Page 71 of Scarlet Mark
“Clayton Powell?” Hampton repeated, his light-colored eyebrows rising above his black mask. “Why, I never thought I’d see the day where you accepted one of my invites.”
I lifted a shoulder. “I was in town and bored.” I pretended to remember my phone. “Oh, sorry, one minute.” I typed back a bogus reply of acceptance while both men watched, then slid the device into my jacket pocket. “Minor business deal.”
“How much is she worth?” Franklin asked, surprising me with his boldness.
I made a show of feigning confusion. “I’m sorry?” Powell would never purchase a woman for sex and would likely hate me for implying otherwise under his name, but I had no choice. Besides, these two jackasses would be dead come morning. So no harm done, really.
Or maybe I owed my buddy a bourbon. Top shelf. No, a case of it.
I noted it for later and refocused on the two males before me, who claimed to be upstanding citizens of society. One was married, for fuck’s sake. But God only knew where he’d left his wife for the evening. As I didn’t know what she looked like, I couldn’t exactly identify her in the sea of masquerade attire.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” I added when they both just kept staring at me.
“Don’t play coy.” Franklin’s lips curled into what could only be described as a salacious grin. “How much is the girl worth for a night?”
“And who are you?” I asked, adding an edge to my tone the way Powell would. He’d never met these men, nor would he consider them anyone worth recognizing. And he’d make sure they knew that in the same manner I was doing now.
Franklin held out his hand. “Edward Franklin.”
I ignored him and refocused on the taller douchebag beside him. “And you?”
His hazel eyes narrowed through the pinholes of his mask, clearly not a fan of my perceived lack of knowledge.Tough shit, asshole.
“Jefferson Hampton,” he replied flatly.
He sounded so arrogant that I couldn’t help baiting him. “Ah, you’re the one I have to thank for this decidedly boring affair.” I searched for Amara, or pretended to, anyway. I knew exactly where she was because I’d kept her within my line of sight. “Well, not completely boring,” I added, grinning in anticipation of the night ahead.
“She’s exquisite,” Franklin murmured, following my gaze. “Which brings me back to the original question. How much for a night?”
Oh, not much. Your death will do, I thought, purposely not acknowledging him.
Amara had told me about this part of her world—the one initiated by mere hand gestures and texts with account numbers and figures.
I always knew this cruelty existed, but had no idea how easily it was conducted right under the nose of society. No one around us even acknowledged the conversation, blissfully unaware of the two men before me requesting to buy a night with my date as if she were an object, not a person.
That they felt confident enough to approach me in this room suggested this wasn’t their first time, either. Which, of course, I knew. These men had touched Amara. Intimately. More than once, from what I’d gathered, and her adverse reaction upon noticing them confirmed they hadn’t been kind to her.
Poison seemed too humane for their heinous activities. A night beneath my blade would be far more fitting.
“Perhaps he’s not as interested in sharing as we thought,” Hampton said when I didn’t reply. “Newbies don’t always understand the signals, after all.”
“Newbie?” I repeated with a laugh, forcing myself to look at him. “If anyone is new here, it’s you. Asking me for a night with her? As if you stand a chance at paying my price.” I tsked. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with, gentlemen. That woman is out of your league.” I meant every word but softened it with a smile. “However, if you have an offer, I’m open to hearing it. Although, I’ve already received two others for the night, and they were quite high.” Which Franklin would already know because he’d blatantly read the text from my phone.
“So you admit she’s for sale,” Franklin said, his eager energy making me sick to my stomach.
“Everything has a price,” I admitted. This one would just cost him his life. No big deal.
“We’ll triple your highest offer if you let us share her. No rules.” Franklin uttered the words with the confidence of a male used to buying what he wanted, how he wanted.
I arched a brow. “You don’t even know my highest offer.” A complete lie. He’d read the price off my phone, but I didn’t want him to know I’d seen him do it because then it would be obvious that I left the screen in his view on purpose.
Hampton surprised me by replying, “We can afford it.”
“Can you?” I glanced between them, allowing them to see my false intrigue. Then I quoted a number higher than the value Franklin would have read, just to show him I was playing hardball.
“Not an issue,” Hampton assured me.
I studied them both as if considering their offer. “I have two rules,” I said, earning me a scowl from Franklin. “First, I always watch. Second, if what you’re doing interests me, I get to play, too. She’s mine, after all.”
