Page 94 of Ruthless Savage

“Yes. That’s right.” The sooner, the better.

The first girl is called and brought out by a woman in a gold mask and black corset. The second follows not long after.

And I know what’s coming.

“Ellen. You’re up,” Esther calls.

My whole body spreads with a wave of ice-cold fear. The kind that stops you dead in your tracks.

“Oh, God…” I whisper, my knees bucking as I force my legs to work.

Just stand up and go before she calls the boss.

“You can do this,” Susanna attempts to reassure me, but nothing will help.

Curling a fist, I make myself get to my feet, my flesh riding with goose bumps.

Esther saunters over and slips her arm through mine. “Take a breath, honey. You’ll be okay.”

What a lie.

She leads me out another door, and bright lights assault me.

When I blink a few times, I realize…I’m on a stage, so many masked faces in the audience. Hundreds of them.

Oh my God…

Esther remains by my side while the emcee’s mouth curls, his attention zeroing in on me.

“Welcome Ellen, contestant number three. A beautiful young virgin who loves to write and enjoys taking care of her animals. She’s a straight-A student and takes her studies very seriously.”

He gathers my hand and lifts it in the air, spinning me once on my heels. “She’s looking to uncover her sexuality, and maybe tonight, the lucky winner will help her do that.”

He gives me a smirking look, while I’m shaking all over.

My eyes bounce around the audience but I don’t see anyone I know. Not Karen. Not Adam. Not even the man in the mask. There are just too many people here.

“The bidding will start at one hundred thousand.”

Shit.

DEVLIN

Where the feck is she?!

I can’t find her anywhere. I’m stalking through rooms, wondering if she’s hanging from some contraption from the ceiling. Or worse, if she has another man’s hands on her, and this time it isn’t me.

But after the ominous warning from Konstantin, I have to expect just about anything. As I head down the corridor, passing rooms on both sides, I find a larger open area with seating, like at a show.

Unsure what the hell this is, I walk in and see a girl on stage and…

No…

My pulse throbs in my ears. “Eriu?”

But no one can hear me while she’s being displayed on stage like cattle, wearing a fecking see-through dress, her damn nipples covered in rhinestones.

“Three hundred thousand.” A man with a red devil’s mask raises his auction number.

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