Page 45 of Auctioned Surrender

“Great fucking driving, man! Jay’s running point on aerial and says to pull off at the Modessa exit and head for the truck stop,” Damian says.

“Roger that! I’ve had just about enough of these bastards,” Garrett says.

“Couldn’t agree more,” Damian says, his deep blue eyes focusing in on me.

I look away, and the touch of his finger on my cheek pulls me back to face him. “I thought we were clear on you looking away, trying to hide from me,” Damian whispers.

I glance nervously toward the front seat.

“Don’t worry about Garrett.”

I shrug. “I didn’t really think it pertained anymore. I mean, let’s face it. You had a job to do, and you did it. What happened between us doesn’t make you responsible for me personally,” I say with more calm than I feel, hoping that he can’t see the rapidly beating heartbeat beneath my clothing.

Damian narrows his eyes at me, and we turn off the main highway onto a deserted side road that leads us to a brightly lit truck stop, where Garrett pulls in to stop. Damian glances down at his cell as it begins to vibrate. “The guys have the men following us surrounded; they’re about to close in and wrap this up,” Damian says, just as we see a sleek helicopter with lights cut through the air. They’re not far away, and we can see the silhouette of men with guns pointing downward toward the road we just left.

“Do they need our help?” Garrett asks, and I blush, realizing he probably just heard every word I said.

“The teams have it covered for tonight, but if you’re still looking for work, I’ll talk to the group about signing you on,” Damian offers.

“Roger that, man. Greatly appreciated.”

“Matt’s wife, Marenah, has been working with Scottie, one of our security team you haven’t met, and he has connections over at Interpol and the FBI. They were able to run a match with the pictures we sent and found enough evidence on the dark sites to put this guy’s ass away for a very long time. They’re in the process of arresting the bastards, and I don’t think even his money will get him out of this,” Damian says.

“And the other girls?” I ask.

“They’re all safe, Bryanna. They’re being taken to the safe house Marenah and her team uses, and Dereck’s dealing with things back at the club in Chicago. I guess the job’s officially over,” Damian says, glancing at me as I try to keep my heartfrom breaking at the thought that he really has no reason to be with me now, no longer my protector, and he no longer has any responsibility to me whatsoever.

Chapter 31

Damian

The minute I hear a gunshot outside the club, I fly by a waitress balancing a heavily laden tray of drinks, not giving two fucks about my cover, which has already been blown, or what anyone in the goddamn club thinks.

“Hey!” she yells, and not two seconds later I hear glass crashing behind me.

I don’t stop or even respond, too intent on getting through that goddamn door and onto the other side. I race like a madman across the room, not caring who the fuck sees me or what they think. I burst through the exit door and race toward the shadows in the woods just as a man with heavy boots raises his foot to kick Bryanna in the ribs. The blood in my veins pumps with rage, but turns to icy fear when I catch the shiny glint of steel pointed at my green-eyed Doll.

I stop cold, take aim, and then fire, and with one precise shot, that piece of shit is lying on the ground right beside her.

It takes me mere seconds to reach her. I take the gun from her trembling hands and toss it to Cole, slide to the ground, and pull her into my arms so that I can feel her heartbeat against my chest and her breath against my skin. My phone beeps, and I glance down at the message intel has sent alerting me thatKade Foster is on the inside, deep undercover for the feds. So deep, he’s one of the most trusted right-hand men in the bike organization he runs with. Well, fuck me!

The soft little whimper she makes when I adjust her lets me know that her ribs are at least bruised, if not completely fractured. The entire security team, men who are more like brothers to me, come out of the trees to completely surround us. They would have taken the shot if I hadn’t, but they needn’t have worried, because I’ve never missed a shot in my life.

Her brother steps closer, and Kade may mean well, but I don’t have enough intel on him to fully trust him. Until I do, he’s not getting anywhere near Bryanna. If he’s as deep undercover as our sources believe, it’s better for him and everyone if he’s not mixed up with what happened here tonight in case it would leak back to the gang he’s infiltrated. I send him on his way while Nick calls for the clean-up crew who are always standing by when a job like this goes down, and in a city where crime never sleeps and there are more calls than the police can respond to, they have more than enough time to get in and out before anyone knows the difference.

I slide Bryanna into the car, and she winces. Her ribs will definitely be sore for awhile, but I can tell now that they aren’t broken. I’d rather have her in my lap and pressed against me so that I can feel her heartbeat, but we may be in for a hassle at the gate, so I place her in the seat next to mine in the event I need to go for my gun.

The minute Garrett tells us we have a tail, I know it’s someone who works for that fucking slimeball, the one who wants Bryanna for his very own, the one who seems hell-bent on getting her, whatever the cost may be. He’s not getting anywhere near her, and if I have anything to say about it, he won’t get near another woman in his lifetime either. When we finally get word the men tailing us have been fully apprehended, and they founda picture of Bryanna on the dashboard, my chest doesn’t stop pumping until I hear the feds have him arrested and he’s actually in cuffs and heading for jail. I know the man has billions, but this is Jenny’s niece they’re after, and I also know Brian Carrington. He has the funds to match, if not exceed this slimeball’s, and he and I will do anything and everything in our power to keep that man behind bars for a very long time.

I look down at Bryanna, nestled in next to me. When I tell her the job is over, she looks at me and tells me that what we shared last night doesn’t make her my responsibility. Clearly words are not enough to show her that she’s not just another assignment or casual fling and that I’ve already claimed her for my very own, but she’ll need to be shown what it will be like to be mine in every sense of the word.

Bryanna is quiet as we make our way to the airport. Her mind must be swirling with all that today has brought. I leave her to her thoughts, contemplating my own on the short drive.

She dozes a bit on the two-and-a-half-hour flight back to Chicago, but remains completely silent once awake. It’s not until we’re near the exit that leads to my penthouse overlooking Lake Michigan that Bryanna turns and actually speaks to me. “Damian, I should clarify what I meant when I told you to drop me off at a hotel earlier. I can’t afford the ones in this district. I meant somewhere less expensive. I don’t even have a credit card to put it on, come to think of it,” she says, and then her eyes widen and her forehead crinkles. “There’s something else I should tell you, Damian. I left you a note back in New Orleans, but you probably didn’t even get it. I used your credit card and spent a lot of money. I bought this dress and all the stuff I needed for the masquerade ball,” Bryanna says softly.

“I’m well aware of your little shopping trip. One of the security details who swept the penthouse as we were leaving town sent me a picture of the note you left. We can add it tothe list we need to talk about when we get home, because I have absolutely no intention of taking you to a hotel room, Bryanna. You still owe me a few days, and we’re not nearly finished,” I say, watching as her eyes widen and then her lips purse in thought.

“You want me to spend a few days with you?” she asks, stiltedly, almost unbelieving. I find it difficult not to correct her, but she believes she is just another job to me, and this is something she’s going to need to experience in order to understand how wrong she is and determine if this dynamic is what she truly wants.

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