Page 77 of Emerald

Unknown Name: Does Pedro know about this girl yet? Or are you surprising him at the after-party?

Manuel: I’m presenting her to him at the after-party.

Unknown Name: Be careful, one taste and they might keep her.

Manuel: Then it will be my honor to give her to him.

Oh hell no.

Unknown Name: Did you get to taste Domingo’s new pet last night?

Manuel: No, she was Juan’s birthday present.

Unknown Name: Hope I get her for mine. She must be good for him to have kept her for so long, his playthings never last.

I need to save Pearl, it sounds like her time is running out.

Manuel: That’s because he has the attention span of a gnat. You know the gala after-party is a free-for-all. Whoever you bring is for everyone. Have you made your choice?

Unknown Name: Not yet. But I have a couple of girls in mind.

Manuel: Hope they are tamed. Not like the girls Marco brought last year, who were crying and shaking.

Unknown Name: That’s where the fun is though, breaking in those wild fillies.

Manuel: I don’t need my dick nearly bitten off like what happened with Adan.

Unknown Name: I don’t blame him for shooting her. The surgery to fix it was horrific. Now he has a disfigured cock because of it. At least it still works.

Manuel: I would have fucking shot Marco, too, for that stunt. I’m about to walk into a meeting. Talk soon.

I walk out of my bedroom after grabbing a handful of things and see Nash grabbing items out of the refrigerator.

“Are you okay? What’s happened?” Nash asks, stopping what he’s doing.

“You can’t trust Rosita. She is fucking Manuel. She told him that you want to expand your bar business and that’s why you fucked her for a ticket to the gala.”

Nash runs his hand over his head. “How?”

“I read his texts to his friend about last night,” I explain.

“Are you okay?”

My brows pull together. “No.” I can feel the walls shutting down, the coping mechanisms clicking in, the detachment from the events of last night happening.

“Elena,” Nash says softly as he reaches out and tries to soothe me.

“Don’t touch me,” I spit, pulling my arms away from him. I can see the hurt on his face at my rejection, but he doesn’t push it. “His friend asked Manuel if there was a possibility you could be fucking me which Manuel thought was hilarious because of your loyalty. At least he doesn’t suspect you.” I shake my head. “What do you know about the villa? I can’t find anything on Manuel’s phone. It’s where they are keeping the girls.”

“I’ve never heard of the villa before,” Nash answers.

“Manuel’s going to steal me, keep me for himself. He believes I’m falling for him. He thinks he can offer you all these beach bars and you’re going to forget about me. That you’re going to give me over to him easily.”

“Like hell I am,” he answers angrily.

“You need to think about a Plan B after the gala. When I escape with Pearl, they are going to come for you. You were right.”

“I know.”

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