The only man besides me who didn’t bid on anyone was the young guy close by. He sat with his ankles crossed and his hand wrapped around his beer. He didn’t even grab his paddle in preparation to buy someone.
I hoped he wasn’t after Yasmine.
Most of the men in the Underground were much older, in their forties, fifties, and even sixties. They were grotesque, which was why they had to buy a woman rather than pick one up on their own.
But this guy in the leather jacket was different.
He was young, good-looking, and obviously wealthy.
Who the hell was he?
We finally arrived at Yasmine.
I raised my paddle. “Five hundred thousand.” I started off low so I wouldn’t be suspicious.
She reached two million immediately. Then it jumped to four, seven, and then ten.
“Fifteen million.” I lowered my paddle. I just spent a hundred million on Muse a few months ago, so no one would raise an eyebrow to my bid.
No one challenged it.
“Sold to Mr. Barsetti.” There was one more girl on the stage, so the bidding started over.
Leather Jacket didn’t bid on her either.
If he wasn’t there to pick up a woman, what was he doing?
Was he spying? Was he with the feds? I found that unlikely. No way he would have made it past the background check if he was dirty.
The last girl was sold off, and then the Skull King at the front stared at Leather Jacket. “None of the women up here good enough for you, Bones?”
My blood had never turned so ice-cold in my life.
My heart even stopped beating in my chest, and that never happened, not even for Muse.
I was sick to my stomach and pissed off all at the same time.
Bones? Did I hear that right?
My father told me the Barsettis had a blood war with Bones, an arms dealer who sold illegal weaponry. My father never explained the details and never explained how my grandparents died. But he did mention the name of the man who killed my aunt, the man my father had killed before I was born.
His name was Bones.
But this guy was my age, maybe a little older.
Was it just a coincidence?
Could a name like that be a coincidence in circles like these?
The man drank his beer before wiping his mouth with the back of his forearm. The corner of his mouth rose in a lazy grin, and he filled the room with such confidence that it was borderline cocky.
Cockier than me.
He finally answered. “Nah. I’m not good enough for them.”
Yasmine sobbed as I dragged her out of the Underground to my SUV, which was parked at the curb. She was dressed in the sweatpants and t-shirt I brought along. It was difficult to escort a naked woman to my car in public, even under the cover of darkness. The police looked the other way, but we didn’t parade it around so visibly.
I got into the car and drove away.
Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she cried so hard she could barely breathe.
Most annoying fucking sound in the world.
Muse didn’t cry. She held her ground and didn’t back down. She didn’t accept defeat, even when she had no other option. I respected her for it.
I didn’t respect this. “Calm down, Yasmine. It’ll be alright.”
She cried harder.
God, the noise was hurting my ears.
I pulled a knife from my pocket and then slit the rope between her wrists. “Look, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not going to touch you. You’re okay.”
She rubbed the chafed skin of her wrists and stared at me hesitantly, finally no longer crying.
She should jump out of the car or attack me.
I was disappointed when she didn’t. Women should be taught to fight, fight to the death. That’s what my father had taught Vanessa since she was a teenager. “Your parents paid me to get you out of there. I’m dropping you off at my cousin’s house, and you’re staying there for a while. When it’s no longer suspicious, we’ll send you back to Israel.” I was grateful my tech team had been able to install new security measures on my car, so I could once again talk freely while driving.
“But you just spent so much money on me…”
“Not me. Your parents.”
“Oh, thank god.” She covered her face with her hands and took a deep breath. “Thank you… Thank you. I’ve never been so scared—”
“Don’t thank me. Your parents paid handsomely for your return.” I didn’t care about consoling her, not when I had other things on my mind. Right now, all I could think about was the man who called himself Bones. He was an arrogant son of a bitch. I didn’t like him. Something in my gut told me he was foul.
I parked in the roundabout at Carter’s place and walked her inside.
“You don’t knock anymore?” Carter walked into the entryway in just his sweatpants. Fit like me, he had the same Barsetti build that made women want to fuck us all the time.