Page 35 of Sold Blood
He sneers, shaking the gun at me. “Lower your gun, boy. There will be consequences if you don’t.”
“Why aren’t you at the auction with the rest of your friends?”
He scoffs. “Because what I want is right here in this very room and I refuse to leave without it.”
“Well you’re going to have to because I'd much rather have a bullet in my head then have your vile hands touching me again. So if you’re going to kill me, then do it already.”
He smiles, cocking his head, placing his finger on the trigger and then something loud hits the window, catching him offguard. The loud crack against the glass has him pointing his gun away from me and toward the noise, giving me enough time to take the first shot. I aim the gun to his head, pulling the trigger as soon as I’m confident enough the gun is aimed in the right place. His body goes rigid. As he slowly turns his head to face me again, blood pours from the corner of his forehead and his mouth opens, but he falls forward before anything can make its way out. I rush toward his body, grabbing the gun from his hand and anything else he has on him that could be of use to us. “Trenton, are you okay?”
There’s no response at first. “It’s okay, you can come out. It’s safe now.” The last part felt more like a lie than the truth. Mr. Williams may be dead, but we are far from being safe. Any minute, his men will come in here looking for him and they will alert the others to what we’ve done. Which is exactly why I’ll be patiently waiting for them instead of running away with my tail between my legs. When they get here, I will kill each one the same way I did their boss. Then Trenton and I will get the fuck out of here and find a way to get to the hotel Carlos is at.
Trenton pokes his head out from behind the bed slowly, gasping at the dead body by my feet. “Is he dead?”
“Very much so but it’s not time for us to breathe and relax just yet.”
Two sets of feet come rushing down the hallway and I focus on Trenton’s wide, frightened eyes. “You ever use a gun before?”
Trenton gets to his feet, shaking his head. “No…”
I hand him one of the extra guns I had pulled from the creep’s body, shoving it into his palm. “Today will be the day you learn.”
Nineteen
Carlos
The hidden underground hotel floor is surrounded by men I’ve never seen before. All dressed practically the same way, making sure everyone else knows the amount of money they’re willing to spend in this place and just how important they are. Only here, they are just like everyone else in the room. Being charged top dollar for something stolen—human beings who never belonged to anyone to begin with. Men like Ivan and Santana don’t see us as people any more than they see those boys they took as people. When their eyes are on us, they only see one thing, dollar signs.
I glance around as men enter booths which surround the staged area. There’s a number on my pass that leads me to the back corner. My heart speeds faster in my chest the longer it takes me to spot Mr. Williams. Last time I’d checked he was supposed to be at the auction, but so far, he is nowhere to be found.
“Stick to the plan,” I mutter to myself. I enter the booth, taking a seat in the brown leather chair.
A small screen sits in front of me and there’s a small window, allowing me to see the dark stage. The screen blinks blue a few times before showing me the same view I see above except closer and clearer. Bright lights shine on the stage and a man’s voice comes on from above.
“Good evening, gentlemen. Welcome to the Belton Hotel auction. We are happy to have you all here, but are sad to inform you that one of our delivery trucks unfortunately has not made it which only leaves us with a very limited selection. We apologize deeply for the inconvenience and will be lowering the starting bids as a way to show you how much we appreciate your understanding. The auction will begin in a few minutes and may all the luck be on your side. Even with the small shortage, I think everyone here today will be very happy with the available selection tonight.”
Slightly leaning my ear toward the back curtain, I hear a gentleman yelling outside my booth, demanding all his money back and a free stay at the mansion next year. More shouting happens and it’s soon drowned out by the loud countdown. "The auction begins in one...two...three…” By the time the lady above gets to ten, a loud siren goes off and the room is back to being quiet.
The screen lights up when the first boy steps on stage with his head facing downward. I don’t have much to go on except the descriptions Joey had given me. At this point, I may be taking ten boys home with the same descriptions.
The woman on the speaker gives his description, age, and labels him as 100% pure. The boy stares up and his eyes are focused on the camera. They sparkle green and his cheeks are sprinkled with freckles. When the hood is fully pulled from his body, his fire red hair is revealed under the bright lighting.Someone hits the button on the first offer and I hit it next after realizing how much the boy's appearance matches one of Joey’s friends. I get outbid a few times and finally the words sold are being yelled over the speaker when I put in the last bid. I sigh in relief, sinking back in my chair. They can’t all be this easy, can they?
Two girls come on next and then a few more boys that don’t fit any of the descriptions I was given. One blond, blue-eyed seventeen year old boy fluent in English and Spanish enters the stage with a long pink scar on his cheek. I quickly hit the button, outbidding a few different men.
Before I can hit the button again, I’m being dragged out of the booth by the back of my coat. “I think you’re done bidding for the day, Mr. Masters, or is that even your real name?” The man known as the Gatekeeper has a few new gashes on his face and a black eye.
Someone was clearly punished for the merchandise shortage and now he is trying to find someone else to take the blame. “I’m not sure what this is about, but if I were you, I’d remove your filthy hands from my coat. Don’t think this incident won’t go unpunished.” I grunt in annoyance when the woman above says the words sold. They are firm and loud in the speaker. “You just cost me a boy and it may cost you your life now.” I pull out my gun, aiming it at his head and a few men surround me, pulling out their weapons. He pulls the gun from my hand and shoves me to the ground. It’s not the only weapon on me and he’s too stupid to check me for more.
“What the hell is going on here? This kind of behavior isn't welcome in my establishment." Ivan stands behind me with lips formed into a snarl.
"This man's an imposter. He doesn't belong here," the Gatekeeper says, speaking with clenched teeth.
Ivan walks closer with his eyes narrowing in on me. "I'll be the judge of that." He moves closer, pressing the tip of his leather black boot on my shoulder. "Is this true? Are you not really who you say you are?"
It's my word against his and I know scarface has more friends here than I do. I don't have a single ally here. No one would stand up for me or vouch for me. "My name is Brian Masters and I'm here for the same reason as everyone else. I expect to be treated the same as well, especially with all the money I have willingly dropped in your hands over the last few days."
Ivan's eyes drift between me and the Gatekeeper. He runs a hand through his hair and lifts his foot off of me, leaning over to offer me his hand. "Then you have my deepest apologies. I'm sorry for my friend here. This isn't the first time he's tried to sabotage my auction and sales."
"You can't be serious. Not one man here knows who this Brian Masters is. No one has ever heard of the guy and he's untraceable," the guy with the scar exclaims.
