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CHAPTER 41

SLOANE

T he phone vibrated on the nightstand, Everett’s name flashing across the screen like a beacon of dread. I froze, my chest tightening. Logan was beside me, his jaw clenching as he looked from the phone to me, his expression a mix of frustration and concern.

“Don’t answer it,” he said, his voice low, commanding.

I hesitated. I wanted to listen to him, but something deep in my gut told me I couldn’t ignore this.

“I have to,” I murmured. “I’m not going to cower. Not anymore.” I grabbed the phone before he could argue further. Tapping on the screen, I put it on speakerphone. My voice was shaky as I said, “Hello?”

“Good morning.” Everett’s smooth, venom-laced tone filled the room, curling around me like a noose. “Judging by the fact that you aren’t in your condo, it appears you’ve made the wrong choice.”

I swallowed hard, my fingers tightening around the phone. Logan’s hand brushed mine, steady and grounding, even as his eyes burned with barely restrained rage.

“I told you I was done,” I finally said, proud of the strength in my voice.

Everett’s silence stretched unbearably before he clicked his tongue, a sound that always made me feel like a disobedient child. “You are done, Sloane. I’ve decided you’ll be sold. Permanently. The bidding will start in a virtual auction at five.”

Logan went rigid beside me, his entire body coiling tight like a spring about to snap. His jaw clenched so hard that the muscles in his neck stood out in sharp relief, and his fists curled against his thighs, the knuckles white with pressure. My breath hitched, my body freezing like ice had shot through my veins.

Sold.

The word echoed in my head, hollow and damning. My knees threatened to buckle, but I locked them, forcing myself to stay upright.

“You can’t do that,” I managed, though my voice cracked on the words. Logan’s hand was now a steady pressure on my back, his touch both comforting and desperate, like he was trying to hold me together.

Everett ignored me entirely. “And Logan,” he continued, his tone shifting to something darker. “Don’t try to intervene. You can’t win. If you want Sloane to live—or if you value your own life—you should take my advice.”

He’d been watching us.

Logan’s hand jerked, his body taut beside me like a bowstring about to snap. His rage was tangible, radiating off him in waves. He grabbed the phone from me. “Listen you little sick fuck. I will?—”

“Enjoy your last day,” Everett interrupted with cold indifference. Then the line went dead.

For a moment, the room was silent except for the sound of my uneven breathing. My hands trembled as I set the phone down on the nightstand. I couldn’t meet Logan’s gaze. My head was spinning, and bile was coating my throat.

“Five,” I choked out.

“What the hell does that mean? That he’s selling you?” he asked, his voice sharp but laced with worry.

I closed my eyes, the weight of the truth crushing me. “The wife auctions,” I said finally, the words falling from my lips like stones. “They’re…it’s where the highest bidders…they buy us permanently. I’d heard about them, but I never thought…”

Logan swore under his breath, pacing the room like a caged animal. “I’m going to kill him. I’m going to cut his dick off and ram it down his throat—and then I’m going to kill him,” he growled.

“You can’t do anything.” My voice broke, my hands gripping the edge of the nightstand to steady myself. “These men that participate in these things…they’re powerful. They don’t care about rules or the law. They are the law. They take these types of exchanges very seriously. They’ll kill you too if you try to interfere.”

“We’ll see about that,” he bit out, his eyes blazing as he turned to me.

The conviction in his voice was unshakable, but it didn’t stop the fear clawing at my chest. Everett’s words echoed in my mind, a promise of destruction that felt inescapable.

Logan moved closer, his hands gripping my shoulders firmly. “Listen to me, Sloane. He’s not going to win. I don’t care what it takes or who I have to go through. You’re going to get your happily-ever-after.”

Happily-ever-after.

I’d never thought about those words until him.

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to fall into the safety of his words and let him shoulder the weight of this nightmare. But all I could think about was the cold, calculating tone in Everett’s voice. The certainty in it.

I nodded slowly, even though I wasn’t sure if I believed it. “Okay,” I whispered, though my chest felt like it was about to cave in. “Okay.”

But deep down, the terror refused to let go.

* * *

LOGAN

I leaned against the kitchen counter, phone pressed to my ear, my other hand gripping the edge hard enough to make my knuckles ache.

Lincoln answered on the second ring. “York.”

“Sloane’s uncle is trying to sell her in some kind of sick fucking auction, and I need to know what to expect.”

There was a beat of silence before Lincoln sighed. “Logan, why would I know something like that?”

I snorted, pacing now, the tension in my chest too much to keep still. “Because you’re like Batman , that’s why. You know everything, even the dark, messed-up shit. Don’t act like you’re not three steps ahead of all of us.”

I wasn’t sure of all the details, but after Lincoln had met Monroe, he’d organized some kind of hostile takeover and basically pushed his father out of the business. The man had been involved in all sorts of shady shit, which was why it seemed obvious that Lincoln would know things.

There was a low laugh on the other end of the line. “You better never tell Ari you think I’m Batman. He’d never shut up about it.”

“Do you know how much these things usually go for or not?”

Another pause. “Millions,” he said finally, his voice grim. “It’s usually millions of dollars.”

“Fuck,” I groaned. “I figured you would say that.”

I paced the room, rubbing my face. “I’m going to need a hell of a lot more burger commercials for this.”

Lincoln’s humorless chuckle wasn’t reassuring.

