Page 4 of Sins and Secrets

“Really? Tell me!”

“I don’t know, Billie, it’s dangerous.”

“I’m willing to do anything. Please.”

Emilia frowns and runs her hand through her auburn hair. Huffing, she says, “There’s this auction…”

I frown. “Auction? I have nothing?—"

“Yourself,” she says, cutting me off. And my jaw falls to the floor. “You would be selling yourself to a man.”

“What the hell? Emilia, what are you talking about? How would this help me?”

“There are contracts you have to sign. You can say yes or no, but the bottom line is, you would be at the mercy of whoever bought you for at least two months.”

“Two months?” I’m not even sure I could do one night. How can I expect to last two months under someone’s thumb? “What would I have to do, do you know?”

“No. But it will most likely involve having sex with your buyer. Which, by the way, you have no way of knowing who it would be.”

I’m looking at her, and this is all making me sick, but the image of my papa in that hospital bed suddenly reminds me what is at stake.

I need to save him. Get him out of this life.

Make sure he has a life. A long one.

Breathing deeply, I know I really don’t have a choice. Two hundred grand would buy my freedom.

“I don’t care.” I take a sip of my wine, trying to stave off the fear. “I’m willing to do anything to get out of this shit. How do I sign up for the auction?”

“You don’t. It’s invite-only.” Emilia turns around and grabs her purse off the counter. She takes out her phone and pulls up an email. “I got this from one of my friends. Invites are going to be sent out in a few days but there is no way to know if you’re on the list unless you get the invite.”

“Do you know who decides who gets the invites?” I ask as I skim through the email.

She just shakes her head.

Nothing is truly said in the email that gives away who is running the auction or what you need to do to be invited to it. Hell, the email barely even acknowledges that there will be an auction. Fuck.

“So, there’s nothing I can do but wait and see?” I groan and run my hands down my face, feeling more helpless than ever.

I could go to the casinos and gamble in a desperate attempt to make thousands of dollars fast, but I’ve never been very good at it. I could run favors for other members of the mafia or some of the affiliated gangs, but it would get back to Alessio and make him suspicious.

If I can’t be in this auction, I have no idea what else to do.

“Everything is going to be okay,” Emilia says, taking her phone back and slipping it into her purse. “I’ll talk to the person who told me about the auction. I’ll try and see if there is any way to guarantee an invite.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate it.” Emilia is an amazing friend. One I cherish more than anything.

And then it hits me, “You know helping me is going to be just as dangerous for you. If you get caught helping me, Alessio will have you tortured for information and then they’ll kill you.”

Emilia shrugs. “Alessio Marchetti already took away the people in my life who mattered to me the most. What more do I have to lose? My own life is a small price to pay for this.”

The tears start rolling down my cheeks as I round the counter and pull her into a tight hug. “You’re the best friend that I could have ever asked for. Thank you.”

Emilia hugs me back, her embrace so tight I’m sure that there will be bruises in the morning. Right now, it’s exactly what I need.

Somehow, I’m going to save me and Papa.

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