreaming?

Did I die?

Only when his familiar arm encircles my waist and hauls me up from the ground do I realize this is actually happening. He drags me through a service door and throws me against the nearest wall. His strength, his scent, the heat of his body so near mine…

Darren. He’s here. He came.

He’s glaring at me with all the intensity of the sun, but he’s here. I can’t believe it.

Fresh tears well up and pour down my cheeks.

Darren presses me against the wall in this darkened corridor.

“What are you doing here?” I ask in a broken voice.

“I’m going to give you one guess,” he growls, clearly pissed.

Staring deep into his eyes, I find tenderness that belies his tone and the rigidity of his muscles. “Did you…come to save me?”

“Fucking right I did.”

I’m nothing short of stunned.

Darren not only showed up when I needed him to…he also blew shit up and saved my life.

I’m starting to think this crazy, wonderful man would obliterate the whole world for me. That may not sound romantic, but it is.

He wraps me into a snug embrace. “You stupid, gorgeous , reckless woman,” he breathes against my hair as he crushes me to his chest.

My arms climb around his shoulders, squeezing him just as tightly. “Why?” I whisper. “Why do all this?”

When he pulls back, his eyes burn with an intensity that steals my breath.

“Do you have any idea what you do to me? How much you’ve changed everything? My whole life, I’ve destroyed things. It’s what I’m good at. What I’m meant for. But you…” His thumbs trace my cheekbones. “You make me want to build something with you. Something real. Something lasting.”

My heart thunders against my ribs.

Is he saying what I think he’s saying?

“But for any of that to happen, you need to be fucking alive, Nika . Which means no more solo suicide missions.”

“Darren—”

He plants his mouth on mine, hot and hungry, and draws back just as quickly. “We still have to save the others, so let’s go.”

“But how?”

“I brought reinforcements. They’re waiting on my signal.” His voice roughens. “I just need to set charges at key points. Be my lookout?”

I catch his hand. “Together?”

His smile is fierce and tender all at once. “Together.”