Page 97 of Bought and Broken

“What I do is none of your business, Dane,” I hiss.

“Everything you do is my business. You’re my little sister,” he grits out, stepping closer.

I back up, getting a view of Tate who is walking over, brow furrowed. Gunner takes a few steps back but looks concerned. Maybe he’s waiting around to make sure Dane doesn’t actually kill me.

“What is going on? You’re making a scene,” Tate says as calmly as he can, looking between me and Dane. He doesn’t even acknowledge Gunner, which is for the best. Does he know Gunner bid on me? I don’t want to risk finding out. He may kill him.

“You,” my brother seethes, turning his attention to Tate. And if I thought he looked mad before, he’s ten times as angry now. “You didn’t tell me.”

“Tell you what?” Tate asks, raising his brows and holding Dane’s attention.

Dane opens his mouth to answer but pauses. He looks back at me, then to Tate, then to me again. This time he holds my gaze, and it’s as if he’s trying to piece something together. I’m getting concerned now, because I’ve never seen my brother look this upset before. I see it the moment he figures out whatever it is he was trying to figure out.

“Hold on a minute,” he says with a disbelieving laugh. “Hold on just a fucking minute.”

He shakes his head, holding a hand up.

Tate says, “Dane, I’m really not in the mood for—”

“Is she the revenge girl?” my brother asks, jabbing a finger toward me but keeping his furious gaze on Tate.

“Excuse me?” Tate says in a low tone, shifting on his feet.

Dane looks back at me, huffing out another sound of disbelief. “I knew it was weird that you two weren’t down each other’s throats. That you were exceptionally quiet around one another. Now it all makes sense.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, but obviously I know exactly what he’s talking about. This is why I wanted to tell Dane in the first place. I wanted us to be the ones to tell him so he wouldn’t find out like this. So he wouldn’t think we were hiding it from him.

“Don’t stick up for him, Devon,” Dane spits out, looking at Tate. “He only bought you to get back at you.”

“What?” I nearly shout. “No.” My gaze goes to Tate as I shake my head. He’s got his poker face on, but when he looks at me, my stomach sinks. “What is he talking about?”

Dane moves to my side. “This asshole told me he bought a girl at the auction for revenge.”

“Revenge?” I question. Tate is glaring at Dane. He looks like he’s ready to maul him. My stomach is in knots, and I think I’m going to be sick.

Tate blinks a few times, his face softening. He turns his attention to me.

“I can explain.”

“Oh, you can?” I say, my voice breaking.

“Yes, Devon, I can.” He moves towards me, but I hold up my hand.

“Guess I know why you didn’t want to tell my brother about us.”

I shove the wineglass at my brother, grateful when he takes it. I storm past Tate, stop at the table to grab my clutch, and then hurry for the door. Thankfully the table was empty of people, so I didn’t have to explain anything to my father.

“Devon!”

I’m not sure which one of them is coming after me, calling my name like that. Both, maybe. Though it’s likely my brother. Tate doesn’t like making scenes, so he wouldn’t be shouting my name in a crowded room like that. Dane doesn’t give a shit.

I move through the lobby, feeling like I can’t breathe. My chest is tight. My vision is blurry. When I push through the doors to the outside, I suck in the fresh night air and move as fast as I can down the sidewalk. I don’t know where I’m going, and I don’t care.

“Devon!”

“Leave me alone!” I shout, not bothering to look at who it is. Tears make it nearly impossible to see, but I keep going. I need to get away from here, away from all these people. They’re all terrible, nothing but liars! Every last one of them.

“Please stop.” Whoever was following me finally catches up to me. Their hand is around my arm, jerking me to a stop. The touch feels too familiar, and I hate it. I spin on him, raising my hand to slap him as hard as I can. People walking by gasp. Tate grits his teeth, sucking in a breath. “Please don’t run away from me,” he pleads.

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