“Fuck off, all of you,” I bark, making my way over to the beautiful woman holding the key to my stomach. I take the plate from her, kissing her cheek. “If only you were fifty years younger, Amalia, I’d have a ring on that finger.” I wink.
I sit down at the table, twirling my fork in the noodles. Once I have a large amount wrapped around it, I shovel it in my mouth, not caring that some didn’t make it and is hanging down my chin.
“Okay, boys, down to business. Got an email from Edward about the upcoming auction. He thinks one of the merchandise items will be tempting for us. He’s already sent the official invite, so clear your calendars for this weekend. We’ll use the penthouse at the Caselton for the weekend. It’s already prepped with everything we could possibly need.”
“Are you saying auction, like the auction?” I mumble around my food.
“Yes, Kyrian. Your father wanted to take you to your first one, but since he’s not here, it’s my honor to do so, along with your brother.”
I drop my fork onto my plate and slide my chair back. Oh, hell no. “Wait, are you saying Dad bought merchandise at these auctions and Mom was okay with that?” I don’t want to hate my dad, but if he did, I think I might blow a gasket.
“No.” Uncle Liam laughs. “He never bought anything, but seeing how it’s a Sartori tradition, a rite of passage, so to say, he always went.” I glance over to Killian, who’s nodding.
“Is that why he took Mom’s name instead of her taking his?” It wasn’t until I started school that I learned everyone didn’t have the same last name. It always confused me why he did.
“Yes. Our family name held more weight than his, and greater protection.”
“So, what’s so valuable about this particular piece that he thinks we’ll be intrigued by?” Killian questions.
“Not sure, but he said we’d know when we see it.”
Well, this just got a whole lot more interesting. My dick’s already hard with anticipation of what this mystery surprise could be. Well, that and the auction. I’ve heard stories from the men in my family about them, and I couldn’t wait until I was old enough to go.
Then something dawns on me. This weekend?
“So, were the two of you planning to go without me?”
“Killian and I had discussed it, and with your parents’ death still being so recent, we thought it best to skip this year and initiate you next year.” Uncle Liam sits beside me, motioning for Amalia to make him a plate as well.
“Okay.” I’m not complaining, I’m fucking excited. Friday can’t come soon enough.
Chapter 6
Elena
Thank god Vince and Betty were okay with me coming in to work a little late today. When Edward messaged back with the address to the clinic and a nine am appointment, there was no way I was going to tell him I couldn’t make it.
I wish the appointment wasn’t so early, though, so I could have slept a little later. I stayed up until almost one am waiting for Mama, but she never came home. She still wasn’t there when I left a few minutes ago.
Should I call the police and make a missing person’s report? She’s never just disappeared like this before. Not overnight anyway, and she’s been gone since yesterday morning.
Even though I’m pissed, I’m still worried. Sadly, all hopes of her having any money left are long gone. I know she’s spent it on booze and possibly drugs or lost it. Maybe someone stole what she took from me. Either way, this auction is the only thing that’s going to save me.
When I got the address last night, I compared it to the bus schedule to find out which one I’d need to ride. It would be almost a forty-minute trip.
God, I hope it doesn’t take long and I don’t miss too much time at work. When I asked Betty if I could work doubles for the rest of the week and then the day shift on Friday because I needed the weekend off, she agreed. I thought she’d want to know why, but she never questioned me. I could hear the hitch in her voice when she would go to speak, then stop suddenly.
I wish I could tell her, but I can’t. She’s so sweet, and I know she’d use every penny she had to pay the bills for me, not caring if she was placing herself in a bind. That’s just who she is. Sometimes I wonder if maybe she had it hard like me when she was younger.
I won’t ask her. It’s not my business. If she wanted me to know, she’d tell me. Sometimes things are best kept a secret.
The bus pulls up and I quickly board, dropping the required fare into the container before taking a seat at the front. Normally I would sit further back, but the looks of the men sitting there have the hair on the back of my neck sticking up. They look younger than me, and I don’t know what it is, but something about them reeks of trouble, so the best place for me is by the driver. Hopefully, he can take them if they start some shit.
“Sir, can you let me know when we are on Mormont Circle, please?” I lean forward, tapping him on the shoulder, and he looks up in the mirror at my reflection.
“Sure thing.” I can’t help but notice how he keeps glancing at the boys in the mirror, and his attention seems to be more on them than me. I wonder if he feels the same spidey-sense tingle about them that I am.
I sit back in my seat, trying to calm my nerves about this appointment. I know Edward said a blood test for STDs, and once he gets that, he would need to meet me for an interview. How in the fuck am I going to swing that and work these double shifts I asked for to cover taking the weekend off?