Page 54 of Secured By the Buyer

Thankfully, he understands. With a final sympathetic pat, he rises. “Jade and Oliver said they’d stop by in a couple of hours. We’re all here for you, okay? Whenever you’re ready.”

I manage a nod.

Once he leaves, I curl into myself, hugging my knees to my chest.

The bedroom door opens again sometime later.

I keep my eyes shut, feigning sleep, but I’d recognize Liam’s presence anywhere.

The bed shifts as he sits down behind me and strokes my hair. “I know you’re awake, princess.”

I heave a sigh and roll over to face him. “I thought if I stayed still long enough, the world might forget I exist.”

“Never.” He traces the curve of my cheek. “Want to watch something with me tonight? You can pick the movie and let me hold you.”

“Bribery, huh?” I catch his hand, bringing it to my lips. “You have a deal.”

“You got it.” He leans down to brush a kiss on my forehead. “Anything for you.”

That night, we curl up together on the sofa, a bowl of popcorn cradled in my lap as an action movie plays. Liam’s arms enfold me, his solid heat seeping into my back.

Here, I’m safe.

Like I’ve found my home.

When my eyelids droop, he scoops me up and carries me to bed. I pull his big body around me, cocooning myself in his warmth.

For the first time in days, I drift off easily, surrounded by love.

Watery sunlight filters through the curtains when I emerge on the fourth day, wrung out, but with the haze lifted. Liam had left earlier, and I’m determined to stop wallowing.

I take my time in the shower, letting the hot spraybeat down on my shoulders and back until I turn red all over.

When I dress, real clothes feel almost foreign after so long spent in rumpled pajamas. I rake a comb through my hair, leaving it hanging free down my back.

Restless energy buzzes under my skin as I ride the elevator down to the main floor. I need to move, to do something other than lie around drowning in my misery.

My feet take me toward the library on autopilot. It’s become a favorite retreat, but when I push open the heavy wooden doors, the room is dark and empty.

Figures.

As I debate heading down to the gun range in search of Jade, the sound of raised voices catches my attention from a room at the end of the hall.

Curiosity piqued, I make my way closer, footsteps silent in my slippers.

The door sits ajar, and I pause outside, straining to hear the conversation within.

“We’re not getting anywhere with locating Bugrov or Tony,” a deep voice grumbles, frustration clear in the words. “Every day that passes means it’s less likely we’ll stop them before the next shipment of slaves gets auctioned off.”

Uneasiness fills me. I know all too well the horrors those poor souls face.

“We’ve put Omegas on the street to lure them out, but none of the bait has been taken,” another man chimes in, one I recognize as Damien.

My stomach tightens. They’ve been using Omegas as bait? Putting innocent lives at risk, hoping to draw out those monsters? And it still hasn’t worked.

Which means Bugrov and Tony are being extra cautious… or they’ve moved on to new hunting grounds.

Before I can second-guess myself, I push open the door and step into what I realize must be the banquet hall with its huge table and sideboards. “Use me as bait.”

---