I may have been a top draft pick, but NHL players didn’t make as much as football or basketball players. I’d had a lot of endorsements this year, but a lot of that money had also gone to paying Everett for Sloane in the first place.

“So…” I muttered, my mind racing. “Is there any way to stop these things?”

“No,” Lincoln said flatly. “Not unless you’re planning to take down an entire network of powerful men by five o’clock. They don’t play by any rules you can use against them.”

I cursed again, my hand tightening into a fist. The thought of those men sitting in some room, throwing around money like they were buying a new yacht while deciding Sloane’s future, made me want to destroy something. “Then I’ll have to buy her.”

The words came out harder than I intended, but as soon as they did, an icy surety rushed over my skin. If the only way to keep her safe was to play their game, then fine. I’d play it. I would just have to figure out how. I’d do whatever it took. I’d drain my accounts. I’d call my dad if it came down to it. Beg him to loan me money. Although…I didn’t know if he had that much cash available, even if I somehow convinced him to help me in the first place.

Fuck.

“Logan—” Lincoln started, but I cut him off.

“I’m serious,” I said, my voice steel. “If that’s the only way, then I’ll figure it out. I don’t care what it takes.”

There was a long silence, and then Lincoln’s voice softened, losing some of its usual edge. “You don’t have to do this alone.”

“What?” I asked, thrown off by his tone.

“I’ve got you,” he said simply. “I know you don’t have the money. I do. We’ll figure it out.”

I exhaled slowly, some of the pressure in my chest easing just slightly. Lincoln didn’t offer things like that lightly. When he said he had you, he meant it.

“I’ll pay you back,” I murmured in a choked voice, my throat tight.

“It’s what family is for, Rookie,” he added, his voice teasing now. “You can repay me by not telling Lancaster I’m Batman. I don’t need him showing up at my door with a cape.”

Despite the weight of the situation, a small, broken laugh escaped me. “Deal.”

“I’ll get my PI to get the details of the auction, and I’ll wire money into your account. I need to move some money around to get what you’ll need, though. It’s going to take me some time.”

“Thanks,” I said, rubbing at the tightness in my chest again.

We hung up, and I stared at the counter for a second, pulling myself together so I could have a strong face in front of Sloane. Then I walked into the room where she was…packing.

“What are you doing?” I growled, stalking forward and grabbing the clothes out of her hand that she was about to throw in the suitcase.

“Protecting you,” she spit out. “These types of auctions…there’s no way to win. I’m going to leave and wait for the results on my own. I’m not going to let you get involved and get hurt when you try and stop what’s coming. What’s inevitable .”

“You’re not going anywhere,” I said firmly, moving closer.

Her eyes darted toward the door, and I knew exactly what was coming. “This isn’t your decision to make. Maybe I love you enough to do whatever it takes to protect you too.”

I took a deep breath and then pulled the handcuffs from my pocket and held them up, the metal glinting under the light.

Her eyes widened in disbelief, and then she snorted. “Okay…and what do you think you are going to do with those?”

“Making sure you don’t do something stupid,” I said calmly, stepping forward.

“Logan, you can’t seriously think?—”

Before she could finish, I grabbed her wrist, snapping one cuff around it. She gasped, her eyes flashing with fury, but I didn’t stop. I secured the other cuff to my own wrist, the cold metal biting into my skin.

“What the fuck, Logan?” she snapped, tugging at the cuff. “Take this off. Right. Now.”

“Not until I’m sure you won’t leave,” I said, my voice steady. “We don’t need self-sacrifice right now, Sloane.”

She yanked on the cuff, trying to pull away, but all it did was drag me closer. “This is insane! Let me go!”

I met her gaze, unflinching. “I’m going to save you. And you’re going to trust me to do it.”

Her chest heaved, her breaths coming fast and shallow. “You don’t get it, Logan. He’ll never stop. You can’t protect me from him.”

“Watch me,” I said, my voice low, my grip tightening just slightly. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. Even if it means pissing you off.”

She glared at me, her eyes blazing. “You don’t get to make this choice for me. It’s my life, my?—”

“And I’m not letting you throw it away.” I cut her off, my voice sharp. “You think I’m going to just stand by and watch you walk back into that nightmare? Think again.”

The fire in her eyes dimmed slightly, replaced by something softer, more fragile. Fear. Pain. She looked down at the cuff on her wrist, her fingers brushing over the metal. “I’m scared,” she whispered.

“I know, baby,” I said, my tone softening. “But you’ll see…”

She didn’t respond, her gaze fixed on the floor. I reached out, gently lifting her chin so she had to look at me. “I’m not your enemy, Sloane. I’m on your side. Even if you hate me for it right now.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line, but she didn’t pull away. For the first time since Everett’s call, I saw a flicker of something other than fear in her eyes. It wasn’t trust, not yet, but it was a start.

“Fine,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “But I’m just saying…handcuffs are not hero behavior.”

A small smile tugged at my lips. “Not trying to be a hero, Red. Just trying to keep my future wife safe.”

“There you go again…talking crazy,” she said sadly. “Whores don’t become wives.”

For the first time, the way she’d said whores didn’t have quite the same self-loathing as it had in the past.

I pressed a kiss to her lips and proceeded to lead her to the kitchen so I could make her breakfast. The handcuffs were staying on. “Good thing you never were one of those,” I finally told her over my shoulder.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn’t argue.

That was also a start.