Page 37 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 2

“We can’t call the cops,” I said so low I could hardly hear myself speak.

Rhodes was done being at a distance. He stood up, came to me and pulled me into his arms. My cheek was pressed against his bare chest, the warmth a welcome respite from my frayed nerves. I locked my arms around his back and held on. He nuzzled the top of my head.

“Please trust me, Maia. Whatever you need, whatever is making you afraid, just give it to me. And I’ll do whatever is within my power to help. I swear it.”

My voice hitched as I clung to him. “If we’re not careful, he’ll kill her. I know he will. If he so much as sees me step foot anywhere near their home, he’ll shoot me on sight. He told me he would.”

“He can’t get away with this. He’s just a man,” he murmured against the crown of my head.

“But he’s not just a man…” My body hitched as the anguish threatened to buckle my knees.

“Sweetheart, he is.”

I shook my head. “He can do anything he wants. He’s proven it time and time again.” I closed my eyes as the tears slipped down my cheeks.

“He’s not above the law, Maia,” he insisted.

I huffed and more tears fell. “You see, that’s where you’re wrong.”

“Why do you believe that? What made you think one man can get away with beating his wife and possibly his children and nothing befall him?”

I shifted just my upper body back so I could look into his steely gray eyes. “Because my step-father is the law. He’s the Chief Marshal of the town, and his father is the Sheriff for the entire county. Everyone in town answers to him and no one goes against him.”

“Fuck.” He let out a sharp breath then pulled me back into his arms. “We’ll handle this. One step at a time, okay? First, wehead to Emily. Then we figure out what to do about your family in Colorado. In the meantime, you can try contacting your mom to check in again. How does that sound?”

There really was very little I could do all the way in Las Vegas. And I did want to make sure that Emily and Alana were okay. Here in Vegas, the authorities, not to mention Sam and the club were on the prowl for whoever destroyed my place. We wouldn’t have any answers on that issue until the perpetrators were found and questioned. And I still had no idea how to extract my mother and siblings anyway. Whatever we did, would have to be well thought out, and done completely outside of my stepfather’s or stepbrother’s knowledge.

I needed to be smart. And the smartest thing I could do would be to trust Rhodes.

“You’ll help me save my family?” I pressed.

“I swear it on my life,” he promised.

I hugged him tightly.

“Then let’s get ready to go to France.” I backed up and patted him on the bare chest, my cheeks heating at the easy intimacy we’d just shared. “But first, you should probably put some clothes on.”

Episode 43

Brighter than the Sun

JACK

How could I have not known?

I’d been so blinded by Summer’s beauty and personality that it never dawned on me to verify what exactly she farmed or how it could affect the company I ran.

“This is bad. This could ruin everything we’ve built. What the hell have I gotten myself into?” I blurted, not realizing how I sounded to the woman standing bare before me. Her emotions plainly visible across her horrified expression.

Summer backed away shaking her head before she crossed her arms across her chest. “Looks like you need some time to figure that out.” Her tone was jagged and raspy.

I cursed under my breath as the information battered my mind in a sickening reel of PR headlines sure to hit the news wires across Europe.

Johansen Brewing in the Drug Business.

Johansen Brewing CEO Weds Marijuana Queen.

Johansen Brewing Stock Plummets Under Announcement of CEO Engagement to American Drug Dealer.

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